Ultimate

Ultimate quickhacks are the most powerful programs a netrunner can run. Most of them take an enemy out of the fight in one upload. Some turn the enemy against its own allies or against itself. In return, they cost the most RAM and take the longest to upload. Ultimate quickhacks suit a late game Intelligence build with a deep RAM pool and a good cyberdeck.

Effects

Ultimate quickhacks start at Tier 4, so they arrive later than the other classes. Each one has a way to become cheaper for a short time. That discount rewards a specific playstyle.

Suicide forces the enemy to put a gun to its head and pull the trigger. A melee Finisher makes Suicide cheaper for a while, and the discount stacks. At Tier 5 a kill with Suicide restores some Health.

System Collapse knocks out the enemy silently by crippling its nervous system. It is untraceable. Lowering trace progress makes it cheaper for a short time. At Tier 5 each kill with it lowers trace progress. A kill on an enemy netrunner removes the trace completely.

Cyberpsychosis makes the enemy attack the nearest person, friend or foe. If no one is nearby, the enemy kills itself. Applying Cyberware Malfunction or an EMP effect makes it cheaper for a while. At Tier 5, each other quickhack on the target makes the frenzy last longer and hit harder.

Detonate Grenade forces the enemy to set off a grenade in its own hands. The blast depends on the grenade the enemy carries. It can also blow up the weakspots of robots, drones, mechs and turrets. Exploding an enemy, a vehicle or a device with a quickhack makes it cheaper for a while. At Tier 5 the detonation happens the moment the upload ends.

Blackwall Gateway works differently from the rest. It jumps from enemy to enemy and deals lethal damage to their cyberware and neural systems. Mechs, robots, drones and turrets are shut down. Each jump uses more RAM, but each upload is faster than the last. The cost can be halved by paying in blood. Blackwall Gateway comes only on the Militech Canto Mk.6, an Iconic cyberdeck from Phantom Liberty.

Pros

Most Ultimate quickhacks neutralize an enemy in a single upload.
Cyberpsychosis and Detonate Grenade can hurt the enemies around the target too.
System Collapse is silent and untraceable, so it fits stealth.
Each quickhack has a discount that makes a second cast cheaper.

Cons

Ultimate quickhacks cost the most RAM of any class.
Their upload times are long, so the enemy has time to react.
They start at Tier 4, so they come late in the game.

Quickhack Categories

Best Ultimate Quickhacks

Name	Image	Why
Blackwall Gateway		Jumps between enemies with lethal damage
System Collapse		Silent, untraceable knockout
Cyberpsychosis		Turns the target on its allies
Suicide		Instant kill, cheaper after Finishers
Detonate Grenade		Enemy's own grenade hits its group

Blackwall Gateway needs the Militech Canto Mk.6. The Canto is crafted on Reed's side of Phantom Liberty, after the main job Somewhat Damaged and the side job This Corrosion.

Character Builds

Ultimate quickhacks belong to an Intelligence build with as much RAM as possible.

Overclock lets V cast quickhacks with too little RAM by paying with Health. It is the way to cast an Ultimate when the RAM pool is low.
Power Surge restores Health when Overclock starts, which pays for the Health cost.
Sublimation makes RAM recovery heal V during Overclock.
Queue Mastery halves the RAM cost of the last quickhack that fills a queue.
Data Recycler returns most of the RAM of quickhacks still queued on an enemy that dies.
Optimization and Embedded Exploit raise RAM recovery.

Frontal Cortex cyberware keeps the RAM flowing. The Ex-Disk adds RAM and speeds up uploads, which helps with long Ultimate uploads. The RAM Reallocator and the Camillo RAM Manager refill RAM when it runs low. Memory Boost restores RAM on each kill.

A melee build pairs Suicide with Finishers, since each Finisher cuts its cost. A grenade or explosives build pairs with Detonate Grenade. Cyberware Malfunction sets up Cyberpsychosis at a discount.

Notes

Choosing the Militech Canto Mk.6 rules out the Erebus, since only one decoded component is available.
Iconic variants push one bonus further, such as more Health from Suicide kills or a larger trace cut from System Collapse.