Your survivor bar decides what Z, X, and G do. Match the icons before you press a key. A number left on a slot during a fight is a remaining cooldown, not the full cooldown.
| Loadout | Z | X | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weak, Arasaka Tower | Flashbang | King's Shot | Smoke |
| Talia, Arasaka Tower | Shock | Blackout | Car Crash |
| Maine | Cannon | Fuel Cell | Psychosis |
Smoke
Smoke is G on the Flashbang bar. Inside the cloud, HIDDEN heals at 5 HP per second, shown as +5 HP/S, and you can keep shooting and reloading. HIDDEN can drop when you leave the cloud even if smoke is still nearby. It is not invulnerability. One street fight against Capri showed about 29 seconds still on the slot after use. That is an example remainder, not a published full cooldown.
Shock, Blackout, and Car Crash
Shock is Z. It runs a Short Circuit quickhack: upload, execution, and an electrical effect. The killer can show SHORT CIRCUIT // SLOWED. Cripple Movement (LOCOMOTION −40%) and Overheat are different status messages. Do not treat them as part of every Shock.
Blackout is X. The scene darkens, outlines stay visible, and you can keep shooting. On the killer HUD, JAMMED lines up with NO SIGNAL on some skills:
| Killer | NO SIGNAL during Blackout | Still on their normal HUD |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Smasher | Sandy / Sandevistan, Missile | Backhand, Crush, Launch. Backhand can still be used. |
| Psycho Capri | Overdrive, Thunder, Watch, Satellite | Redline keeps its click prompt or cooldown. |
The slot cooldown and the jam timer are separate. One indoor Adam fight showed about 25 seconds left on Blackout and about 4.5 seconds of NO SIGNAL. Another showed about 4.7 seconds of JAMMED on Adam. Use the live timers.
Car Crash is G on that same bar. It calls a vehicle with lock and takeover text: LOCKED, REMOTE ACCESS, OVERRIDE, ENGINE ON, BRAKES OFF, TARGET LOCK, EXECUTE. It can arrive in an indoor corridor against Adam and on the street against Capri. Capri's own Overdrive car is a different ability. Example remainders after use were about 20 seconds indoors and about 21 seconds on the street.
Flashbang and King's Shot show countdown feedback after use. Example remainders in Adam fights were about 10 seconds and about 8 seconds. Cannon and Fuel Cell also show countdowns. Their effects beyond that feedback are not listed here.
Psychosis is Maine's G and is covered in the Maine guide. Killer keys are a different role: do not press survivor Z while you are Adam or Psycho Capri.