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    Probably Stolen Beginner Guide and Tips

    Updated

    Probably Stolen throws a lot at you in week one: rent, inspections, counterfeit goods, factions and customers who might be augs. These tips get you through it: which start to pick, how the week runs, what to check before you buy, how to deal with augs and radioactive waste, and the controls the game doesn't tell you about.

    Before you start

    • Scenario: the Apprentice is the developer's pick for new players. See all nine on the starting scenarios page.
    • Difficulty: 1.0 asks you to choose one of four after the scenario. Augs can only end your run on Hard Mode.
    • Demo players: your save loads, but the developer recommends a fresh start in 1.0.

    How a week works

    • Customers queue at the counter; you approve, refuse, report or look the other way. Someone always notices.
    • Friday brings Dr. Jackson (tools and signs); Sunday brings the landlord, the supply runner and the Merchant.
    • The display case decides who comes: goods bring buyers, signs bring sellers. See the display case guide.
    • After closing you can head out, for example to scavenge the dumping grounds, but going out costs you one random customer the next day.
    Scavenging at the dumping grounds at night, with wound chances in the corner
    Scavenging the dumping grounds at night. The panel shows your wound chances. Image: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild, from the game's Steam page

    Check before you buy

    GoodsWhat to check
    Hemingway cigarettesCompare the pack with the authenticity handbook: misspelled or wrong-font lettering, an off logo, colors that don't match the color card, or a missing or broken security seal all mean a fake.
    WaterTest with strips or an AquaScan; sellers mislabel it.
    WeaponsYou need permits; weapon stock draws inspections.
    Rare itemsAppraise them with the matching guide before paying, or you overpay.
    Ribwich sandwichesRead the packing facility number. In the Steam screenshot's guide, 01, 02, 05, 08, 21 and 34 are high-quality plants (+50 credits), 07, 15, 18, 26 and 31 low-quality (−50), and a missing or invalid number means a counterfeit. Check your own in-game guide.
    Checking a Hemingway cigarette pack under the magnifier against the authenticity handbook
    Checking a Hemingway pack against the authenticity handbook. Image: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild, from the game's Steam page

    You can also cut quality, relabel fakes as genuine or fence stolen goods. It pays until Security, or a mob, catches up.

    Augs

    • Augs are customers taken over by a rogue AI chip. They can disguise themselves as a display case buyer and copy that buyer's faction, budget and tags.
    • The Security Department's Augmented Identification Guide lists the tells: a visible aug chip, unusual pupils, an uncanny expression, twitching, unnatural stillness, an outfit that doesn't match their faction, robotic or overly formal speech.
    • The Aug Scanner (200 credits, 25 energy a scan) settles it with a double-click.
    • Shooting is your job: every faction agrees on it. Shooting the wrong person has its own price, and some essential recurring customers can't be shot.
    • Missing too many augs only ends the run (the “Augmented” ending) on Hard Mode.
    The Security Department's Augmented Identification Guide: visible aug chip, unusual pupils, uncanny expression and other signs
    The in-game guide to aug tells. Image: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild, from the game's Steam page

    Radioactive waste

    • Take the barrels to the dumping grounds at night (a light or heavy backpack helps) and leave them there.
    • Do it one barrel per night. Players who dumped five at once had Georgio bring them back the next day; one a night for five nights, none came back.
    • A workaround players use: put the waste in a spare container or crate and throw that in the trash can. It may be unintended, and it costs you the container.

    Controls worth knowing

    ToDo this
    Rotate or flip a dragged itemMouse wheel up, mouse wheel down and middle click; F also flips
    Move several itemsDrag a selection box, then drag the group; hold Shift to place precisely in another inventory
    Sort an inventoryRight-click the grid
    Trash an owned itemHover it and press Delete
    Equip a tool from the ToolboxKeys 1–9
    Close the last windowEsc
    Dismiss a customer, call the next, call SecurityInstant hotkeys you can enable in the settings

    The goal: buy the store

    You start the game in a shop you got through a generous loan and convenient timing. The 1.0 release adds the ending: earn enough to buy and own the store before the rising rent breaks you. Our money guide has the fastest ways to get there.

    Frequently asked questions

    How do you get rid of radioactive waste in Probably Stolen?

    Carry it to the dumping grounds at night and leave it there, one barrel per night. Dump several at once and Georgio tends to bring them back the next day.

    How do you buy the store?

    The 1.0 release adds the ending where you buy and own the store; the playtest and demo had no way to do it. The developer's pitch is to earn enough to buy out the shop before rising rent forces your hand.

    Can you lose to augs?

    Only on Hard Mode: missing too many augs there ends the run with the “Augmented” ending. On other settings you won't lose the game that way.

    Should I skip the tutorial?

    Only if you've played before. Skip Intro mode starts you with the Immunivax guide and the topical bandage the tutorial would have given you.

    Sources

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