Cyberpunk 2077 Netrunner Build Guide: Attributes, Skills, Cyberware, & More

If brutal violence and open confrontation are not your style, and instead you prefer to finish the job as quietly as possible, The Netrunner build might be your preferred choice when playing Cyberpunk 2077.

In the world of Cyberpunk 2077, Netrunners are skilled cybernetic computer hackers, that can crack just about anything that has a computer interface on it.

And in the year 2077, everything has a computer.

With this build, you can make your way through the game in a subtle and "quiet" way, without letting your enemies to even know that you were ever there in the first place.

According to CD Projekt RED, Cyberpunk 2077 developers, you can play through all of Cyberpunk 2077 without killing a single enemy, and if you are interested in doing this, this is a perfect build.

Hacking will be your primary weapon with this build (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

Of course, this does not mean that you won't be able to kill anyone at all, on the contrary, this build will equip you to be an equally deadly threat to both your enemies and their computers.

Though you won't be doing much Rambo-style action here, rather your ways of doing things will be much more refined.

The focus of this build is to avoid direct and combat as much as possible, as your character will be quite vulnerable if he finds himself in those kinds of situations. What you will want is to use the environment, enemy's security and other systems into your advantage, to either bypass your threats or neutralising them from faraway and quietly so that you don't alarm other enemy targets at the location.

You want to take them out separately or in small groups, as your style can not support open combat against large groups of enemies.

Starting stats for a strong Netrunner build in Cyberpunk 2077:

• Body: 3
• Intelligence: 6 
• Reflexes: 3
• Technical: 4
• Cool: 6

When you start building a character, each of these six attributes will have 3 points by default, and that's a minimum that can not be changed. On top of that, you will be granted 7 additional points to distribute them however you like.

As you might have guessed, Intelligence is a key attribute when you are playing the Netrunner build. Being a primary attribute, you will want to invest at least three points from the starting seven points and continue investing in it throughout the game.

With higher Intelligence, you'll be able to crack more complex systems and the hacking process will be significantly less time-consuming, which will make you more efficient and minimize the potential of being exposed to counterattacks. If you are fast enough, they might never know that someone was even hacking their system.

Hacking will allow you to obtain valuable information necessary for completing quests and progressing through the story without the need to ever fire a single bullet.

Enemy's security systems are no match for your skills (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

But hacking is not the only thing you will be good at if you invest in Intelligence. The higher the Intelligence attribute, the smarter your character is, and this means your dialogue options will be more diverse and your character will often notice something when he speaks with NPCs which will give you some additional info or useful clues.

Often you will be able to outsmart your enemies in dialogue, convince them to do something for you or to successfully lie them when needed. 
If your hacking skills are strong enough, you will even be able to hack directly into their cyberwere and use it into your advantage or even kill them with their own implants.

• Read more:  Cyberpunk 2077 Vehicle guide: All types and models, manufacturers, theft, and more

To make sure that you are not too dependent on your hacking skill, you will need to be lethal as well, if the situation requires.

With this build, we invest three points into Cool, as a secondary attribute of the build.

Cool is all about being stealthy and unnoticeable, and that's exactly what you want. Being a hacker doesn't always mean doing everything from a safety of your room on a computer, and often you will need to get really close to the enemy positions in order to disable some systems and hack defence mechanisms. In those situations, you will not want your character to be spotted, and that's where Cool does its magic. 

He will never know what hit him (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

You will be able to come close enough to silently eliminate your enemies with both lethal and nonlethal methods. The same goes for defence systems - you can either neutralize them or turn them against your foes and watch them running in panic.

While your character will be rather weak physically, he will not be helpless by no means, and Cool has a role there as well. Besides being hard to notice, this attribute will also make you skilful in Assassination and using Sniper Rifles.

If needed, or if you prefer that way, you will be able to kill your enemies both from vicinity, while hiding in the shadows, and from a safe distance, shooting them like they are clay pigeons, with powerful sniper rifles like Tsunami Nekomata, for example.

Technical is a wild card attribute. It might be useful as it will open you a path to some interesting supporting abilities and skills. We advise you to put some points here, depending on what you think will be necessary to add to your build, but don't spend too much on it, as it will dilute your primary build.

If you like to min-max your characters in RPG games, you can even completely skip Technical and go all-in on Intelligence and Cool.

Netrunner build Cyberware

Some Netrunners are more of a machine than a man (Picture: CD Projekt RED)

Being a Netrunner, you will want Cyberware mostly for your brain and eyes, to help you hack things better and gather information in more subtle ways.

Kiroshi Optical Scanner is a good starting choice for any Netrunner builds. This implant comes in two versions, MKI and MKII.

The MK1 cost 300 eurodollars and it scans objects to gather basic information from your surroundings and help you with quest progression. MK2 is an upgraded version which cost 800 eurodollars, and it also identifies structural weak points.

Since with this build, you will be limited with which guns you can use in the early stages of the game, you might also consider installing Subdermal Grip, which enables you to use locked weapons, but with -50% damage reduction. 

Netrunner build weaknesses

This build is quite delicate and it will require patience and a good understanding of the game's mechanics in order to execute everything you want properly.

You will need to plan your actions and strategy several moves in advance and to know exactly what you want to do and how to do it because timing is everything. One wrong step or a small mistake, and you are dead.

You will also want to always keep a safe distance or make sure that nobody can see you because your character is physically rather weak and won't be able to survive heavy damage.

• Read more: Cyberpunk 2077 weapons guide: All guns, manufacturers, types, stats, and more

This build and playstyle are a really satisfying and rewarding experience when executed properly, but can also be very frustrating when things don't go as they should.

With this build, unlike with some other straightforward build, you often don't have a second chance, because there will be no plan B. If you are spotted - you are dead.

But play him properly, and you will feel like a true mastermind that controls Night City from the shadows and even the strongest corporate officials will be your puppets. You will be untouchable.

That's all about Cyberpunk Netrunner Build 2022. Thank you for reading and we hope that you will enjoy your Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough!

And while you are here, check out our other Cyberpunk 2077 beginner and advanced guides.