Simple challenge: Given the following:
400 BP (CharGen Rules, all 4th edition books allowed, 4A for the core rules)
50 Karma (4A rules for attribute raises)
100,000 Nuyen (This is IN ADDITION to any nuyen gotten with BP)
Limit of 35 pts. of Positive and Negative Qualities, with BP only
Maximum of 10 Drones
Non-Awakened

Can you build the most badass, powerful, deadly rigger ever? Rigger defined in this case, to make things clear, as a drone-controller with some hacking capability. Make it playable if possible (avoid TOO much overt min-maxing, though I know that's a hard request to make )

Good luck!

The "most badass" rigger would be the one with the best dicepools, so he'd be by definition "maxed". Without knowing what your group consideres min-maxing, there's no way to give a build according to your wishes.

Apart from that, for most drone riggers, the commlink and drones are a lot more important thant the guy controlling them.

True.
But what I mean is don't make strength, body, and charisma all 1's because you're planning on doing other stuff... unless you have a concept for it.
And you CAN use the BP for money, and thus get the good drones and commlink...

Why non-Awakened? Adept riggers are the best!

or Technomancers ?!

HokaHey
Medicineman

Technically Technomancers are not Awakened, they are Emergent. Awakened & Emergent are mutually exclusive.
So nothing in the rules against Technomancers.

I always equate Riggers with Skillwires. Something about the "plug and play" theme that seems to go well together.

I prefer Mundanes for the task, I don't like lowering Magic or Resonance but it's certainly possible. A Dwarf TM? Hmm...

Adepts lost a lot of their appeal as riggers with the release of augmentation and the control rig booster, which basically emulates their "improved ability", which was one of the main high points.
The only big thing they've going for them now is being able to combine simsense booster and control rig boosters (by using improved ability instead), which a mundane can't.
Now, that's really expensive, but from a pure power perspective still better than everything you could get on mundane ways. (They still make quite hot hackers, though).

And technomancers still rock the socks off of all opposition (thanks to threading and ridiculous sprite powers). As riggers, they're even better than as hackers, because most of their disadvantages are moot (riggers are always damaged on their stun track, riggers never need their meat body anyway, etc.)

Mundanes can get 5 initiative passes and if you are 'jumped in' (or even if you not, especially if you are not) then having one more initiative pass than everyone else can't hurt. Now, I don't think you can get all five at the CC, but it is still a lovely thought.

You would need restricted gear from Runner's Companion, but it can be done. The Simsense Accelerator is availability 14 and increases your Hot-Sim IP by 1, then you can get a simsense booster implanted for another +1 IP in cold and hot sim VR. You now have 5 IPs in Hot VR and 3 in cold. Happy trails.

Everyone can get 5 IPs in the matrix. Adepts and Technomancers are even better than mundanes in that way, because mundanes are the only ones which have to skip having their driving skills at 9 for that (as they can't combine simsense booster and control rig booster; their only sources to reach both effects).
That's frankly one of the disadvantages of being mundane...

i'm pretty sure the incompatability of control rig boosters with the simsense booster was supposed to be errated away. still, there's the not-insignificant advantage that the mundane rigger is much cheaper to make, and is much more likely to be at least a non-hindrance in a non-vehicle situation.

I would applaud such a change.
And you're correct, mundane riggers are way cheaper, which makes it a lot easier to be useful in non-rigging situations. Most of the combinations of magic/resonance and mundane means are wildly inefficient costwise. All the things I said where from a purely "powerful rigger"-perspective. Which goes to show that the build request is a bit to vague to be fulfilled.

on a side note, 10 drones seems rather limiting. i could see placing a limitation on larger drones (say, for example, not having more than 3 ground combat drones + 3 air, or something like that) but the traditional tower full of dragonfly minidrones is already over the cap, and hasn't even really begun to get things going.

Where is this Control Rig Booster listed? I don't have it in m Aug PDF.

they're nanites.

I'll be damned, they sure are in there. I always overlook nanites... I'm sure there's a good reason somewhere. Given how they work, however, I can't see a logical reason for them to be imcompatible... unless the increased simsense would overload them?

What are the rules that allow Adepts to have 5 initiative passes?

same as mundanes. the statement was that they don't have to choose between (augmented) 9 skill and 5 passes, right? well, for the mundane, the only way to get 9 vehicle skill is with control rig boosters, which officially are not compatible with the simsense booster, which is required to get 5 matrix IPs. however, adepts can access (augmented) 9 skill without the control rig booster nanites, therefore they can choose to get 5 IPs, and still have access to (augmented) 9 skill, whereas mundanes have to choose between them (unless/until the errata comes out to change that)