NEWS

Using the Matrix as a sniper weapon: Dataspike away ?

  • 19 Replies
  • 8519 Views

PiXeL01

  • *
  • Errata Team
  • Ace Runner
  • ***
  • Posts: 2264
  • Sheltering Orks in Osaka
« Reply #15 on: <04-22-19/1847:58> »
Only highly professional people would do that.
I think we need to consider that rule 0 applies to wireless functions too.
If Tom Brady’s a Spike Baby, what does that make Brees and Rodgers?

Michael Chandra

  • *
  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Prime Runner
  • ***
  • Posts: 9920
  • Question-slicing ninja
« Reply #16 on: <04-23-19/0054:30> »
Good point. When a gang-member gets an alarm from his commlink that he's being hacked, he might as well fail his Composure test, spook, throw his commlink far away and shout 'AHM BEING HACKED!!!' while utterly freaking out, but forgetting to disable his fancy smartlink. We've been approaching this from a professional perspective, but not everyone is that smart and professional.
How am I not part of the forum?? O_O I am both active and angry!

Marcus

  • *
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 2802
  • Success always demands a greater effort.
« Reply #17 on: <04-23-19/1952:34> »

It's a free action to do either one specific item, or all of them.

Turning everything wireless off as a free action is a death spike into combat hacking's viability.

Not really. They have to know they are being attacked first. If you are building to brick you can now do it before initiative is rolled and then probably again before they fully understand what it is your doing and can take the free action to stop you. It's not actually that hard to brick something through even a good commlink firewall, which is the most likely defense.

Brick to piece of gear or implants and odds are you have seriously messed up someones day.

Brick and Run, is a nice non-lethal but really annouying thing to have happen to your enemies. In setting that aren't gun friendly it's still a decent option to have on the table.

*Play-by-Post color guide*
Thinking
com
speaking

AnotherUser

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 22
« Reply #18 on: <04-23-19/2012:26> »
Not sure I would call bricking a flametosser, auto-injector, cybergills*, grapple hand or retractable climbing claws non-lethal, but otherwise I fully agree.

Considering hot VR also nets you a couple of Ini dice, which the juicers or people unwilling to have their reflex boosters active the whole day (read: most) won´t have access to initially, you still should be able to trash something significant before anyone reacts. Even if the GM is kind towards the victim and lets it react without any roll to check if he/her realizes what´s going on in a split second.

Also a good argument against biowaste storage expansion... I am ok with people trying to kill you, but that´s just too much.

*Totally forgot our setting forbids any underwater wifi connection. But has wireless underwater drones...
« Last Edit: <04-23-19/2024:53> by AnotherUser »

kyoto kid

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 925
  • Bushido Cowgirl
« Reply #19 on: <05-30-19/1830:05> »
I recently came across a neat combo - enabled through the new options from Kill Code/Better than Bad:

You need:
Adrenaline Surge: Let's you go first no matter what
Instinctive Hack: Allows you to Brute Force,Data Spike, Hack on the Fly, or use Matrix Perception before Ini is rolled
Action: Watchdog grants you a MARK and allows you to use Haywire, Popup and Squelch as interrupt actions
Haywire disconnects the PAN of the target taking away all wireless boni and Squelch prevents the target from sending messages, preventing it from calling for help. Popup penalizes all actions the target takes by your net hits - which also cause matrix damage.
With that combo you can effectively spend your whole ini in one burst, forcing the target to physically reboot his link.
Finally, a DumDum grenade will wipe out the data processing of all his wireless gear during the reboot while it is vulnerable through the lack of PAN protection.
All gear is as good as fried, but can actually be restored with out having to repair it.
...yeah my Decker Violet uses several of those moves which work very well for someone who has the Like a Boss quality (no matrix damage) and has to be a bit more "creative" when attacking wireless gear.
Forsaken daughter is watching you