Glossary of Terms
RAM: Temporary data storage medium (main memory). Think of it like a spell slot or mana bar for a hacker. The amount of RAM available usually depends on the netrunner's Cyberdeck and their Intelligence stat.
ICE: Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics — the digital firewalls of the Net.
Quickhacks: Offensive hacking programs — instant-use hacks. Comparable to a mage's instant-cast spells.
Breach Protocol: The hacker's infiltration method. Each netrunner has their own approach, like solving an exam question. The more intelligent the hacker, the more powerful their Breach Protocol.
Daemons: Think of them as advanced viruses — but far stronger. For hackers, daemons are their ritual spells, often precompiled routines triggered during Breach Protocols.
Quickhack Components: Tiny chips that can be slotted into a Cyberdeck. These contain pre-installed daemons crafted by netrunners in advance.
They usually consume RAM to activate. These are large-scale daemons with major effects, often targeting the human body directly.
You can think of them like skills on a game's hotbar — unless you slot the component into your Cyberdeck, you won't be able to trigger the hack via hotkey.
Cyberdeck: Essential equipment for any netrunner. It lets them connect to vast datastreams at will.
Comparable to a mage's wand — but for netrunners, the Cyberdeck is even more vital. Without it, Quickhacks can't be used at all.
Different models of Cyberdeck can hold varying numbers of Quickhack Components.
The Cyberdeck also functions like a GPU — in a hacker's hands, it's their weapon. If your opponent is packing a high-end deck, it's like they're sniping you with a railgun while you're stuck with a pocketknife.
That said, if your Intelligence is sky-high — say, level 20 like Bartmoss — then even a low-end Cyberdeck will do. Death by a thousand stabs.
Additional Notes
Against different enemies, RAM consumption varies depending on the target's ICE strength within their neural processor.
A netrunner's own skill level affects upload speed.
If you're hacking a trusted teammate who has authorized access, it's as if they handed you their PC — all usual hacking restrictions are bypassed. Do as you please. (Like in Edgerunners, when Kiwi used System Reset on Rebecca.)
Daemon Types:
Daemons like Short Circuit, System Reset, and Cyberware Malfunction — those that directly affect the body — are considered large-scale daemons. These are too complex to improvise mid-combat, so they must be pre-installed via Quickhack Components.
Hacking is usually covert — like a virus infecting your computer. That said, getting caught is always a risk. (In-game, V gets a warning when being hacked, but during the story, V doesn't even notice when the Voodoo Boys implant a custom daemon — such as the "Light Chaser" — into his neural processor.)
[Reserved for future updates.]
Sample Hacking Procedure
When hacking a target, a netrunner typically has two options:
Option 1:
First, breach the local network's ICE. Once that's done, any device, neural processor (cyberbrain), or defense system connected to the network becomes vulnerable.
What happens next depends on the hacker's daemons and tools.
Since the ICE has already been bypassed, the netrunner gains a buff — making subsequent hacks far easier. From here on, the process mirrors Option 2.
Option 2:
If you're bold — or if there's no local net to breach — then you skip the warm-up and dive straight into the hack.
Hacking Methods: Physical vs Remote
Physical Invasion:
Directly connect via data cables. For small transfers, a personal link is enough, but diving into full cyberspace — which requires massive bandwidth — demands a neural link via cyberjack ports, often using a netrunner chair to boost brainpower and processing speed.
Remote Hacking:
Function 1: Remotely hack someone's neural processor, forcibly creating a direct data chain between you and the target.
This allows limited Quickhack deployment.
Because it's a single data chain, bandwidth is restricted. You can't chain from one target to another or affect other devices.
Only basic actions like Quickhacks and Daemon uploads are available.