In Probably Stolen: Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim, from Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild, Starting Perks is the second screen when you set up a New Game. It comes after Specialization and before Difficulty. The screen shows 36 perks. Some cost points, some are free trade-offs, and some saddle you with a drawback in exchange for extra points.
Quick answer: Perks unlock from your second run, with 3 points and four slots. For a money-focused start, take Savings plus Vigilant or Diplomatic, which spends exactly 3 points.
All 36 starting perks on the Probably Stolen perk screen
Each perk’s tooltip shows its point value. A minus value such as “-2 Perk Point” or “-1 Perk Point” means the perk costs that many points. “0 Perk Point” marks a free trade-off. “+1 Perk Point” and higher means the perk is a drawback that gives you points to spend.
| Perk | Points (cost or gain) | Effect |
|---|---|---|
 Vigilant | Costs 2 | “You will never get robbed during the night.” |
 Diplomatic | Costs 2 | “Reputation generated from trade is increased by 33%.” |
 Intimidating | Costs 2 | “All committed crimes generate 33% less available evidence.” |
 Vending Machine | Costs 2 | “Start with a vending machine installed in front of your store. Allow customers to purchase items automatically during after-hours.” |
 Well Connected | Costs 2 | “Start with an additional 15 Reputation with all factions.” |
 Working Pipes | Costs 2 | “You will start with the water lines already connected with unlimited Rustwater.” |
 Aug Menace | Costs 1 | “The Augmented content is unlocked at the start of the game. Earn 25% more credits for killing an aug. The aug menace never ends, and letting too many augs get away ends the game on every difficulty.” |
 Colorful Character | Costs 1 | “Allows you to have 3 additional starting perk slots.” |
 Handy | Costs 1 | “Start with a shabby toolbox and a set of shabby tools: a screwdriver, a wire cutter, a crowbar and a plasma cutter.” |
 Lucky | Costs 1 | “Increases your luck. Probably.” |
 Makeshift Reactor | Costs 1 | “You are permanently disconnected from the station power grid and are not affected by blackouts. Start with an upgradable Makeshift Micro Nuclear Reactor sold to you by Dr. Jackson. It powers the Store but needs regular repairs.” |
 Model Citizen | Costs 1 | “Start with an additional +30 Security Reputation and will receive 50% more reward for reporting customers on the Wanted List.” |
| Proficient Scavenger | Costs 1 | “You can perform up to 2 additional Search actions in the Dumping Grounds every time you visit.” |
| Revolution Sympathizer | Costs 1 | “Start with an additional 25 Reputation with The Revolution. You will receive Marketplace Requests from The Revolution more frequently.” |
 Savings | Costs 1 | “Start with an additional 150 Credits.” |
 Sawyer’s Crew | Costs 1 | “The Underground Exchange is available from the start. Janitorial Service is always free, unless the Store is vandalized. Vandalism clean up cost is significantly reduced.” |
 Secret Admirer | Costs 1 | “You will occasionally receive random items from a secret admirer when opening the Store.” |
 Short Sleeper | Costs 1 | “You won’t miss out on any customers when going out during after-hours activities the night before.” |
 Sycophant | Costs 1 | “Start with an additional +15 Upper Levels Reputation. Reputation gained with the Upper Levels is increased by 25%, and Upper Level customers have 10% more budget.” |
| Tapehead | Costs 1 | “You start with all music cassettes available inside the cassette player.” |
 Tinkerer | Costs 1 | “When you upgrade an item, there is a 20% chance the material used is not consumed.” |
 Welfare Program | Costs 1 | “The Commissary is available from the start. On Mondays, you may receive Food Stamps depending on your total wealth.” |
 Wild’s Favorite | Costs 1 | “All upgrades from Wild’s Network cost 10% less. Insurance costs 50% less.” |
| Careful Scavenger | Free (0) | “You can perform 2 fewer actions in the Dumping Grounds every time you visit, but you never get injured while searching.” |
 Hoarder | Free (0) | “Start with three piles of immovable debris along the bottom of your inventory. Each pile can be removed.” |
 Prime Real Estate | Free (0) | “1 more normal customer will visit everyday but starting rent cost 75 credit more.” |
 Agoraphobia | Gives 1 | “After visiting an after-hours location, you must rest at the Store for 2 nights before going out again.” |
 Alcohol Addiction | Gives 1 | “You will suffer a trade penalty of 8% if you don’t consume alcohol regularly. The addiction can be cured.” |
 Bad Lease | Gives 1 | “Your starting rent is increased by 40 Credits.” |
 Banned from the Commissary | Gives 1 | “The Commissary is not available, and food stamps are never introduced.” |
 Convict | Gives 1 | “Start with an additional -30 Security Reputation and will receive 25% less reward for reporting customers on the Wanted List.” |
 Degenerative Osteoarthritis | Gives 1 | “Scavenging in the dumping ground works normally for the first week. After that, you lose 1 max scavenging attempt every week that passes. Once your max attempts fall below 3, you can no longer scavenge at all. Normal shopkeepers start with 5 daily max attempts. Start with 2 additional topical medication bandages.” |
 Gambling Addiction | Gives 1 | “You will always buy some Lottery Tickets when possible. All lottery content is unlocked from the start. The addiction can be cured.” |
 Illiterate | Gives 1 | “You won’t be able to read any guide.” |
 Narcotic Addiction | Gives 1 | “You will suffer a trade penalty of 8% if you don’t consume narcotics regularly. The addiction can be cured.” |
 Nicotine Addiction | Gives 1 | “You will suffer a trade penalty of 8% if you don’t consume nicotine regularly. The addiction can be cured.” |
Broken down by point value, the 36 perks split like this:
- 6 perks cost 2 points
- 17 perks cost 1 point
- 3 perks are free (0 points)
- 10 perks give 1 point
How to pick starting perks in Probably Stolen
You can’t use perks on your very first run. On that run the screen reads “Starting Perks are not available on your first run”. From the next run onward, the screen opens with the line “Choose negative perks to gain points to spend on positive perks. Some perks are mutually exclusive.”
You can tell a pick worked from the counters. Taking one 2-point perk from your starting 3 leaves Available Perk Points: 1 and Perks: 1/4.
Positive perks: what your points buy
2-point perks
With 3 base points, you can afford only one of these six without taking a negative perk. They fall into three groups. Vigilant and Vending Machine handle what happens at night and after hours. Diplomatic and Well Connected deal with reputation. Intimidating cuts the evidence your crimes leave, and Working Pipes connects your water lines to unlimited Rustwater from day one.
1-point perks
This is the largest group, with 17 perks. Several open systems from the start. Sawyer’s Crew opens the Underground Exchange, Welfare Program opens the Commissary, and Aug Menace unlocks the Augmented content. Others push reputation with one faction. Model Citizen covers Security, Revolution Sympathizer covers The Revolution, and Sycophant covers the Upper Levels. Savings is a flat cash boost. Handy hands you a starting toolkit. Proficient Scavenger and Tinkerer stretch your scavenging and upgrade materials.
Colorful Character works differently. Instead of an in-game bonus, it adds 3 perk slots, so it’s how you run more than four perks.
Aug Menace never switches off. If you let too many augs get away, the run ends on every difficulty.
Free trade-off perks
Careful Scavenger, Hoarder and Prime Real Estate cost no points and each offers a trade-off. Each one swaps a benefit for a cost. Careful Scavenger gives you fewer Dumping Grounds actions in exchange for never getting injured. Prime Real Estate brings an extra normal customer every day but raises your starting rent. Hoarder fills the bottom of your inventory with removable debris piles. Each still takes up one of your perk slots.
Negative perks: trading drawbacks for points
Negative perks are how you get past the 3-point budget. Each of the ten on the screen gives 1 point. They include the three addictions, a higher rent and a lost Commissary.
Best starting perks in Probably Stolen by goal
No single loadout fits every run. These picks are sorted by what you want out of the start.
| Goal | Perks | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Money-focused start | Savings + Vigilant or Diplomatic | Costs 3 |
| More than four perks | Colorful Character | Costs 1 |
| Cheap extra points | Bad Lease, Banned from the Commissary | Give 1 each |
Money-focused start: Savings adds 150 credits for a single point, which leaves exactly enough for one 2-point perk. Vigilant means you’re never robbed at night. Diplomatic boosts the reputation you earn from trading.
Cheap extra points: Bad Lease costs a flat 40 credits of starting rent. Banned from the Commissary only takes away the Commissary and food stamps.
Some drawbacks are worth skipping depending on how you play. Leave Degenerative Osteoarthritis alone if you plan to scavenge, and skip Illiterate if you want to read guides. Each of the three addictions brings an 8% trade penalty until you cure it.
