Your starting specialization in Probably Stolen decides how much cash you have for the first rent bill, what you can sell on day one, whether you get the tutorial, and which factions already like or hate you. If you pick wrong, you can be staring at 150 credits and a 250-credit rent bill before you’ve sold a thing.
I’ve played through the starts in the launch build, so here are the five I’d actually recommend, what each one gives you, and the ones I’d leave for a second run.
The Best Starting Trades in Probably Stolen
Every start begins with 600 credits and pays for its kit out of that. Base rent is 200 credits a week.
| Specialization | You start with | Why I’d pick it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
 Rat Wrangler | 600 credits, 200 rent, a cage with a feeder, three pairs of rats and a cleaver | It’s the only kit that costs nothing, and the rats breed into roughly 174 credits of meat each without a supplier | Dirty cages spread disease, so I buy a Cleaner Robot early |
 Apprentice | 550 credits, 200 rent and a Storage Bay | No penalties, the full tutorial, and enough cash to buy Winemaking or Water Trading on day 7 | You have nothing special to sell until you pick a trade |
 Water Merchant | 400 credits, 200 rent, a full water-cleaning kit, a purifier and a Bottle Printer | Steady, low-risk money, and water shortages push prices up to 50% | You need a water source, so either grab Gutterflow On Tap or the Working Pipes trait |
 Hydroponic Farmer | 450 credits, 240 rent, two Hydroponic Systems, seeds and nutrients | You grow food, the thing customers ask for most, from day one, plus Chemistry ingredients later | One of the two farms has stuck, ruined modules until you get a Module Extractor |
 Fence | 450 credits, 250 rent, a Smuggler’s Bay, contraband, keycards and the Underground Exchange | Contraband sells at a 35% to 100% markup, and you can start dealing immediately | No tutorial, and -30 Security reputation puts you on the Watchlist from day one |
The Starting Specializations To Skip on a First Run
| Trade | Credits and rent | Why I’d wait |
|---|---|---|
 Chemist | 300 credits, 200 rent | The highest ceiling, but no tutorial, the steepest learning curve and a Cartel that wants product every week |
 Aquafarmer | 150 credits, 240 rent | Fish pay off later, but 150 credits against a 240 rent bill makes week one brutal |
 Gunsmith | 150 credits, 250 rent | Legal guns and Weapon Permit I from the start, but the tightest first rent in the game and no tutorial |
 Rock Bottom | 0 credits, 200 rent | No cash, no kit, no tutorial. Save it for a challenge run |
Junker, Organ Dealer, Street Food Vendor, Moonshiner, and Pharmacist also show up in the list, but you can’t pick them in the launch build.
Which Starting Specialization Should You Pick?
- For your first run, I’d go Apprentice, since you get the tutorial and can try any trade later.
- For the strongest economy, go Rat Wrangler, which keeps all 600 credits and restocks itself.
- For a low-stress run, go Water Merchant with the Working Pipes trait.
- For high risk and high reward, go Fence.
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