Overheat
| Overheat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Combat Quickhack |
| Tier | Tier 1 |
| RAM Cost | T1 3 / T2 4 / T3 6 / T4 7 / T5 9 |
| Upload Time | 2 s |
Overheat sets an enemy on fire from the inside. The target burns and takes damage over time while the fight goes on. At higher tiers the fire also melts their armor and makes every other attack hit harder. It suits an Intelligence build that marks one dangerous enemy and then focuses fire on them. Overheat is an early game quickhack that every netrunner vendor sells from Tier 1 onward.
Effect
Overheat is a combat quickhack. V uploads it to one enemy, and they catch fire. The fire deals Thermal damage over time for a few seconds. The upload takes two seconds at every tier.
The first tiers make the fire last longer. Tier 2 lets V extend the burn by uploading Overheat again to an enemy who is still burning. Tier 3 adds a little more burn time each time an attack hits the burning enemy. Steady attacks therefore keep the flames going.
Tier 4 turns Overheat into an armor breaker. While the enemy burns, their armor melts away step by step. The armor loss can reach 40%. Every weapon then hits the target harder.
Tier 5 adds extra fire to every attack. Attacks on the burning enemy deal bonus Thermal damage equal to 10% of their normal physical damage. The Iconic variant raises that bonus to 20%.
Overheat also works with Contagion. A Contagion at Tier 4 makes the leaked toxin detonate when Burn or Overheat hits the poisoned enemy.
The RAM cost rises at each tier. Tier 5 costs three times as much RAM as Tier 1.
How to Get Overheat Guide
- Buy Overheat or its crafting spec from any netrunner vendor.
- Breach Access Points with Breach Protocol for a chance at quickhacks.
- With Phantom Liberty, watch netrunner stock and enemy netrunner drops for the Iconic variant from around level 51.
Overheat Map Location
The map shows the netrunner vendor in Kabuki, one of the netrunner vendors that sell it.
Overheat map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Crafting Spec
Netrunner vendors sell the Overheat spec. The spec lets V craft Overheat in the crafting menu. Every spec in the game is listed on the Crafting Specs page.
Upgrades
Overheat comes in Tiers 1 to 5, plus an Iconic variant. Tier 2 lets a second upload extend the burn. Tier 3 extends the burn on each hit. Tier 4 melts armor. Tier 5 adds Thermal damage to every attack. The Iconic variant keeps every effect and doubles the Tier 5 fire bonus.
Netrunner vendors sell Overheat and its crafting specs. Higher tiers need quickhack components of the matching tier to craft. Breach Protocol on an Access Point can also reward quickhacks. Enemy netrunners can drop quickhacks and specs as well. The Iconic variant needs Phantom Liberty. Netrunners begin to offer Iconic quickhacks at around level 51, and their stock rotates. Enemy netrunners can drop the Iconic crafting spec too. Crafting the Iconic variant takes Tier 5 quickhack components.
Character Builds
Overheat belongs in an Intelligence build, but hybrid builds can use it too. Its Tier 4 armor melt and Tier 5 fire bonus help any weapon that deals physical damage. A character with points in Body or Reflexes can mark a target with Overheat and then shoot.
System Overwhelm adds quickhack damage for each different quickhack and damage over time effect on the target. Overheat counts as both, so it raises the damage of the quickhacks that follow. Embedded Exploit adds quickhack damage against enemies affected by Control or Covert quickhacks. A cheap Control quickhack such as Cyberware Malfunction before Overheat makes the burn stronger. Icepick then lowers the RAM cost of Overheat on that target. Speculation recovers RAM when a Combat quickhack finishes an enemy.
Overclock lets V upload Overheat with too little RAM, paying with Health instead. Race Against Mind adds quickhack damage as V's Health drops while Overclock is active. Hack Queue lets V queue Overheat behind other quickhacks on the same enemy. Proximate Propagation lowers RAM costs the closer V stands to the target.
Detonate Grenade gets cheaper for a short time after an enemy explodes from the Contagion and burn combo. Overheat, Contagion and Detonate Grenade therefore form a fire and explosion chain in one deck.
Select a Build
Quickhacks do most of the damage, chained from cover before enemies find the character. Contagion goes on first and Overheat sets it off, and Cyberware Malfunction stacks make Short Circuit hit harder. Overclock spends Health in place of RAM, and a smart weapon finishes anyone left standing.
Attributes: Body 16, Reflexes 15, Technical Ability 15, Intelligence 20, Cool 15.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenaline Rush | 
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Calm Mind | 
|
Body 15 | Adrenaline lasts longer before it decays |
| Juggernaut | 
|
Body 15 | More speed and damage during Adrenaline Rush |
| Acquisition Specialist | 
|
Intelligence | Wider Smart reticle and lock kept through reloads |
| Encryption | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Quickhacks are harder to trace |
| Eye In The Sky | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Highlights cameras and makes camera quickhacks cheaper |
| Optimization | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Faster RAM recovery |
| Proximate Propagation | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Cheaper quickhacks at close range |
| Subordination | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Control quickhacks last longer on enemies at full Health |
| Warning: Explosion Hazard | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Stronger explosions from hacked devices |
| Counter-A-Hack | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Counter quickhacks on enemy netrunners through walls |
| Data Recycler | 
|
Intelligence 9 | RAM back from queued quickhacks after a kill |
| Embedded Exploit | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Quickhacks hit harder on controlled enemies |
| Feedback Loop | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Faster RAM recovery for each queued quickhack |
| Hack Queue | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Queue two quickhacks on one enemy |
| Icepick | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Cheaper Combat quickhacks on distracted or controlled enemies |
| Precision Subroutines | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Smart weapon accuracy scales with max RAM |
| Recirculation | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Smart weapon kills restore RAM |
| Siphon | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Monowire hits recover RAM |
| Speculation | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Combat quickhack kills recover RAM |
| System Overwhelm | 
|
Intelligence 9 | More quickhack damage for each effect on the target |
| Blood Daemon | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Health back for each queued quickhack on a kill during Overclock |
| Overclock | 
|
Intelligence 15 | More quickhack damage and the Overclock mode |
| Power Surge | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Overclock heals on activation |
| Queue Acceleration | 
|
Intelligence 15 | More RAM and cheaper device quickhacks |
| Queue Prioritization | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Faster upload for the first quickhack in a queue |
| Race Against Mind | 
|
Intelligence 15 | More quickhack damage at lower Health during Overclock |
| Sublimation | 
|
Intelligence 15 | RAM recovery heals during Overclock |
| Target Lock Transfer | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Wider Smart reticle and locks kept on swap |
| Queue Mastery | 
|
Intelligence 20 | A longer quickhack queue that can be locked |
| Smart Synergy | 
|
Intelligence 20 | Instant lock and more damage during Overclock |
| Spillover | 
|
Intelligence 20 | Quickhacks spread during Overclock |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Extended Warranty | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Cyberware effects last longer |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monowire | 
|
Arms | Arm whip that hits several enemies from a distance |
| Thermal Monowire | 
|
Arms | Monowire that deals Thermal damage and can burn |
| Heal-On-Kill | 
|
Circulatory System | Health on each kill |
| Kiroshi Sentry Optics | 
|
Face | Scanning highlights cameras and turrets |
| Ex-Disk | 
|
Frontal Cortex | More max RAM and faster uploads |
| Smart Link | 
|
Hands | Turns on Smart weapon tracking |
| Optical Camo | 
|
Integumentary System | Near invisibility for a few seconds |
| Reinforced Tendons | 
|
Legs | Double jump |
| Kerenzikov | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time when aiming during a slide or dodge |
| Tetratronic Rippler | 
|
Operating System | Cyberdeck that raises quickhack and weapon damage |
| RAM Recoup | 
|
Skeleton | Damage taken restores RAM |
Quickhacks such as Contagion and Overheat soften a group, and Overclock spends Health for more uploads. The Hercules 3AX smart rifle finishes the rest. Kerenzikov slows time during dodges and slides.
Attributes: Body 18, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 20, Cool 3.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrenaline Rush |
|
Body 15 | More Health and the Adrenaline Rush mode |
| Optimization |
|
Intelligence 4 | Faster RAM recovery |
| Carhacker | 
|
Intelligence 4 | Unlocks quickhacks for vehicles |
| Eye In The Sky |
|
Intelligence 4 | Highlights cameras and makes camera quickhacks cheaper |
| Embedded Exploit |
|
Intelligence 9 | Quickhacks hit harder on controlled enemies |
| Precision Subroutines |
|
Intelligence 9 | Smart weapon accuracy scales with max RAM |
| No Escape | 
|
Intelligence 9 | Shooting a target keeps its Smart lock |
| Hack Queue |
|
Intelligence 9 | Queue two quickhacks on one enemy |
| Overclock |
|
Intelligence 15 | More quickhack damage and the Overclock mode |
| Target Lock Transfer |
|
Intelligence 15 | Wider Smart reticle and locks kept on swap |
| Targeting Prism | 
|
Intelligence 15 | Lock on to more targets at once |
| Acquisition Specialist |
|
Intelligence | Wider Smart reticle and lock kept through reloads |
| Sharpshooter | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Faster aim and Stamina stacks on hits |
| Air Dash |
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| Air Kerenzikov | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Kerenzikov in midair holds the character in the air |
| Gundancer | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Full speed while aiming and shooting while vaulting |
| Aerial Acrobat | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Better control in midair |
| Practice Makes Perfect | Reflexes 15 | Crit chance and crit damage per Sharpshooter stack | |
| Salt In The Wound | 
|
Reflexes 20 | Bonus damage after 7 hits on one target |
| License To Chrome |
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
| Pyromania | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Faster Health item and grenade recharge and bigger blasts |
| Edgerunner | Technical Ability 20 | Cyberware past the capacity limit for a small Health cost |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heal-On-Kill |
|
Circulatory System | Health on each kill |
| Kiroshi Cockatrice Optics | 
|
Face | More crit chance |
| Behavioral Imprint-Synced Faceplate | 
|
Face | A disguise that escapes the police |
| Quantum Tuner | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Resets a used cyberware cooldown |
| Smart Link |
|
Hands | Turns on Smart weapon tracking |
| Cogito Lattice | 
|
Integumentary System | More armor when RAM runs low |
| Kerenzikov |
|
Nervous System | Slows time when aiming during a slide or dodge |
| NeoFiber | 
|
Nervous System | More mitigation chance and strength |
| Rara Avis | 
|
Skeleton | More armor |
Lore
The in-game description keeps it short. Once the fluids in a body start to boil, it becomes hard to focus on anything else. Overheat makes that happen to its target.
Notes
- Overheat sets off the Tier 4 Contagion explosion, which then removes Contagion from that enemy.
Quickhack Categories
All Combat Quickhacks
Every combat quickhack is listed below.
| Name | Image | RAM | Upload | Perks | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contagion | 
|
T2 5 / T3 6 / T4 9 / T5 12 | T2 3 / T4 2 | Icepick, Speculation, Queue Hack Root | |
| Overheat | 
|
T1 3 / T2 4 / T3 6 / T4 7 / T5 9 | 2 | Icepick, Speculation, Queue Hack Root | |
| Short Circuit | 
|
T1 3 / T2 4 / T3 5 / T4 7 / T5 10 | T1 1.5 / T3 1 / T5 0.5 | Icepick, Speculation, Queue Hack Root | Dogtown |
| Synapse Burnout | 
|
T3 10 / T4 14 / T5 16 | 3 | Icepick, Speculation, Queue Hack Root, Overclock | Kabuki |