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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).

Cybereyes[edit]

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.

Datajack[edit]

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

Dermal Plating[edit]

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.

Muscle Replacement[edit]

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.

Smartlink[edit]

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.

Spurs[edit]

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.

Wired Reflexes[edit]

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.