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Mechanics of hacking (Piggyback, Accelerator etc.)

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6 years ago
Jan 27, 2019, 12:14:58 PM

So... i can't find (or figure out) how does Piggyback or Accelerator work. So do i first use the offensive skill THEN start a hack or after ? Do i put the offensive program on the target i want to hack or on any colonized system in the path ?
I've put Accelerator on the system i have a Backdoor on and i saw NO change in the number of turns to hack my target, also put another on the target sysytem...but not change.


Please someone explain this.

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6 years ago
Jan 27, 2019, 1:18:09 PM

Offensive Programs only work on territory occupied by a hostile (not you and not an ally) faction. In order to use them, you have to have a hack ACTIVELY working through the node, in other words you can't just target the node, the hack has to have actually reached the system and begun its hack.


You will know when it is active because the bandwidth being used by the offensive program will be red on your bandwidth bar, if it is white then the program is not in use. It's also important to remember that it's a 30% increase in hacking speed (for an Accelerator) but this is 30% of your current hacking speed and is subject to other modifiers such as enemy Encrypt programs. 


Piggyback works by reducing the bandwidth cost of OTHER programs used during the hack so an Accelerator would cost 21 bandwidth instead of 30, for instance. (This is an example not specific numbers). 


If you saw no change in the turns it took when using an Accelerator correctly then the 30% speed increase simply wasn't enough of a bonus to change the outcome. You'll find the most use from Accelerators when using backdoors and when trying to beat enemy traces. 

Updated 6 years ago.
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6 years ago
Jan 27, 2019, 3:52:00 PM

Could i ask about "Divert" ?

When my hack gets detected and the enemy starts the Trace, does Divert help me in any way ? Or is Divert just a tool i use when i change my mind ?

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6 years ago
Jan 27, 2019, 4:31:37 PM

Divert can very effectively be used to mitigate the effect of a Trace, let me try and explain below. 


Let us assume that "System A" is the starting point of the hack and "System F" is the finishing point and there are Systems B, C, D and E in between them, thus my Hacking Operation looks like this:


System A -> System B -> System C -> System D -> System E -> System F


Let us then assume that my operation will take 10 turns to complete, one for each system and one for each jump between the systems. (It doesn't work like this but it will serve for the example). 


System A - - (Turn 1) - - > System B (Turn 2) - - (Turn 3) - - > System C (Turn 4) - - (Turn 5) - - > System D (Turn 6) - - (Turn 7) - - > System E (Turn 8) - - (Turn 9) - - > System F (Turn 10)


Let us then assume that your hack hits a Trace program at System D, which leaves you with 5 turns left on your operation (System D, jump, System E, jump, System F) The trace moves backward at 150% of the speed so it will only take 3 turns for them to get back to your origin point and shut down your operation. 


You can use Divert to change the destination point of your Hacking Operation to System D or E to reduce the time it takes for the operation to complete and thus bypass the Trace without having to cancel the operation and suffer the bandwidth penalty for doing so. If you Diver to System D then you will complete the operation next turn and therefore finish long before the Trace does. If you Divert to System E then you will finish in 3 turns just as the Trace program reaches your origin point. You will still finish the hack but it will be traced and you'll suffer the tracing penalties but not lose the bandwidth. 

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6 years ago
Jan 27, 2019, 4:39:09 PM

Got it, crystal clear ! Tnx a lot for the explanation.


The reason i didn't figure it out by myself is...i always hacked the nearest system, so in that case there weren't any system in between my starting and target hack "string". So i couldn't Divert in a way that would be useful to me :)


Well now i understand that it's better to do some "long distant" hacks when you have divert.

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6 years ago
Jan 27, 2019, 4:50:05 PM

It's important to remember that the "shortest path" is not always the "best path" when it comes to hacking. A Trace program has to follow the same route you followed to get to where you're going so the more jumps you have in your path the longer it will take the Trace to complete. If you assume worst case scenario and your opponent has an Encrypt program on the node you're trying to hack and it will take you around 4 turns to hack that system then you need enough jumps in your route to make the Trace program take longer than 4 turns to trace back to your origin point. In this case, a hacking path of at least six systems with a couple of your own Encrypt programs along the path will ensure you can finish the hack before the trace finds you. 

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