aessedai82: forum

This is a revised/updated edition of Daniel897 [2698557]'s original post. I've added some merits which I got pretty easily. Note that this guide is for newbies. If you continue playing, some merits will come naturally (like those in attacking/camo). I do hope that newbies find this useful.

This guide is continuously updated to reflect new merits.

Happy merit hunting!

Attacking/ Camo

I’ve combined these two because they work hand in hand. For instance, while you’re getting merits for things like flatline or spray & pray, you’d be on your way to getting another for a camo.

1. Domino effect - Defeat a player with the domino honor bar

An easy target is L3MILK [1999595] and Knightfall. They're rather popular target so you may need to come back after he's out of the hospital.

2. Flatline - Defeat someone in one hit

There are level 1 deserters whom you can easily attack and defeat in one hit. You can ask faction members with donator status to find you someone with advanced search.

3. Semper Fortis, Manu Forti and Vae Victis - Defeat someone with stats more than, 2x and 5x than yours

An easy target for this is penguinbob [1636674], because of his uneven stats. Again, he's a rather popular target so you may need a few tries.

4. Spray and Pray - Fire 1000 rounds

Get a primary weapon with a high rate of fire like the P90 from Big Al's Guns Shop in the city or the items market. Keep shooting down people with your gun until you get this merit.

5. Love Struck - Defeat a married couple

Take them both down both. -Gabby- [2144849] and Scubap [2144515] are relatively easy targets.

6. Kill Streaker 1/ Woodland Camo/ Desert Storm Camo

Attack any 20 people and win. On the way you’d get Woodland Camo (5 wins) and Kill Streaker 1 (10 kill streak). Do what you did for Flatline – look for level 1 deserters.

7. Church Mouse - Get mugged for $1

The magic number is $21. Keep $21 in your wallet and wait to get mugged. You can also ask a faction member to mug you. You can do that by keeping extra cash in the bank or donating to the church (both with its own merit – more on that later)

Weapons

1. Gone fishing - Be defeated by a trout

You’ll need help for this. Buy a trout from the items marketplace. Gift the trout to a faction member and ask him/her to attack you with that trout.

Jail & Hospital

1. Clotted - Hospitalize yourself by using the wrong blood bag or drinking some Ipecac Syrup.

Get Ipecac syrup from the items market – drink before you log off and go to bed.

Gym

1. Lean - Attain 100 total stats

Train at the gym in the beginning to get increase your stats. If you have % gym gains as a faction benefit or from sports science then it'll be faster but it's pretty much in the bag as you need to train anyway.

Money

1. Pocket money - Make an investment in the bank

You'll get the merit as soon as you deposit any amount in the bank.

Go to City -> Bank -> Type amount -> Select duration->Invest

2. Pious - Donate a total $100,000 to the church

Buying 100 beer from Bits N' Bobs and selling it on the item market for about 2 days and make a donation. Just don’t get mugged in the process.

Commitment

1. Forgiven - Be truly forgiven for all of your sins

Go to City -> Church -> Pray

To be safe, do it 2 x per day (preferably a few hours apart - I can't find the post now but I remember reading 6 somewhere) for approximately 2 weeks. You cannot accelerate this by doing 14 x at one go. Mine was 1 x when I first log in and 1 x before bed. Took me about 2 weeks.

Casino

1. Spinner - Spin the roulette wheel 1000 times

You get 75 casino tokens to play with every day. If you spend every single one of it in the roulette table, you can get this merit in 14 days. Drag one $10 chip onto the red diamond and another $10 chip onto the black diamond. This way, you don't lose money except on the rare cases that the ball falls on '0'. Spin the roulette wheel by clicking on it. When the round completes, click 'Repeat Bets'. Repeat this till you run out of casino tokens.

Misc

1. Historian - Read a chronicle

Go to Newspaper -> Chronicles -> Choose any article -> Read until the merit shows up (max. of 10 mins. You can leave that open in another tab if you’re using the web version)

2. Landlord - Lease one of your properties to someone

Go to City -> Estate Agents. Buy a trailer for $5000. Rent it to someone for $1 for at least 3 days. Get a faction member to help. Leaving it out there hoping for people to rent is rather pointless as most folks who are interested in renting will be eyeing the big properties like PI to get the perks.

3. The Affronted - Infuriate all interviewers in starter jobs

Until you reach level 3, you can only work in starter jobs. These are - Army, Grocer, Law Casino, Medical and Education. With certain dialogue options, you can piss off the interviewers. If you do that for all the jobs, then you get the 'Affronted' merit. Here's a guide by Rekker [1761] explaining step-by-step on how to achieve this merit. ** It's important to note that all interviewers must be pissed at you at the same time i.e. at the end of the merit, unless you're heading to a player company, you'd be jobless for about 3 days.

Crimes

1. Slim Pickings. Steal exclusively from skinny targets in Pickpocketing

You just need to target safe marks with skinny builds and continue until you get the merit (includes unsuccessful attempts and crits). If you target any other builds you'd have to restart. It takes about 10-ish to get there so it's relatively fast. Personally, I'd suggest building some CE from earlier crimes like Search for Cash and Bootlegging before attempting Pickpocketing to reduce failures and crits.

Honourable mention (Crimes)

1. Zero Liability. Recover a skimmer which has accumulated at least 250 card details

You’ll need a few card skimmers and spy cameras for this. There's no magic number on the number of skimmers to use. I used 6 in the subway and just wait. Avoid college campus. The reason can be found in the in-depth guide by  Emforus [2535044]. I got mine in about a week (at crime level 20). Note that some skimmers may be discovered which is why you'll need to place a few.

2. Homing - Use Focused Scouting to scout a specific target in Burglary

You need to do the crime once to be given a random location. Then use Focused Scouting to pick the same location to get this merit.

Honourable mention (Travel)

1. Souvenir. Purchase the perfect souvenir abroad 

This can only be done once you're at level 15 because you have to travel. The souvenir depends on the last 2 digit of your player ID. You can find the list by CreatorX [2234054] or  Andyman [471591]'s reference table.

NST is a service provider, bounties is one of them. There are also others like BHG.

1. NST doesn't exempt the service provider from being retaliated. They're not "special" in that sense.
2. Placers may feel that way because they're just "doing a job". It's like being angry at the delivery guy for uncooked fries in your order (not the best analogy but the idea is there). Often, the better question to ask is who requested those bounties but placers won't know though. (edit) Those in the service industry can relate BUT it's a risk that players take when they take up the job.
3. There's nothing NST can do. Again, it's a risk that players take when we sign up for bounty jobs. (edit) NST is not a faction. It's just a money making service provider and there's no union or something.
4. No - NST is a player run service provider, so they're not more powerful than admins.

TL:DR There are many kinds of players in Torn. I've gotten DMs that went on a full rampage w/o even understanding what is NST. I've also gotten very polite ones who figured out who ordered those hits. In the end, it's not personal (except for the one buying the bounties).

Hey folks,

Just to be clear - this is NOT a question to start a for or against SSL debate. It's not a question about energy efficiency, costs, etc.

I've read the piece by Josephine but it was written 6 years ago and I believe Torn went through a lot of changes. What I really want to know is:

1. Are you an SSL player or know anyone who still is?
2. What made you choose this 'unconventional' path considering the role drugs play in Torn?
3. What is your experience overall? Specifically, has this path made you enjoy the game more/less or increased/decreased your contribution to wars and what not?
4. Any tips and tricks particularly for players heading towards that direction but not having a gazillion dollars to buy FHCs etc?

Non-SSL players are most welcome to share - what was your experience with SSL players? Did their contributions matter less than other players in the faction especially if you're a warring faction? Were you the subject of lots of regret stories later on?

Looking forward to hear and learn from all your experiences. Thank you =)

Here's something we share in our faction to help them decide whether to go into city or player companies.

City jobs
✔️ all 3 work stats will grow
✔️ passives from medical (brain surgeon), law (federal judge) and education (principal) are yours even when you leave those jobs
✔️ not affected by addiction, overdose, inactivity, etc
✔️ the principal position offers a daily work stat of 170 which is the highest for any given job without taking into account paying for trains
❌ pay sucks

Player company
✔️ Pays a lot better. However, some companies may tax you. As of writing, the going rate to be in a 10* lingerie store is 10M per week and there are 10* candle stores that do not give any salary as the perks are seen as payment.
✔️ perks can be a game-changer
❌ only 2 work stats will grow (but you can request your director to give a boost to your 'neglected stat' but that is an arrangement between you and the director) 

❌ perks will disappear when you leave the companies
❌ employee effectiveness is affected by addiction, overdose, inactivity, etc

If you choose player companies, do read arguably the best guides out there by VYNICAL [2448434] partly because it is arranged based on the stage of the game you're in which determines the stats that you have accumulated. As for positions, you can find them through the wiki or newspaper/job listing/find jobs.

I'm inclined to suggest city jobs and work towards the principal position in education (shaving off 10% education time is a pretty big deal). I had to switch from grocer -> med -> education to get the minimum stats to get there. Of course there will be players who suggest fast tracking but buying trains isn't exactly cheap. However if you do find nice employers, they may help you reach your desired stats/ I have co-workers who did that, went to get the principal position and come back.

Hope this helps.

(edit) - added links to newspaper

Since your aim is getting stronger I'd suggest getting all stat related courses first. They're quite a fair bit scattered across all bachelors.

HAF1103: Introduction to Health & Fitness (1 week)
HAF2104: Aerobics - Gain a 1% passive bonus to dexterity (2 weeks)
HAF2105: Acrobatics - Gain a 1% passive bonus to speed (2 weeks)
HAF2106: Power Lifting - Gain a 1% passive bonus to strength (2 weeks)
HAF2107: Yoga - Gain a 2% passive bonus to strength (2 weeks)
HAF2108: Swimming - Gain a 1% passive bonus to dexterity (2 weeks)
HAF2109: Marathon Training - Gain a 3% passive bonus to speed (4 weeks)
MTH1220: Introduction to Mathematics (1 week)
MTH2240: Essential Foundation Mathematics - Gain a 1% passive bonus to speed (3 weeks)
MTH2250: Intermediate Mathematics - Gain a 1% passive bonus to speed (3 weeks)
MTH2260: Geometry - Gain a 1% passive bonus to defense (3 weeks)
MTH2320: Geometry 2 - Gain a 2% passive bonus to defense (3 weeks)
PSY1630: Introduction to Psychiatry (1 week)
PSY2640: Memory and Decision - Gain a 1% passive bonus to dexterity (2 weeks)
PSY2650: Brain and Behaviour - Gain a 2% passive bonus to dexterity (3 weeks)
PSY2660: Quantitative Methods in Psychology - Gain a 4% passive bonus to dexterity (3 weeks)
PSY2670: Applied Decision Methods - Gain a 8% passive bonus to dexterity (4 weeks)
DEF1700: Introduction to Self Defense (1 week)
DEF2710: Judo - Gain a 1% passive bonus to defense (3 weeks)
DEF2730: Krav Maga - Gain a 2% passive bonus to defense (4 weeks)
DEF2740: Jujitsu - Gain a 3% passive bonus to defense (2 weeks)
DEF2750: Tae Kwon Do - Gain a 2% passive bonus to speed (2 weeks)
DEF2760: Muay Thai - Gain a 3% passive bonus to speed (3 weeks)
CBT1780: Introduction to Combat Training (1 week)
CBT2790: Military Psychology - Gain a 1% passive bonus to speed (2 weeks)

Source (by DrVoid)

Alternatively, you can go and clear combat training because the weapon mastery is a very time consuming one.

Hope this helps.

I'm going to address this: yet I see more candle shops around than FCs (maybe because they're easier to run). 

You've brought up 2 separate points here.

1) From a strictly training POV -> FC is arguably better because 3% gains really makes a lot of difference than CS because even at 10⭐, players in CS only get 50e per day (assuming they use the full 10JP for 50 e).

2) From a company owner perspective - > there are more CS than FC because it requires lower cost and the requirements for staff is lower working stats e.g. chandler requires 4.5 MAN and 2.25k INT vs 5 digit stats for any position in FC. While yes, competition is stiff but it is a lot easier to get off the ground than FC and most players will tell you that owning a company takes a lot of resources.

From a player perspective -> FC is attractive but to enjoy that 10⭐perk, players need to be within a certain work stat range for directors to employ them in order to maintain that star. And as JustTuna [2797339] pointed out something that is true even for very experienced players. e is flexible. It allows for trains, jumps, RW, Halloween, Elimination, etc. So even the more experienced players have reasons to join a CS increasing the demand) than Fc or even farm.

Welcome to flying! Generally:

• Never fly overnight (you'll get mugged easily especially if you're level 15)
• Do what you need to do and fly back ASAP (preferably within 1 min because there's a grace period upon landing when no one can mug you)
• Always drain your e and nerve before flying to maximise regen time
• Do be mindful if you're in an OC. It's not nice for the whole crew to wait for you to return so that the OC initiates. This is true especially if you're doing long haul flights to SA or UAE
• Buy flowers, plushies or contrabands
• Get married to a faction member and share PI costs/rents

NST is another service provider. Besides bounties, you can have flight delays, mercenary services, etc.

Note that you cannot accumulate resets now.

It really depends on your objectives i.e. the faction you're entering, a change in your playing style, joining a new company (popular companies like LS requires 10 merits in EE) etc. But generally I'd suggest letting "mistakes" (like merits in awareness) accumulate before deciding for sure what's your move.

Just in case -> you can pick and choose courses instead of finishing the bachelors one by one.

Like what everyone mentioned, Intravenous Therapy (from Bio) is good because using blood bags are cheaper even if you're not warring.

Since you're flying and you can afford 1 week (assuming you haven't optimised education time) then take sports admin (from sports science) so that you can open the sports shop and start selling contrabands.

Also, in your case, i'd probably finish history bachelors before combat training. By the time you're done you'd be ready for 2027 Museum day and get loads of points. However, if you're going into the war direction to build respect for your faction, you can pick all the stat contributing courses across all bachelors rather than finishing bachelor by bachelor.

Your game. Your choices.

**popularity depends on overall player company specials, barrier to entry wnd sustainability of the company. Eg even though farm gives the most e per JP there're a lot more candle stores than farms for various reasons. 

Specifically for Halloween I'd say companies that allow exchange of JP to energy such as candle store, furniture store, restaurant, pub, gameshop and farm. 

The second type I'd reckon would be sweet shop, restaurant or grocery store for e cans or allow players to drink more cans. 

Like the others I spammed driver's license to about 70-ish then switched to license plates and travel visas. I also threw in a few ID badges.

Triarius22 has a point. Each company has its own perks. And I'd like to add that it also depends very much on your playstyle.

For example: The flower shop worked really well for one of my members because he's a flyer and he spends his JP reducing addiction. I'm in a sweet shop because the director gives free trains (considering its a 10⭐), the e-cans are good and i occasionally jump so it fits me.

I do recommend checking out Dr Void's post - it actually arranges companies based on workstat required and what're some of the more desirable perks.

In general, the effectiveness of withdrawing heat is opposite to the tool's coverage i.e. heat sink is the best at drawing heat away but it only affects the 4 points (up, down, left and right). water blocks cool the surrounding 9 blocks but its cooling effect is not as good as heat sinks.

Images taken from the Emforus guide. The Reshula guide on rig optimization may interest you.

Adding on -> fitness center also allows you to use JP to reduce edu time

I'd suggest putting a limit to what you'd consider time intensive e.g. maybe China, UAE and SA. Assuming that is the case, then you'll only buy flushies from these 3 places in the other you can fly for them. That way, you're reducing costs and yet make use of your "dead time" in Torn (basically regen time for the most part unless you race every min or something).

Every category has at least one or 2 rare merits that'll take ages to get there. And eventually you will get there, like the flying and gym ones. Some examples that come to mind:

Under Weapons

• 1000 finishing hits in every category
• 100 100% exp in 25 diff weapons (requires combat training bachelor)

Under Hospital

Unless you are going down the reviver path or ins a revive faction the reviver merits will take a bit of time as you'd be using e to train instead.

Money

• Own every stock benefit at the same time

Casino

• Win the jackpot

Escaoe/defend merits

Just to add on to the given advice. 

Crit fails are the worst as they will impact your CS negatively. This is apso true even when you reach CS100 for a particular crime 

This is something interesting - a PI gives "Can transport 15 items, 30% off Travel Times and Free Travel (requires Pilot)"
(From Wiki)

So technically it's not an addition to the base. I was also disappointed and a little confused in the beginning when I saw the increase in base and yet saw a decrease in my capacity.

You have donator status so you can use advance search look for people who left the game at low levels.

Alternatively, use your ID number (Octopy [4308135]), any number after yours are new players. Look for those who thought that the game is not for them and left i.e. level 1 or 2 with last action 10 days ago or something. These are guaranteed to have lower stats than you. You get the idea.

Since you're in a faction, you can "protect your money" using the faction bank though you'll need a banker to help  you take it out.

Bank (cannot take out until after lock in period) and stocks (there can be profits or losses) are also very popular choices.

If you're into trading, flowers + plushies are great options (once you can fly @ level 15). Candy and beer are always popular (100 units only per day from the city shops). The newspaper is a good place to speculate what's going to be profitable due to sudden spikes. Keyword: speculation.

Same here. But i noticed a few things that lowered the failures

• residential targets until level 80
• Case the locations up to above 30 to 40% first 
• If 2 x casing and I'm still not there I'd return another time to try again
• Anytime i get 2 x failures of do another crime and come back again

Failure during casing is better than failure or crits during burglary itself. And 4th point corresponds with Beerstein's experience. But since i fly all the time i didn't monitor the exact periods. The moment i succeed 2 x i just dump all my nerve into it. All the best 

From wiki: Crime Progression is a new perk for Crimes 2.0 that increases how much CE and CS you gain with each crime.

How to get it: through faction perk, merit, enhancer, lawyer starter job, etc. Full details here.

To see for yourself -> Buy a high speed drive and you'll see that number go up.

As a general rule for this particular crime, aim for:

(a) skinny people compared to athletic/muscular
(b) doing something distracting like on the phone compared to loitering
(c)  Drunk Man, Drunk Woman, Homeless Person, Junkie, Elderly Man, Elderly Woman

Full list in Emforus guide.

They increase the success rate especially since you've got 100 CS in 2 crimes.

Side note: You should start card skimming. It's a crime that does well running in the background.

I suspect that you had a - 1 left in your company effectiveness. 

Each Xan is worth 32 addiction points which is about - 4