Probably Stolen Factions & Reputation Guide: Perks, Permits & Attracting Rich Buyers

Six factions, three that matter most

There are six reputation tracks, not a single team to pick. All can be worked in parallel, and their interests deliberately pull against each other:

Faction	How to raise it	What lowers it	Main payoff
Lower Levels	Normal trading, helping residents	Reporting to Security, selling contraband to residents, getting caught with fakes	100 points: permanent 15% discount at Joe Wild and Dr. Jackson
Upper Levels	Selling high-quality, high-value goods	Getting caught selling fakes	20 points: +15% on sales; 100 points: +25% credits
Security	Legal trades, reporting criminals, killing Augs	Harbouring criminals, contraband busts	20 / 50 / 80 points unlock three firearm permits
Black Market	Smuggling, Underground Exchange deals	Heat from Security	High-end stolen stock and event intel
Revolution	Revolution requests, selling materials	Working too closely with Security	40 points: material discount; 80 points: raid-loot premium
Sector 13 Cartel	Meeting the weekly Dream Dust quota	Defaulting	Weekly stipend from 25 points; authorised exit at 100

Lower Levels: 100 points for a permanent 15% discount

At 100 Lower Levels reputation, Joe Wild and Dr. Jackson offer a 15% shopping discount around the clock.Player-tested

"Around the clock" is the part that matters: the discount applies to machines bought from Wild by day and to night purchases at Dr. Jackson's. That turns the late-game routine into a loop:

1. Buy machines and consumables at a discount during the day;
2. Clear Dr. Jackson's tools, batteries and modules at 85% of list at night;
3. Resell them to Upper Levels buyers through the display case the next day.

The key Lower Levels thresholds:

Reputation	Perk	Effect
20	Referral	100% chance of one extra random customer per day
40	Rare Goods	New customer types bring rare or contraband stock
60	Word on the Street	Advance notice of events
80	Tight Lips	Evidence costs half the sale value
100	Pillar of the Lower Levels	15% discount at Joe Wild and Dr. Jackson
-60	Marked	More thieves; insurance costs 2×
-100	Mob Justice	Lynched — the run ends

Maintaining Lower Levels reputation is simple: trade normally, do not adulterate goods, and do not report regulars. Its 15% discount is one of the strongest perks in the game, which makes 100 the natural first target.

Security: three tiers of firearm permits

Security reputation comes from active choices:

• Legal deals with customers;
• Reporting wanted criminals with the counter alarm: a correct report gives +5 Security, a false one costs -8 and a fine;
• Identifying and killing Augs;
• The Model Citizen perk starts you at 30 Security.

Firearm permits come in three tiers, all bought through Wild's network and tied to Security standing:

Permit	Price	Security required	Revoked below	Covers
Permit I	300	20	0	Low-level firearms and ammo
Permit II	600	50	30	Mid-level firearms and ammo
Permit III	900	80	60	High-level firearms and ammo

Permitted guns stop counting as contraband but still sell for only half the usual contraband markup; dropping below the revoke line lets an officer take the permit back.Player-tested

Selling guns also needs the gunsmith trade: pay 650 credits for Wild's retired gunsmith. Each extra permit makes him more likely to bring rare chips and modules.

The permit is not only about being allowed to sell guns. Firearms are high-value, low-volume display items, which makes them excellent late-game wealth vehicles. Once permitted, put a gun in a 350+ display slot and it earns the same Upper Levels markup as anything else.

Upper Levels: high markups, no fake goods

Upper Levels elites have money and tolerate markups, and they are poor at spotting the Lower Levels tricks — fake cigarettes, relabelled water. That cuts both ways:

• Better prices: the same item usually sells for more to an Upper Levels buyer;
• Reputation damage if caught: once a fake is seen through, the high-markup channel closes for a while.

The safe split is to send relabelled goods to Lower Levels customers and random walk-ins, and reserve genuinely high-quality stock — your own wine, high-purity water, genuine tools — for Upper Levels buyers. You keep the markup without gambling the reputation.

Key Upper Levels thresholds:

Reputation	Perk	Effect
20	Pourboire	+15% on sales to Upper Levels customers
40	Upper Level Charity	Occasional donated goods
60	Gossipmonger	Advance notice of events
80	Household Name	20% chance of one extra Upper Levels customer per day
100	Rave Reviews	Upper Levels customers pay 25% extra credits

The display case formula: 350 credits and the first tag

The display case is a customer-acquisition tool, not decoration. Two rules govern it:

1. Threshold: an item needs at least 350 credits of base value (excluding markup) in the case to draw a high-tier buyer the next day.
2. First tag only: the game reads the item's first main tag to decide which buyer arrives. Later tags are ignored.

Display item (first main tag)	Buyer attracted	Use
Home-made wine (alcohol & tobacco)	Upper Levels alcohol buyer	Upper Levels reputation plus high-price sales
Advanced water purifier (daily goods)	Upper Levels daily-goods stockpiler	Steady Upper Levels reputation and stock clearing
Tools / batteries / modules / nodes (tool materials)	Inventor	Carries 1,000+ credits, clears your 85% night stock in one visit
6000ml bottle of high-quality water	Upper Levels water hoarder	Large single-day sales toward total wealth

Tool materials are the best value: buy tools, batteries and modules from Dr. Jackson at 85% at night, display one 350+ tool-material item by day, and the Inventor empties the shelf at a 15%+ margin with almost no risk.

Neon signs: swap random walk-ins for specialists

Neon signs bought from Dr. Jackson replace ordinary random passers-by with specialist suppliers for the matching category.Player-tested

Common uses:

• Water-drop neon: more water and purification stock walks in;
• Food neon: more ingredients, nutrifruit and food stock walks in.

Neon signs do not change the display-case buyer logic — they change who walks through the door at random. When you are short on inputs (grapes for wine, seeds for hydroponics), hanging the matching sign beats waiting on random traffic.

A reputation plan that does not fight itself

FAQ

Does reputation decay over time?

No natural decay has been observed. Reputation only moves when you take a specific action — reporting, getting caught with fakes, and so on.

Can I max all six factions?

You can work them in parallel, but reporting shifts reputation between Lower Levels and Security. In practice, take Lower Levels to 100 for the discount first, then farm Security for permits; pick whichever track is easiest for the 200-point Diplomatic.

How does the case work with several items?

The 350 threshold is per item; the buyer type follows the first main tag the game reads in the case. To reliably attract one buyer type, group high-value items of the same category rather than mixing.

What if I have nothing worth 350 yet?

Early wine (base price 175) is below the gate — age it first, or use an advanced purifier or genuine tool to clear the threshold. In the late game, 6000ml bottles of high-quality water are the easiest way in.

Read next

• Turn reputation into cash flow: early water, mid-game resale and late arbitrage
• Stack faction and wealth achievements: all 21 achievements
• Confirm before shooting: how to identify an Aug