My first profitable sale in Probably Stolen began with a single strip of paper and a cold drip of ghostwater on the floor. I stared at the numbers and felt the room thin—those tiny percentages decide whether you get paid or you get laughed out of the market. Water trading in Probably Stolen is a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.
I’ve played the demo and the full release; the math hasn’t betrayed me. You can wing trades, or you can treat purity like a currency and stack small edges until they compound into real cash.
At trade tables you learn to trust two things: a good eye and a testing strip. How to test water in Probably Stolen
You meet the Water trader, he hands you strips, and suddenly the game shifts from speculation to inspection. Use the strips by dragging one into the water source; the result tells you whether a bottle is a winner or a loss.
How do you test water in Probably Stolen?
- 99.9%: Pure Water — highest payout.
- 99%–99.5%: High-Quality — solid margin.
- 98%–99%: Basewater — acceptable if you plan to refine.
I personally skip anything under 98% unless I’m already set up to fix it. You can purify low-grade water, but that’s where time, tools, and patience become your real capital.
I learned to stop selling raw and start refining. How to purify water in Probably Stolen
Selling a 98% bottle for a full-price buyer is a mistake you pay for. Purification raises margins and protects your reputation.
How do you purify water in Probably Stolen?
- Drop a purification pill into the contaminated container.
- Fit a filter onto a pitcher.
- Pour unfiltered water into the pitcher.
- Pour the filtered water into a clean container for sale.
Pills are slow and cheap; filters are fast but have limits. If you’re on PC, Steam and Itch.io communities will tell you which vendors are selling filters and replacement cartridges; the game’s Discord is where players trade filter tips and set prices.
The marketplace chatter always mentions a single purchase that changed someone’s run. How to use Moisture Farm in Probably Stolen
I bought a Moisture Farm on day four in the demo and it changed the math: steady output turned occasional flips into a daily grind for gains.
How do you use Moisture Farm in Probably Stolen?
Each Moisture Farm produces 1 L of ghostwater per day. More farms = more volume. Expect the produced water to be dirty and unsellable until you filter it or mislabel it for a scam. I paid about $50 (€47) for mine in the demo; that buy-in paid for itself after a few reliable, filtered shipments.
If you run multiple farms, plan the logistics: storage containers, filter throughput, and the timing of sales to avoid saturating local buyers.
You’ll notice filters struggle as contaminants pile up. How to soften water in Probably Stolen
In the late game your basic filter feels like a teaspoon trying to bail a boat. Filters clog like hair in a sink.
Use these tools to improve yield and keep your pitchers productive:
| Tool | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Water Purification tablet | Reduces chemical and microbial contaminants down to ~1.54%. |
| UV Lamp | Removes microbes. |
| HydraTex Water Purifier | Removes all contaminants equally up to basewater quality. |
| Water Purifier | Reduces contaminants slightly; low efficiency. |
I haven’t tested every late-game combo yet, but the table above will get you most of the way there. The basic play is this: scale farms for volume, invest in HydraTex-style gear for quality, and time your sales when demand is high.
Trading water works because the game makes purity measurable, portable, and tradable. If you treat testing, purification, and farming as a small production line, you shift the odds in your favor—so what’s your first move tomorrow?