City finds
What TornLife's research has established about City finds, and the questions players asked about it.
What TornLife has verified
- The Torn Wiki's Education Quick Reference (2021 capture) lists PSY2680 as a 10% increase to Awareness. It also lists education courses that unlock artifact finds (medieval coins, Asian sculptures, Quran pages, Senet board pieces, amulets) and locations (Museum, Sports Shop, Pharmacy). (documented; Education:Quick Reference › Awareness & City finds / Locations, )
- The mechanic changed with the RESPO release. Items were previously found just by visiting the city link. Searching the map is now required. Old 2014-2016 posts describe highlighting the map to reveal items, and a 2016 poster thought this was unintended. (documented; City › Finding Items, )
- The wiki (2017) advised checking the item market value of every item found, even ones that sound useless, to avoid being scammed out of a valuable item. (documented; Beersteins Guide to Making Money › City searching, )
- Players reported low find rates: one found 5 items in 76 days of play in 2017, and one with maxed Awareness merits went from about 5 to 7 items per week to one after the 2018 spawn changes. Another in 2018 waited many days between checks. (player reports; City Finds, )
- The wiki says that once a day, at midnight TCT, one or more items may spawn on the map. This is a possibility, not a guarantee. (documented; City › Finding Items, )
- The wiki (2023 capture) says items are found by physically searching the city map: zoom in and click an item if one appears. Before the RESPO release, items could be found just by visiting the city link. (documented; City › Finding Items, )
- The wiki lists city finds as one source of items, alongside the Dump. Players mention cesium and a parachute as items found on the map. (documented; Item › Details / Equipment / Useful Supplies / General Shopping / Non-tradeable, )
- Before RESPO in 2014, clicking the city link gave a small chance of an item event or a briefcase of cash. Ecstasy and LSD once raised awareness, and higher activity once meant more finds; neither is true now. (documented; Awareness › Historical Notes, )
- The wiki (2022 capture) defines Awareness as the quantity of items a player finds in the City; higher awareness means more items found. Boosts are additive, not multiplicative. (documented; Awareness, )
- New items have a chance to spawn on the city map every day at midnight, provided the player was active in the prior 24 hours. Spawns are at random points, visible by zooming in. Higher activity does not mean more items. (documented; Awareness, )
- Awareness levels are additive: a 200% boost and a 300% boost give 500% extra awareness in total, not 600%. (documented; Awareness, )
- Wiki lists four ways to raise awareness: 20% per merit upgrade; 10% from education PSY2680; 50%, 50% and 70% from working at a Firework Stand, Candle Shop and Zoo; 2500% for 31 days from Book: Finders Keepers. There is also an unspecified boost during annual Awareness Awareness Week (3rd week of January). (documented; Awareness › Increasing Awareness, )
- In general the higher an item's value, the less common it is as a city find. Some items are seasonal. Not findable: enhancers (since end of 2024), cars, boosters, flowers, collectibles, dual weapons, cache items and others. (documented; Awareness › City Finds, )
- Duct Tape, an enhancer, is listed as findable from Shoplifting crimes, not the city map, and boosts Card Skimming gains 5%. (documented; Duct Tape › Effect / Obtaining, )
- Several threads (2019-2022) ask whether awareness merits are worth it, with players reporting few finds even with 8/10, level 3, or a Candle Shop job. The pack shows no measured find rate. (player reports; Is it worth spending points on awareness?, )
- Many items can be found as city finds and also come from crimes such as Burglary and Shoplifting. Examples on wiki pages: Paper Towels, Lye, Blowtorch, Box of Grenades, Vanity Hand Mirror and Gasoline. (documented; Other Items, )
- The Rabbit Foot and Voodoo Doll were once obtainable only as city finds but stopped spawning as city finds in early 2012. The Rabbit Foot was added as Easter Bunny loot on April 1, 2021. (documented; Collectible › Collectibles, )
Questions about City finds
- How does the Awareness merit affect finding items in the city, and is it worth spending merits on?
Awareness is the wiki's term for how many items a player finds in the city. The Awareness merit adds +20% per upgrade, and boosts add together rather…
- How does finding items on the city map work, and how often does it reset?
The wiki (2023 capture) says city finds now require searching the city map: zoom in and click an item if one appears. It says one or more items may s…
Items ·