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There is no single best quickhack for every Netrunner build. For straightforward single-target combat, the Playnews patch 2.3 tier list (published 20 July 2026) names Short Circuit as its top pick, and it lists Contagion paired with Overheat as its leading area-damage combination. Those are one outlet’s editorial rankings, not official rankings from CD PROJEKT RED. The right choice depends on whether you need damage, area control, stealth or disruption, and on your RAM, perks and game version.
Why no quickhack is best in every situation
Quickhacks are tools for different jobs. A hack that drops a single dangerous enemy quickly is not automatically the right answer when you are facing a group, trying to stay unseen, or needing to slow down a particular type of target. The question “which is best” only becomes answerable once you define the job.
Three variables change the answer in practice:
- Target type. Robots, cyborgs and humans respond differently to the same hack, and some control effects only make sense against specific enemies.
- RAM budget. Every quickhack consumes RAM, so the number you can afford to spend in a fight determines how many hacks you can actually run.
- Game version. Netrunning was reworked in Update 2.0, and balance figures have changed since. A ranking written before that overhaul may not describe the game you are playing.
Choosing by playstyle
The table below maps common goals to the options the sources support. The “basis” column shows where each recommendation comes from, since the evidence differs between a secondary guide’s judgment and CD PROJEKT RED’s own support material.
| Goal | Suggested direction | Basis and caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Single-target combat | Short Circuit | Named as the single-target pick in the Playnews patch 2.3 tier list (20 July 2026). This is that outlet’s ranking, not a universal fact about the game. |
| Groups and area damage | Contagion with Overheat | Playnews lists both among its leading options and calls the pairing its top area-damage combination. Real results depend on enemy tier, your build and the encounter. |
| Stealth | Covert hacks such as Memory Wipe or Sonic Shock | Build-oriented guidance drawn from CD PROJEKT RED’s support material and the Playnews guide, not an official ranking. Check the in-game description and how the hack behaves on your version before committing. |
| Control and disruption | Pick a control hack for the specific enemy and encounter | Playnews separates control hacks from combat and covert ones, and treats the best choice as target-dependent. No single control hack is named as the overall winner. |
How RAM limits what you can run
CD PROJEKT RED’s support guidance (accessed 8 October 2026) explains that each quickhack requires available RAM, and that Intelligence and perks affect quickhack proficiency, RAM cost and RAM recovery. The same page states: “RAM recovers automatically over time.” Recovery is therefore a steady background process, not something you trigger.
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Perks that change the math
Two netrunning perks alter how RAM is spent, according to the support page:
- Quickhack Queue lets you stack multiple quickhacks against one enemy. This matters most for builds that want to combine a control effect with damage.
- Overclock allows a quickhack to draw on Health when RAM is insufficient. It can keep a fight going, but it trades survivability for tempo, so the trade-off depends on how durable your character is at that point.
The exact values for these effects depend on your game version and build, so read the current in-game descriptions rather than relying on older figures.
What changed in Update 2.0 and Update 2.1
Update 2.0: netrunning overhaul
CD PROJEKT RED’s Update 2.0 patch notes, dated 21 September 2023, describe an overhaul of the netrunning system. The update added Overclock and quickhack queueing, and rebalanced RAM costs, damage and upload times. Rankings written before this change should be checked against the version they describe.
Update 2.1: Synapse Burnout figures
The Update 2.1 patch notes (dated 4 December 2023) reduced the Synapse Burnout bonuses. These are historical patch changes, not a confirmation of current live values:
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- Iconic version maximum damage bonus: reduced from +600% to +400%.
- Iconic version bonus per RAM unit: reduced from 12% to 10%.
If you see these numbers quoted in older guides, treat them as figures for the patch they belong to and confirm the current behaviour in your own game.
How to choose a quickhack for your build
- Define the job first: single-target damage, area damage, stealth, or control of a specific enemy type.
- Check your RAM pool and whether your Intelligence and perks support running more than one hack in a fight.
- Pick a shortlist from the table above, then read each candidate’s in-game description for its current effect and RAM cost.
- Test the shortlist in a low-stakes encounter before relying on it in a difficult fight.
Verify your version before trusting a ranking
Before you apply any ranking, including the Playnews guide, confirm the following:
- The guide names the patch it covers. Playnews’ list is labelled patch 2.3.
- The guide’s date is after the update that changed the mechanics you care about. For Update 2.0 and 2.1 changes, that is well before the Playnews list.
- The hack’s in-game description matches the claims in the guide.
If those checks fail, treat the ranking as a starting point for thinking about job types rather than a verdict on which hack to equip.
The game is available on PlayStation 5, among other platforms, so the checks above apply to whichever version you play.
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