Farming in Probably Stolen: Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim runs through two machines. The Hydroponic System grows crops overnight, and the DNA Manipulator rewrites what those crops can do.
Quick answer: Load a Hydroponic System with clean water, Minerals, a power source and a seed, then harvest after a day or two. Use the DNA Manipulator with DNA Data Disks to install or extract traits.
There are seven plants. Each one has a fixed base harvest and a set of innate traits, and each returns seeds or doesn’t. Those traits are the raw material for gene editing, so it helps to know which crop carries what before you start splicing.
All Probably Stolen seeds and base harvests
Every crop is planted the same way. You put one seed into the machine alongside a water container.
| Plant | Seed (base value) | Base harvest | Seeds back |
|---|---|---|---|
 Nutrifruit | Nutrifruit Seed (40) | 5 | Yes |
 Kotton Fiber | Kotton Seed (20) | 9 | Yes |
 Dream Cap | Dream Cap Spores (24) | 8 | Yes |
 Coffee Beans | Coffee Beans (28) | 8 | No |
 Fillerweed | Fillerweed Seed (9) | 4 | Yes |
| Hydroreed | Hydroreed Seed (20) | 0 | Yes |
| Bloomberry | Bloomberry Seed (40) | 8 | No |
| Plant | Produce base value | Innate traits |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrifruit | 12 | Complex Genome 2, Fast Grower 2, Nutritious, Bountiful 2, Hardy, Infertile 10 |
| Kotton Fiber | 46 | Bountiful 3, Thirsty 2, Frail 2, Slow Grower |
| Dream Cap | 23 | Weak, Fertile |
| Coffee Beans | 28 | Potent |
| Fillerweed | 11 | Simple Genome 2, Edible, Unappetizing, Hardy 3, Bountiful 2, Fast Grower 2, Thirsty 3, Nutrient-Poor 2 |
| Hydroreed | None | Purifying 4, Dense, Hardy |
| Bloomberry | None | Perennial, Edible |
How to unlock hydroponic farming
You can get the equipment in two ways. The first is the Hydroponic Farmer specialization at the start of a run. Its start screen lists these items:
- Hydroponic Farming Manual
- Additional equipment (Hydroponic Systems)
- A starting stock of Farming Supplies and Seeds
- Increased starting rent (Advanced Start)
The second is Wild’s network, which sells two favor unlocks in order.
| Unlock | Favor | Requires | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retired Farmer | 350 | None | Hydroponic Starter Kit, plus a seed and supply vendor |
| Plant Genetics | 1250 | Retired Farmer | DNA manipulator, gene scanner, blank DNA data disks |
With Retired Farmer, you receive the Hydroponic Starter Kit right away. The retired farmer returns the following day, then comes by weekly to sell seeds and hydroponic supplies. Plant Genetics also allows Dr. Jackson to offer DNA manipulation equipment.
To buy it, call Joe Wild’s Assistant on 8376, pick Browse Wild’s Service, and scroll the BASIC tab to the HYDROPONIC FARMER section. Plant Genetics sits after Retired Farmer and its description reads “Immediately receive a DNA manipulator, a gene scanner and blank DNA data disks. Dr. Jackson will now keep DNA manipulation equipment in stock.” Until you own Retired Farmer it shows in red: “This upgrade requires Retired Farmer.”
How to grow a crop in the Hydroponic System
The Hydroponic System has a base value of 300 credits. It needs its own power source and works overnight. The machine’s instruction screen sums up the setup:
“Insert a water container with the cleanest water you can get, a seed, and a power source with enough energy. The hydroponic works overnight. This machine can accept optional modules to improve its capabilities.”
Keep the machine supplied by replenishing its water and swapping out the energy cell when necessary. For Nutrifruit, mix a nutriment tablet into the water once the yield starts falling.
Modules change three stats on the Hydroponic System:
- Efficiency: power consumption
- Performance: growth rate
- Quality: max yield %
Water quality and Minerals
Water contaminants can stunt plant growth, so choose water with few contaminants. Use different water only when a crop has specific requirements. Minerals are not contaminants.
Minerals are essential for plant growth, but a shortage or excess can reduce yield. Nutrient concentration limits vary by plant. When in doubt, having too many Minerals is safer than having too few.
Check a seed’s requirements and present condition with the Plant Anaylser.
How to edit plant DNA with the DNA Manipulator
The DNA Manipulator can place a trait from a written DNA Data Disk onto a target, or save a target’s trait to a disk. First, switch on a gene scanner to examine the target’s genetics. When processing ends, the disk is sent to the output tray; change the machine’s setting to leave disks in their slots.
Install a trait
Load the TRAIT DISK slot with a written DNA Data Disk and place the target in TARGET. A successful install gives the target the trait; if it already has that trait, its rank increases by one. Each successful attempt uses up one disk use, while failure leaves the disk untouched.
Extract a trait
Put a blank DNA Data Disk in the BLANK DISK slot and the target, such as a seed, in TARGET, add an Energy Cell and leave it overnight. One random trait is copied onto the disk. Without a genetic stabilizer module, the target is lost. With one, the seed survives but loses one rank of the copied trait.
For an innate crop trait, the disk receives uses equal to the seed’s rank in that trait; copying any other trait gives the disk 1 use. A disk that already contains a trait carried by the target can be used in place of a blank disk. The operation adds uses to that disk.
Simple Genome and Complex Genome are innate crop traits, so neither can be transferred to a disk or installed.
DNA Manipulator modules
| Module or stat | Effect |
|---|---|
| Genetic stabilizer | Keeps the target through extraction |
| Trait filters | Limit a random extraction to positive or negative traits |
| Precision module | Once used on a written disk, extracts that trait specifically |
| Efficiency | Power consumption |
| Performance (0.5 Ratio) | Operation speed |
| Quality (0.5 Ratio) | Success chance |
DNA edit success chance, complexity and heat
Each edit is a roll against the seed’s effective complexity. A seed’s genetic complexity is the total of several parts:
- Each added trait’s complexity, counted per rank
- The complexity of any innate trait you removed
- The Simple Genome or Complex Genome adjustment
- The seed’s current heat
Each operation raises the seed’s heat by 2 plus the trait’s complexity, using complexity as a positive value. Failed attempts raise heat as well. Until the target matures, heat and complexity slow subsequent edits and increase their risk.
| Value | Formula |
|---|---|
| Success chance | Start at 95%; subtract 5% for every point of effective complexity, then add the Quality bonus. |
| Success chance limits | Between 5% and 100% |
| Work needed | The work requirement starts at 20 and rises by 4 for every point of effective complexity. |
Trait strength scales according to rank raised to the 0.75 power. Relative to rank 1, the effect is x1.68 at rank 2, x2.28 at rank 3, and x2.83 at rank 4.
All 26 Probably Stolen DNA traits
Positive traits can add complexity, while Simple Genome reduces it. Negative traits can carry negative complexity values; Complex Genome has a separate positive adjustment. Unless a max rank is shown, a trait has no rank limit.
Positive traits
| Trait | Complexity | Max rank | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edible | 2 | 1 | Produce can be eaten (100 calories) |
| Nutritious | 3 | No limit | Calories +25% per rank |
| Fast Grower | 4 | No limit | Growth speed +25% per rank |
| Bountiful | 4 | No limit | Harvest +20% per rank |
| Delicious | 3 | No limit | Edible produce sell price +15% per rank |
| Drought Resistant | 2 | No limit | Water use −25% per rank |
| Hardy | 3 | No limit | Contaminant sensitivity −30% per rank |
| Fertile | 2 | No limit | Seeds returned +25% per rank |
| Simple Genome | 0 | No limit | Genetic complexity −4 per rank |
| Perennial | 5 | 1 | Persists after its crop is gathered and bears fruit anew; harvest −25%, growth speed −20%, seeds returned −50% per rank |
| Purifying | 3 | No limit | Each night, 10% of every contaminant is removed, bringing purity up to a maximum of 95%. |
| Dense | 3 | No limit | Durability +25% per rank |
| Caffeine Production | 3 | No limit | Adds 2 ml of Caffeine to each harvested item |
| Coffee Bean Mush Production | 2 | No limit | Each harvested item receives 10 ml of Coffee Bean Mush. |
| Dream Cap Mush Production | 4 | No limit | Each harvested item receives 2 ml of Dream Cap Mush. |
| Potent | 3 | No limit | Active ingredients +25% |
Dream Cap Mush Production makes every harvested item contraband.
Negative traits
| Trait | Complexity | Max rank | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrient-Poor | −2 | No limit | Calories −25% per rank |
| Slow Grower | −3 | No limit | Growth speed −25% per rank |
| Sparse | −3 | No limit | Harvest −20% per rank |
| Unappetizing | −2 | No limit | Edible produce sell price −15% per rank |
| Thirsty | −1 | No limit | Water use +25% per rank |
| Frail | −2 | No limit | Contaminant sensitivity +30% per rank |
| Infertile | −1 | No limit | Seeds returned −25% per rank |
| Complex Genome | 0 | No limit | Genetic complexity +4 per rank |
| Polluting | −2 | No limit | Every night, 0.1% of the water becomes organic waste, microbes, and debris. |
| Weak | −2 | No limit | Active ingredients −25% |
Because the complexity count includes removed innate traits, stripping a negative trait from a crop still adds to its complexity. Seeds with Simple Genome, like Fillerweed, take edits more easily. Seeds with Complex Genome, like Nutrifruit, push every roll toward failure.
For every other machine, see the Probably Stolen crafting recipes list; Dream Cap is the base of Dream Dust there. Retired Farmer and Plant Genetics are covered with all other upgrades in the Wild’s network guide, and the complete Probably Stolen guide links everything else.
