How to steal without getting caught in Thief Simulator? Thief Simulator Guide and Tips
Last update: 29 November 2018
Thief Simulator is about robbing residents of their valuables, as you can easily guess. However, you have to steal in such a way that you don't let yourself be seen (which has a negative impact on the rating and thus the awarded experience points), and above all, don't let yourself be caught - because it will interrupt the job and load the last checkpoint. In this chapter you will learn how to steal without getting caught.
- Planning a theft
- Learning the household members' daily schedule
- Avoiding contact with household members and random witnesses
- Escaping the crime scene
Planning a theft
Any theft in Thief Simulator should start with the planning phase. Look around the building that you plan on robbing to locate possible entry and exit routes - windows, balcony doors or damaged fences that are easy to break, providing easy entry into the building from the unguarded side. It's also worth checking if there are people walking around the building and remember their routes more or less, so that you don't stumble on them when escaping.
Learning the household members' daily schedule
Another important thing that cannot be forgotten is to get to know the daily schedule of the household members - i.e. who and when can be encountered in the building, and when do they leave the house. This can be done in several ways:
- By buying advice through the StealYourForums tab at the computer in your base. This enables you to learn the daily schedule of one or several household members without any effort.
- By lying in wait next to the house and observing the householders. Simply locate the character and press the button responsible for marking to display a bar with their daily schedule on the screen.
- Use a Micro Camera. These can be purchased only after sufficiently developing the character (details can be found in the chapter on available tools), and placed in the letterbox, which stands in front of the main entrance to the house. Then you have to wait a full 24 hours and collect the camera to get to know the exact schedule of all household members. This way is the most efficient, but it requires proper character development and can be used if there is a letterbox available.
Now you only need to look at the indicators showing the daily schedule of the household members and choose the moment when all, or at least most of them are away from home (this is represented by blue blocks in the schedule).
Note - remember that the character may return home a few (or a few dozen) minutes before the theoretical time. It is worth keeping this in mind.
Avoiding contact with household members and random witnesses
Once the burglary has begun, be careful not to let anyone notice it. Other characters can locate the main character through:
- Detection of the character inside the house. This applies only to the household members. The residents of the property may see or hear your steps or actions. When a householder is approaching you, hide in another room or under the bed / closet, and open the cabinets and doors quietly (holding down the action key).
- Detection of the character from the street. This can happen when you stand by the window, inside the building, and a passer-by is strolling around. So it's worth moving around the house by crouching position and staying away from windows and open doors when possible.
- Detection of a badly parked car. If you leave the car in the bushes by the road or in the middle of the pavement, you can be sure that someone will call the police, who will now be looking for you. Try to leave your car in a car park, or away from a place frequented by passers-by. It is also worth leaving the car with the left door and trunk open - this will enable you to load big items faster and get in the car.
Escaping the crime scene
Once you manage to steal the items you want, you have to evacuate yourself from the crime scene without being seen - this will allow you to get an S rating that will have a significant impact on the experience points awarded for the job. While escaping, it is worth remembering about the following issues:
- Check if there are no new household members at home, or if their return time is not approaching. A household member that wasn't supposed to return for the next hour may suddenly pop up in front of you, ruining the burglary. If the time of return of one of the household members is approaching, make sure YOU do not approach the front door.
- Do not make noise and do not destroy objects. The noise may alert one of the household members, or even a person walking on the street. Move quietly, sneaking, and if you are required to destroy an object (e.g. a toilet or plates) as part of the task and you are not sure that nobody will hear it, let go of this mission - get out of the house, complete the burglary and then return to the house to destroy the required item.
- Pay attention to the passer-bys. If someone sees you inside the house, they will automatically become suspicious and call the police within seconds, which will ruin your rating. Every passer-by has a field of vision - this is visible on the mini-map in the form of a white cone in front of each passer-by. As long as you don't enter this field, you are safe.
- If you're stealing a large object (a TV, a painting, a microwave oven, etc.), remember not to stumble on a witness while carrying the item in your hands. While stuffing your pockets with hard disks, routers and glasses does not raise any suspicions, carrying a TV in the middle of the night certainly will. Avoid passers-by and, if that's not possible, just drop the item to the ground - the passer-by won't notice that under you're standing on a picture worth thousands of dollars as long as it's not in your hands.
Then all you have to do is get in the car and leave the map using one of the several routes to end the job.