Overheating in Cyberpunk 2077: What it is and how to stop

CD Projekt Red’s highly-anticipated action RPG Cyberpunk 2077 is finally out, and players are finding their way through the game’s story mode. One unique feature that players are being introduced to is the ‘overheating’ mechanic and many are wondering how to stop it from happening.

One of the most fun aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 is that you can cybernetically enhance your character, ‘V’. Unfortunately, this ability also brings with it the possibility of overheating. Getting hacked by an enemy causes V to overheat, which in turn damages the character’s health.

Overheating and scanning for enemies

You engage into a fight with enemies and you duck for cover but you find that you’re still taking damage. You’re not directly being shot at or taking damage so what gives? This is a telltale sign of being hacked, and similar to V’s ability to scan and hack into security cameras, enemies can also do this to V.

You can prevent being hacked and overheating by following some helpful tips:

• Look for cameras before engaging in a fight. If you’re already in a battle, shoot out any cameras you can see before your overheat bar fills up. Cameras can help enemies locate and easily hack your character.
• Scanning the area for enemies is also a great preventative measure, as this can tell you which enemy can hack you. As soon as you see an enemy, you can quickly take them out before they hack you or do any significant damage.
• Spend a skill point on the Cyberpunk 2077 quick hacking ‘I Spy’ perk. You will need five Intelligence to unlock the perk, and it will help identify enemy netrunners attempting to hack you. Once you find the hacker, you can shoot them out before your overheating bar fills up. This perk can be found under the Intelligence and Quickhacking segments of the skill tree.

Not completely confident with the game yet? You’re not the only one. As Cyberpunk 2077 is newly-released, many players are still exploring the ins and outs of the game. Some common questions include who to side with, and how to do important tasks such as opening your inventory. For all future patches and updates, and for many more guides, stay tuned on our Cyberpunk 2077 page.