Covert

Covert quickhacks are the netrunner's tools for staying unseen. They reveal enemies, lure guards away and wipe V from an enemy's memory. Most of them are untraceable, so enemy netrunners cannot follow them back to V. They usually cost the least RAM of any class. Covert quickhacks suit a stealth build that sneaks through a base, hacks from cover and takes guards down one by one.

Effects

Covert quickhacks change what enemies know rather than how much Health they have. Some show V where the enemies are. Others move enemies to a better spot for a takedown. A few hide V after a mistake.

Scouting. Ping reveals enemies and devices connected to the local network. It also shows Access Points. At Tier 3, Smart weapons lock on faster to Pinged enemies. At Tier 5, Ping highlights devices and lets V quickhack them through walls.

Luring. Bait lures an enemy toward V. From Tier 2 the enemy walks over without becoming alerted. From Tier 4, Bait sent through a camera pulls the enemy to the camera instead of to V. Request Backup calls a nearby enemy over to the target's position. Both quickhacks can be used in combat from their higher tiers to force an enemy out of cover. At Tier 5, Request Backup on an enemy affected by Bait calls several enemies at once.

Hiding. Memory Wipe stops the target from noticing V for a short time. It also cuts trace progress when used outside combat. At Tier 4, quickhacks queued after it become untraceable. At Tier 5, it forces every enemy to leave combat. Sonic Shock deafens an enemy, so it is slower to detect V. At Tier 3 it blocks the enemy from calling allies, and quickhacks on it stop adding to the trace. At Tier 4 its allies stop noticing it at all.

The quickhacks also combo with each other. Sonic Shock knocks an enemy out at Tier 5 when that enemy already carries Memory Wipe and Reboot Optics. Request Backup at Tier 3 sends an enemy affected by Sonic Shock away to help an ally.

Pros

• Most Covert quickhacks are untraceable, so they leave enemy netrunners nothing to follow.
• Low RAM costs leave room for Combat or Control quickhacks in the same fight.
• Bait and Request Backup line enemies up for quiet takedowns.
• Memory Wipe at Tier 5 can end a fight that has already started.

Cons

• A Covert quickhack only sets up the kill. A weapon, a takedown or a Combat quickhack has to finish the enemy.
• Sonic Shock is untraceable itself, but quickhacks on the affected enemy still start a trace until Tier 3.
• Memory Wipe at its highest tier has a long upload time.

Quickhack Categories

Best Covert Quickhacks

Name	Image	Why
Ping		Reveals every enemy on the network
Memory Wipe		Ends combat for every enemy at Tier 5
Sonic Shock		Cuts comms and stops trace progress
Bait		Lures guards to a camera or to V
Request Backup		Pulls a whole group with Bait at Tier 5

V receives Ping from Yoko Tsuru in the main job The Gift. Its higher tiers turn it from a scouting tool into a way to hack devices through walls.

Character Builds

Covert quickhacks belong to an Intelligence build. A stealth netrunner picks perks that keep the trace low and the RAM pool full.

• Eye In The Sky highlights nearby Access Points and cameras. Covert and Control quickhacks sent through a camera cost less RAM and last longer.
• Encryption lowers the traceability of all quickhacks.
• Shadowrunner removes all trace progress after a takedown.
• Embedded Exploit raises quickhack damage against enemies affected by Control or Covert quickhacks.
• Icepick lowers the RAM cost of Combat quickhacks on enemies affected by Control or Covert quickhacks.
• Hack Queue allows two quickhacks on one enemy, so a Tier 4 Memory Wipe can open a queue that stays untraceable.
• Proximate Propagation lowers RAM cost the closer V is to the target.

The Arasaka Shadow is the cyberdeck for this playstyle. It slows enemy traces, makes Covert quickhacks cheaper and restores RAM after each takedown. The NetWatch Netdriver suits a netrunner who works through cameras. RAM cyberware such as the Camillo RAM Manager and the RAM Reallocator refills RAM when it runs low.

Notes

• Ping is given by Yoko Tsuru during The Gift. Other copies come from Breach Protocol and netrunner vendors.
• Iconic variants of Covert quickhacks add a bonus such as a lower RAM cost.
• Covert and Control quickhacks are the ones that gain from Eye In The Sky when uploaded through a camera.

All Covert Quickhacks

Every covert quickhack is listed below.

Name	Image	RAM	Upload	Perks	Location
Bait		T1 2 / T2 3 / T4 4	0.3	Eye In The Sky, Embedded Exploit, Icepick, Queue Hack Root
Memory Wipe		T3 8 / T4 10 / T5 32	T3 1.5 / T5 10	Eye In The Sky, Embedded Exploit, Icepick, Queue Hack Root
Ping		T1 4 / T3 5 / T5 7	1	Eye In The Sky, Embedded Exploit, Icepick, Queue Hack Root	Little China
Request Backup		T2 3 / T4 4 / T5 6	2	Eye In The Sky, Embedded Exploit, Icepick, Queue Hack Root
Sonic Shock		T2 3 / T3 4 / T4 5 / T5 6	T2 1 / T5 2	Queue Hack Root