This guide will cover everything you need to know about the Intelligence Attribute and Perk Tree, including explaining what each branch of the skill tree does and helping you to determine which branches and perks of the skill tree are valuable to your build.
This guide is up-to-date for Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.3
Table of contents
Introduction to the Intelligence Attribute
Intelligence is the ranged caster attribute in the world of Cyberpunk, and Netrunners are its wizards. The Intelligence tree is focused on enhancing your capabilities with Quickhacks, namely giving you access to a Queue and practically unlimited RAM, as well as improving Smart Weapons.
Intelligence also gives you 0.25 RAM per level and gives you access to specific conversation options and actions that pertain to Netrunning, like being able to breach Access Points and some computers. Breaching those devices by solving the associated Breach Protocol hex code puzzle will reward you with eddies, Quickhack crafting schematics and components, and even Quickhacks themselves.
Netrunner Skill Progression
Uploading Quickhacks to devices and enemies, dealing damage with Smart Weapons, and breaching Access Points will give you experience with the associated Netrunner skill. Every 5th level in the Netrunner skill offers a small stat bonus or Perk-like effect that is valuable to players who invest in Intelligence.
| Skill Progression Level | Netrunner Skill Progression Reward |
|---|---|
 | Increases RAM recovery rate by 5% |
 | Increases max RAM by 1 |
 | +1 Perk Point* |
 | +20% lock-on range with Smart Weapons |
 | Increases RAM recovery rate by 5% |
 | Increases max RAM by 1 |
 | +1 Perk Point* |
 | -20% RAM cost for device and vehicle Quickhacks |
 | +15% duration for Control and Covert Quickhacks +5% damage dealt by Combat Quickhacks |
 | +40% duration for Overclock |
 | -10% Health loss from using Quickhacks during Overclock |
 | Overclock reveals enemies and allows you to hack non-Netrunner enemies through cover. |
Quickhack Queue Perks (Left Branch)
Quickhacks are the spells of the Netrunner, and the Cyberdeck is their spellbook. Quickhacks come in 1 of 4 types that each serve a different purpose:
- Combat – Deals damage directly, fairly expensive.
- Control – Applies a debilitating debuff, moderately expensive.
- Covert – Can be used stealthily, usually cheap.
- Ultimate – Neutralizes an enemy regardless of HP, extremely expensive.
Normally, you can only upload 1 Quickhack to a given enemy at a time. The left branch of the Intelligence tree enables you to queue up more than 1 Quickhack at a time and have them upload in sequence.
The Rookie (4 Intelligence) tier is focused solely on improving device hacking, but each of the next 3 tiers expands the maximum number of Quickhacks you can queue up by 1. The final perk on the branch, Queue Mastery, Legend (20 Intelligence), maxes out the depth of your queue by allowing you to queue up to 4 Quickhacks on a single target.
The side perks at each tier tend to focus on improving upload speed significantly for queued hacks, reducing their RAM cost, and improving effectiveness at the associated queue depth of the main perk at that tier. They’re all pretty equally valuable and end up eliminating most of the drawbacks to queueing.
Queued Quickhacks will typically end up being more effective than if you were to upload them one at a time. The additional hacks will also be cheaper, to the extent that you’re encouraged to overshoot, and the upload speed increases are so significant that it doesn’t end up taking much more time to upload 4 hacks than it does to upload 1.
The queue is valuable for Netrunners because individual damaging Quickhacks are typically insufficient to defeat an enemy. You need to combine multiple. Usually, you’ll apply 1-2 debuffs followed by 1-2 damaging hacks. Some Quickhacks even have dedicated synergies with other specific Quickhacks. For example, Short Circuit deals more damage against targets affected by Cyberware Malfunction.
Queueing Quickhacks allows you to defeat multiple targets at nearly the exact same time by enabling you to apply a sequence of hacks to each enemy that is strong enough to neutralize them while they’re all still unaware of your presence.
Since time is slowed immensely by the Scanner being active, none of them will finish uploading until you deactivate the Scanner, meaning you’ll get to watch a lot of enemies collapse all at once if you do it right.
The full queue is far less useful for builds that deal most of their damage with weapons (not Quickhacks). However, if you’re using a Cyberdeck, it’s absolutely still worthwhile to at least gain access to the queue because there are many instances where you want to apply multiple debuffs to a single enemy.
You’ll need to spend a point (or 3) in the Rookie tier to improve your device hacking capabilities before gaining the ability to queue a second Quickhack, but those Rookie Perks are valuable to anyone who uses a Cyberdeck at all.
If you are investing fully in the Queue branch, you will most likely need to also invest in the middle branch that focuses on RAM recovery. Otherwise, you’ll only be able to use Quickhacks occasionally.
RAM Recovery Perks (Middle Branch)
RAM is the mana of a Netrunner. The middle branch is mostly about improving your RAM recovery, though there are a few Perks that are unrelated. Since Quickhacks no longer have cooldowns as of Update 2.0, RAM is the only thing that prevents you from spamming your most powerful Quickhacks on all enemies.
The Perks in the middle branch improve RAM recovery by increasing your RAM recovery rate directly, reducing RAM cost globally, and offering boosts (including refunding RAM) when you use Combat Quickhacks (damaging ones) against enemies that are already affected by other types of Quickhacks that apply some sort of debuff.
RAM recovery is undeniably valuable, but even with all the Perks and Cyberware that increase RAM recovery and reduce RAM cost, you’ll quickly run out of RAM after uploading 3-4 Quickhacks and won’t recover it fast enough to be able to use regularly.
In essence, RAM recovery is balanced to work like the cooldown that the other types of Operating Systems have, namely Berserk and Sandevistan. Investing fully in the center tree gets around this limitation by giving you an ability called Overclock.
Overclock
Overclock is the capstone Perk of the center branch. It gives you an active buff ability that makes your Cyberdeck function even more like the other Operating Systems for a time by effectively eliminating RAM costs for a period of time.
The exclusive main effect of Overclock just allows you to spend HP instead of RAM if you can’t afford the cost of whichever Quickhack you were about to activate. The conversion rate is 10 HP equals 1 RAM.
If you do not have enough RAM or HP while Overclock, you will not be able to apply the Quickack, so you can’t hack yourself to death with Overclock directly. However, you absolutely can lower your HP enough that a single hit from an enemy will kill you.
I strongly recommend using the Biomonitor implant if your build is reliant on Overclock. Biomonitor makes your healing item stronger and causes it to activate automatically once you drop below 35% HP. It also works while you’re in a camera or controlling a device, allowing you to heal when you otherwise couldn’t.
Additional Overclock Effects
Overclock can gain a bevy of other effects that can expand the ability’s functionality well beyond its base effect. These additional effects primarily come from related Perks in the Intelligence tree and Tier 5 Cyberdecks.
| Source | Overclock Effect |
|---|---|
 Perk: Overclock (Base Effect) | When you don’t have enough RAM to afford to apply a Quickhack, you can spend HP to cover the remaining cost, all if applicable, at a rate of 10 HP to 1 RAM. Example: A Quickhack that costs 8 RAM will cost 60 HP + 2 RAM if you have 2 RAM remaining. |
 Perk: Spillover | Quickhacks have a 50% chance to spread to 1 nearby enemy. |
 Perk: Power Surge | Activating Overclock heals you for 5x your max RAM. Example: If you have 25 max RAM, you heal for 125 HP. |
 Perk: Sublimation | RAM recovery effects also regenerate HP. Unconfirmed: Presumably at the same conversion rate. |
 Perk: Blood Daemon | When you neutralize an enemy, you are healed for 40 HP for every Quickhack remaining in their queue at the time of neutralization. Unconfirmed: Data Recycler should also provide separate healing in the same situation. |
 Perk: Race Against Mind | Quickhacks deal more damage the less health you have, up to +50%. Health is measured when the Quickhack upload begins, so after you’ve spent RAM on the associated hack and when it actually begins uploading, if it’s in a queue. |
 Perk: Smart Synergy | Smart Weapons gain target lock instantly and, if the target is affected by any Quickhack, deal 25% more damage. |
 Quickhack: Synapse Burnout (Tier 5) | Synapse Burnout deals 100% more damage. When you defeat an enemy with Synapse Burnout, the duration of Overclock is extended by 5s. |
Defeating an enemy extends the duration of Overclock by a few seconds. This effect is not listed anywhere and isn’t 100% consistent. It does not appear to have anything to do with Synapse Burnout. | |
 Skill Level Progression: Netrunner 50 | The duration of Overclock is increased by 4s. |
 Skill Level Progression: Netrunner 55 | The HP to RAM conversion rate is now 9:1 (down from 10:1). |
 Skill Level Progression: Netrunner 60 | You reveal all enemies within 10m and can hack non-Netrunner enemies through cover. This effect does not currently work properly. |
 Cyberdeck: Raven Microcyber MK.3 (Tier 5) | Quickhacks have a 15% chance to spread to 2 nearby enemies. |
 Cyberdeck: Tetratronic Rippler MK.5 (Tier 5) | Activating Overclock automatically uploads Reboot Optics and Weapon Glitch to all enemies within 8m of you. |
 Cyberdeck: Arasaka MK.5 (Tier 5) | Quickhacks do not increase Trace progress, but they still initiate it. |
 Cyberdeck: Biotech Σ MK.3 (Tier 5) | Activating Overclock resets the duration of all Quickhack DoTs. Applies To: Contagion, Overheat, Short Circuit (starting at Tier 5), Cyberware Malfunction (starting at Tier 4 at 3+ stacks), Detonate Grenade (for DoT grenades, unconfirmed) |
 Cyberdeck: Militech Paraline MK.4 (Tier 5) | Smart Weapons and the Monowire deal additional damage as Electrical damage equal to 25% of the damage dealt. |
 Cyberdeck: Netwatch Netdriver MK.1 (Tier 5/Iconic) | No additional effect |
I opted to include the Netwatch Netdriver MK.1 on the list because I wanted to highlight that it is the only Cyberdeck that does not appear to have an effect that is dependent on Overclock being active.
I find this especially odd because it’s the only Iconic Cyberdeck in the game, and more importantly, most of its unique bonus effects are arguably far more dependent on Overclock being active compared to your alternatives because they require your hacks to be uploaded through a camera. You really can’t do all that much through a camera without Overclock being active.
Given how buggy the Iconic Quickhacks can be, the apparent fact that the effect that extends the duration of Overclock on kill is not mentioned anywhere, and the general clunkiness involved with using Overclock with a camera or device, I suspect if the devs just ran out of time to finish all of the Netrunner stuff.
Trace Progress
Whenever you apply a non-Covert Quickhack against an unaware enemy, you will start being traced through the network. Applying additional non-Covert Quickhacks will increase Trace Progress, but it also increases naturally over time as you remain in the vicinity. Some Control Quickhacks will not aggro enemies if the hack can be reasonably interpreted to be bug instead of a malicious act, but they will still apply Trace Progress.
When Tracing has been completed, all enemies in the network will get aggro’d (if they aren’t already), and some will begin heading toward your traced location. In other words, you’ll enter combat even if an enemy hasn’t actually seen you.
Some Quickhacks, Cyberdecks, and Perks reduce Trace Progress, including a couple in the middle branch of the Perk tree, but you typically have enough time without those buffs to do what you need to do, so they aren’t all that valuable. You can also exit or reset combat with Optical Camo (+ Relic Perks), Memory Wipe Quickhack (Tier 5), or reset Trace Progress by moving far enough away or using the Memory Wipe Quickhack.
Smart Weapon Perks (Right Branch)
Smart Weapons are the everyday objects that Netrunners imbue with their magicks. The Perks in the right branch of the Intelligence tree focus on enhancing Smart Weapons and making them synergize more strongly with Quickhacking.
The main path within the branch focuses on eliminating or minimizing the major drawbacks of Smart weapons by offering what are essentially stat buffs. Smart Weapons get Perks in the top 3 Attribute requirement tiers (Pro, Phenom, Legend), with the Rookie tier being completely disconnected and giving you the capacity to execute Quickhacks against some vehicles.
The Perks in the Pro tier (9 Intelligence) focus on speeding up the lock-on time of your Smart Weapons while making it easier to obtain and maintain a lock in the first place. These Perks are valuable if you have some points to spare and use a Smart Weapon, or are perhaps using one that has a particularly long lock-on time.
This tier also shares an interdisciplinary Perk with the middle branch that makes you recover RAM after neutralizing an enemy with your Smart Weapon. If you run out of RAM and Overclock isn’t available, you can shoot your Smart Weapon for a little bit, allowing you to get back to Quickhacks sooner.
The Perks in the Phenom tier (15 Intelligence) improve your overall flexibility and effectiveness with Smart Weapons, allowing you to switch between them without losing the lock and take out multiple enemies with them at a faster rate. They’re more valuable if Smart Weapons are a core part of your build rather than something you just tacked on.
The Legend Perk (20 Intelligence) is really only for pure Netrunners since it requires you to have Overclock active in order to provide its instant lock-on and 25% damage boost to Smart Weapons. At that point, you’ve filled out 2 trees in Intelligence, and the third is for Quickhack Queueing, so why wouldn’t you invest fully in that branch and fill out the whole tree?
Monowire Synergies
The Monowire is one of the four types of Arms Cyberware you can equip. Each type of Arm Cyberware synergizes with a specific Attribute, either by having a few dedicated perks or benefitting from a whole branch, and the Monowire is the one that synergizes with Intelligence.
There are 2 Perks in each of the Intelligence and Relic skill trees that enhance the Monowire that you’ll be able to take if you use it.
| Monowire Perk | Effect |
|---|---|
 Finisher: Live Wire | Damaging an enemy with the Monowire recovers 0.5 RAM. If the enemy is affected by a Quickhack, recover 1 RAM instead. |
 Siphon | Damaging an enemy with the Monowire recovers 0.5 RAM. If the enemy is affected by a Quickhack, recovers 1 RAM instead. |
 Jailbreak | Enables you to equip a Control Quickhack to the Monowire. Dealing damage with a fully charged strong Monowire attack will immediately upload the equipped Quickack to the enemy for free. |
 Data Tunneling | Enables a finisher with the Monowire that restores 15% HP and 5 RAM when used. The more Quickhacks that are queued on the enemy, the higher their HP can be when the finisher becomes usable. |
Compared to the others, the Monowire synergy with Intelligence is the weakest. It’s just a little more than enough to incentivize you to use the Monowire with an Intelligence build over another type of Arms Cyberware that you don’t have any synergy with. All of the perks are worth taking if you choose to equip the Monowire.
If you’re interested in playing a build that invests heavily in Intelligence, consider checking out our comprehensive Netrunner build guide for Update 2.0 or our complete Cyberware Catalog, which includes recommendations for implants that synergize with Intelligence.
Cyberpunk 2077 Technical Ability Attribute and Perk Tree Explained
This guide will cover everything you need to know about the Technical Ability Attribute and Perk Tree, including explaining what each branch of the skill tree does and helping you to determine which branches and perks of the skill tree are valuable to your build.
Cyberpunk 2077 Cool Attribute and Perk Tree Explained
This guide will cover everything you need to know about the Cool Attribute and Perk Tree in Cyberpunk 2077, including explaining what each branch of the skill tree does and helping you to determine which branches and perks of the skill tree are valuable to your build.
