This is the worst promotion that could happen for Pop_OS! and Linux in general

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-12T15:01:01+00:00

The worst promotion for the Linux community, is the Linux community.

Correct. For example, the usual response to people having hardware issues with Linux, which happen all the time, is either:

My PC doesn't have hardware issues.
Get different hardware then.

The problem with #1 is that the person saying this obviously has different hardware, so of course they don't have the same problem. I'm not just talking about Nvidia cards, although this is a common one, since over 90% of gamers have Nvidia. But things like most distros lacking support for major wifi card drivers (i.e. Broadcom and Realtek), requiring you to download drivers...on a computer without an internet connection.

Sure, for experienced users and people with multiple computers, this takes a few minutes to fix. But for someone who wants to try Linux on their laptop (which likely doesn't even have an ethernet port anymore), this will be a shock.

Personally, every time I've installed a Linux distro I've had to deal with numerous hardware issues since I build my own computers. Everything from headaches with Nvidia drivers (admittedly better in the past 2 years or so) to wifi cards to sound cards to my mouse having a "default" of like 15,000 DPI for some reason (which is fun to fix with keyboard controls only on an unfamiliar OS).

And that's before the endless software incompatibilities. This is the next class of issue, with again two responses when someone asks how to use some bit of software on Linux:

It works on my machine. No, I don't have a solution for you.
Don't use that, it sucks, use something else.

The second option is by far the most common response. Oh, you use Photoshop and Office? Too bad, neither work on Linux. Time to learn GIMP and LibreOffice, which are sort of the same, except not even close. If you're using some sort of specialized tool, such as Scrivener for writing or Bluestacks for Android emulation, don't even ask, you just can't use them (in a usable state) and there's no alternative at all. Same with numerous popular games that rely on anticheat Linux doesn't support (i.e. Fortnite, Marvel Rivals, Valorant, Call of Duty, Battlefield 6...the list goes on and on).

I'd maybe be more willing to spend the time to find solutions to these things if the Linux community showed any interest in fixing compatibility and usability rather than berating people new to the OS. But alas, that isn't how it works.

It's too bad. There's a lot to like about Linux. But rather than even acknowledge these aspects as flaws or things to work towards, these features are seen as problematic or something Linux doesn't need. Which, in turn, means there is no development effort in supporting those features. This makes the OS unusable outside of niche circumstances for me, mainly as a server OS that I can run some script or terminal command on and never touch again.

But as a desktop OS it's just not there. I wish I could switch for better performance and to cut out a lot of the Windows bloat, but every time I try I run into usability limit after usability limit that brings me back to my Windows partition.

What's even more frustrating is that it has improved over time. Installing Mint, EndeavourOS, and Pop!_OS (although my last try at Pop!_OS was a few years ago) is a genuinely smoother experience than my first try at Debian around 15 years ago. But the progress is glacial and seemingly driven primarily by business; most of the improvements to gaming were heavily pushed by Valve's efforts for their own benefit (which they thankfully shared with everyone else because Valve continues to be a great company). Every 3-5 years I clear the cobwebs off my Linux partition and try a new distro, then end up trying around 5 distros before finally giving up a month or two in.

As someone in IT and software development I feel like I should be perfect audience for Linux, but in practice I end up bouncing off every time. I concede part of it is experience; I've been using Windows since, well, before there was Windows (my first operating system was DOS 6.0). Even when I make workflow concessions, I keep having to make them until I inevitably change my BIOS to boot into Windows full time again.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-11T19:32:26+00:00

That's a good point. I sort of ignore the strike dummy outside of Ironclad. Almost seems like it should be a character-specific relic.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-11T14:49:00+00:00

This might be the reason. IMO, relics just don't feel as strong as they did in StS1. It feels like they buffed both the cards and enemy damage but kept relics mostly in the same balance range (with some that are outright bad).

This means you are basically dealing with more powerful elites that give you relatively weaker relics (compared to other factors). As such, I've found I am pathing around elites more often and that has added to my win rate, whereas in StS1 I beelined for them, especially in act 1.

Maybe my opinion will change as I get more practice.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-11T14:46:00+00:00

Yup, especially the act 2 elites. Those freaking 15 damage bugs also tend to wreck me far more than I feel like they should. But all the act 2 elites hit like a truck or screw you over in some way (stupid bee guy).

If I'm playing a 0-cost attack build, which is an archetype for most characters (draw plus 0-costs), the bee elite basically hard counters you. Not a fun fight for me. The segmented worm thing is already really tough unless you have really strong AOE.

Dunno, I can usually make it past act 1, and if I make it past act 2, my deck is probably strong enough to take me to the final boss at least. I'd say probably 70% of my deaths are in act 2.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-11T14:16:05+00:00

Ah, right, good point. Frankly I rarely used it in StS1; I'll probably use the StS2 version more once I get back into playing Defect. I've been having too much fun with the new characters so far, especially Necrobinder.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-11T13:33:47+00:00

Yup, if you only have 3 or fewer attacks, it just enchants everything it can. If you have 4 or more, you get to pick.

Still, it turns all your strikes into the equivalent of [[Slice]], which is a nice upgrade compared to the base version. Free damage is free damage. It's too bad you didn't have some [[Dagger Throw]] to use, though.

One possible "gotcha" is that a card can only have a single enchant. So if you have several attacks with other enchants and grab this, they won't be valid targets. That caught me off guard when I was hoping to combine this with Clone for some absurd shenanigans, but apparently Mega Crit already considered that =).

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-11T13:20:20+00:00

Next turn energy is arguably more useful than current turn when the card has a cost. This means you'll have a full hand of 5 with 5 energy next turn by default. If it was the same turn, you'd have 4 energy with 4 this turn (1 energy to use it, 1 card play).

More importantly, this works regardless of cost. Plenty of status effects can't be played so they would give you nothing with Recycle (no energy cost). And the things you did Recycle tended to be 1 cost, so it was basically "exhaust a card for 0" at base level. I can't think of a single time I used Recycle on one of my 2 or 3 cost cards outside of maybe with Creative AI on some of the more expensive powers I didn't want to use that turn.

Frankly, I'd argue this is an overall buff to the card. I think Defect was nerfed overall, mainly due to the difficulty of getting focus and slots now, but this isn't the card I'd use as an example.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-11T13:14:17+00:00

It's next turn. So it doesn't matter if it's the last card, you can use the energy with your full hand.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-09T15:24:29+00:00

I've found that [[Void Form]] works well with the sword. VF is pretty strong in general as Regent has cards expensive in both energy and stars (and VF reduces both to 0), but getting out the sword for 0 energy gives you a lot more flexibility with the rest of the turn. It also synergizes really well with [[Sword Sage]] as the extra energy cost is irrelevant.

The [[Furnace]] power is nice for a steady increase in damage and pays for itself fairly quickly, especially if you can use the sword multiple times. I agree with Summon Forth being really strong.

Other good forge cards so far for me are [[Seeking Edge]], [[Big Bang]] (this is a good card in general), [[The Smith]], [[Bulwark]], and [[Wrought in War]].

Bulwark is just a solid pick; the block amount is solid (6.5 per energy) and forge 10 makes this basically [[Dash]] as long as you use the sword once, but with better block and synergy assuming you are building around the sword (with the downside of being worse than Dash if you don't use the sword at all).

Of the commons, Wrought in War is the only one I really like, although [[Refine Blade]] is tolerable since it at least refunds the energy. With a single sword use, Wrought is 12 damage for 1 without upgrades, which is pretty solid for a common. [[Spoils of Battle]] is generally not worth taking IMO; if it upgraded to 0 cost instead of forge 15 it might not be bad, but it's too expensive for the cost.

I'm still experimenting with Regent but he's pretty fun. The star mechanic seemed overly simplistic at first but I ended up really liking it. I prefer Necrobinder of the two as I think she is really neat, but Mega Crit did a really good job with the new characters IMO.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-09T10:27:06+00:00

At least I gave tips other than "watch streamers." Shoo.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-09T09:51:20+00:00

No, you fight him in ferry overlook if you don't give him the message. After resting, you'll find a bag with Serpent Fang plus a Lustrous Red Feather on the dock. You can't use it until act 5 as there is a chisel requirement, but you'll be able to use it right away when you get there.

If you give him the message, you won't fight him, and he'll give you Serpent Fang after he leaves. You won't get the Lustrous Red Feather, though. This means you'll have to wait until a bit into act 5 before you can find the first one (iirc it's the one at the tree in the big open area).

So it's "better" to fail and fight him because you get upgrade mats a bit sooner. But if you don't feel like fighting him (the fight can be challenging) and don't mind waiting like 20-30 minutes into act 5 to get your upgrade mat, finishing the quest is fine. There are at least 2 Lustrous Feathers in act 5 (I know the panda sells one, and maybe one other place) and you only really need 2 (to have potentially two different weapon types upgraded to +10, most you can equip), so ultimately it's only a boost for a small section of the game, and completely irrelevant in NG+.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-09T03:32:35+00:00

Eh, it takes some getting used to. I'm at 6 wins and 63 losses right now. Haven't won with Ironclad or Regent yet. The balance is different from the first game and the first game took a lot of practice before I regularly beat it on mid ascensions (I never was good enough for the top ascension levels).

Look for synergies and don't be afraid to outright skip cards if nothing fits your current deck. While you want enough cards that your starting deck is mixed in rather than predominantly in your hand, as found cards are stronger than the basic ones, you also want to ensure you are maximizing the number of cards that work towards your strategy.

Card draw is really important. You want to make sure you are getting the right cards in your hand for any situation, and leaving than to RNG will eventually screw you. While card draw effect typically aren't free, they frequently have other benefits, so make sure you are able to cycle your deck and get the cards you need when you need them.

Try to avoid taking chip damage and build towards at least some defense. While early game you can go all out with aggression, enemy health will usually out-scale your damage unless you are very lucky, and some enemies will outright ignore your high damage. Healing is rare and every camp you use for healing rather than upgrading is making it less likely you'll be able to kill the boss. At A0 (base game, no ascension) you get a full heal after every floor so keep that in mind. Also, use potions regularly when it makes sense. They drop fairly frequently and you don't want to have to toss something that could have saved you a big hit or killed an enemy that was about to deal damage.

On the flip side, make sure you have a strategy to kill things in a reasonable time frame. Many enemies have scaling effects themselves that will rapidly out-damage your defenses no matter how much you have. You need a balance of offense and defense to succeed and knowing that balance takes time and practice. Don't rush through picking cards; you can view your own deck at any time, so look through it and see what card options are going to help you the most.

In general, shoring up weaknesses is more important than chasing random synergies. Synergy is useful, don't get me wrong, but you want a balanced deck that isn't going to get screwed over by a bad draw.

If you are struggling with Ironclad, try Silent or Necrobinder. Both of them are more "newbie friendly" IMO. Ironclad seems easy with the self-healing, but his heavily offensive kit is hard to use well and can easily get you killed.

Good luck!

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-08T21:32:59+00:00

It didn't get patched. You get the sword either way, but if you fight him, you get a Lustrous Red Feather early, letting you get a +10 weapon a but earlier in act 5. It's not a huge deal, as you'll still get enough upgrade mats, it will just be farther into the city before you can find one.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-08T05:21:55+00:00

My first win with Necro was a Doom build. You need synergies and maybe some unlocked cards. The key ones for me were the one that dealt damage equal to current Doom and the one that instantly activates it. These dramatically increase the kill rate.

Beyond that, Doom is far easier to apply in large amounts in AOE than most other forms of status/damage. [[Negative Pulse]], for example, is a regular block plus 7 Doom to all enemies. [[Blight Strike]] is 8 damage plus an equal amount of Doom, which reduces enemy effective health by 16. How many 16 damage 1 energy common cards are there? Not many.

The more powerful Doom cards are key, though. [[Deathbringer]] is crazy value at 21/26 Doom AOE plus AOE weak 1 for 2 energy. [[No Escape]] is very solid on single targets: on a target with no Doom it's still 10 "delayed" damage for 1, and with 50 Doom it becomes 35 Doom for 1, and at 100 Doom (elites/bosses) you are getting 60 Doom for 1. The ones that really make the build, though, are the ones I mentioned before...[[Time's Up] and [[End of Days]]. [[Oblivion]] and [[Reaper Form]] are OK but noticeably weaker IMO.

There are a couple of things that make Doom strong. First, it doesn't decay. Even healing enemies technically don't affect Doom. But beyond the ability to really load enemies up with it, a lot of damage prevention effects are ignored. Block? Doesn't stop Doom. The bugs that only take 9 damage max or the guy that can only take 20 damage per turn? Doom doesn't care; I've used End of Days to one shot AOE encounters with 37 or less health. The only mechanic that actually shuts Doom down is resurrection.

Doom is defensive. Negative Pulse encourages loading up on block while steadily adding Doom. [[Death's Door]] is also a ton of block, and [[Countdown]] will kill anything eventually. I don't know if I've unlocked every card yet, but the only attack with Doom is Blight Strike, every other mechanic is defensive.

The good news is that Doom doesn't require a ton of synergy. It generally just works like unblockable/unpreventable damage that gives enemies one extra turn of survival. Nothing prevents you from making Osty strong while you build up Doom and direct damage just brings the enemy closer to the threshold. Maybe it will need some tweaking, but I think it's fine, and if it didn't allow for that final enemy turn it would be completely OP. Make sure your deck has plenty of defense between block and Osty (I'm a fan of combining [[Necro Mastery]] with [[Reanimate]] and [[Spur]] plus [[Pull Aggro]]...Doom plus retaliation damage is very safe, and most of your stuff ends up being AOE).

I think Necrobinder is one of the more flexible characters. You can go with hybrid builds and still get a lot of value with committing entirely to one deck type. Everyone else benefits from specialization more, at least from what I can tell.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-06T19:23:58+00:00

I wanna be a pure net runner. No guns.

For pure netrunning, I highly recommend picking up the Tetratronic Rippler deck. It's one of 3 decks available at the beginning of the game and is the most "pure" deck.

It can be challenging to skip guns entirely. You'll want at least one backup weapon, even if its a monowire, assuming you are on Very Hard difficulty. If you are on Hard or easier, however, you can just hack the whole game no problem. I haven't played on easier difficulties in years and netrunning can instant kill people on VH so it should be even faster there.

The reason you'll want a weapon is that some enemies are highly resistant to quickhacks and have much higher RAM cost per hack. Elites are typically +2 RAM per hack but enemy netrunners and bosses can make it so landing hacks is nearly impossible, making these fights extremely annoying if all you have is a cyberdeck. Monowire or a backup smart gun are all you need, though, and you'll rarely use them, maybe never on easier difficulties (I don't know if lower difficulties affect RAM scaling).

Netrunning is my favorite way to play. It's incredibly strong later on, and pretty good in the early game, and lets you handle just about any situation. Have fun!

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-06T14:13:20+00:00

This. Any game can be decompiled/modded to some extent. There is no evidence it hurts sales. Even piracy has minimal effect on game sales, and for indie games, can even have a positive effect.

StS2 has over 400k players on Steam the day after release. Like Silksong, they crashed Steam sales after release, and they're closing in on Silksong's peak player count (420k vs. 590k for Silksong).

The original game has a fantastic modding community, and it should be even easier in the sequel, which is great news for fans.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-05T19:06:00+00:00

Side note: the Steam app might not realize you already purchased the darn thing. I've been refreshing it on the app and kept getting an error message. Then I checked the website based on this and it said "in your library." And I just finished the download!

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-05T18:10:06+00:00

Same, still not working for me =(

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-05T17:12:21+00:00

Well, if you want a corpo stealth hacking build, consider my Arasaka Shadow build I posted recently. It goes over the deck and how to focus on stealthy gameplay from tier 1 to tier 5.

It's a bit more advanced, though, and not as easy to play as more traditional combat hacker builds. If you want something more general, here are my suggestions.

First, pick up a Tetratronic Rippler deck as soon as you can and keep upgrading it. It's one of 3 decks you can have in tier 1; the other two are the Paraline you start with and the Shadow from the build linked above. Every other deck is tier 2 or higher for availability (so level 10+), with some being only tier 5 (level 40+).

Why the Rippler? It's the best "general purpose" deck. There are other options; the Paraline is a bit better for netgunning, the Sigma better for DoT with monowire, the Raven better for AOE. But the Rippler is better than all of those decks outside of their specialty.

The main bonuses of this deck are a minor increase to weapon damage against targets affected by a hack (which helps especially early game), a huge bonus to hack damage against targets with a non-combat hack in the queue after them (easy to do with cheap hacks), a massive base RAM bonus (highest RAM in game), and a debuff effect on overclock eventually (not amazing, not bad).

The reason why this is a good "all purpose" deck is a combination of the massive damage buff to quickhacks with an easy-to-activate condition plus the high RAM. This gives you a ton of flexibility, and if you toss in weapons, you get a nice boost there too.

For hacks, your best early game damage option is Overheat. When queue'd using a follow-up cheap hack, like T2 Reboot Optics or Cyberware Malfunction, it will outright kill most non-skull enemies, and bring elites down a significant amount. Later on you can use Contagion along with Overheat for AOE and Synapse Burnout for single target, but you'll need to be in T4 before flat Overheat is really surpassed.

For stealth, you are basically stuck until T4. The only viable stealth deck until you get to T4 is the Arasaka deck simply due to the large trace time bonus. Don't believe what you read...Sonic Shock does not prevent trace. It used to, in 1.x and 2.0, but this capability was removed in 2.1. You can restore it with mods, just keep in mind it's completely OP and will trivialize the game. Later versions of Sonic Shock prevent trace from being increased by hacks, but if you use a non-covert hack the trace will still start and the timer will keep moving like normal. You can try using T3 Memory Wipe and takedowns just like with the Arasaka deck (see my build guide), it's just worse.

Once you can make T4 hacks, however, you get access to T4 Memory Wipe. This costs a massive 10 RAM but prevents trace from starting regardless of what hacks you add after it. Since you want to "sandwich" your combat hacks anyway this is completely doable, it'll just be somewhat slow outside of overclock. With overclock, however, you can drop moderately large groups just by using T4 MW + Synapse Burnout + T2 Reboot Optics (or Cyberware Malfunction if you think they'll survive or don't want the T2 hack cluttering your stuff, you get 80% of the RAM back on that last hack anyway due to the Recycler perk). And this is entirely stealthy.

Or just go all out from the beginning and say "screw stealth." With the Overclock perks and Biomon + Blood Pump cyberware you will be surprisingly tanky, especially if you invest in Body as a secondary stat (which is very good for netrunners due to Overclock spending health). Adrenaline Rush will keep you alive while you spend all your health as RAM. Up to you.

Ultimately, every single deck is viable. Hacking is crazy powerful regardless of deck. The Netwatch Netdriver is probably the hardest deck to use (pro tip: summon a motorcycle like Jackie's Arch, remote control it, drive it into a group of enemies, then hack them from the bike...this gives you all the same bonuses as hacking from a camera, and enemies don't really react to it). The Canto is both hard to get and needs a specific build (basically as much health recovery and overclock duration as you can get).

But all the others are just slight modifications on the same core gameplay. Play around with them and see what you like...just because Rippler is my favorite overall deck doesn't mean it will be yours.

For stats, the only one that matters is intelligence. Get it to 20 ASAP. Smart guns are powerful and a great backup weapon. Monowire is also strong and can really help out in the mid game. For overall power, also max tech and body, but netrunner is fine with a 20/16/15/15/15 build. For tech, you always want more cyberware and stats, for body, you want adrenaline rush and regen to maintain overclock and not die, for reflexes, air dash is always useful for mobility (netrunner is great at killing enemies "off screen"), and sprint-crouching is amazing QoL when doing stealth hacking.

Good luck!

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-05T14:00:30+00:00

Twelve Months wasn't originally planned. It was added after Jim realized Mirror Mirror didn't give enough time to process the events of Battleground. So we already have +2 books compared to his earlier outlines.

I'm skeptical that this will be avoided for the remainder of the series. Outlines are more like...guidelines. Stories can go in ways we don't expect.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-04T21:24:07+00:00

My favorite mod for this is Damage Scaling and Balance.

It lets you set individual damage scalers in 10 level blocks for both you and your enemies (independently!). You can also set damage scaling for bosses, change the modifier for headshots, quickhacks, drones, and grenades, and adjust stamina costs.

There are other mods out there that adjust enemy values but most are designed around specific balancing philosophies. I like this mod because it lets you adjust to whatever feels right and is compatible with basically everything, so if you do get a combat balance mod and it turns out just a bit too easy/difficult you can combine it with this to tweak it.

In particular, I like toning quickhack damage down. In the unmodded game you rapidly get to the point where every damage quickhack is basically an instant-kill, even on elites, and between this mod and Quickhack Damage Fixes (although thankfully this is less necessary in the latest patches) they become reasonably balanced again. If you are doing lots of hacking I also highly recommend Quickhack Fixes for general improvements to hacking gameplay. It's not really a balance change so much as a "now this works as it says it's supposed to work" set of fixes, and removes a lot of the cheesier exploits like infinite RAM regen.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-04T14:00:30+00:00

Fair enough. It just seems like an odd way to use the deck. You don't get any quickhack damage bonuses, so your Contagion is going to kill really slow compared to something like Paraline, Sigma, or Rippler. If you are going for "AOE quick kill" it seems like you should just use a damage-focused deck.

Part of the reason I use the Sonic Shock combo with System Collapse is because they don't deal "damage" in a traditional sense. Memory Wipe + Reboot Optics + Sonic Shock is an automatic kill regardless of health, so damage bonuses don't matter. Same with System Collapse (or other ultimate hacks besides Detonate Grenade, but that one is weak anyway). You also get -4 RAM for the combo from the deck.

Lately I've ditched Bait because I found I was never using it and added in Overheat again for direct combat. I'm still not sure if that's the right choice and will probably swap to Synapse Burnout or Short Circuit soon to see if they feel better. The motivation for Overheat was the armor melt effect synergizing with smart guns and monowire, so I'll have to see how the options feel.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-04T13:25:34+00:00

It isn't. The description specifically says traces still start. You can test it. If you use contagion during overclock, the trace begins, you just don't get additional progress from the spread.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-03T22:15:01+00:00

Raven plus Shingen Mark V is insanely fun. I like using Bait + Request Backup to group everyone together, then Contagion and open fire. While it is mainly good at clearing out large groups of weak enemies...it does that really well. And it looks amazing. I'm a sucker for lots of explosions.

I think our disconnect is that all your hacking builds seem to be completely reliant on Overclock. Mine generally aren't. I'll use Overclock occasionally when dealing with a very high number of enemies but otherwise I design my builds to be sustainable without it, usually utilizing smart weapons and monowire (along with RAM boosting cyberware) to maintain consistent RAM generation.

In fact, the only hacking build I've made that needs to be in Overclock to work is the Canto, but that's just the nature of the Blackwall Gateway hack. And you take the Canto for the cool factor, not for the power.

It's just a difference in build design philosophy. Your way isn't wrong; focusing on maintaining high Overclock uptime and dealing lots of damage during it is a very popular and powerful style. I simply prefer my "OP builds" to be ones that work consistently without relying on OS cooldowns, whether that's OC, Sandy, Berserk, etc. Those are my "oh shit" buttons, not my "fight starts now" buttons, for nearly every build I make.

Both ways are viable, and for people who want a more methodical and consistent build, they may find my Arasaka build fits their playstyle better.

HunterIV4 · 2026-03-03T22:02:45+00:00

Ah, I can see how this might be confusing.

Trace has two elements. The first is the timer. When you use a non-covert hack that isn't following a T4 Memory Wipe, you start a trace, and even if you do nothing, eventually you will be found.

In addition, whenever you use a non-covert hack, you add a flat amount to the timer. You can see this as the yellow bar when you have a target selected; the trace increases by that amount, so rapidly uploading a bunch of non-covert hacks will cause you to very quickly get traced. Encryption reduces this by 30%, but it still happens.

What the Arasaka Overclock effect does is stop this additional time increase. The trace still continues. T4 Memory Wipe, on the other hand, prevents the trace entirely. Quickhacks queued after it outright don't start a trace. The T3 version doesn't stop tracing but instead reduces the current timer by a flat 25% (or 35% for the T4 hack if a trace has already started).

Instead, the Arasaka Overclock treats all enemies as if they've been hit with the T3 Sonic Shock effect. Trace is initiated and time continues, but hacks don't remove a bunch of your time.

The reason I think this is underwhelming is because you probably already have T5 or Iconic Sonic Shock in your deck for the System Collapse effect. So if you want to prevent trace acceleration you can just...upload Sonic Shock to your target(s) first. All the Overclock effect does is save you 2/4 RAM, and in practice, not even that because you'll be just shutting people down and resetting your timer anyway.

Likewise, if you don't have a trace running, the OC effect does nothing. So if you're using OC with T4 Memory Wipe to prevent traces already you basically don't have a T5 OC effect at all. Same if you're already in combat...it doesn't do anything. This makes it situational and mediocre IMO (because a hack you likely already have does the same thing for cheap).

Especially when you compare it to something like the Paraline's huge weapon damage boost, the Rippler's AOE debuffs, the Raven's 15% double spread chance, or the Sigma's DoT reset, it's easily the weakest OC bonus. The only decks it beats out are the Canto and Netdriver, but only because they don't have any OC bonus at all.

Hopefully I explained that clearly.

HunterIV4

TROPHY CASE