What the Cyberpunk 2077 Overheat attack warning means and how to stop it

Cyberpunk 2077 overheat warning
(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The Cyberpunk 2077 Overheat attack warning can appear on screen with no real explanation while you're fighting, and without it being clear what's going on it can be hard to do anything about it. It's a lot easier to deal with when you work everything out so if it's causing you problems I can help explain what it is, what's going on and what you can do about it in Cyberpunk 2077.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Overheat attack explained

Cyberpunk 2077 overheat hack

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

The Cyberpunk 2077 Overheat option is one of the Cyberpunk 2077 hacking attacks you can launch on other people. It burns them from a distance using your cyberware and is a great way to damage enemies from a far, or from stealth. However, if it's done to you it can quickly get frustrating to see the Overheat warning and not know how to stop whoever's doing it, or avoid taking thermal damage from the hack. 

To prevent taking damage from an Overheat attack you'll have to find the person trying to hack you. You might not even have to do anything either, as just getting close enough will usually make them break off the hack to defend themselves. 

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However, that's easier said than done in the chaos of a gun fight so another good option is to use the I SPY option in your quickhacking perks, which you can find in the Intelligence section of your Character tab, here:

Cyberpunk 2077 I SPY

(Image credit: CD Projekt Red)

If you choose that perk, you'll see a yellow directional indicator on screen if someone's using Overheat and you can use it to help you locate the hacker attacking you. They'll also appear outlined in yellow, instead of the usual red to help you locate them. That should make it much easier to locate them and throw some aggro their way to stop the overheat dead. 

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Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.