Probably Stolen Starting Scenarios: Which Start and Difficulty to Pick

The best starting scenario in Probably Stolen is Apprentice on Mark Up difficulty for your first run: it keeps the tutorial, starts with 550 credits against a 200-credit rent, and comes stocked. After that, the right start depends on what you want to unlock, because each specialist start hands you one business line that would otherwise cost you hundreds in Wild's Network.

The table below shows every selectable start as the game defines it. Credits and first rent are the same on every difficulty; difficulty changes everything after that.

Scenario	Credits	First rent	Starts with
ApprenticeRecommended For New Players	550	200	Increased starting Credit count · Additional equipment (Storage Bay) · Start with a stock of Household Goods and Food
Water Merchant	400	200	Water Trading Manual · Water Testing and Purification Equipment · Additional storage (Water Containers)
Fence	450	250	Additional equipment (Smuggler's Bay) · Start with a stock of Contraband · Increased starting reputation (Black Market) · Decreased starting reputation (Security) · Immediate access to the Janitor Underground Exchange · Increased starting rent
Rock BottomExtreme Challenge Mode	0	200	None.
Hydroponic FarmerAdvanced Start	450	240	Hydroponic Farming Manual · Additional equipment (Hydroponic Systems) · Start with a stock of Farming Supplies and Seeds · Increased starting rent
GunsmithAdvanced Start	150	250	Class I Weapon Permit · Start with a stock of Firearms and Gun Mods · Start with a stock of Ammunition
ChemistAdvanced Start	300	200	Chemistry Manual · Chemistry Lab Equipment
Rat WranglerAdvanced Start	600	200	Animal Cage · Rats · Food
AquafarmerAdvanced Start	150	240	Recirculating Aquaculture Systems · Start with a stock of Tilapia and Fish Food · Increased starting rent

Which starting scenario should you pick?

Think about each start in two numbers: the cash you have, and the rent you owe on Day 7. Then look at what the gear is worth to you, and whether the start gives you a head start in Joe Wild's Network.

Apprentice

The default for a first run. You keep the Mentor's tutorial, a Storage Bay and a small stock of food and household goods. There is nothing to master except the shop loop itself, which is exactly what a first run should be about. Pair it with the beginner guide.

Water Merchant

A strong second run. You start with the Water Trading manual, test strips, purification tablets, a HydraTech Micro Water Purifier, a Bottle Printer and containers, and the Water Trading contact is already unlocked in Wild's Network. Be honest with labels: Lower Levels, Security and Revolution customers test the water and catch any mismatched grade.

Fence

Fence is the contraband start. You get a Smuggler's Bay, two vials of Vial of "Dream Dust", a handgun with ammo, three Disposable Keycards and immediate access to the Underground Exchange. Rent starts at 250.

The catch is the reputation swing: +30 Black Market and −30 Security, scaled by difficulty. On Mark Up that puts you straight onto Security's Watchlist at −20, so any investigation runs 1.2 times faster from Day 1, and the Shady Inspector's bribe costs 60 more. Read the contraband and inspection guide before picking it.

Rock Bottom

Zero credits, no gear, rent of 200 on Day 7, and no tutorial. The game labels it Extreme Challenge Mode. Your first week is scavenging and reselling what you find. It is the route to two achievements, From Nothing and From Nothing, the Hard Way; the second only needs Thin Margins.

Hydroponic Farmer

You start with two hydroponic systems, Eco and Ruined modules, Nutrifruit and Fillerweed seeds and nutrient tablets, and the Retired Farmer is unlocked. Rent is 240. Unmodified Nutrifruit seeds already yield seven fruit per harvest in the game, and this start is the natural route to the Green Thumb achievement.

Gunsmith

Only 150 credits against 250 rent, but your inventory is full of guns, mods and ammo, plus an old gun printer and a Gunsmith Storage Bay. The Class I Weapon Permit lets you trade low-tier contraband firearms legally, and you start with +25 Security. Sell part of your stock in the first week; you cannot sit on it.

Chemist

The Chemist gets a full lab: Blender, Heating Plate, Evaporator, Chem Finisher, a composition scanner, measuring gear and a Mini Smuggler's Bay, with 300 credits and a −15 Security start. It is also the only start with the Sector 13 Cartel, which protects your store from burglary but expects weekly Dream Dust. This is the start for the Say My Name achievement; the chemist guide covers purity.

Rat Wrangler

The most cash of any start, 600, with a cage, six rats, feed and a serum for sick animals. Picking it unlocks We Have Rats! immediately. The risk is disease in the cage, so check your animals every day.

Aquafarmer

Two recirculating aquaculture systems, Tilapia, roe and fish feed, with 150 credits and 240 rent. It is slow to start and very cash-tight in week one. The payoff comes later: Aquaculture II adds eels, and sturgeon caviar sells for 240 a jar.

• 
  The MentorRuns the Apprentice tutorial and hands you key tools, like the shotgun on Day 12.

What does each difficulty change?

Difficulty does far more than its name suggests. Here is what the game sets for each one.

The table covers money. These rules matter just as much:

• Reputation. Gains are multiplied by 1.5, 1, 0.75 and 0.5 from Price Gouge to Red Ink; losses by 0.5, 1, 1.25 and 2. A reputation loss on Red Ink is four times what it is on Price Gouge, and gains are a third.
• Upgrades and suppliers. Wild's Network costs 1.5 times as much on Thin Margins and twice as much on Red Ink, and supplier markups rise with them.
• Wild's favor. Joe Wild's introduction gives 300, 200, 100 or 0 favor, and you earn favor from trades only on Price Gouge (10% of value) and Mark Up (5%).
• Safety nets. Thin Margins and Red Ink remove the Landlord grace, Wild's bailout, his reminders and the Display Case tips, and letting Aug presence reach 100% ends the run.
• Services. Power and insurance cost double on Thin Margins; insurance is triple on Red Ink.

Rent compounds faster than people expect. A 200 rent on Mark Up reaches 266 by Day 49; on Thin Margins it reaches 353.

Which starts are not playable yet?

Five starts exist in the game but cannot be selected in version 1.0:

• Junker: 400 credits, scavenger gear, a Furnace and starting reputation with the Scavengers. Shown on the start screen as Work In Progress.
• Organ Dealer: an organ trading manual, an organ storage container and a blood transfusion set. Shown as Work In Progress.
• Street Food Vendor: a cooking manual, a stove and ingredients. Shown as Work In Progress.
• Moonshiner and Pharmacist: hidden from the start screen entirely.

For the last four, the game has descriptions but no starting items, so nothing about their balance is settled. The developers have said more starts are coming; treat any numbers you see for them as speculation.

Best scenario for each goal

If you are chasing something specific, the start decides most of it. Several achievements are tied to a start, and some systems are much cheaper to reach from the right one.

What skipping the intro means

The four advanced starts that skip the tutorial drop you into a running shop with no hand-holding: no early tips from the Mentor, and you need to know the controls already. In exchange, the game gives those starts three nights without burglary, which the tutorial starts do not get. If you are not yet comfortable with appraising items and reading the calendar, keep the tutorial.

A simple order for your runs

1. Apprentice, Mark Up. Learn rent, haggling, Heat and the deed.
2. Water Merchant or Hydroponic Farmer, Mark Up. Learn one production line with perks unlocked.
3. Chemist or Fence. Learn Security's investigation system, and chase Say My Name.
4. Rock Bottom, Thin Margins. For the hardest achievement, once you can survive a week on scavenging alone.

Starting perks open up from your second run: the best perks guide covers them, and faction reputation explains the starting reputation swings above. Everything else is linked from the Probably Stolen wiki home page.