New Operator Guide
The Basics
HackerQuest is a terminal-based hacking MMORPG. You type commands into a terminal to interact with the world. There is no point-and-click. There are no quest markers. ECHO -- your AI companion -- will guide you through the first steps, but after that, you're on your own.
The game runs in your browser at hackerquest.online. No download required. Create an account or play as a guest to try it out.
Character Creation
You'll choose:
- Handle -- Your hacker alias. 3-20 characters. Choose wisely, it's how the network knows you.
- Identity -- Male, Female, Non-Binary, or Decline. Affects NPC dialogue tone, not gameplay.
- Region -- Where you operate from. Affects starting contacts and flavor text.
- Background -- Script Kiddie, IT Pro, Con Artist, Crypto Native, Network Engineer, or Hardware Hacker. Each gives +2 to a skill and determines your first NPC contact.
- Skills -- 15 points to distribute across 7 skills (max 5 each at creation).
- Faction -- Optional. Panopticon, Darkstream, Meridian, Benthic, or Unaffiliated.
Your First 10 Minutes
After the boot sequence, ECHO will call you. Accept the call. She'll explain who she is and point you to your first target. Then:
1. Type scan -- find your first targets
2. Type connect <ip> <port> -- talk to your first NPC
3. Type hack <ip> -- break into a scanned target
4. Type crimes -- see available criminal operations
5. Type crime pickpocket -- earn your first dirty cash
6. Type launder mixer -- clean your dirty cash into XMR
7. Type market -- browse the dark web marketplace
8. Type help -- see all available commands
Resources
Two resources govern your session cadence. Both work the same way for every player — free, Operator, and Handler all share identical values. No pay-to-win on basic mechanics.
Energy (100 max)
Used for scanning, marketplace transactions, crafting, and the rest command. Regenerates +1 every 3 minutes. Full refill in ~5 hours.
Cortisol (stress meter)
Starts at 0 and accumulates from hacks, crimes, PvP, and augment surgery. Decays -1 every 3 minutes while you rest. High cortisol tanks your success rates and slows energy regen. At 100 you blackout — no risky actions until you calm down.
Cortisol zones
| Zone | Range | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| Focused | 0-30% | Baseline. Full performance. |
| Strained | 30-60% | -10% success, -25% energy regen, +15% trace gain |
| Frayed | 60-85% | -25% success, -50% energy regen, +35% trace gain |
| Breaking | 85-99% | -50% success, energy regen paused, +75% trace gain |
| Blackout | 100% | Hacks/crimes/PvP locked out until <85% |
Relief: type rest (free, costs 5 energy, -10 cortisol) or meds to buy consumable stress meds (coffee 0.10 XMR / -10, beta blockers 2 XMR / -40, neural reset 10 XMR / full clear). Meds are a monero sink — heavy players burn XMR to stay productive.
This creates a "come back 2-3 times per day" rhythm. Active players can push deeper by spending XMR on meds. Idle players let stress decay on its own. Both work.
Click or type — your call
Every menu, every target, every NPC dialogue option is clickable. You can play the entire game without typing a single command by clicking [RECON], [PROBE], [HACK], [BUY], [ACCEPT], etc. on whatever's in front of you. If you prefer typing, that still works too. No modal popups, no mouse-only dead-ends — the UI is a command line that happens to be clickable.
The 7 Skills
Skills improve through use, not through spending points. The more you hack, the better you get at hacking. Gain rates decline as you level up -- early gains are fast, high levels take dedication.
| Skill | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Hacking | Exploit success rate, brute force speed, PvP attack power |
| Scanning | Target discovery, vulnerability detection, recon quality |
| Social Eng. | NPC dialogue options, phishing success, faction diplomacy |
| Cryptography | Encryption, wallet protection, ransomware power |
| Networking | Botnet capacity, DDoS power, relay chains |
| Hardware | Rig efficiency, repair costs, mining optimization |
| Programming | Create custom malware, scripts, and tools (coming soon) |
The Heat System
Everything you do leaves traces. Your detection risk (trace %) climbs with every hack, every crime, every dirty transaction. If it reaches 100%, Agent Mercer from the FBI Cyber Division will find you.
| Level | Trace % | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost | 0-24% | Invisible. Nobody knows you exist. |
| Flagged | 25-49% | FBI opens a file. NPCs start warning you. |
| Surveilled | 50-74% | Higher crime failure rates. You're being watched. |
| Investigated | 75-99% | Agent Mercer sends warnings. Crime cooldowns doubled. |
| Indictment | 100% | FBI confrontation. Terminal locks. Four choices, two of which can kill you. |
Trace decays -5% per hour while you're not doing crimes or hacks. Buy VPN nodes from the marketplace (market list service) and chain them together (vpn add) to reduce trace gain on every action.
Essential Commands
scan -- Find targets on the networkhack <ip> -- Exploit a scanned targetconnect <ip> <port> -- Talk to an NPCcrimes -- List criminal operationscrime <type> -- Execute a crimemarket -- Dark web marketplaceinventory -- View your itemsbalance / wallet -- Check your moneylaunder <method> -- Clean dirty cashcontacts -- View discovered NPC contactspvp targets -- Find PvP opponentsprofile -- Your operator dossiercodex -- Game encyclopediaecho <question> -- Ask ECHO anythinghelp -- Full command listTips for Survival
- Scan before you hack. Higher security targets require better skills and hardware. Start with security 1-3.
- Watch your trace. If you see the heat warnings, stop doing crimes and let it decay. Or buy VPN nodes.
- Launder your cash. Crimes and hacks pay dirty cash. You can't spend it until you launder it. The mixer (15% fee) is the most common method.
- Talk to NPCs. Every NPC has missions, items, and lore. Some NPCs offer powerful unique items after you build trust.
- Listen to ECHO. She whispers during gameplay -- warnings about heat, tips about targets, lore about The Signal. Pay attention.
- Type
codex. The in-game encyclopedia explains every system in detail. - Don't ghost the romance NPCs. Seriously. There are consequences.
The Bigger Picture
HackerQuest is a sandbox. You can grind crimes, trade on the marketplace, PvP other players, or completely ignore the main story. But if you follow the thread -- if you talk to the right NPCs, hack the right targets, and read the intel files you find -- you'll discover a conspiracy that spans fifty years, four factions, the Moon, and the nature of consciousness itself.
There are 8 possible endings. One of them is secret. Finding it requires 101 lore fragments scattered throughout the game. The 101st fragment was designed to take the community months to solve collectively.