[JmOz01]

So inspired by the "Fun with Dongles" & "Black Trench coat sleaze special" threads I present

THE BLUE OFFENDER

  2,000 Y  Blue Defender Comlink (DP 1, FW 5)
     100   Sim Module
24,000  Level 4Attack Dongle (CA 4)
  1,400  Add a module (Choose a program...probably hammer, maybe fork, mugger or decryption)
----------
27,500 Y 

What is it good for?  It is primarily intended for cybercombat, of course you could upgrade the dongle to a 5-6 level instead, but I think a 4 would be good for most characters.  The character who uses this would probably use it in AR mode BTW, thus the lack of a Hot Sim (Honestly added the Sim module only to crank the price up a 100...It's a neurosis with me)

[Rooks]

I think rating 4 attack dongle costs 48k 4 squared times x 3000 so 16*3000 = 48 000

[Top Dog]

Using a DP1 commlink for Cybercombat sounds like a bad idea. For something at this scale of investment, why not invest the 1k extra to get 5/5? (or more, of course). Granted, if you stay in AR the 4 extra DP won't be as essential, but it's still used in plenty of tests that are needed for cybercombat.

[Herr Brackhaus]

For a secondary hacker, I probably wouldn't worry about the Data Processing aspect. If you only had the Cybercombat skill, you could do enough damage with just Brute Force and Data Spike, both of which use Cybercombat, Logic, and Attack.

That being said, you've got an excellent point about the Hermes Ikon (DR5) commlink; for 3000¥ you get DP5 and FW5, allowing you to use hot-sim for that +2 dice pool bonus, at the risk of physical damage, with a +4 Initiative Score advantage over the Blue Offender route. A fully specced out AR hacker may already have 4d6 initiative dice, but if not then the Hermes Ikon is a good route.

Rooks is right, too; writers have confirmed that the price of attack/sleaze dongles should be Rating² * 3000, making a Rating 4 Attack Dongle cost 48k ¥.

[JmOz01]

Yah I went digging and found out about the cost.

Really kind of sucked for me as my character I was working on does not have the extra 24k to spend on it, had to downgrade it to a 3 (Which I could find the 3k for by gutting my armor's modifications). 

Thinking about making the program slot a decryption instead of hammer.  I did (on the character) use a much better comlink however (The Avalon).

[Herr Brackhaus]

For my money, I would go with Virtual Machine and use Encryption and Hammer. Not only do you get the Limit increase making it more likely that you'll score a hit, but you also get more DV with each attack. A link like this would be unlikely to last long against a dedicated hacker, so focusing on the surprise attack would be the most sensible thing to do to my mind.

Another useful commlink is pretty much any commlink with a program slot for Wrapper. Being able to disguise that smartlinked Ares Predator V as an e-cig with vanilla flavour means your opponent has to have a reason to try to see through your disguised icon

[Top Dog]

For a secondary hacker, I probably wouldn't worry about the Data Processing aspect. If you only had the Cybercombat skill, you could do enough damage with just Brute Force and Data Spike, both of which use Cybercombat, Logic, and Attack.

Even if you limit yourself to only those offensive action (which, yes, will probably be fine as a secondary hacker), Matrix Perception is still kind of essential. And that's Data Processing.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Do you really need Matrix Perception, though? Couldn't the primary hacker say "Attack that icon!" and that'd be enough? If it's running silent, then yeah, you're outta luck, but if it isn't then you spot every icon within 100m of your location automatically so a Matrix Perception Test wouldn't necessarily be needed, right?

It's akin to spotting an NPC that is using stealth vs one that is standing in the open, to my mind. One requires a perception test, the other (probably) doesn't from a combat perspective. If all you've got is Cybercombat, you'll probably have to be lucky to exceed that limit of 1 anyway.

All this being said, I do agree with you that a DR5 commlink is a relatively cheap investment if you're actually going to be a secondary hacker. So there's that.

[Top Dog]

True about the automatic spotting, and I guess in the situations where this secondary decker is acting that'll usually be enough. So yeah, the extra Data Processing isn't strictly neccesary I guess. But yeah, DR5 is a cheap investment if you're doing this.

[Rooks]

Thats what I never understood about networking, theoretically you should be able to use whatever matrix attribute is the best in the network and share that information across it, use a 6 DP 6 Fire wall Transys Avalon to spot/defend maybe as the master spot a hidden icon then use your attack dongle/send the information over to your EvoTech Himitsu and sleaze marks on it if you get attacked you use the transys fire wall as defense

[Herr Brackhaus]

Rooks
Under the current ruleset, you'd have to move your persona between devices to accomplish what you're discussing, which requires a full reboot. So it's possible, but not seamlessly so.

[Rooks]

And Agents?

[Herr Brackhaus]

If you had a program module, then yes, I believe that would be possible.

[Rooks]

you need a program module for an agent? Nixdorf Sekretär comes with a stock rating 3 agent

[Herr Brackhaus]

For commlinks? Absolutely; Agents are cyberprograms. The Secretary is assumed to come with a program module, I believe.