Probably Stolen Augs: How to Spot Them and When to Shoot

Augs are customers taken over by a rogue AI implant, and you spot them by their eyes, their expression, a visible chip and stiff, overly formal speech. When you are not sure, scan before you shoot: the Aug Scanner is 100% accurate, while a wrong shot puts a Manslaughter charge on your Security record and costs reputation with four factions.

When do Augs start showing up?

Augs arrive on Day 12. The Mentor visits with a shotgun, tells you Security now wants shopkeepers to kill Augs on sight, and leaves you a note explaining what they are. The first Aug comes the next day and a second one five days after that. From then on, expect one every six to eight days.

Most of them do not walk in as obvious threats. About 80% are disguised as one of the day's regular visitors or as a buyer drawn in by your Display Case. They are after two things: raw materials to build new implants and medical supplies to implant new victims. A customer asking for either deserves a second look.

With the Aug Menace perk the threat is unlocked on Day 1 and the first Aug shows up two to four days in.

How do you spot an Aug?

The Augmented Identification Guide lists the tells in two groups. You can check it any time; the summary is below.

• What you can see. Unusual pupils, an uncanny expression, or a visible Aug chip. Look closely at the face before you trade.
• How they act. Unnatural stillness or twitching, and an outfit that does not match the faction they claim.
• How they talk. Robotic vocabulary and overly formal phrasing. Augs request supplies the way a machine would describe them.
• What not to trust. Community guides report that the label on the trade panel can be wrong — an Aug may show up tagged as an ordinary customer type.

One tell on its own is weak evidence. A twitchy customer in a mismatched outfit asking for medical supplies is a different story.

	No wear	Wears	Damages
Aluminum Alloy
Carbon Composite
Gold Plated

What does the Aug Scanner do?

The Aug Scanner confirms whether the customer in front of you is an Aug, with 100% accuracy. It is worth 200 credits, takes a 2×3 space in your inventory and runs on a battery; the game describes it as energy-hungry, and community guides put the cost at 25 power per scan.

It is the cheapest insurance in the game. One wrong kill costs more in reputation alone than the scanner costs in credits, and the Manslaughter charge comes on top of that.

When should you shoot?

The Mentor's rule is the right one: shoot only when you are certain. In practice that means a scanner confirmation, or several tells together — at least one you can see and one in how they talk.

Do not call Security. The Mentor warns that Augs have hacked their communications and will leave before the officers arrive. The shotgun is your only tool, so keep the Rampart Dual-Action Shotgun where you can reach it from the counter.

What do you get for killing an Aug?

A confirmed kill pays 100 credits plus 1 for every day since Augs were introduced, capped at 250. On a standard run that is about 118 credits on Day 30. Perks change it:

Each kill also raises your reputation: +8 with Security and +2 each with the Lower Levels, the Black Market and the Revolution.

How does Aug presence work?

Behind the scenes the station has an Aug presence value. It starts at 15, falls each time you kill an Aug and rises each time one leaves your store alive. How far it moves depends on difficulty:

On the two harder difficulties, letting Augs walk out adds up fast: at Red Ink you need two kills to undo one escape. On Price Gouge and Mark Up a high presence will not end the run.

The threat does end. Once 50 days have passed since Augs were introduced and presence is at zero or below, an officer arrives to give the all-clear. With Aug Menace that never happens.

What happens if you shoot the wrong customer?

Killing someone who is not an Aug is Manslaughter. The game lists the charge at 250, 500 or 750 credits of crime on your Security record, and you lose reputation at once:

• Security −15
• Lower Levels −15
• Revolution −10
• Black Market −10

The Security record is what decides an investigation. Between 300 and 1,499 credits of crime ends in arrest; 1,500 or more ends in execution. One wrong shot can push an otherwise careful run over the line, which is why the endings guide lists Arrested as one of the most common ways to lose.

Should you shoot or let a suspect go?

When you have no scanner and only one tell, the right call depends on difficulty. Compare what each mistake costs:

• Shooting a customer who is not an Aug. A Manslaughter charge of up to 750 credits of crime and 50 reputation lost across four factions. That is the same on every difficulty.
• Letting an Aug walk out. Presence rises by 10 on Price Gouge and Mark Up, where it can never end the run. On Thin Margins it rises by 15 and on Red Ink by 16, with a game over at 100.

On the two easier difficulties, letting a doubtful customer go is almost free: you lose a kill reward and the threat lasts a little longer. On Thin Margins and Red Ink, every escape counts, so buy the scanner early and stop guessing.

Either way, do not sell the suspect what they came for. Augs want materials and medical supplies to make more Augs, so a sale to one helps the threat grow.

What mistakes do new players make with Augs?

• Trusting the trade panel. The label above a customer is not a confirmation. Read the face and the dialogue instead.
• Calling Security. It does nothing against Augs, and the Aug leaves before officers arrive.
• Skipping the scanner on hard difficulties. At 200 credits it costs less than the reputation from a single wrong kill.
• Ignoring the Display Case. Many Augs arrive disguised as Display Case buyers, so a case full of medical supplies or materials may draw them in.

What is the Augmented ending?

If Aug presence reaches 100 on Thin Margins or Red Ink, or on any difficulty with Aug Menace, Augs break into your store that night and implant you. The run ends with the Augmented ending. The way to avoid it is simple: do not let Augs leave, and scan anyone you are unsure about rather than letting them go out of caution.

How do you get the Aug Hunter achievement?

Aug Hunter needs 10 Augs shot. The counter is a Steam stat rather than a per-run value, so the progress should carry across runs. Only confirmed Augs count, which is another reason to scan first.

Aug Menace is the fastest route: Augs appear from Day 1, the threat never ends, and every kill pays 25% more. The catch is that letting too many escape ends the run on any difficulty. The achievements list covers the other 20, and the Probably Stolen guide links every system page.