You’ve probably seen the videos. Some high-level V walks into a room, glances at a group of Arasaka guards, and they all spontaneously combust or collapse into a heap of fried neural circuitry. It looks like magic. Honestly, in the world of the 2.13 update, a perfectly tuned cyberpunk 2077 netrunner build is the closest thing this game has to a god mode.
But here is the thing: most people try to play a modern Netrunner the way they did back at launch. They stack RAM, hide in a corner, and wait for cooldowns. That doesn't work anymore. Ever since the massive 2.0 overhaul, Netrunning has become a high-stakes game of resource management, health-bar gambling, and aggressive positioning. If you’re not using your own blood as a fuel source, you’re basically just a script kiddie in a world of professional hackers.
The Overclock Revolution
The core of any viable cyberpunk 2077 netrunner build today isn't actually your Intelligence stat—it’s your Body stat. I know, it sounds backwards. You’d think a brain-focused hacker would want to stay out of the gym. But the Overclock perk in the Intelligence tree fundamentally changed the math. When you trigger Overclock, you can keep uploading quickhacks even when you have zero RAM. The cost? Your health.
This makes Netrunning a combat-heavy role. You aren't just clicking icons; you're balancing a ticking clock. If you aren't careful, you’ll flatline yourself just trying to take out a heavy mech.
Basically, you need to be tanky to be smart.
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The Attribute Split
To make this work, you can't just dump everything into Intelligence. You need a specific spread to survive the late-game content in Night City and Dogtown.
- Intelligence: 20. This is non-negotiable. You need the top-tier perks like Spillover and Queue Mastery.
- Body: 15-20. You need Adrenaline Rush. It gives you a "buffer" of extra health that Overclock can eat through before it starts touching your actual life bar.
- Technical Ability: 20. Cyberware is everything. The Edgerunner perk lets you over-spec your capacity, which you'll need for the high-end decks.
- Reflexes: 15. For Air Dash. If you can’t move, you’re dead.
- Cool: Remaining points. Helpful for crit damage, but honestly, it’s the lowest priority for a "loud" combat runner.
Choosing the Right Cyberdeck
Your choice of deck defines your entire playstyle. A lot of players just grab whatever has the most RAM slots, but that's a mistake. The buffs are what matter.
The Tetratronic Rippler Mk.5 is generally considered the "King" for most combat scenarios. Why? Because it grants a massive 40% damage buff to combat quickhacks when they follow a non-combat hack in the queue. It also increases your RAM by a huge margin when you activate Overclock. It's the "delete button" deck.
The Raven Microcyber Mk.4 is the one you want if you love chaos. It makes quickhacks spread almost instantly. If you’re the type of player who likes to upload Contagion and watch a whole building start vomiting, this is your deck.
Then there’s the Militech Canto Mk.6. You can only get this through a specific choice in the Phantom Liberty expansion. It’s... weird. It has a unique hack called Blackwall Gateway. It’s terrifying, it’s loud, and it consumes massive amounts of RAM and health. It’s not "efficient," but it is arguably the coolest thing in the game.
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Essential Quickhack Combos
You can't just spam Short Circuit anymore and expect to win. You have to think in sequences.
The most lethal combo right now is Cyberware Malfunction + Synapse Burnout. At higher tiers, Synapse Burnout does more damage based on how much RAM you've spent. It also extends the duration of your Overclock on every kill. If you time it right, you can stay in Overclock mode for an entire five-minute firefight.
For groups, nothing beats the classic Contagion + Overheat. When the fire hits the poison, the enemy explodes. It’s simple, it’s loud, and it clears rooms in seconds.
If you're trying to stay quiet, remember that Sonic Shock was changed in recent patches. It used to be the ultimate stealth tool, but now you need to be more careful. Using Memory Wipe (Tier 4) as the first item in your queue is often the only way to ensure the local network doesn't trace your location back to your physical body.
The Chrome That Matters
Don't ignore your nervous system. For a cyberpunk 2077 netrunner build, the COX-2 Cybersomatic Optimizer is a legendary piece of Frontal Cortex gear that allows your quickhacks to deal critical hits. It’s expensive and it lowers your total RAM, but who cares about RAM when you're using Overclock?
You also need the Biomonitor and the Blood Pump. These are non-negotiable. The Biomonitor will automatically use your healing items when your health drops too low. Since Overclock eats your health, this means you get a constant, automated "refuel" of your hacking juice without having to manually press a button.
Survival Tactics
Netrunners are glass cannons by nature. Even with high Body stats, a sniper or a lucky grenade will end your run.
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Always look for the high ground. Use cameras to scout, sure, but don't stay glued to them. Movement is life. Use your Air Dash to reposition while your quickhacks are uploading. People think Netrunning is a static playstyle, but the best runners are constantly on the move, jumping between cover and using the Monowire to finish off enemies and regain RAM.
The Monowire actually scales with your Intelligence perks now. It’s not just a whip; it’s a data cable. You can use it to "upload" quickhacks for free on a heavy melee hit if you have the right perks in the Intelligence tree.
Final Steps for Your Build
- Visit a Ripperdoc in Dogtown (if you have Phantom Liberty) to check for Iconic versions of quickhacks. Iconic Synapse Burnout is a game-changer.
- Focus on health regen in your perk tree. The faster you heal, the more you can hack.
- Upgrade your Cyberdeck constantly. A Tier 5 deck is vastly superior to a Tier 4 because of the additional RAM recovery stats.
- Practice your queues. Get used to hitting three buttons in rapid succession rather than just picking one hack at a time.
Stop worrying about being detected. The era of the "ghost in the machine" is over. Embrace the role of the combat netrunner—a digital demigod who trades their own life force for the power to shut down an entire city block. It’s riskier, sure, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun.
To get started, head over to the Intelligence perk tree and unlock Optimization and Proximate Propagation immediately to handle the early-game RAM struggles.