Pop quiz: what’s the most dangerous weapon in Night City, choom? Your brain, obviously! And that’s where this guide is going. It’s time to go through the v2.0 Intelligence perk tree for Cyberpunk 2077, and it’s going to require a lot of mental gymnastics.
Intelligence is primarily the focus stat if you want to be going the Netrunner route. However, the 2.0 patch has done a heavy reworking not only to the perks, but to netrunning in general. Quickhacks are no longer an “I win” button (at least at the lower levels), and the cyberdeck you use will have significant impacts on how you play. But investing in the Intelligence stat increases your maximum RAM by 1 for every 4 points spent. Maxing out the stat to give an extra 5 RAM may not sound like much, but with all the changes involved, it’s worth the spend. Beyond that, Intelligence also ties in with Smart weapon proficiency, lets you access subnets for information, and gives you Net-related dialogue choices in certain circumstances. Time to work those little gray cells!
Rookie Tier (Stat Level 4)
Eye In The Sky (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – One of the two foundational perk clusters for the Intelligence tree, this perk does two things for you. The first: it automatically highlights nearby Access Points and cameras, which is certainly helpful if you’re trying to avoid being seen. The second: when you’re uploading Quickhacks of the Control or Covert type (they’ll be marked as such in your Quickhack list), or using the Distract Enemies Quickhack, through a camera, it will use 1 less point of RAM and last 50% longer. It should be pointed out that the “Friendly Mode” Quickhack is no longer permanent and the “Turn Off” Quickhack can be countermanded by an enemy behind a console. So, understand that this is all about making a hole to exploit so you can sneak inside, not pwning the entire network!
Warning: Explosion Hazard (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bumps up the explosion damage from hacked devices you set to self-destruct (using the Initiate Overload quickhack) by 40%. It also does an additional 80% explosion damage if the targets are affected by other quickhacks, including the Distract Enemies quickhack. It won’t be the most subtle method of flatlining ganggoons, but it’ll sure be satisfying.
Optimization (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – The other of the two foundational perk clusters for the Intelligence tree, Optimization gives a modest 35% bump to your RAM Refresh rate. It’s not impressive, but it’s functional, and it opens up the rest of the tree. So, pick it up early and carry on.
Proximate Propagation (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk reduces the RAM cost of a quickhack depending on how close you are to the target, up to a maximum of 35%. Since time slows down radically when you’re launching a quickhack, this becomes very helpful when you’ve got Animals muscling in on you or an Arasaka agent trying to slice and dice you into tiny pieces.
Encryption (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk reduces the traceability of quickhacks by 30%. Pretty much all of the Combat and Control quickhacks have the “Traceable” tag on them, meaning that using them will eventually give away your position. It’s the “eventually” part this perk helps defer, and, combined with an Arasaka cyberdeck, you’ll be able to buy yourself some time. Just be aware, using quickhacks after a trace has started fills up the trace bar faster. This is a must-have perk for anybody going the Netrunner route!
Subordination (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk extends the duration of Control-type quickhacks by 100% for targets who are at full health. Definitely a boon if your enemies are spread out and taking their sweet time to get into a position for you to snap their necks!
Carhacker (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk unlocks Vehicle-type quickhacks, such as setting off alarms, remotely controlling vehicles, or even issuing self-destruct commands. The specific quickhacks are tied to the Tier and type of cyberdeck you pick up, so read the descriptions carefully when you’re at the ripperdoc.
Pro Tier (Stat Level 9)
Hack Queue (Major Perk, 2 Perk Points) – This perk, and its satellites, continues from the Eye In The Sky cluster and centers on “frontloading” quickhacks so you can worry about incoming bullets. The first point just gives a flat 1 RAM point increase. The second unlocks the ability to queue two quickhacks so they upload and execute in a sequence or combo. For example, if you’ve got a tough target, you could queue up something like Contagion or Burn to soften them up, then Synapse Burnout to deliver the final blow. Queued Quickhacks are automatically uploaded in the order you add them, so be careful not to double up on the same quickhack (unless that’s your plan). Additionally, the second quickhack uploads 30% faster – definitely a boon for Combat quickhacks with long upload times.
Feedback Loop (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk grants a 25% bump in RAM Recovery rate for each quickhack currently in the queue. Initially, it’s not a bad pick, but it really shines the further you take this particular perk chain. The faster you get your RAM back, the less hassle you have launching your quickhacks.
Data Recycler (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk returns 80% of the RAM cost of all remaining quickhacks in queue after you’ve downed a target. Again, this doesn’t sound like much at this level, but it will get better the further up the chain you go.
Copy-Paste (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – With this perk, if you’re targeted by an enemy netrunner, using a quickhack against them will spread the effect of that quickhack to their chooms. It will probably mean trying to ID the netrunner and marking only him instead of all the targets, but this certainly makes quickhacks like Memory Wipe or Synapse Burn potentially more effective.
Counter-A-Hack (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – Another counter-netrunner perk, this one will allow you to send a quickhack of your own back at them, and allows you to do so through walls and obstacles. As an added bonus, the quickhack will cost 1 less RAM than normal.
Embedded Exploit (Major Perk, 2 Perk Points) – This perk, and its satellites, are a continuation of the Optimization perk cluster and center on optimizing damage from quickhacks. The first point adds another 10% bump to your RAM Refresh rate. The second point bumps the quickhack damage to targets affected by Control-type and Covert-type quickhacks (along with Distract Enemies) by 60%. Paired up with Warning: Explosion Hazard, even the most chromed-up gonks are going to be having a bad day.
Shadowrunner (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk grants a 100% penalty to trace progress after performing a Takedown. So, if you’ve ever wanted to unleash your inner Batman, sneak up on some dorphhead, and toss his corpse in a freezer while you’ve got a trace running against you, this is your perk!
Icepick (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk reduces the RAM cost for Combat-type quickhacks by 1 RAM point when used on enemies who are affected by or targeted by Control-type, Covert-type, or Distract Enemies quickhacks. A lot of Combat quickhacks have high RAM costs, so anything that makes that a little easier is a boon not to be ignored.
Siphon (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk allows you to recover RAM when you make an attack with a Monowire (in the Arms cyberware slot). Just by itself, it helps recover half a RAM point with each attack. But, if the recipient of your lashes is targeted by or affected by a quickhack, you gain a full RAM point back. The phrase “insult to injury” comes to mind with this one.
System Overwhelm (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bumps quickhack damage by 7% for each unique quickhack and damage-over-time effect the target is experiencing. A little extra twist of the knife, to be sure, but damage is damage, choom. And, anything that drops a target a little faster is helpful!
Speculation (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk allows you to recover an amount of RAM equal to 25% of the total cost of all quickhacks affecting a given target after you down them. So, if you had a couple quickhacks going against a target, and the total RAM spent was 12, you’d get 3 RAM back the moment the gonk hits the ground. Handy.
Acquisition Specialist (Major Perk, 2 Perk Points) – This perk cluster centers around improving performance from Smart-type weapons (like the G-58 Dian SMG or “Skippy”). The first level expands the targeting reticle for Smart weapons by 10%. Remember that only targets in the reticle’s field get locked on to, so this is a big help. The second point increases lock-on speed by 15% when firing from the hip and by 20% when aiming down the sights. Additionally, reloading a Smart weapon no longer interrupts target lock.
Precision Subroutines (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk adds 2% to Smart weapon accuracy for each point of your Maximum RAM in your cyberdeck. So, a cyberdeck with a Maximum RAM of 8 adds 16% accuracy to your Smart guns. Not bad at all.
No Escape (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – With this perk, if your lock on a certain target is about to end, shooting them refreshes the target lock. Definitely a boon for big bosses!
Recirculation (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bridges the Acquisition Expert and Embedded Exploit clusters. This perk gives you 2 RAM points after neutralizing an enemy with a Smart weapon. Additionally, if the enemy is affected by quickhacks, it will restore additional RAM equal to 50% of the total RAM cost. Another potent combo for when you’ve got a lot of enemies and need to keep up the cyber warfare angle.
Phenom Tier (Stat Level 15)
Target Lock Transfer (Major Perk, 3 Perk Points) – This perk, and its satellites, is a continuation of the Acquisition Specialist cluster. The first point expands the targeting reticle of Smart weapons by another 10%. The second points allows you to maintain target lock when switching between hip-fire and aimed fire. The third point allows you to maintain target lock when switching between Smart weapons. This last point’s effectiveness really can’t be understated. If you’re going to specialize in a weapon type, this perk (when maxed out) really works for somebody dedicated to Smart guns.
Targeting Prism (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk enables you to lock up multiple targets while aiming, and increases the number of simultaneous targets for all Smart weapons by one. Definitely a handy perk for when you’re on the wrong side of the force numbers.
Terminal Velocity (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk increases bullet velocity and lock-on range for 10 seconds after dropping an enemy with a Smart weapon. The buff stacks three times, and new stacks reset the duration. All stacks stop when the duration ends. If you’re going into a target-rich environment, this perk will certainly help you out.
Queue Acceleration (Major Perk, 3 Perk Points) – This perk, and its satellites, are the continuation of the Eye In The Sky and Hack Queue clusters. The first point adds another RAM point to your Maximum RAM. The second point reduces the cost of quickhacks against devices and vehicles by one RAM point. The third point increases your quickhack queue by one, and bumps loading speed for quickhacks in the third slot by 60%, much like Hack Queue does for the second slot.
Finisher: Live Wire (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk unlocks a finishing move for the Monowire cyberarms. The more quickhacks you have queued up for the target, the more susceptible they are to receiving the finisher move. Additionally, executing the finisher restores 15% Health and 5 RAM points. Looked at in isolation, this doesn’t seem like a good finisher. But, when you factor in the Data Recycler perk, it’s more attractive, and certainly gives you an opportunity to reload queued quickhacks for the next target.
Queue Prioritization (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bumps the upload speed of the first quickhack in the queue by 50% when you have at least two other quickhacks queued up. Prior to picking up this perk, the smart move would be to prioritize quickhacks with short load times. followed by boosted ones with longer load times. Now, you can get a heavy hitting quickhack like Synapse Burn or Cyberpsychosis in first, then hit’em with shorter loading quickhacks or keep up the chain of long-loading quickhacks which will get boosted by the Hack Queue and Queue Acceleration perks.
Queue Hack_Root (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk reduces the RAM cost of each unique type of quickhack which is second or later in the queue. For example, Synapse Burn (a Combat quickhack) in the second slot and Memory Wipe (a Covert quickhack) in the third slot would each be reduced by one RAM point.
Overclock (Major Perk, 3 Perk Points) – This perk, and its satellites, are a continuation of the Optimization and Embedded Exploit perk clusters. The first point bumps your RAM Recovery rate by 10%. The second bumps quickhack damage by 10%. The third point unlocks Overclock Mode, and this makes all the points spent on the previous clusters worth it. Overclock Mode is activated the same way you’d activate Sandevistan or Berserk, but only works with a cyberdeck in place. For 14 seconds, it allows you to use quickhacks even if you don’t have the RAM for them. But there’s a catch: each RAM unit over your Maximum RAM costs 10 health points. It’s a significant risk/reward calculation: high RAM cost quickhacks like System Collapse or Cyberpsychosis could leave you weak enough to be flatlined almost immediately if things don’t go right. The payoff, though, might just keep you alive.
Power Surge (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk shifts the risk/reward calculation of Overclock by instantly restoring an amount of Health equal to five times your Maximum RAM when you activate Overclock. You may not get everything back, but you’ll mitigate the worst of it.
Race Against Mind (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk increases your quickhack damage (to a maximum of 50%) during Overclock Mode as your Health decreases, measured from the point the quickhack starts to upload. This is definitely a complicating factor in the risk/reward calculation, but, if you’re hurting and you dish out a little extra pain while running Overclock, it might just be the oomph you need to finish the fight.
Sublimation (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – While Overclock Mode is active, all RAM Recovery effects also regenerate Health. This will further mitigate the self-damaging aspects of Overclock, making the ability far more useful to you.
Blood Daemon (Minor Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk bridges the Overlock and Queue Acceleration clusters. With this perk, when in Overclock Mode, you gain 40 Health for each quickhack queued up on an enemy at the time you neutralize them. Definitely a good synergy with the Power Surge perk, though you’ll have to get into the habit of stacking up quickhacks on targets.
Legend Tier (Stat Level 20)
Queue Mastery (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk is the culmination of the Eye In The Sky, Hack Queue, and Queue Acceleration chain. It grants another quickhack queue slot (allowing you to queue up a total of four quickhacks). Additionally, the last quickhack in the queue has a 50% cost reduction in RAM. The catch here is that the last quickhack also locks the queue until all quickhacks have uploaded. This is a perk which probably lends itself well to a certain rotation, potentially against bosses and possibly even cyberpsychos. You lose the ability to keep a “rolling” quickhack queue going, but, in compensation, each of your locked quickhacks get a 15% damage bump.
Spillover (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk is one of the culminating perks for the Optimization, Embedded Exploit, and Overclock chains. When Overclock Mode is active, there’s a 50% chance for quickhacks to spread to an additional target. For something like Contagion, that’s a little bit helpful. For a quickhack like Synapse Burnout or Suicide, it’s literally a toss-up, but getting a two-for-one on a single target quickhack can’t hurt!
Smart Synergy (Major Perk, 1 Perk Point) – This perk is the culmination of the Acquisition Specialist and Target Lock Transfer chains, as well as one of the culminating perks for the Optimization, Embedded Exploit, and Overclock chains. When Overclock Mode is active, Smart weapons instantly lock on to a target and get a 25% damage buff if the enemy is affected by a quickhack. All the risk/reward issues of Overclock with the added complication of incoming fire. Filling out the Overclock cluster will help – but remember that you’re only mortal!
Surviving the mean streets of Night City takes more than talent with a gun or being chromed up past your eyebrows. To be truly streetlethal, you’ve gotta use your brains for something other than skull stuffing material. The well armed survive, but the Edgerunners who can use their Intelligence to maximum effect are the ones who become legends.
Did you eat the soy-based art paste in school? Is thinking the sort of thing you leave to other people because it hurts you more than a gunshot wound ever could? Take heart, gonk, because we’ve got other Cyberpunk 2077 perk guides to help you find your way!
