Forget everything you thought you knew about being a netrunner. In the world of Cyberpunk 2077, you’re not just a hacker hiding in the shadows; you’re a full blown “Cyber-Mage,” a digital god of the battlefield. Finding the best quickhacks in Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t about one single, overpowered hack. It’s about the art of the combo. The real power comes from smartly queuing hacks that work together to create devastating effects.
For melting a single tough enemy, nothing beats stacking Cyberware Malfunction before unleashing a Short Circuit. To clear a room, you’ll want to spread Contagion and then light the fuse with Overheat for a chain reaction of explosions. And for staying completely invisible, a Tier 3 Sonic Shock is your golden ticket, making all your follow up hacks untraceable.
Here’s a quick glance table for the chooms in a hurry:
| Situation / Goal | Essential Quickhack Combo | Why It’s the Best |
|---|---|---|
| Melting a Single Tough Enemy | Cyberware Malfunction + Short Circuit | Stacking Cyberware Malfunction makes the target extremely vulnerable, multiplying the damage of Short Circuit to insane levels. |
| Wiping Out a Group of Enemies | Contagion + Overheat | Contagion spreads poison to a group, and hitting any poisoned enemy with Overheat causes an explosion that chain reacts to the others. |
| Total Stealth Takedowns | Sonic Shock (Tier 3+) + Any Damage Hack | Sonic Shock makes any other hacks you queue after it completely untraceable, letting you eliminate enemies without ever being detected. |
| Infinite Overclock Mode | Any damaging hacks + Synapse Burnout (as the final blow) | At Tier 5, killing an enemy with Synapse Burnout extends your Overclock duration, letting you stay in god mode indefinitely. |
| The Ultimate Upgrade | Iconic Versions of any Quickhack | These endgame versions offer massive stat boosts, like drastically reduced RAM cost or higher damage, making them a must have. |
Table of Contents
The Holy Trinity: Your Go-To Quickhack Combos
Mastering a few key combinations will make you feel unstoppable. These three combos are the foundation of any powerful netrunner build.
For Deleting Single Targets: Cyberware Malfunction & Short Circuit
This is your boss killer combo, plain and simple. On its own, Short Circuit deals a nice burst of electrical damage. But its real magic happens when you pair it with Cyberware Malfunction.
Cyberware Malfunction doesn’t just disable an enemy’s cyberware; it also makes them more vulnerable to all damage. The best part? It stacks. Upload it two or three times, then hit them with a Short Circuit. The damage multiplies based on the stacks, resulting in an insane burst of power that can melt even the toughest cyberpsychos.
For Clearing Rooms: Contagion & Overheat
When you’re facing a whole squad of gangoons, this is the combo you need. Contagion is a poison virus that spreads to nearby enemies. That’s already great for crowd control, but the real fun starts when you add fire.
After you’ve uploaded Contagion, target one of the infected enemies with Overheat. The moment the fire hits the poison, the target explodes, spreading the fire to everyone else affected by the virus. This can set off a massive chain reaction, turning a packed room into a fireworks display of burning enemies.
For Becoming a Digital Ghost: Sonic Shock
If you prefer to work from the shadows, tracing is your biggest enemy. As soon as you use a traceable hack, a bar starts filling up, and when it’s full, every enemy knows exactly where you are.
Sonic Shock is the answer. Starting at Tier 3 (Epic), this quickhack disconnects your target from the local network. This means any other quickhacks you queue up after it become completely untraceable. You can silently take down an entire base without anyone ever knowing you were there. It’s the cornerstone of any stealth netrunner build.
The Game Changers: Ultimate & Iconic Quickhacks
Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to hunt for the truly legendary tools that will define your build.
The “Infinite Power” Button: Synapse Burnout
Overclock is the new core mechanic that lets you use your Health as a secondary RAM pool, allowing you to keep hacking even when you’re out of memory. Synapse Burnout is the key to making this last forever.
At Tier 5 (Legendary), killing an enemy with Synapse Burnout extends your Overclock duration by a few seconds. By using it as the final blow in your hack queue, you can chain kills together, constantly refreshing your Overclock timer and effectively staying in that empowered state for an entire combat encounter.
Why You NEED Iconic Quickhacks
Introduced in the Phantom Liberty expansion, Iconic quickhacks are straight up upgrades to their Legendary counterparts. Finding them is an endgame activity, often dropped from Airdrops in Dogtown or as rare rewards from Access Points.
The upgrades are massive. For example, the Iconic version of Sonic Shock cuts its RAM cost from 6 to just 2. That’s a game changer for stealth builds, making your untraceable combos incredibly efficient. The Iconic Short Circuit gets a huge damage bonus when paired with Cyberware Malfunction, making the best single target combo even better.
It’s Not the Hack, It’s the Hardware: Essential Cyberdecks
The best quickhacks can only reach their full potential with the right operating system. Your choice of Cyberdeck is the most important piece of gear for defining your playstyle.
For the single target annihilator combos, the Tetratronic Rippler is king, as it massively boosts damage when you mix combat and non-combat hacks. If you love watching your Contagion spread like wildfire, the Raven Microcyber is your best friend, increasing the spread distance and speed. And for the ultimate ghost, the Arasaka Mk.5 slows down enemy trace progression, giving you all the time in the world to work your magic unseen.
Ultimately, the power of a netrunner in Night City lies in synergy. Don’t just rely on one tool. Mix, match, and combine these quickhacks, perks, and cyberware to create a feedback loop of destruction. Now get out there, start experimenting, and write your own legend in the code.
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