ARSON
Arson in Torn City is a complex vandalism crime that requires meeting specific job conditions and finding the "Goldilocks" balance for burning, not too much fuel, which wastes resources and risks detection or personal harm, and not too little, which fails to complete the job promptly. This incomplete early guide is for starting players tackling arson crimes, focusing on key mechanics and tips.
1. Windproof Lighter
The Windproof Lighter, as in crimes 1.0, remains the enhancer for arson crimes.
2. Progress
To do the crime, at least the basic ones, you inquire about the job, breach security, place fuel, add items if needed, ignite the fire, control the fire if needed - (stoking it to continue it if it dies down or putting it out depending on the conditions) and then collect if you are successful.
Arson sucks that nerve right out of you like oxygen in a fire. Depending on the conditions, you may not need to plant evidence or stoke the fire. I still need to add dampen to this which is also optional depending on the conditions.
The red Progress Bar shows the fire’s progress. After you add fuel or accelerants and then light the fire, the bar fills to indicate how close you are to burning the building to the ground.
3. Burn Conditions
Each arson job has specific conditions, such as burning a target to 100%. For example, one job required a full burn (indicated by an "X symbol"), but I ran out of nerve and failed. Pay close attention to these conditions before starting, and ensure you have enough nerve, fuel, etc to complete the task.
Failed, not a complete burn. It seems that regardless of how much fuel you use, fires that need to burn to 100% fail in the 97 to 99% phase and require active intervention such as stoking with a lighter.
Passed, complete burn not needed. 4 gas and 1-2 more to stoke it.
Arsons with the complete burn requirement quite often stall just before meeting that requirement and require stoking. I initially used 5 gas on this one, the fires are clearly big, but it still stalled out. You can stoke with just your lighter.
This one had three active conditions. I used a methane tank and an oxygen tank (overkill?) to leave no evidence and dampened the fire 5-6 times with a blanket. I need to both leave no evidence and also control the fire and burn more than 25% but less than 50%.
4. Fuel Management
Start with 2 cans of gasoline per fire symbol as a baseline, then monitor the Vendetta Bar and add more fuel as needed to stoke the fire. Be cautious with rigid advice like "always use X cans," as each job’s conditions and scenarios vary. Two can per fire symbol is a starting point but a yurt or fishing shack may only need one. Read the text and use common sense, some targets, like a candle shop, may ignite quickly and need less fuel.
A number of players are using less fuel than I do and a number are getting burned when stoking. For a lot of the crimes, you don't need to burn the building to the ground so perhaps less is more. As for stoking, I have stoked quite a few fires but I only stoke them when they stall or have not grown very large and appear not to be growing; if you throw more gas on a huge blaze, you are taking a big risk.
5. Nerve and Item Costs
Arson consumes significant nerve, making it an expensive crime. Don’t start a job unless you have enough nerve to finish. Additionally, arson requires various items, some of which are costly. You may need to plant specific items as evidence (e.g., a Kabuki Mask or Mayan Statue) to meet job conditions. Be aware that you might lose items while controlling the fire, so stock up accordingly.
6. Meeting Job Conditions
Every arson job has unique conditions that are critical to success. Failing to meet them results in job failure. For example, in one job, I used gasoline instead of a stealthier fuel like propane, causing the insurance claim to be denied due to obvious arson evidence. This job had three conditions, which can be overwhelming at lower skill levels when you don't know what your doing. Stick to simpler jobs with one or two conditions until you’re more experienced and/or we collectively figure out the mechanics of this new crime better.
Real-Life Anecdote: In my neighborhood, a house burned down after a couple’s messy divorce. The husband’s parents owned the property, and the fire was ruled arson, so insurance denied the claim. However, since no one could prove whether the ex-wife or the parents started it, the insurance company lost in court. In Torn, choosing the wrong fuel (like gasoline instead of propane) can similarly tip off investigators, failing the job.
A hard one
Much easier
7. First Responders Warning
A flashing siren symbol with five smaller dashes indicates that first responders are on their way. The dashes show how much time remain, the more dark dashes the less time you have left. When you see three or more dashes, the fire should already be sufficiently stoked to meet the job’s conditions soon. Finish quickly to avoid getting caught. In the image below, time is about to run out.
Hurry!
Fire is being put out.
8. Arson Tools
Much like the Disposal crime, Arson requires specific tools, each serving a distinct purpose which we are still figuring out. Unlike simple “mash the button” crimes, arson demands strategic item use. Below is a breakdown of common tools and my best guess at their use:
Fuel
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Gasoline: Common, ideal for low-level arsons. Affordable. Unlocked at start.
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Diesel: Produces more smoke, slower burn, potentially useful for specific conditions.
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Kerosene: Versatile fuel, often used for controlled burns.
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Magnesium Shavings: High-intensity, burns hot and fast for tough, smaller jobs.
Accelerants
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Thermite: Extremely hot, for jobs requiring intense burns.
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Potassium Nitrate: Boosts fire intensity.
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Methane: Stealthier, may help avoid insurance fraud detection.
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Hydrogen and Oxygen Tanks: Rapid combustion. Unlocked with: You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Dental Surgery (A Bitter Taste) Arson job gaining $76,000 (unique) This one also unlocked the usage of oxygen tanks.
Dampeners
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Fire Extinguisher: Controls fire spread to avoid over-burning.
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Sand: Slows or contains fires.
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Blanket: Smothers flames, cuts off natural oxygen, to meet specific conditions.
Here is a better version by Oceane
9)Three New Merits
- Destroy the largest size ofbuilding in under 30 seconds
- Achieve a skill levelof 100 in Arson
- Use all fifteen ignitors, accelerants,and dampeners in Arson
9 3/4) Uniques
You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Dental Surgery (A Bitter Taste) Arson job gaining $76,000 (unique) This one unlocked the usage of oxygen tanks.
You used 5 nerve successfully stoking a Barn (The Bolted Horse). You unlocked the ability to use Potassium Nitrate in Arson. You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Barn (The Bolted Horse) Arson job gaining $100,000 (unique)
You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Gas Station (Blown to High Heaven) Arson job gaining $74,000 (unique)
You unlocked the ability to use Diesel in Arson
You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Restroom (Shit Happens) Arson job gaining $9,200 (unique)
You unlocked the ability to use Methane Tank in Arson
You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Recording Studio (Roast Beef) Arson job gaining $150,000 (unique)
You unlocked the ability to use Molotov Cocktail in Arson
Aircraft Hanger-plane and simple Unique-requirements-- cover up, accidental cause, total destruction...Used 5 potassium nitrate and 3 oxygen tanks, probably massive overkill but got $150,000 and kerosene unlocked
i did it with just 3 Potassium nitrates: details on page 6 of this thread. You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Aircraft Hangar (Plane and Simple) Arson job gaining $180,000 (unique)
Other Uniques
You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Bordello (Hell Fire) Arson job gaining $190,000 (unique)
You used 2 nerve successfully collecting the reward for the Shack (Cut to the Chase) Arson job gaining $99,000 (unique)
other stuff to come
10) Misc notes
- There is talk about using arson to self-hospitalize.
- Several players have reported using just one can of gas and not stoking for arsons that do not require a full burn - low risk and low cost. This seems to be true but reports (thread below) show higher pay for a higher burn.
- "There are no more jobs remaining for you today. Some jobs are hidden until you increase your Arson skill"
- You can use just the lighter to stoke the fire when progress stalls. This is especially effective for those full burn arsons that seem to always stall at 97 to 99% complete.
- Inquiring on a job counts as a successful vandalism crime in your criminal record, even though it uses zero nerve, which means this is "free" progress to several vandalism merits. It doesn't count as a success, though, and gives no skill increase.
- Followed the Best Available Data (BAD) and got burned anyway? Common, RNG is part of most crimes.
- It seems like if you complete the crimes and meet all the conditions, you will be paid 100% of the time. The only ones that I've found that are tricky are the insurance ones as the xxxxx condition was not met.
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