Sandevistan: What It Does in Lore, Edgerunners and 2077

What it is in lore#

The Sandevistan is speedware: neuralware that boosts reflexes on demand, triggered by a mental command. It was introduced in the first edition, Cyberpunk 2013.

It is not a permanent upgrade. It runs for a short period, then the user has to wait. That detail carries the drama, because Edgerunners and the 2077 game both build their stories on the cost of using it too often.

Tabletop: 2020 and RED#

In Cyberpunk 2020 the Sandevistan is a +3 to Initiative for 5 turns, at 1,600 eb and a Humanity Cost of 1D6/2.

In Cyberpunk RED it is +3 to Initiative for one minute, with a one-hour cooldown. It needs a Neural Link and costs 500 eb at a clinic. The Humanity Loss is 7 at character creation or 2d6 if you install it later, and only one piece of speedware can be installed at a time. RED is cheaper in eb and costs more Humanity, so check which edition you are quoting.

Edgerunners#

David's Sandevistan arrives in the first episode, "⁠Let You Down⁠". It is Lt. Col. James Norris's implant, taken from the cyberpsycho MaxTac neutralized at the start. It turns up in a bag of his mother's belongings. A dead man's reflexes, delivered like a care package.

In Cyberpunk 2077#

In the game the Sandevistan is an operating system, a cyberware slot, and it is a temporary status effect you trigger on demand. By default it slows time for everyone but you. It was designed for use with bladed melee weapons. Since patch 2.0 you can cancel it early by pressing the button again.

Different models change the numbers. The base figures have shifted with patches, so check the current game version before relying on them. Opinion: the Militech Apogee is the one to chase if you want the deepest slow in the game.

• Dynalar Sandevistan: Slows time 50 percent, 8 seconds, 55 second cooldown. Buyable from level 10.
• Zetatech Sandevistan: 30 percent slow on the ground, 60 percent in the air, 6 seconds. Buyable from level 10.
• QianT Warp Dancer: Only 20 percent slow, but boosts defense. Buyable from level 20.
• Militech Falcon: 70 percent slow, with health back on kills. Buyable from level 30.
• Militech Apogee: 85 percent slow, 6 seconds, the deepest slow of the five. Buyable from level 40. Its in-game description hints at secret lunar Militech labs.

Fixer's notes#

Common mix-up: the game's time-slow is a rendering of a reflex boost, not the lore definition. The tabletop editions give you an initiative bonus and nothing more.

Our read: the tabletop numbers are more honest about the cost. In RED the install costs 7 Humanity on its own, and ten Humanity makes one point of Empathy. Edgerunners dramatizes that bill. For the makers, see Militech and Arasaka.