RAM Upgrade
| RAM Upgrade | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Class | Frontal Cortex |
| Tier | Tier 1 |
| Capacity | 8 |
The RAM Upgrade makes V's RAM refill faster and adds a little extra max RAM. RAM is what every quickhack costs, so faster recovery means more hacks in each fight. The implant has a low capacity cost and is sold from the very start. It suits a netrunner from the first hours of the game. An Intelligence build keeps it useful for the whole game by upgrading it. The RAM Upgrade is an early game implant that every ripperdoc in Night City and Dogtown sells from the start.
Effect
The RAM Upgrade has two passive effects. The first raises the rate at which RAM recovers, measured in units per second. The second raises max RAM by one point at low tiers and two points at high tiers.
RAM recovery matters most in long fights. A netrunner spends RAM on the first few quickhacks and then waits for it to refill. A faster refill shortens that wait. Over a long fight, the extra recovery pays for more quickhacks.
The extra max RAM helps at the start of each fight. It lets V queue one more cheap quickhack or afford a more expensive one.
The RAM Upgrade is attuned to Intelligence. Each point of Intelligence adds a small bonus to all damage V deals. Its stat bonuses add a Health Regen bonus and, from Tier 2, faster Health Item recharge.
How to Get RAM Upgrade Guide
- Visit any ripperdoc clinic in Night City or Dogtown and open the Frontal Cortex slots.
- Buy and install the RAM Upgrade.
RAM Upgrade Map Location
The map shows Viktor Vektor's clinic in Little China, one of the ripperdocs that sell it.
RAM Upgrade map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Upgrades
Ripperdocs stock the RAM Upgrade at Tier 1 below level 10, then Tier 2 from level 10, Tier 3 from 20, Tier 4 from 30 and Tier 5 from 40. An installed copy can be raised a tier at a ripperdoc with the matching item components. Each tier raises the RAM recovery rate, and higher tiers add the second point of max RAM. The Driver Update perk adds one more stat bonus. The Chipware Connoisseur perk offers a choice of bonuses when V upgrades the implant. V gains Cyberware Capacity with each level and from Cyberware Capacity Shards. The Edgerunner perk lets V go over the limit at the cost of some max Health.
The table shows what each tier step of RAM Upgrade costs at a ripperdoc.
| Upgrade | Components | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 to Tier 1+ | 20 Tier 1 components | - |
| Tier 1+ to Tier 2 | 15 Tier 2 components | - |
| Tier 2 to Tier 2+ | 20 Tier 2 components | - |
| Tier 2+ to Tier 3 | 15 Tier 3 components | - |
| Tier 3 to Tier 3+ | 20 Tier 3 components | - |
| Tier 3+ to Tier 4 | 15 Tier 4 components | - |
| Tier 4 to Tier 4+ | 20 Tier 4 components | - |
| Tier 4+ to Tier 5 | 15 Tier 5 components | - |
| Tier 5 to Tier 5+ | 20 Tier 5 components | - |
| Tier 5+ to Tier 5++ | 50 Tier 5 components | Phantom Liberty |
Character Builds
The RAM Upgrade belongs in an Intelligence build. Optimization raises the RAM recovery rate by 35%, which makes the implant's own recovery go further. Embedded Exploit and Overclock each add another 10% RAM recovery. Feedback Loop adds 25% recovery for each quickhack waiting in a queue. Hack Queue unlocks quickhack queues and adds one max RAM.
The Frontal Cortex holds several RAM implants. Memory Boost and Ex-Disk add max RAM. RAM Recoup, a Skeleton implant, turns damage taken into RAM. The Camillo RAM Manager and the RAM Reallocator restore RAM in other situations. A netrunner can combine several of these to keep quickhacks flowing.
A cyberdeck sets the base RAM pool. The RAM Upgrade adds to whatever deck V has installed.
Select a Build
Char grenades set a group on fire before Errata rushes in, since its hits always crit Burning enemies. Overclock adds free Reboot Optics and Weapon Glitch hacks, and RAM recovery heals the character while it runs. Contagion before a leap clears a whole group.
Attributes: Body 20, Reflexes 20, Technical Ability 15, Intelligence 20, Cool 6.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller | 
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| 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 |
| Gag Order | 
|
Cool 4 | A quick hit after being spotted delays the alarm |
| Killer Instinct | 
|
Cool 4 | More damage with knives, axes and silenced guns outside combat |
| Bullet Deflect | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Blocked bullets fly back where the reticle points |
| Bullet Time | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Free deflects that crit while time is slowed |
| Lead And Steel | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Blades block incoming bullets |
| Seeing Double | Reflexes 9 | Stronger counterattacks | |
| Dash | 
|
Reflexes 9 | Dash replaces the dodge |
| Finisher: Bladerunner | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Faster blade attacks and a finisher that restores Health |
| Flash Of Steel | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Speed and attack speed after a finisher |
| Going The Distance | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Double finisher range |
| Opportunist | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Easier finishers on stunned, blinded or bleeding enemies |
| Air Dash | 
|
Reflexes 15 | Dash in midair |
| All Things Cyber | 
|
Technical Ability 9 | Stronger cyberware stats |
| License To Chrome | 
|
Technical Ability 15 | Stronger cyberware, more armor and a Skeleton slot |
Attributes: Body 20, Reflexes 6, Technical Ability 20, Intelligence 20, Cool 15.
The perks, cyberware and weapon mods for this build are listed below.
| Name | Image | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painkiller |
|
Body 4 | Slow Health regeneration in combat |
| Breakthrough | 
|
Body 9 | Strong attacks strip enemy Armor for a short time |
| Clapback | 
|
Body 9 | Defensive attacks knock down and counterattacks stun |
| Fly Swatter | 
|
Body 9 | Less ranged damage while blocking with a blunt weapon |
| Kinetic Absorption | 
|
Body 9 | Blocking gives Stamina and blunt weapon damage |
| Aftershock | 
|
Body 15 | Stamina for each enemy hit by Quake |
| Quake | 
|
Body 15 | Faster blunt attacks and a ground slam |
| Ripple Effect | 
|
Body 15 | Health for each enemy hit by Quake |
| 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 |
| Unstoppable Force | 
|
Body 15 | Immunity to knockdown and blinding during Adrenaline Rush |
| Finisher: Savage Sling | 
|
Body 20 | Blunt weapon finisher that can throw the enemy |
| Pain To Gain | 
|
Body 20 | Kills recharge Health items during Adrenaline Rush |
| Name | Image | Slot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAM Reallocator | 
|
Frontal Cortex | Refills RAM when it runs low |
| Smart Link | 
|
Hands | Smart targeting for Smart weapons |
| Optical Camo | 
|
Integumentary System | Near invisibility for a few seconds |
| Synaptic Accelerator | 
|
Nervous System | Slows time when an enemy starts to notice |
| Feen-X | 
|
Skeleton | Faster RAM recovery when RAM runs low |
Lore
The in-game line keeps it simple. It calls the implant an upgrade to the system's random-access memory to support processing speed.
Cyberware Categories
All Frontal Cortex Cyberware
Every Frontal Cortex implant is listed below. The Iconic ones come first, then the standard ones.
Iconic Frontal Cortex Cyberware
| Name | Image | Attribute | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axolotl | 
|
Little China | ||
| COX-2 Cybersomatic Optimizer | 
|
Intelligence | 50 | Dogtown |
| Quantum Tuner | 
|
|||
| RAM Reallocator | 
|
Intelligence | 40 | Dogtown |
Standard Frontal Cortex Cyberware
| Name | Image | Attribute | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bioconductor | 
|
|||
| Camillo RAM Manager | 
|
Intelligence | ||
| Ex-Disk | 
|
10 | ||
| Kerenzikov Boost System | 
|
|||
| Mechatronic Core | 
|
5 | ||
| Memory Boost | 
|
|||
| Newton Module | 
|
14 | ||
| RAM Upgrade | 
|
8 | ||
| Self-ICE | 
|
5 |