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Cyberware is special cybernetic equipment that can be implanted at any hospital or clinic for a price. Besides costing money, each operation will permanently cost your character a certain amount of Essence. A cyberware-free character has 6.0 Essence and each character must have at least 0.1 Essence, so you have a total of 5.9 Essence to work with when shopping for cyberware.

The effects of spending Essence are quite significant. Essence is simply the Magic attribute expressed in tenths instead of whole numbers. So, for example, when a character's Essence drops from 5.2 to 4.7, that character's Magic rating will also drop from 5 to 4. The fact that the Magic attribute dictates a number of important magic-related things (most notably the maximum Force with which spells can be cast), along with the fact that all changes to Essence are permanent and irreversible, probably makes it clear why mages and shaman should never get cyberware installed.

But what about non-magic users? The only effect that the Magic attribute (and therefore, the Essence value) has on them is its relation to magical healing. In other words, casting Heal Wounds on a character with a high Magic rating will have a greater effect than with a character with a low rating. That said, though, the difference is rather small, and even a totally cybered character will be able to receive decent magic healing. So, it's definitely worthwhile to get as much cyberware installed as your Essence count (and wallet) allows.

Then there's the question of which type to get. My piece-by-piece recommendations are listed for each entry below, but if you're looking for a master list of some sort, then here's what I usually get with each of my characters:

• CyberEyes
• Spurs
• Smartlink
• Muscle Replacement (1)
• Dermal Plating (2)
• Wired Reflexes (2)

This will cost exactly 5.9 Essence (and a whole lot of nuyen) and give the character a very nice balance between speed, power, and defense. Of course, if you want to use variations on this, feel free, but remember a few rules:

• I'm putting this in ALL CAPS BECAUSE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND I HOPE YOU READ IT. I know this is tough to do, but you need to do it anyway: Buy stat- enhancing cyberware BEFORE you upgrade the character's attributes. Cyberware works by adding 1 to each attribute it affects. If the attribute is already at its maximum, nothing will happen, but you'll still be stuck with the cyberware. You know you're getting the attribute bonus when you go to the Skills and Attributes screen and you see a "c" followed by a number after the attribute. For instance, if you see "3 c4" as your Strength rating, that means that the character's real Strength rating is 3, but his or her cyberware has boosted it to 4. If you're buying cyberware but don't see the "c"s on that screen, then you're wasting your time, money, and Essence.

• Don't buy Hand Razors. Wait until you have the money for Spurs. Simple.

• Don't buy a Datajack. If you don't have a Datajack already then you must either be a samurai or a shaman. If you're a samurai, hire a decker to do your Matrix stuff for you. That 0.5 Essence could be better spent on samurai- type stuff. If you're a shaman, what the heck are you doing buying cyberware in the first place?

• Don't be afraid of the huge cost of Wired Reflexes. Besides the fact that you get a little Essence discount (see its entry for details), another thing that makes this cyberware appealing is that it will DRAMATICALLY affect your attack speed. With a totally wired character, you'll be able to get two shots off in the time it normally takes to fire once. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how this could be a huge advantage in battle.

So, that's the lowdown on cyberware. In the entries below, you'll see the name of the upgrade in all caps, followed by the maximum amount of times you can buy the cyberware and how much Essence it will cost you each time. Below the top bar is a price scale, the in-game description of the piece, and my personal notes on it. Note that there is no sell price scale (since cyberware can't be sold), no Buy At entry (all clinics sell the exact same lineup of stuff -- only the prices vary) and no Also Available entry (the clinics are the only place to get cybered).

Contents 1 Cybereyes 2 Datajack 3 Dermal Plating 4 Muscle Replacement 5 Smartlink 6 Spurs 7 Wired Reflexes

[edit] Cybereyes

Price
Negotiation Rating	Council Island Hospital	Dr. Bob's Quickstich Clinic	Little Chiba Chop Shop	Seattle General Hospital	Wire-Masters
0-2	1800	2000	3500	3200	3000
3	1744	1938	3391	3100	2907
4	1688	1876	3282	3000	2814
5	1632	1814	3173	2900	2721
6	1576	1752	3064	2800	2628
7	1520	1690	2955	2700	2535
8	1464	1628	2846	2600	2442
9	1408	1566	2737	2500	2349
10	1352	1504	2628	2400	2256
11	1296	1442	2519	2300	2163
12	1240	1380	2410	2200	2070

Augments vision to counter Invisibility and increase combat effectiveness.

• Essence Cost: 0.2
• Maximum: 1

Only buy this if you've bought all the rest of the stuff you want and have a little Essence left over. Still, they're pretty helpful.

[edit] Datajack

Price
Negotiation Rating	Council Island Hospital	Dr. Bob's Quickstich Clinic	Little Chiba Chop Shop	Seattle General Hospital	Wire-Masters
0-2	1500	550	400	600	500
3	1454	533	388	582	485
4	1408	516	376	564	470
5	1362	499	364	546	455
6	1316	482	352	528	440
7	1270	465	340	510	425
8	1224	448	328	492	410
9	1178	431	316	474	395
10	1132	414	304	456	380
11	1086	397	292	438	365
12	1040	380	280	420	350

Allows input and output from any cyberdeck and is required to enter the Matrix.

• Essence Cost: 0.2
• Maximum: 1

While Matrix runs are very good for making money, you won't beat the game if you specialize in being a decker. Therefore, only hire a decker when you need to make a little money. This way, you can avoid wasting Karma on your core group's Computer skill. For this reason, I advise against getting this piece of cyberware

[edit] Dermal Plating

Price
Negotiation Rating	Council Island Hospital	Dr. Bob's Quickstich Clinic	Little Chiba Chop Shop	Seattle General Hospital	Wire-Masters
0-2	3200	3000	3800	2800	3000
3	3100	2907	3682	2713	2907
4	3000	2814	3564	2626	2814
5	2900	2721	3446	2539	2721
6	2800	2628	3328	2452	2628
7	2700	2535	3210	2365	2535
8	2600	2442	3092	2278	2442
9	2500	2349	2974	2191	2349
10	2400	2256	2856	2104	2256
11	2300	2163	2738	2017	2163
12	2200	2070	2620	1930	2070

Hard plastic and metal fiber plates which are bonded to flesh to form armor.

• Essence Cost: 0.5
• Maximum: 3

Very useful, and very cheap, Essence-wise. I definitely recommend buying a few rounds of this when you get the money.

[edit] Muscle Replacement

Price
Negotiation Rating	Council Island Hospital	Dr. Bob's Quickstich Clinic	Little Chiba Chop Shop	Seattle General Hospital	Wire-Masters
0-2	15000	18000	12000	9000	10000
3	14532	17438	11625	8719	9688
4	14064	16876	11250	8438	9376
5	13596	16314	10875	8157	9064
6	13128	15752	10500	7876	8752
7	12660	15190	10125	7595	8440
8	12192	14628	9750	7314	8128
9	11724	14066	9375	7033	7816
10	11256	13504	9000	6752	7504
11	10788	12942	8625	6471	7192
12	10320	12380	8250	6190	6880

Implanted synthetic muscles which increase both Strength and Quickness.

• Essence Cost: 1.0
• Maximum: 4

A good upgrade. Not quite as practical as Dermal Plating or Wired reflexes, but very good nonetheless.

[edit] Smartlink

Price
Negotiation Rating	Council Island Hospital	Dr. Bob's Quickstich Clinic	Little Chiba Chop Shop	Seattle General Hospital	Wire-Masters
0-2	3000	2500	2000	1800	1500
3	2907	2422	1938	1744	1454
4	2814	2344	1876	1688	1408
5	2721	2266	1814	1632	1362
6	2628	2188	1752	1576	1316
7	2535	2110	1690	1520	1270
8	2442	2032	1628	1464	1224
9	2349	1954	1566	1408	1178
10	2256	1876	1504	1352	1132
11	2163	1798	1442	1296	1086
12	2070	1720	1380	1240	1040

The feedback circuitry needed to use the combat information provided by a Smartgun.

• Essence Cost: 0.5
• Maximum: 1

Yes, you can buy Smart Goggles, but it just won't be the same. Plus, it'll take up an extra inventory slot.

[edit] Spurs

Price
Negotiation Rating	Council Island Hospital	Dr. Bob's Quickstich Clinic	Little Chiba Chop Shop	Seattle General Hospital	Wire-Masters
0-2	4000	3600	5000	4200	4000
3	3875	3488	4844	4069	3875
4	3750	3376	4688	3938	3750
5	3625	3264	4532	3807	3625
6	3500	3152	4376	3676	3500
7	3375	3040	4220	3545	3375
8	3250	2928	4064	3414	3250
9	3125	2816	3908	3283	3125
10	3000	2704	3752	3152	3000
11	2875	2592	3596	3021	2875
12	2750	2480	3440	2890	2750

A set of three carbon fiber blades anchored to the back of the hand.

• Essence Cost: 0.2/0.1 (See Notes)
• Maximum: 1

If you are upgrading from Hand Razors, Spurs will cost 0.1 Essence, otherwise, it will cost 0.2 Essence. Spurs can punch through the armor of some of the toughest enemies.

[edit] Wired Reflexes

Price
Negotiation Rating	Council Island Hospital	Dr. Bob's Quickstich Clinic	Little Chiba Chop Shop	Seattle General Hospital	Wire-Masters
0-2	40000	35000	30000	38000	20000
3	38750	33907	29063	27125	19375
4	37500	32814	28126	26250	18750
5	36250	31721	27189	25375	18125
6	35000	30628	26252	24500	17500
7	33750	19535	15315	23625	16875
8	32500	28442	24378	22750	16250
9	31250	27349	23441	21875	15625
10	30000	26256	22504	21000	15000
11	28750	25163	21567	20125	14375
12	27500	24070	20630	19250	13750

Implanted neural boosters and adrenaline stimulators which increase combat speed.

• Essence Cost: 2.0/1.0 (See Notes)
• Maximum: 3

The first and third times you get this installed, it will cost 2.0 Essence. The second time, however, will only cost 1.0 Essence. In any event, this is the best cyberware you can buy, hands down. A hit or two of Wired Reflexes and your pistol shots will look like machine gun fire.