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- Quickhacking – This is the hacking you do with your scanner on enemies and electric-powered objects. The number of actions you can do depends on the Quickhack cost and the amount of RAM you have. The RAM is determined by V’s operating system, which you can upgrade at a Ripperdoc.
- Hacking Access Points with Breach Protocol – Access Points are laptops, antenna, or other spots where V can jack in and play the Breach Protocol hacking minigame. If you input code in the right order, you can unlock more than one Datamine sequence for greater rewards. Access Point Breach Protocol is usually a harder version of Breach Protocol than the Quickhack version used on enemies and random tech.
Now, let’s get into the deep dives.
As stated above, Quickhacking is the action you do with your scanner to use a Daemon, or a hack on select electric-powered object or an enemy. V has to scan the item or person, and if they can be hacked, you’ll see a two menus to flip through in the scanner.
With your base scanner and its perks you’ll see this for normal objects and civilians:
If you scan an object connected to an enemy network or the enemy themselves, you’ll get the Hacking tab in addition to the data:
The Elements of Quickhacking
Quickhacking has four main elements: the target, available Quickhacks, RAM, and the Hacking info panel.
1. The Target: This one is rather obvious, but your target changes what Quickhacks are available to you. For instance, if you’re hacking a device, you can’t burn out its synapses as it, you know, doesn’t have eyes. You’ll have the most options on human targets.
2. Available Quickhacks: Again, the Quickhacks available depend on your target. If a Quickhack is blocked out in red that means it’s already in use or you don’t have enough RAM to use it.
3. Cyberdeck RAM: The RAM allotted to V depends on their Operating System, something you can upgrade at a Ripperdoc. This is found in the Cyberdeck section of the menu. The Operating System also determines how many Quickhacks you can have equipped and the sort of things you can hack.
4. Data and Hacking :Note that you can get important information from the Data tab about your enemy. This includes their specialization(are they a regular goon or are they a Netrunner?), their affiliation, whether or not they have a bounty and if you’ll get Street Cred for taking them out, and their strengths and weaknesses. This can be hugely important when taking on a boss. The hacking tab gives descriptions for the Quickhack you have selected.
Getting an overheating error? See why on the How to Stop Overheating guide.
How to Get More RAM
To get more RAM you’ll need to save your eurodollars and visit a Ripperdoc. Then, select the Operating System section to see what the Ripperdoc has to offer (you can also take a look at the Ripperdoc Locations and Abilities List). Ripperdocs don’t have the same stock, so it’s worth considering your options before buying.
We recommend your first upgrade be at least a Rare OS rather than an Uncommon.
How to Get More Quickhacks
The easiest way to get new Quickhack options is to buy them from a Netrunner. They run shops just like any other merchant and each one will sell different Quickhack daemons.
You can also craft your own Quickhacks. Some Quickhacks and Quickhack upgrades can be obtained through Intelligence Perks.
Quickhacking Tips
It wouldn’t be an IGN without a few tips! Here are some things to keep in mind while Quickhacking:
- Make it a rule to always start an encounter with Breach Protocol, even if you don’t plan on using stealth for long. It’ll reduce the cost of Quickhacks by one RAM.
- If you use Ping you can find the Access Point in the area. All connected devices will Ping a specific the Access Point device.
- Though time moves slowly when you’re scanning and hacking, time hasn’t stopped completely. Be aware of V’s position so they don’t get spotted.
- Make security cameras work for you! V can hack enemies through security cameras under their control.
Hacking Access Points
Unlike Quickhacking, jacking into an Access Point requires V to have a certain level in Intelligence and has what is usually a slightly more challenging version of Breach Protocol.
How to Find Access Points
Access Points can be things like laptops, consoles on a wall, and antenna in enemy areas. You can find them with your scanner and they’ll be marked by a small version of this icon:
And here’s an example of one on an antenna:
Aside from scanning and looking around an are for this one marker, you can use Quickhacks and even perks to find them faster.
The Ping Quickhack (which you can get for free from The Gift) works on any device connected to the Access Point and reveals the Access Point (and connected devices and people on the network) location through lines like this:
Not all areas with enemies have Access Points though, so if you have a hard time finding where the lines meet, it may be because there isn’t one Access Point in the area.
If you want to free up a Quickhack spot for something else, you can instead invest in the Breach Protocol Perk called Extended Network Interface. This automatically highlights nearby Access Points.
When you get to an access point, V may have the option to jack in. The option is determined by V’s Intelligence level. If you have the necessary level to plug in, you’ll see a Breach Protocol hacking minigame screen that looks something like this:
The goal is to enter one or more of the required sequences to “datamine” this access point for rewards. The pattern for entering code in a sequence starts with the first row. Then, the next code you can select will be from the first code’s column. The pattern repeats row – column – row – column-etc in whatever direction you choose.
If you have a bigger buffer size (which can be increased by upgrading V’s Operating System at a Ripperdoc) you can input more codes. Your goal should be to clear at least two sequences. Each of the three sequences and the code matrix are randomized. With a little luck, you may even get to complete all three, though two should always be your goal.
Tip: If you hover over one of the code units in the sequences on the right all the matching code in the Cody Matrix will highlight. This is an easy way to see your row and column options for that particular code.
Let’s use the above Breach Protocol as an example. Looking at the code matrix, it’s not possible to get all three. To do so the code would need to be BD – 55 – 1C. Unfortunately since the Datamine_V1 begins with 55, a code in the others, hitting 1C will “fail” the first sequence but allows for a bigger payout with the third sequence. This happens sometimes, but it’s almost always worth solving for the Datamine_V3 over Datamine_V1.
Keep in mind that there can be multiple ways to input the sequences in a single breach. And don’t forget that you’re timed! The timer doesn’t start until you engage with the Code Matrix.
Tip: Make a mistake? You can back out of the Breach Protocol console and start over.
Once you get the all clear on your code, you can back out and you’ll see your rewards pop up on the left side of the screen.
Rewards earned from access points can be increased through Perks like Advanced Datamine (Upgrades Datamine, increasing the amount of Eurodollars acquired from access points by 50%). Advanced Datamine can be upgraded again for a whopping 100% increase. With this, we’ve been able to get well over $1000 per Access Point if it drops the money reward. They usually do.
You can view all the related perks on our Intelligence Perks page.