Torn City Tips

Torn City Tip #15 - Job (Company) Selection

There are several companies with differing "job point specials" to choose from. The company you select will depend largely on your play-style and how you want to be known in Torn. The full list of job specials with my recommendations listed are listed below:

Firework Stand Don't recommend, though the awareness special is excellent for new players with minimal job stats who are highly active and click the "city" link several times throughout the day.
1 star: Audaciousness - 1 nerve (1 jp)
3 star: Illumination - 50% awareness
5 star: Pyromania - 25% flame-thrower damage & accuracy

Flower Shop Decent for those who take Xanax and do a lot flower running.
1 star: Rare Import - Special flower (3 jp)
5 star: Herbal Cleansing - Drug addiction reduction (1 jp)
7 star: Over Capacity - Buy 5 additional special flowers abroad
10 star: Floral Contacts - View stock analysis of flowers in all countries (10 jp)

Candle Shop Occasionally, you'll find level-holders who are willing to pay up to $30M to have their "true" level revealed. This is the job that allow that to be possible.
1 star: Warming Therapy - 50 happiness (1 jp)
3 star: Illumination - 50% awareness
5 star: Calming Therapy - 2 nerve (1 jp)
7 star: Reinvigorating Therapy - 5 energy (1 jp)
10 star: Meditation - View someone's true level (250 jp)

Property Broker Don't recommend, though if you want to be known as a Torn landlord, this may be the job for you.
1 star: Commission - Money (1 jp)
3 star: Job Satisfaction - 50 happiness (1 jp)
5 star: Vendor - No item market fees
7 star: Insider Trading - Random property (150 jp)
10 star: Interior Connections - 10% property upgrade cost reduction

Hair Salon Don't recommend, but decent job for muggers who use slashing weapons.
1 star: Debate - Experience (1 jp)
3 star: Gossip - View someones money on hand (10 jp)
5 star: Rumors - 50% reduced enemy stealth
7 star: Cutting corners - 30 minute education time reduction (1 jp)
10 star: Sweeney's Revenge - 20% slashing weapon damage

Sweet Shop This job is best suited for those who are chasing the Ecstatic honor (achieve 99,999 happiness). Players will often spend a few months in this 10-star job stashing up job points, and then use all the job points at once to achieve approximately +50,000 happiness at which time they take an Ecstasy to double their happiness and get the merit.
1 star: Sweet Tooth - 50 happiness (1 jp)
3 star: Sugar Rush - Bag of candy (2 jp)
5 star: Gluttony - 1,000 happiness (10 jp)
7 star: Energy Rush - Can of energy drink (15 jp)
10 star: Voracious - 4,500 happiness (30 jp)

Clothing Store Don't recommend for new players, but it's an extremely powerful job for those who have high armor/defense and those who are careless with their money on hand and/or find themselves to be a mug-target several times a day.
1 star: Fashion Show - Experience (1 jp)
3 star: Nine to five - 100 endurance (10 jp)
5 star: Activewear - 25% passive dexterity
7 star: Tailoring - 25% armor bonus
10 star: Secret pockets - 75% enemy mug losses

Restaurant Don't recommend, the consumable cool-down reduction bonus is attractive to some players, but other jobs tend to offer better gains per consumable taken. (Ex. Pub = 50% alcohol boost)
1 star: Free Meals - 3 energy (1 jp)
3 star: Butcher - 10% melee weapon damage
5 star: Flambayed - Flame thrower (50 jp)
7 star: Healthy Diet - 2% life regeneration per tick
10 star: Professional Metabolism - 25% consumable cooldown reduction

Game Shop This job is decent for new players who are trying to stay very balanced. The 10-star special offers 10 extra nerve, 50 extra energy, and 500 extra happy per day. The 50% virus coding reduction is also useful for those chasing the Silicon Valley (code 100 viruses) honor.
1 star: Ub3rg33k - 50% virus coding time reduction
3 star: Early Release - Money (100 jp)
5 star: Gamer - 100% console happiness
7 star: Power Levelling - View progress to your next level (10 jp)
10 star: Overpowered - 1 nerve, 5 energy, 50 happiness (1 jp)

Pub This job is, hands down, the best job for those wanting to work on their crime experience and crime awards. I highly recommend drinking alcohol while in this job to take advantage of the Lightweight bonus. (Drinking 24 Beer = 12 extra nerve a day) The +15 maximum nerve is great for players who refill their nerve bar with 25-points on a regular basis and stacks well witht he Liquid Courage bonus. The 3-energy per job point can be handy in emergency situations and the 10% melee weapon damage is just icing on the cake! The pub is a company I recommend joining.
1 star: Pub Lunch - 3 energy (1 jp)
3 star: Drunken Master - 10% melee weapon damage
5 star: Liquid Courage - Refill nerve bar (25 jp)
7 star: Lightweight - 50% bottle of alcohol boost
10 star: Buzzed - 15 maximum nerve

Music Store The music store is decent for balanced players who desire to remain "invisible" upon attacking.
1 star: Ambience - 50 happiness (1 jp)
5 star: High-fidelity - 75% enemy stealth reduction
7 star: Deafened - Guaranteed stealth (15 jp)
10 star: The Score - 10% passive all stats

Adult Novelties Don't recommend, there are other jobs that provide better happiness/stat gains. Joining a 10-star Adult Novelties store may be beneficial to you if you consume several Erotic DVDs, but Erotic DVDs are subject to cool down limiting how many you can take at once.
1 star: Blackmail - Money (1 jp)
3 star: Voyeur - Erotic DVD (20 jp)
5 star: Party Supplies - Pack of Trojans (500 jp)
7 star: Bondage - 25% enemy speed reduction
10 star: Indecent - 100% bonus to Erotic DVDs

Lingerie Store Don't recommend with the exception of players who have insane amounts of dexterity and/or speed with virtually no defense. These "glass cannon" builds can be quite effective when combined with the massive Lingerie Store bonuses to Speed/Dexterity, but come at the cost of not being able to wear armor such as motorcycle & welding helmets which protect against flash grenades and other helmets that increase stealth.
1 star: Lingerie Party - Experience (1 jp)
3 star: Nine to Five - 100 endurance (10 jp)
5 star: Concealment - 2 extra travel items
7 star: Born Free - 50% dexterity when not wearing armor
10 star: Free as the Wind Blows - 50% speed when not wearing armor

Toy Shop Don't recommend. Decent for those who do a lot of traveling and/or plushy collectors.
1 star: Memory Lane - 50 happiness (1 jp)
3 star: Jumble Sale - Special plushie (3 jp)
5 star: Gamer - 100% console happiness
7 star: Over Capacity - Able to bring back +5 plushies from abroad
10 star: Toy Importer - View stock analysis of plushies in all countries (10 jp)

Grocery Store Don't recommend. I'm unsure if the Absorption special applies to stat enhancers. If it does, the extra 10% boost (multiply by 1.0110 as opposed to 1.010) from stat enhancers could make sense.
1 star: Bagged Down - Bag of candy (2 jp)
3 star: Fast Metabolism - 10% consumable cooldown reduction
5 star: Bottled Up - Bottle of alcohol (5 jp)
7 star: Absorption - 10% consumable boost
10 star: Canned in - Can of energy drink (12 jp)

Furniture Store This job is excellent for those who wish to hit hard in battles. The fist boost also applies to kicks. Kicks hit HARD, are quite accurate and don't have to be reloaded. To my understanding, the kick attack from a furniture store employee has the potential to do the most amount of damage per attack (25 hits). The Str boost and energy per job point are very nice as well. The furniture store is a company I recommend joining.
1 star: Coffee Break - 3 energy (1 jp)
3 star: Heavy Lifting - Strength (1 jp)
7 star: Beefcake - 25% passive strength
10 star: Brute Force - 300% fist damage

Gun Shop Don't recommend. Ammo is already relatively cheap and extra weapon damage/passives can be gained through other jobs.
1 star: Sales Discount - 20% discount on standard ammo cost
5 star: Skilled Analysis - Target equipment and ammo is always visible
7 star: Bandoleer - 1 extra clip for guns during combat
10 star: Firearms Expert - 10% primary & secondary weapon damage

Mechanic Shop The mechanic shop is a good job for players who are active racers who take pride in having several different upgraded cars. The 10-star Driver bonus is highly recommended for players who wish to maximize their Driver Skill. Note that the Television Network Press Pass also has a random driver skill gain bonus.
1 star: Machinist - Racing point (5 jp)
3 star: Discount Parts - 75% cost discount on car parts
5 star: Junkyard Dog - Random car (10 jp)
7 star: Refurbish - Lose no car parts after crashing
10 star: Driver - 50% driving skill gain

Cyber Cafe Don't recommend. The timing involved with viewing someone's investment account in order to mug them would be extremely cumbersome.
1 star: Ub3rg33k - 50% virus coding time reduction
3 star: Clone Data - Virus (25 jp)
5 star: Proxy Hacking - Cancel a target's virus programming (25 jp)
7 star: IP Tracing - View lister of anonymous bounties (25 jp)
10 star: Financial Phishing - View details of someone's investment account (25 jp)

Law Firm The Law Firm is great for players who are working on their busting awards and are active in faction organized crimes such as the difficult Political Assassination. The law firm is a company I recommend joining.
1 star: Bail Bondsman - 50% decreased bail costs
3 star: Background Check - View someone's stats (10 jp)
5 star: Closing Argument - Easier to bust more people at once
7 star: Loophole - 20% organised crime skill
10 star: Educated Decisions - View success chance of potential busts

Meat Warehouse Don't recommend with the exception of players who are working on hunting merits in South Africa.
1 star: Blood Thirst - 1 nerve (1 jp)
3 star: Butcher - 10% melee weapon damage
5 star: Carnage - 10 maximum nerve
7 star: Huntsman - 25% hunting skill gain
10 star: Vampiric - 3% life regeneration per tick

Gents Strip Club The only reason to join this job would be for the dexterity boost and gym gains.
1 star: Happy Hour - Money (1 jp)
3 star: Free Drinks - 1 nerve (1 jp)
5 star: High Heels - Pair of high heels (500 jp)
7 star: Dancer's flair - 25% passive dexterity
10 star: Aspiring Workout - 10% dexterity gym gains

Ladies Strip Club The only reason to join this job would be for the defense boost and gym gains.
1 star: Happy Hour - Money (1 jp)
3 star: Free Drinks - 1 nerve (1 jp)
5 star: Thong - Thong (300 jp)
7 star: Hench - 25% passive defense
10 star: Aspiring Workout - 10% defense gym gains

Farm The only reason to join a farm is to stash energy for faction chaining. The farm gains the equivalent of 70 energy per day. You can use a maximum of 100 job points per day associated with energy gains; leaving you with the potential to use 700 more energy per day.
1 star: Fullfillment - 50 happiness (1 jp)
3 star: Animal Instinct - 25% hunting reward
5 star: Special K - Ketamine drug (5 jp)
7 star: Fertilizer - Small explosive device (100 jp)
10 star: Early Riser - 7 energy (1 jp)

Car Dealership The car dealership Getaway Car bonus is a massive boost to run away chance. With this bonus, it is possible to run away from players with several times more stats than you. This can lead to several million a day in extra "slutting" money from players looking to pay for runaways.
1 star: Test Drive - Racing point (5 jp)
3 star: Discount parts - 75% cost discount on car parts
5 star: Salesman - No item market fees
10 star: Getaway car - 95% increased run away chance

Software Corporation Don't recommend, the Syscore MFG stock bonus counters the Intricate Hack. However, if you have a friend on the inside of a company who tips you off that several billion is being held in a company bank account and/or know a company owner doesn't have the stock, this job can be quite profitable.
1 star: Ub3rg33k - 50% virus coding time reduction
3 star: Proxy Hacking - Cancel a target's virus programming (25 jp)
5 star: Intricate Hack - Hack a company's bank account (250 jp)
10 star: Corporate Espionage - View financial details of a company (50 jp)

Nightclub This job is great for players taking several Xanax looking to minimize their drug addiction gains and players who don't want to mess with traveling to Switzerland. The education bonus is being less and less important as players are
1 star: Criminal Connections - Experience (1 jp)
5 star: Suppression - Drug addiction (1 jp)
7 star: Tolerance - 50% drug overdose reduction
10 star: Restraint - Education is unaffected by drug addiction

Fitness Center This job is great for new players who are looking to speed up their education while focusing on balanced gym gains. The fitness center is a company I recommend joining.
1 star: Healthy Mind - 30 minute education time reduction (1 jp)
3 star: Goal Oriented - 50% reduction of happiness loss in gym
5 star: Roid Rage - Strength (1 jp)
7 star: Athlete - 3% life regeneration per tick
10 star: Training Regime - 3% gym gains

Gas Station Don't recommend, molotov cocktails are not very strong even with the Blaze of Glory bonus. Other temporary items are typically better in battle.
1 star: Machinist - Racing point (5 jp)
3 star: Discount Parts - 75% cost discount on car parts
7 star: Molotov Cocktail - Molotov cocktail (5 jp)
10 star: Blaze of Glory - 50% Molotov cocktail damage & duration

Theater Don't recommend, unless you are determined to keep your stats a secret.
1 star: Stagecraft - Experience (1 jp)
3 star: Dramatics - Guaranteed stealth (20 jp)
5 star: Masked - Cannot be targeted by spies
10 star: Disguised - Hidden travelling status & destination

Amusement Park Don't recommend; however, the 250 happiness for a target can be purchased by other players seeking the Ecstatic honor (achieve 99,999 happiness) making it potentially valuable.
1 star: Dauntless - 1 nerve (1 jp)
3 star: Free Ride - 250 happiness for target (10 jp)
5 star: Unflinching - 10 maximum nerve
7 star: Adrenaline Rush - 25% epinephrine effect & duration

Cruise Line Don't recommend, but decent for players who travel a lot, take Xanax, and like to gamble in the casino.
1 star: Bursar - 25 casino tokens (1 jp)
3 star: Portage - 2 extra travel items
5 star: R&R - Drug addiction reduction (1 jp)
7 star: Destination Report - View stock analysis of all items at a selected country (10 jp)
10 star: Freight - 3 extra travel items

Zoo Don't recommend, but the awareness is decent for players who are active and click the "city" link several times an hour.
1 star: Fulfillment - 50 happiness (1 jp)
3 star: Animal Instinct - 25% hunting reward
5 star: Special K - Ketamine drug (5 jp)
7 star: Eye of the Tiger - 70% awareness
10 star: Seasoned Poacher - 25% accuracy

Television Network The television network Press Pass bonus can be quite profitable. Additionally, positions in a television network tend to pay around $1M per day. The Press Pass bonus are random and range from additional crime experience, +300 Energy, a Business Class Ticket, additional level experience, additional driver skill, an erotic DVD, adding $10M to your max loan, +25 nerve, a lawyer business card, +100 casino tokens, 10 boxes of tissues, a large happy boost, +0.25% into a random battle stat. Most television networks require their employees to have over 100,000 intelligence. The television network is a company I recommend joining.
1 star: Propaganda - 1 faction respect (5 jp)
3 star: Scoop - 50% newspaper advertising cost reduction
5 star: Inside Story - View someone's stats & money (15 jp)
10 star: Press Pass - Receive special privileges (25 jp)

Oil Rig The oil rig is best suited for players who gain income passively through interest. The Fat Cat bonus allows players to invest up to $3 billion into the city bank. When the Oil Mogul bonus is combined with merits and the TCB stock bonus, the $3 billion "investment" in the city bank can return well over $60M per week. Most oil rigs require their employees to have over 100,000 manual. The oil rig is a company I recommend joining.
1 star: Danger Money - Money (1 jp)
3 star: Embargo - Half a target's happiness (50 jp)
5 star: Oil Mogul - Reduce bank investment time by 1 hour (3 jp)
7 star: Tax Haven - 10% increase of Cayman Islands interest rate
10 star: Fat Cat - 50% investment banking limit

Torn City Tip #11 - Obtaining the Kill Streak Merits
(Updated 12/16/14)

The key take-away here is: successful defends count towards your kill streak. There are 8 potential merits directly associated with a kill streak of 500. Obtaining a kill streak of 500+ may be a challenge for players with relatively low defense/dexterity; however, here are a few general tips to guide you through the process:

- A full energy bar with donator status = 6 attacks. Add in a daily point refill and you're looking at an additional 6 attacks. Couple this with the 300 energy McSmoogle stock energy bonus and/or the 250 energy boost from Xanax and your # of attacks grows massively.

- Your attack targets should include only those who you know you can win against 100% of the time. Players often get lured into combining the accumulation of these kill streak merits with the bounty hunting merits. Be warned that some players with a bounty on them intentionally hold their level to trick higher level players into attacking them for easy wins/experience. (You gain experience for successful defends, especially from attackers who are a higher level) Attack the wrong player and you'll find your kill streak reset back to zero.

- As noted in the first sentence of this post, pay players to lose purposefully to you. At the time of this post, the going price for a "slut" attack is about $300,000. Take note that paying players to lose to you will inevitably increase your number of critical hits and defends. (You will make progress on critical hit & defend merits as a side effect of working on your kill streak merits.)

- Leave your faction temporarily if you often find yourself subject to random hospitalizations.

- Stay in Torn as opposed to traveling. Traveling to other countries increases the likelihood of getting attacked by players looking to expel their remaining energy prior to flying home.