How does hacking a gun work in SR5?

Question

In Shadowrun 5, it's possible for a decker to hack a gun, but I don't quite get how that works.

Do you need a mark on the gun? The example on page 228 suggests you don't. But can you get a mark on the gun? And can you use that to do other things than bricking, like ejecting a clip or shooting it? (Sounds more fun than simply bricking; would be a shame if it's harder than bricking.)

Also, how does the Logic or Willpower of the goon holding the gun matter? If he's a random ganger, surely he's not jacked into his gun in any way, is he? For that matter, does it matter if the gun has a smartgun system, and whether that's connected to goggles or cybereyes?

And what's the Firewall of a device that has no Firewall (like most devices)?

And what about a PAN? Can you still dataspike the gun if it's slaved to a PAN? Do you first need a mark on the PAN? Can the goon's PAN in turn be slaved to his decker buddy's cyberdeck?

What is the exact order in which to do attack these various devices and what's the effect on various rolls?

There's quite a lot to take in and it's hard to keep everything straight. I've found some cheat sheets, but they don't seem to explain the complex stuff.

Answer 1

If you need a mark or not depends on the kind of matrix action you want to use. Bricking does not require any marks, but different actions do require them (mentioned in the description of the actions).

Ejecting a clip and shooting it requires you to use the Control Device action. Since those actions would require using a free or a simple action, they require you to have 1 or 2 marks on the gun respectively (assuming it's even possible to fire the gun without pulling the trigger).

If this is better or worse than simply bricking the weapon depends on the situation. Bricking the weapon usually only denies the user the WiFi bonus; Firing the gun is still possible. Putting marks on the gun may not be detected by the owner of the gun which could be helpful, if you eject the clip just before the user wants to fire the gun.

You can also do the action, if you don't have enough marks, but you get a -5 modifier on the action for every missing mark (Reckless Hacking(?) from Kill Code; unfortunately I only own the German version, so I cannot tell you the page or if this is the correct English term).

Also, how does the Logic or Willpower of the goon holding the gun matter? If he's a random ganger, surely he's not jacked into his gun in any way, is he?

The mental attributes of the user represent how safe the device's settings are as long as the user maintains those settings. p. 237

When a defense test calls for a Mental attribute, use the owner's rating. Even if she isn’t currently defending or even interacting with the device, her previous interactions and settings affect the defense test. If a device is completely unattended, the Device Rating stands in for any Mental attributes an icon needs but doesn't have.

 

And what's the Firewall of a device that has no Firewall (like most devices)?

You simply use the device rating. P. 234:

[Devices] also have three ratings: a Device Rating and two of the Matrix attributes, Data Processing and Firewall. For most devices, the Matrix attributes are the same as the Device Rating.

 

And what about a PAN? Can you still dataspike the gun if it's slaved to a PAN? Do you first need a mark on the PAN?

You can attack the gun directly, but unless you've got a direct connection to the gun, the attributes of the master are used for defense.