Storylines[edit | edit source]
Storylines, or Stories, are the various plots and subplots that take place during the game. Storylines advance through Dialog, Legwork, and Missions. Storylines can be big or small, affecting individual characters or changing the environment of the entire New Boston Zone. Storyline Missions are different from Proc-Gen Missions in that Storyline Missions are hand-crafted. They may use unique map levels and may offer unique rewards. Storylines and Storyline Missions have tags which the Casting Director can use, selecting whether a Storyline can proceed. Some Storylines allow the Casting Director to select an appropriate character to link to the story.
Some Storylines are brief, encompassing Dialog and a single Legwork. Others can take years and define the career of the Cyber Knight and their team. Players can usually choose to ignore Storylines, but there may be consequences. Large Storylines can be quite complex. The stories can branch, dead-end, remerge, and spin off independent stories. Decisions made during Dialog and Missions will lead the player through these branches. A player cannot experience all of the branches in a single playthrough. This is an important feature allowing each game playthrough to be different.
Here is a list of all storyline missions
Storyline Missions[edit | edit source]
Storyline Missions are hand-crafted by the game's developers and cover interesting plot points. A Storyline Mission is part of a Storyline, a series or web of Missions and/or Legwork driven by character backstories, schemes by Contacts, and the changing environment of the New Boston Zone in the form of Eras. Many Storylines have only Dialog and a single Mission or Legwork. Other Storylines may have alternate branches depending on the player's choices.
Story Missions will sometimes have multiple stages. Some stages may be optional or only available under certain circumstances. Each stage is a map that you must traverse to achieve some Objectives. An example is sneaking through the sewers to avoid detection and then using a service elevator to show up in the second map where the heist is to be performed. Another example is a side-area with extra loot which was unlocked by pre-mission Legwork.
Storyline Missions will have some procedurally generated elements. The contact offering a Mission or the target Faction may be determined randomly from eligible choices. The contents of Lockboxes, Matrix IC, and Matrix storage Nodes are determined when the Mission is generated and placed in the Timeline. If a specific loot item or target enemy is part of the Mission Objectives, the location of the item or enemy may be randomized. The locations of guards may be randomized. This helps each playthrough feel different.
Eras[edit | edit source]
An Era is caused by a major event with New Boston and will affect the player's network of underworld contacts, jobs offered, and markets, and will open up new stories and opportunities. Eras usually last a while, at least a few months. Eras do not always occur in the same sequence, and Eras can overlap in time.
Eras have considerable influence over missions offered. Certain Storylines only occur during specific Eras. The types of Proc-Gen Missions, target Factions, and offering Factions may change in a new Era.
Origin Stories[edit | edit source]
Origin Stories center around the circumstances which gave the Cyber Knight their Quantum Rider implant. The rarity of the implant means that obtaining one always involves high-stakes negotiations, politics, and gambles. A new Cyber Knight attracts the attention of powerful forces looking to use, destroy, or ally with the team. Where did the implant come from? How did you pay for it? Who installed it? Who do you owe? The Origin Story explores these questions and the consequences.
When starting a new game, the player selects their Origin Story. Origin Stories are among the most complex Storylines in the game. The player may have the opportunity to take a shortcut to close the Storyline before it develops very far, but following the branches of the Origin Story will give the player allies and enemies, opportunities, and a deeper interaction with the New Boston Zone.
Syndicate Debts[edit | edit source]
Null Deal[edit | edit source]
Mercenary Storylines[edit | edit source]
Mercenary storylines connected to specific mercenaries. The storyline is intimately related to the backstory of that mercenary. If that mercenary is not on the squad, the Casting Director will not generate that story.
Brother Dearest[edit | edit source]
Shadow Site Raid[edit | edit source]
A merc comes forward to tell you they've uncovered or previously knew about a Shadow Site.
Any merc with entanglements with a Megacorporation can initiate this Storyline. It requires team Power Level 5+ and merc Loyalty 60%+.
The merc reveals a secret, probably illegal facility where a Megacorporation keep the things they don't want any of their rivals (or remaining governments) to know about. This opens a high-risk, high-reward raid against that Faction's shadow site.
To protect these shadow sites, the Corporations have modified and removed intelligence-level safety protocols from the regular UltraTek-developed Sigma security AIs. The gloves are off; these specialized Sec AI are the worst of the worst opponents - pushing the boundary in every way. They drop more reinforcements, they are relentless about keeping their security device network up, they push Tally per Turn to the max.
Once the mission is completed - win or lose - the merc's backstory tag will switch to a "Divulged Shadow Site" tag which removes them from the running of coming up with another such storyline.
The Shadow Site Raid is semi-procgen. The target Faction is the Faction that the merc was previously involved with. The rewards, prompts and Dialog are hand-crafted, but the Map is random. This Storyline can occur on multiple mercs, but only once on any specific merc.
Minor Storylines[edit | edit source]
Most storylines only contain one or two Missions or Legwork. A few storylines are longer, with three to four linked jobs. Some storylines, such as Clinic Expansion, represent a different kind of opportunity and don't contain any Mission or Legwork all.
Boosted Scientist[edit | edit source]
A researcher wants to escape their corporation.
Trivia: One of the very first missions in the Alpha Playtest was Biospike Hit, running on an early version of the Gene Vault map. The job offer came from a Taylor Strizek and the dialog referred to supposed previous jobs for Strizek helping them escape their former corporate masters. Only the one job from Strizek actually appeared in the Alpha playtest. Biospike Hit may be the model for a future job in Cyber Knights: Flashpoint for the Boosted Scientist storyline. The unique part of the job (in Alpha testing) was that there were two possible exits, one of which was locked behind a key which could be found in a lockbox. Originally the key was a Red Key but that was changed to Blue Key after rules for keys were standardized. When Hacking was implemented in the Alpha, a Matrix Host was added to the Gene Vault map to provide an alternative method of getting the Blue Key.
This storyline has one matrix hack and one mission with a very tight turn limit. The storyline starts with an announcement from Blur: "I have been approached by a very promising - if demanding - corporate connect". The contact wants to escape their corporation and destroy the corp's copy of their research data. Their servers are being moved on a truck, and they want you to deploy a virus onto the truck as it goes by an interchange. The storyline is only available after your team Power Level is 3 or more.
The first step is an optional matrix hack, "404-X Spike". This is highly recommended because it gives you a leverage for the main mission which adds one turn to the very tight turn limit. The mission "Truck Job" has some additional leverage; it is recommended to get the one turn additional delay available from your wireghost. Once the mission starts, you need to get your hacker to the terminal and perform a quick hack to enable another merc to stand on the interchange bridge and deploy the virus. Protip: a vanguard with blend is well suited to this long distance run. If you cannot make it to the first bridge soon enough, there is a second further bridge, but it is guarded by two heavily armored humanoid drones.
Carnivore[edit | edit source]
The squad needs to find a new Contact in Brave Star.
Child of the Belly[edit | edit source]
A Contact asks the squad to locate an errant child.
This story line can be generated for many contacts, and the child can be either gender. The story line has only one legwork with several possible outcomes. The story line opens with a contact asking, "I need to ask you for a very personal favor. It's about my son/daughter". The contact's adult child has vanished into a dangerous area, and they ask you to investigate. This leads to the legwork "Child of the Belly".
If you fail at the legwork, the child is found dead, but the parent still appreciates your effort and you gain +2 favors, some trust, and some influence. If you succeed, the child becomes a drug dealer contact with level 2 combat drugs and level 1 hacking drugs. You can choose whether to tell the parent about the drug dealing part, but either way the parent gives you +4 favors, trust, and influence.
Clinic Expansion[edit | edit source]
A doctor looks for investment in a new clinic.
Your initial doctor contact, Ashe, approaches you with a request. If you can pay her $500,000 she will be able to do a major upgrade to her clinic. This will provide an option for better and faster healing of injuries and wounds, and access to higher level cybernetic implants. She also offers a legwork "Dock Connections"; if you take it and you are successful, it lowers the cost of upgrading to $400,000. Both the upgrade and the legwork can be delayed if you need time for a spare merc to be available.
Some players already have access to multiple doctor contacts, for example by choosing the initial soldier Aitana, or by building the Underworld Hub building and getting access to another doctor contact there. There is still very little reason to turn down this mission; the extra healing is always helpful.
Dead Drop Hit[edit | edit source]
A gun runner needs a shipment retrieved.
Trivia: The first pure-combat mission that Alpha playtesters received was called Dock Trouble. It used an early version of the Dockside 008 map and was the direct ancestor of the Dead Drop Hit mission and the later Alpha Strike proc-gen missions. Since Alpha, the map has been expanded and enemy spawns and behavior has changed but the essentials are very similar to the original Dock Trouble.
This story line has only a single mission "Dead Drop Hit", and it is a pure combat mission with the team starting in an exposed position. The story line starts with an offer from a gun runner contact: "I've got a very special offer for you. I'm holding an e-rifle with your name tag on it, but you'd better move quick". It turns out that the contact is this-close to getting a shipment of advanced rifles, but they need your help to pick up the shipment during a full firefight. Leave behind your silencers and bring all your full-auto weapons.
After the mission, you have the option to buy one of the e-rifles in the market. Note, you must go to the market and find the "BurnerMouth" weapon and buy it; it is not a direct mission reward. You also have the opportunity to double cross the contact and keep the weapon; this dramatically decreases the contact's trust. This may not be worth the cost savings.
The BurnerMouth is a nice weapon, but not game-changing; it has short range and limited recharges. Some players give it to their hacker as a secondary weapon, figuring that they will only need it if a mission has already turned loud.
Echelon Boost[edit | edit source]
The sequel mission to Boosted Scientist. If you succeed, the client, Taylor Strizek, will escape to the Rook Technologies controlled area and offer Omicron Rook Implants service.
This storyline has one optional mission, "Spike N' Dump", to infiltrate Matsumoto's zone and spike the CPU. Beware, if Security level reaches 6, the job will fail immediately. If you succeed, you can access the alternate path for the 1st stage of the main mission, and the Sec Level will be reset to 1 at the end of it.
The main mission has 3 stages. 1st stage (2 paths) to infiltrate the Matsumoto Lab, 2nd stage to rescue the client, and 3rd stage to let her escape. At the 2nd stage, Taylor Strizek stays inside the laser injection fields and will exit there in 3 turns. Around there, guards are waiting to kill her, and 5 researchers are waiting to see what happens. Kill the guards to save her and the researchers for credit and her trust. At the 3rd stage, Matsumoto's guards are waiting for her, and more to coming by hover trucks and roads. Rook Technologies' guards will come, but we must hurry because we are outnumbered.
Eleventh Hour[edit | edit source]
A Contact wants their adult child rescued.
Trivia: A couple months into the Alpha playtest, a new mission was added named Undercutter Job. The purpose was to test the 'hold the zone' objective. Undercutter Job used an early version of the Foundation Ruins map and was very similar to the Slagga Smash mission in the Eleventh Hour storyline. The map underwent many changes between Alpha and Early Access.
The story line starts when Blur brings in a new client, a Warner Braun slicer. (Often, but not always, the slicer is named Troy Zang.) His adult son has an experimental chem-hive implant but he has disappeared after committing a murder. The first step is a legwork "Bioweapon Traces" to locate the son. After the legwork completes, you can either lie to the father and say the son has left town, or take a mission "Eleventh Hour" to rescue him.
The son's name is randomly generated but appears as a scourge recruit in your barracks as soon as you accept the mission.
The "eleventh hour" mission features a foot race against a strong VIP who is moving to the cell where the son is held, in order to kill him. Try to avoid getting tied up in firefights; use movement talents to get to the cell as fast as possible. Once you reach the cell, the scourge joins your team for the mission. After the mission, you have the opportunity to recruit the scourge.
If you decline the mission, after some time, the slicer will be killed.
German Connection[edit | edit source]
A night club owner wants prestige and new connections to German contacts by demonstrating association with a Cyber Knight.
The story line starts with a timeline entry from the Contact Owyn: "I might be on the edge of forging the German Connection in this town". She invites the Face to a party at her club where the leadership of the new mega-corporation Warner-Braun will be. You can commit the Face and up to two additional mercs to the Legwork
If the Legwork fails the first or second time, it will try again. The Legwork for the Face is guaranteed to succeed after the third try at the latest. When the Face's Legwork finishes successfully, Owyn introduces a new Contact from Warner-Braun. The class of the Contact is random; Corporate VP, Spec Ops CO, and Dockmaster are among the possible results. Owyn also gains two new traits, one of which can lead to a Power Play.
If any additional mercs are sent along with the Face, they will each get a roll for success. On failure, the merc gains +10% to +20% Stress plus one of the following: a new trait Club Life and +1% Pay Rate, or an Injury for several days. On success, the merc gains -10% to -30% Stress as well as some hype. As with all Legwork, the mercs also gains an additional +10% Hype from success. In addition, if two mercs are sent, they each gain the Friend Trait with each other.
Forward Op[edit | edit source]
The squad needs some ready cash, time to do a Raid.
Trivia: One of the earliest missions that Alpha playtesters recieved was Req Site Raid. The map was an early version of the Req Site map and comprised a raid on lockboxes. In form, Req Site Raid was almost identical to Forward Op except that there was no Matrix Host - the Matrix had not yet been added to the game. That playtest raid is the direct ancestor of the current Raid, or Scav Raid, type of proc-gen mission.
There is not much to say about this mission; it is a standard raid.
Mothball Op[edit | edit source]
The squad needs some ready cash, time to do a Raid.
There is not much to say about this mission; it is a standard raid.
Heartbreak Rush[edit | edit source]
A contact wants to plant evidence to break up an unfortunate romance.
This story line has one hack-only mission, one legwork, and several follow-up timeline events. You will be able to recruit a new hacker.
The story line starts with a comment from Blur, "A Warner-Braun corporate VP needs our unique brand of services". The job is to frame a UNA hacker who is causing problems on a research project. This requires a hack-only mission "Heartbreak Rush" to create some fake data, and then a legwork mission "Heartbreak Fake" to plant it. The legwork auto-repeats with a 5 day period until success, so the assigned merc could be unavailable for up to 15 days. A few days after it finishes, you get a dialog which results in a substantial trust and influence bonus for the contact.
A few weeks after it finishes, there is a subsequent dialog from Blur, "Do you remember that UNA researcher we got canned?" It turns out she is down on her luck. For a payment of $20,000, you can pay off her debt and then she is available as a recruit.
New in Town[edit | edit source]
The squad needs a connection to the new Megacorp coming to town.
This story line introduces the first era, Treaty '31, and a new megacorp, Warner-Braun. There is only one legwork mission; if you send Blur and she succeeds, you will gain a new contact: a Warner-Braun Corporate VP.
Ride Along[edit | edit source]
A gun runner needs some protection on one of their routes.
Origami Joe asks for help protecting his smuggling route. This is a single legwork "Runner Shakedown". If you take it, and succeed, you will earn a favor with him. If you don't, or if you fail, he will cut off access to his market for a while. There is little reason to turn down the legwork; but the risk is also low since there is another gun runner Diego with similar markets.
Runner Shakedown[edit | edit source]
A gun runner wants help arranging a source for foreign weaponry.
This storyline has one legwork and one pure combat mission, although with a particular team setup the combat can be avoided. The reward is a huge increase in available weaponry, especially if it appears in the early or mid game.
The story line starts with Origami Joe asking "I need your backing on a risky business move". This leads to a legwork to bodyguard his gun runners, "Runner Shakedown". The mysterious "Herr Schweinchen" is introduced as a contact. Normally after this legwork there is a long pause in the timeline while Origami Joe considers his next move. Then he offers a combat mission "Slagga Smash". For some players, this may be the first pure combat mission. Pure combat missions require a different frame of mind; stealth doesn't matter, only long range firepower.
There is an alternative to the combat mission, if one of your mercs has a Free Streets Compact background. They will appear in a dialog to offer a meeting with the FSC leader instead. This requires a legwork "Southie Slagga", which can only be executed by a merc who can operate in FSC territory, or has the Raised On The Streets background. With the current initial merc team, only Liat has FSC background, but he is prohibited from FSC operations. He can offer the legwork but can't execute it. Dade has the right background, if he is available.
If you succeed at the legwork, then a mission "Southie Strut" is offered instead of "Slagga Smash". This is a tactical mission, but the main goal is to reach a dialog interaction with the FSC leader. This mission doesn't require any combat. You will gain a new contact in FSC. You can choose between offering two obligations to the contact, or one obligation and a $50k payment.
(todo: there is also an option to start combat during the negotiation. I haven't tried that.)
After either Slagga Smash or Southie Strut, Origami Joe sets up a gun running pipeline with Herr Schweinchen and gets two new traits, "imported weaponry level 3" and "imported weapon mods level 3". This unlocks some weapons which are very powerful compared to the initial level 1-2 weapons available in the market. In particular, the Kaza Raildart is a high power pistol which can replace the starting Defensor.
Sibling Breakout[edit | edit source]
A member of the squad asks for help breaking their sibling out of prison.
This mission can be generated for any merc on your team who does not already have a sibling, and the sibling to be rescued can be either gender. The story line starts with one merc announcing "I need to talk to you, I have a family problem". After some dialog, this leads to a prison break mission "Sibling Breakout". When you accept the mission, the sibling will appear in the barracks as a recruit so you can see their stats. They are a pretty good hacker.
The mission has two stages, and the first stage has two options. The normal approach to the first stage requires a hacker to unlock a door. If you do not have a hacker, or your hacker is injured, there is usually a leverage option to take an alternate path. This is usually longer, so the normal approach is preferred. The second stage is a prison, with the sibling in one cell. You need to hack another terminal to unlock the cell. Then the sibling joins your team for the mission. After the mission you can recruit the sibling to your team.
If you decline the mission, there are consequences, which can be random. After a few days, the merc may leave your team, taking some gear. A few days after that, the merc and the sibling may both re-appear; the merc carried out the mission on their own. The merc may return injured; the sibling may die. Once they return, you can choose to dismiss either of them.
Obligation Storylines[edit | edit source]
Obligation Storylines are initiated when a Contact calls in an Obligation that the squad owes to the Contact. If the squad owes an Obligation to a Contact, the Contact may require the squad to pay off the Obligation by executing a dangerous mission, for no pay and a short timeframe.
Snitch Out Snuff[edit | edit source]
A Contact calls in an Obligation asking for an assassination.
It is possible this mission may have multiple triggers and contacts, but so far only one contact and one trigger is known. As part of the Syndicate Debts origin story, you can choose to owe an Obligation to Octane. She will call it in and require you to go on this mission. This is a challenging assassination mission which has a short expiration. If you do not, or cannot take it, your trust rating with Octane will decline considerably.
Power Play Storylines[edit | edit source]
When a Contact experiences an Influence Limit Break, one of the possible results is a Power Play. This adds a Power Play tag to the Contact. A future Influence Limit Break may then lead to a Power Play Storyline. The Contact asks the squad to help them improve their station. If the squad is successful, the Contact gains a new power--a new unique Trait or a new unique Service. The option to get a Power Play tag will not appear in Influence Limit Breaks until the squad is Power Level 3, but some Contacts can get a special Power Play tag earlier than that through Storylines.
Fadelight Blades[edit | edit source]
A contact offers the opportunity to get powerful blades forged in orbit.
This storyline requires a Power Play by a Contact with one of the following:
- Anyone involved in weapon smuggling
- Gang Bosses
- anyone with Gun Nut Trait
- Anyone obsessed with Gleamers
The story line starts with a qualified contact in the timeline with the dialog "I'm about to pull a power play all the way to a gleamer in orbit". Otto, a bladesmith in orbit wants his lover, Mariah to join him, in exchange for opening a market for blades forged at the Fadelight orbital station. If you accept, two missions are generated, and succeeding at either one of them allows progress to the next stage. Both missions have randomized names. One is "hack 3 files in set", and the other is "loot 3 files in set"; the set is "citizenship card". In fact looting only one of the parts, in either mission is sufficient.
The second mission in the story line occurs immediately with the dialog "There is a snag we need to discuss". The launchpad is under control of a hostile syndicate soldier, whose name is randomized. This requires a bodyguard mission to help Mariah reach the launchpad. Once you succeed at this mission, the story line is complete. The contact now has a "fadelight blades" service at level 4, which can be improved normally.
The Fadelight Blades service can be raised to level 8, with one powerful blade unlocked at each level. Here are the stats of the level 8 blade (as of June, 2025): 450 kinetic damage + 280 on power slice.
FSC-Fabbed Armor[edit | edit source]
A contact offers the opportunity to get access to an entirely new armor service from the Free Streets Compact.
- anyone who sells Armor
- anyone with the Paranoid trait
- anyone with the Syndicate Merch trait (or possibly any Syndicate boss)
Currently (August 2025) it is not clear what the exact requirements are for a contact to be eligible for this power play. There is a trait "paranoid" whose description says it allows armor services, so any contact with this trait qualifies. We cannot yet give the exact requirements.
The story line starts with a qualified contact in the timeline with the dialog "I need your help quickly on a power play - I have an inroad with the FSC armor fabbers, but it won't last"
The power play has a single three-stage mission, "Good Faith Slapdown". There is a FSC contact, Fabber Collins, who has been kidnapped and imprisoned by a Syndicate Blade, Split-eye. Collins works for a group called "the units", a massive, completely independent fabrication organization. They don't rely on the megacorps for anything.
The first stage of the mission is a prison break to free Collins. The second stage is a hard target assassination of Split-eye. The third stage is a bodyguard mission to extract Collins. Since it is a three stage mission, managing consumables and overall sec level is a challenge. A sec level of 25+ is possible since the sec level at the end of each stage is kept as the starting sec level for the next stage.
Be aware that at the start of the third stage extraction mission, there is additional joy when VIP hunters appear around turn 2-3.
When the three stage mission is complete, the contact offers the "FSC Fabbed Armor" service at level 3. This immediately offers two excellent stealth armors. The service can be improved to at least level 6. The armor reference page should show the details of these armors, although (as of August 2025) it is out of sync with the actual armors available in the market.
Jupiter Decks[edit | edit source]
A contact plans to help a corrupt security engineer get promoted in return for access to powerful new cyberdeck models.
- anyone who sells Cyberdecks
- anyone with the Quantum Obsession trait
This power play may start when a netwraith contact is on a power play. There may be other contact classes or contact traits which allow this also. The dialog starts with "I need your help to raise the star of my corrupt Jupiter Group employee, La Lupa."
The initial dialog tells you that three separate missions will be required on a tight schedule. All three require a matrix runner (hacker / wireghost); make sure they do not get injured while the story line is active. The missions don't appear to be more difficult than other missions at your current power level. The goal is to create panic at Jupiter Group, so that La Lupa can sweep in and be a hero. Then her higher rank will allow her to send high level cyber decks to your contact.
The first mission "Buttoned-up Havoc" is a solo CPU spike to lock down their system with ransomware. The second mission immediately appears with a 24 hour deadline. The second mission, "Encryption Trick" is a "hack 3 files" mission. As usual, the mission will succeed even if you only obtain one of the files. (There are other missions with the special condition that all three must be obtained.)
After this, the third mission is offered, "Blade Between Bills". This is a two stage mission, a Q-Gap mission preceded by another normal level to traverse. The deadline is also 24 hours. We have not tried running the clock between these missions, but we can assume that if you run the clock 6 hours between missions 1 and 2, then the deadline for mission 3 would be only 18 hours.
Once you complete the third mission, the contact will have access to Jupiter cyberdecks, which are expensive, high level, epic decks. Currently (September 2025) these are the only decks available above level 6. See the cyberdeck reference page for details.
K-177 Implants[edit | edit source]
A contact tries to steal biodata for advanced cyber implants.
- anyone who sells Cyberware of any kind
As with all Power Plays, the option to start a Power Play mission will not appear in Influence Limit until the squad is Power Level 3. In addition, this story line requires a Power Play by a Contact with a contact who has any cyber implant service, including Cyberware, Imported Cyberware, and Street Wetware. The storyline has two stages: acquiring the location of the secret lab, and infiltrating it to steal the data.
The initial dialog for the contact is "I need your help quickly -- this power play to steal advanced cybernetics won't last". The dialog offers a choice between a hack mission or a legwork to find the location of the secret lab. You can sign up for both, and do either one. Once you finish one, the other silently ends. The hack job is generally faster than the legwork.
Completing the first step grants a mission "Architect Option". This is a two stage mission. The first stage is a standard four person "spike the CPU" mission on the Gene Vault map; the exits are locked until the spike is completed. When your hacker first clicks on the terminal, there is a popup dialog where your Face announces that an alarm was triggered and more reinforcements are incoming. Like, a lot of reinforcements.
The second stage of Architect Option is a "hack four loot items" mission on the Decommissioned Core map, with some additional information. Your face tells you that there are two terminals, each with two of the loot items, and you *must* get all four parts in order to get the mission reward. This makes it a little more challenging.
The second stage also has a unique feature: a cybersuite which offers a one-time upgrade to one merc. Scroll around the map to find it. Here is a screenshot.
One merc can enter this area, and get a dialog. You can select one of two permanent upgrades: TITAN (+2 strength and +30 HP) or GHOST (+2 reaction and +10% evade), or you can back out safely. If you choose either option, it is applied immediately. But! For six turns, the merc will have a -3 AP debuff. This means they will move very slowly, which is a problem if you want to exit the map quickly.
When the mission is done, your contact will have a new trait "architecture bioprint thief" and the new service K-177 Spec Wetware. See the cyberware types page for details of the implants; the service has four levels.
Project 'Battletank' Implants[edit | edit source]
A posthumous request from a brilliant doctor puts your Contact on the case to recover the Battletank implant architecture bioprint.
- anyone who sells Cyberware of any kind
The power play starts with a request from your contact: "With your help, we can make my Power Play and steal the bioprint for the failed Rook Tech battletank cybernetic project." There is a long dialog with back story; Rook Technologies created five heavily cybered soldiers, but they went berserk and had to be killed. The researcher, who is your contact's friend, hid the detailed plans in the firmware of a sixth soldier, whose name is randomly generated. We will call her "Six". (Not "Eleven" and not "Seven of Nine" :-) ) Six is in prison, and your goal is to find her and free her. Then your contact can get the plans and offer advanced cyber implants based on that "battletank" technology.
The first step is to collect information, either via a mission or legwork. The legwork is "Left To Rot", 7 day duration, one attempt. The mission "Wired Crossover" is to spike a CPU in an abandoned power substation. This mission has a twist; the hack cannot start until three power stations in different corners of the map are activated. It may be helpful, if risky, to send one merc after each station while sending the hacker to the matrix terminal.
A dialog for the second mission appears on the timeline, so you can have a breather if needed.
The second mission, "The Sixth, The Last" is a two stage prison break. The first stage is to traverse a level. The second stage is a prison break. The prisoner is Six, who is a warmachine with a full set of implants. Assuming you succeed at the prison break and she is not killed, she will be available to recruit to your team. Regardless of that outcome, your contact has access to the "Project Battletank Implants" service. The details of the recruit are here. The cyberware reference page shows all the implants offered by the service.
Ricksham Drip[edit | edit source]
A contact finds a way to bring a powerful line of new drugs into the city.
This story line requires a Power Play by a Contact with one of the following:
- anyone with Addict Trait
- anyone involved in Drug Smuggling
- anyone who is involved entertainment industry (such a Club Owner)
The storyline has three stages: a bodyguard mission, a bodyguard legwork, and then another bodyguard mission.
After the initial dialog, the contact offers "Coyote Hot Drop", which is a variation on a bodyguard mission. The VIP enters on turn two at the other side of the map, and by turn four, there is another unpleasant surprise! A number of Brave Star operatives appear and an active firefight breaks out between the Fenians and the Brave Stars. Bring lots of overwatch breakers and run for the door!
Now that the VIP has made it to town, the second step is a bodyguard legwork. Only certain mercs with a military background may be assigned, and the duration is 15 days with 50% base success rate. The Underworld Hub with tokens to raise success and shorten duration will be helpful.
The deal is done, and the third and final step is to escort the VIP back out of the city. The mission is "Retrograde Reset". This mission also has a complication: head hunters show up who will home in on the VIP.
When the third stage is done, your contact will have a new trait "business partner" and you will have a new contact within Ricksham. The "business partner" trait adds one powerful level 5 hacking drug to the market: midnight glimmer, which offers 5% connection repair, two tokens to avoid traps, and adds matrix armor and damage.
Rook Prototype Weapons[edit | edit source]
A contact plans to steal powerful prototype weapons from Rook Technologies
This storyline requires a Power Play by a Contact with one of the following:
- Anyone involved in weapon smuggling
- Gang Bosses
- anyone with Gun Nut Trait
This storyline starts when a qualifying contact has an influence break and has the power play modifier active. If you see an influence break on a contact who may qualify, but this option does not appear, use favors! All the favors!
The contact will need your help to complete a daring plan. The storyline has two stages. The goal is to assassinate a (raondomly named) Rook security chief. The first stage is to research the target to find out where he goes. To find out, you are offered a 10 day legwork "Shadow Pinpoint" and a solo CPU spike mission with a random name. You can sign up for both--only one of the attempts needs to succeed. If one succeeds, the other job is quietly removed from the Timeline.
Once you finish the research, the contact offers you the assassination mission "Red Mist Event". This is a souped-up assassination mission. At least three waves of bodyguards appear; the first wave appears with the VIP as normal, but then at turn 4 and turn 6, additional waves appear from different entry points on the map. Exits do not appear until the VIP is killed.
After the mission is complete, the contact announces that they have a new service, Rook Prototype Weapons, at rank 4. This introduces two new rare level four weapons, a UAR and an e-rifle similar to the burnermouth from another mission. The service can be raised to rank 8 with enough influence and favors. Here are the level 4 weapons. As of April 2025 the UAR is no better than other level 4 common UAR, and the e-rifle is just barely better than the burnermouth. Each higher level of the service introduces new short range weapons, an assortment of e-rifles, UARs and shotguns.
Rootmaker Programs[edit | edit source]
A contact offers the opportunity to work with a famous hacker and get access to powerful new cyberdeck programs.
- anyone who sells Programs of any kind
- anyone with the Quantum Obsession Trait
Currently (August 2025) it is not clear what the exact requirements are for a contact to be eligible for this power play. We "assume" it can occur on any netwraith contact.
The story line starts with a qualified contact in the timeline with the dialog "I need your help to connect with a matrix legend who has come back onto the scene. If successful, I will gain a new service through this Prague connection."
The power play has one mission, "Two Ton Haul", followed by a legwork, "Shoulder to Shoulder", followed by a mission, "Library Flip". The first mission is a solo hack against Jupiter Group, to steal three "code repo logs". After this, the legwork "Shoulder to Shoulder" is offered, where the hacker Monkeyfish works with your merc to create some viral hacks. The merc gains the trait "mirror walker". Currently (August 2025) the description of this trait is missing, so we do not know what it does. This legwork has a duration of 12 days with 3 repeats, so it could theoretically take 36 days. Be sure to use your counter-intel room tokens to increase the success rate and decrease the duration.
The final mission "Library Flip" is a two stage mission where the first stage is to reach an exit. This is on a proc-gen map which can include "Hovertruck Repair Depot". There is an optional legwork for the mission to access a "flooded utility level". If this legwork succeeds, it opens an alternate entrance which may be quieter. The in-game effect is that the sec level is reset to 1 upon entering the second level, if it was higher.
The second stage, which can occur on the Lockdown Station map, has two phases. The first phase requires hacking a challenging matrix to spike the CPU. When the CPU is spiked, this unlocks three lootable matrix banks. These are large computer stations which can be looted by any merc. It may be helpful to position one merc at each of the three stations while your hacker spikes the CPU. Before the hack is complete, you can click on the objectives to find the stations; after the hack, the stations are highlighted with blue objective squares. After you loot the three stations, the exit unlocks.
Once you finish the mission, the contact is granted the "rootmaker programs" service at level 3. This immediately grants a number of unique cyberdeck programs, including "Cloak 1" (currently August 2025 the effect of this is unknown) and several additional level 3 programs.
Retirement Storylines[edit | edit source]
Retirement Storylines are pinnacle opportunities in your Cyber Knight's career, accessible only when you've built a rep as the Knight that gets things done. Multiple offers will give you the opportunity to get started on a chain of escalating missions leading to one last big heist that could get you out of the game for good.
Come out on top, and you'll have a window of time to decide (and complete any lingering unfinished business with your mercs or other contacts) if you want to take the retirement opportunity, or continue running the streets.
Some Knights can't give up the thrill of the heist, and will continue to play hard and fast until they go out in a blaze of glory. Others are convinced better opportunities will come, for either a better life offworld or with more room in the opportunity to set up the squad members they've become closest to with a better life as well.