[Jack_Spade]

Take a stealth tag add Persona Firmware for two parts and enjoy a 0/3/3/3 no frills hacking device

[Whiskeyjack]

Yeah, cyberdecks are for chumps.  Dammit.

Thus killing any desire I had to be a decker in this edition.

If I wanted to play on commlinks I would've stayed in 4th.

[jim1701]

Yeah, cyberdecks are for chumps.  Dammit.

Thus killing any desire I had to be a decker in this edition.

If I wanted to play on commlinks I would've stayed in 4th.

All it takes is for the GM to say no, this is stupid and we're not doing it that way.

[Jimmy_Pvish]

Smoke&Mirrors is the root of all evil.

With this cyberprogram, there is no need for high-end cyberdeck.

Sure, high-end cyberdeck can use it, too. But that is overkill and unnecessary.

[Csjarrat]

It does create noise though, so in an already noisy area, you're gonna need an awful lot of datajacks and antennae to work without -ve mods

[Hobbes]

Take a stealth tag add Persona Firmware for two parts and enjoy a 0/3/3/3 no frills hacking device

3 is just a bit too low.  Got anything in a Sleaze 5?

[JmOz01]

This comlink...unfortunately it is 11k and only has a DP of 1 and a FW 2....I realize that the FW can be worked around but that DP is death to me...

[Kincaid]

While it's possible to make a really expensive commlink a pretty useful item, if you're serious about hacking, cyberdecks are still where it's at.  Limits of 3 are probably fine for the casual user, but will get you killed pretty easily when you're facing a spider or IC.  I imagine the most common non-decker thing to come out of Data Trails will be/is commlinks with Sleaze ratings, allowing PANs to run silent with some chance of success without a decker.  Keep in mind if you jack your S&M up too high and there's ambient Noise, there's a decent chance you're gear will go offline.  Sure, you can stack Noise reduction on top of Noise reduction (and that might make sense for some), but at this point your investing resources to counter your other resources.  That's fairly niche.

[Hobbes]

This comlink...unfortunately it is 11k and only has a DP of 1 and a FW 2....I realize that the FW can be worked around but that DP is death to me...

Grab a Nixdorf Sekratar with a DP 6 and a handy Agent for legwork and whatnot.  Mind you you're not spoofing Cameras while you're in a host.

But yeah, the DP is a killer.  You're likely looking at either the Hornet or RCC for a full up Hacker.  Swapping between devices works for AR hackers when they've not in initiative passes.  If all you ever do is datasteals from a Host you may be able to get away with it, but if you have to do anything with Edit file or Matrix Search in a host you're screwed. 

[BlackDoogan]

Little Hornet is a solid value if you have Perfect Time  and Overclocker, I'd throw on two Program Carriers, Encryption and Stealth.  Keep Virtual Machine handy for when you need to run 3 programs.

Still learning how this all works, I can see the need for Overclocker, any hacker would be better for it... what is the purpose of needing Perfect Time? I assume it is for the extra free action, what is it being used for?

Black Doogan

[Hobbes]

Two free actions, such as Swap Matrix Attribute.  So you'd swap your high stat into whatever action you're doing this turn, then swap it back to Firewall after you do whatever you're doing.  Also note, this lets you move Overclocker too.  So, you could be running a 1 Attack, 1 Data, 4 Sleaze, 5 Firewall (IIRC that is Hornets stats)   Overclocker into Firewall + Stealth+Encryption+Smoke and Mirrors  so ADSF  1 1 10 7    On your turn you need to do an Edit File action so Free action Swap Matrix Attribute, ADSF goes to 1 6 6 2 , more than enough to get your Edit file done, then Free Action swap it back to your 1 1 10 7 for defense. 

Also Free action dial down Smoke and Mirrors, then back up after your action if you don't have enough noise reduction.  Or Free Action to swap in a program to help you do a thing, swap back to your defensive set up. 

Very, handy for a Decker. 

[BlackDoogan]

Thank you for that thorough answer, it helps a lot!

-- Black Doogan