Any netrunner in Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City is only as good as the daemons at their fingertips—and if you know where to look, you can get the very best ones.
The Iconic Quickhacks are the strongest offensive, defensive and utility tools a netrunning V can acquire, giving you an undeniable edge.
The issue, therefore, is finding them—as with all of the best goodies in Night City, you’ll have to put in a bit of work. This guide will cover every Iconic Quickhack you can come across in the mean streets, and where you can pick them up.
Every Iconic Quickhack in Cyberpunk 2077
Like most aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 post-2.0 patch, Iconic Quickhacks are dependent on your level. It seems like they begin showing up at around Level 51, meaning you’ll need to have the Phantom Liberty expansion to get your hands on them—but once you’ve reached that point, they’ll start being offered at Netrunning shops, such as the one located in Dogtown’s stadium.
Each of these shops has a rotating stock, so make sure to check back frequently for the one you want. They’ll often be sold either outright or as their associated Schematics, and while Schematics are always cheaper in Eurodollars they also come with the caveat of having to pony up additional Quickhack Components to craft them.
In essence, Iconic Quickhacks are upgraded versions of the more common Tier 5 Quickhacks with unique effects added.
To save you all the scrounging, what each of these effects are is listed below for each variety of Iconic Quickhack you can get your cyber-implanted hands on.
Bait
Bait, previously useful only in edge cases, gains a surprising amount of utility in its final form. Not only can you use it to attract enemies to cameras for maximum digital trickery, but you can now cancel your bait simply by reuploading the quickhack.
Contagion
The Iconic version of this powerful offensive quickhack adds 15 percent damage to every subsequent enemy it jumps to, meaning it’ll only get stronger as it tears through a room. No social distancing allowed.
Cripple Movement
Cripple Movement now makes enemies more susceptible to melee Finishers and restores more health upon executing those finishers, making it an incredibly valuable tool in any Hack and Slash Netrunner‘s arsenal.
Cyberpsychosis
Cyberpsychosis’ Iconic version makes enemies under the influence of this quickhack deal more damage—and extends the duration of their frenzy—for every other quickhack affecting them. It’s a tactical question of whether you want to hamper your cyberpsycho minions by inflicting debuffs on them exchange for increasing their base strength.
Cyberware Malfunction
Cyberware Malfunction, at its highest level, deals massive damage to affected enemies once it reaches maximum stacks. The caveat here is to reach maximum stacks, you have to upload this quickhack to a single enemy eight times in a row. It’s really not worth the RAM or the time.
Detonate Grenade
The Iconic version makes an already straightforward quickhack even more so. There is now absolutely no delay between upload and detonation, meaning you can essentially just press F and watch some poor gonk explode before your very eyes.
Memory Wipe
Memory Wipe now forces all enemies in an encounter to exit the combat state, essentially giving you a free reset button if you’re trying to be stealthy. They didn’t see anything!
Overheat
Overheat, the bread and butter of any starting netrunner’s kit, now makes it so attacking the affected enemy deals thermal damage on top of the quickhack already cooking them. It’s good for a netrunner who thrives in open combat, but stealthier builds will have little use for this one.
Ping
The ever-useful Ping gets a significant upgrade in its Iconic version, now allowing you to hack pinged devices (but not enemies) through walls. There’s nowhere for the gangs of Night City to hide now.
Reboot Optics
Reboot Optics’ Iconic effect gives you three RAM bars back for killing the affected enemy with a headshot or weakspot hit—and if that’s not good enough, it makes the quickhack jump to the closest enemy for free. Snipers, rejoice.
Request Backup
Request Backup’s Iconic version works in perfect synergy with Bait. If you use it on an enemy already affected by Bait, up to five additional enemies will be summoned—perfect for if you want to get an entire base in one place for a nasty surprise.
Short Circuit
Short Circuit, or as I like to call it, Ol’ Reliable. The Iconic version adds an extra 20 percent damage against enemies below a High threat level, making it perfect for clearing out fodder.
Sonic Shock
Sonic Shock’s Iconic perk also makes it more suited for synergy. If an enemy you use it on is already affected by Memory Wipe and Reboot Optics, Sonic Shock will knock them right out for a free (non-lethal) takedown.
Suicide
This has always been one of the darker Quickhacks, at least by its implication. Its Iconic version plays into this, restoring a chunk of your health with every kill like some kind of far-future vampire.
Synapse Burnout
With Synapse Burnout’s Iconic version, Overclock becomes far more powerful. With Overclock active, Synapse Burnout doubles in damage, and taking enemies out with it will add five seconds to your Overclock timer.
System Collapse
System Collapse at its highest tier will remove 40 percent of trace progress for every enemy taken out with it. This means that stealthier netrunners can stay hidden for far longer, and may not even have to touch their gun for the entire duration of an encounter.
Weapon Glitch
Closing out our list, Weapon Glitch adds an additional 12 percent Crit Chance with Smart Weapons specifically anytime you upload it. This even stacks a total of five potential times for 60 percent additional Crit Chance overall, letting you take out your now-helpless enemies with ease—as long as you have your Smart Link installed, that is.
These Iconic Quickhacks represent the very apex of a player character’s hacking ability in Cyberpunk 2077, but there’s no shame in going back and brushing up on the basics while you’re at it. Just be careful on your adventures through Night City with these potent weapons by your side—like Johnny says, every netrunner eventually ends up the same way.
