Probably Stolen Rock Bottom Challenge and Every Starting Scenario

Quick answer

Rock Bottom is a starting scenario, and Hard Mode is one of four difficulty levels you choose separately when you start a new game. Rock Bottom gives you nothing but the store; the difficulty applies to whichever scenario you pick. When players talked about the Rock Bottom challenge before launch, they usually meant Rock Bottom with Hard Mode on.

The table lists every starting scenario in the full game's files, read on launch day. Rows marked New at launch or Changed at launch differ from the demo build this page listed before.

Rock Bottom, Hard Mode and the challenge

Rock Bottom's description in the game reads: "The Mentor didn't help you with anything aside from negotiating your lease with the Landlord. You have nothing but the Store, and a will to survive." Its starting equipment is listed as "None.", and the start screen labels it Extreme Challenge Mode. The patch notes that added it on August 6, 2026 call it a "hardcore start with nothing", and a September 9, 2026 Steam announcement calls it "the Hard Mode 'Rock Bottom' starting scenario".

Hard Mode itself is a different thing. In the full game it is no longer a switch: the new-game screen has a Difficulty choice with four levels, Price Gouge (Cozy Mode), Mark Up (Normal Mode), Thin Margins (Hard Mode) and Red Ink (Challenge Mode), and Endless Mode is still a separate switch. You choose the difficulty apart from the scenario. This page covers the scenarios, not what each difficulty changes.

The Rock Bottom challenge is how players describe a run that stacks the two: Rock Bottom with Hard Mode on, often with negative starting perks and house rules such as not reporting criminals or not using machines. That is how runs were described in player posts on Reddit and Discord and in YouTube videos from August to October 2026, when Hard Mode was still a switch. The closest thing the game itself has is the Extreme Challenge Mode label on Rock Bottom.

The name also goes back to the Playtest. On August 6, 2026, the official Discord promised to add Rock Bottom once a player reached day 200; players reached it, and Rock Bottom arrived in the Playtest the same day.

All starting scenarios

Each scenario name links to its own row, so you can share it. Search by name when JavaScript is on.

In-game art © Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild.

All starting scenarios site-grouped

Scenario IN-GAME TEXT	Specialty IN-GAME TEXT	Starting equipment IN-GAME TEXT	Start-screen label DATA-MINED	On the start screen DATA-MINED	Guide
Apprentice	During your training with The Mentor, no particular specialization piqued your interest. Instead, you spent more time optimising your operation, resulting in less money spent setting up the store.	Increased starting Credit count; Additional equipment (Storage Bay); Start with a stock of Household Goods and Food	Recommended For New Players	Playable
Water Merchant	During your training with The Mentor, you took a particular interest in learning about the Water trade. Clean water is a scarce resource on the station and there is money to be made by those with their hands on the tap.	Water Trading Manual; Water Testing and Purification Equipment; Additional storage (Water Containers)		Playable	Water
Fence	During your training with The Mentor, you took a particular interest in contraband. You're an established black marketeer, and have even installed a hidden storage compartment in your store to avoid the prying of the station's security.	Additional equipment (Smuggler's Bay); Start with a stock of Contraband; Increased starting reputation (Black Market); Decreased starting reputation (Security); Immediate access to the Janitor Underground Exchange; Increased starting rent		Playable
Rock Bottom	The Mentor didn't help you with anything aside from negotiating your lease with the Landlord. You have nothing but the Store, and a will to survive.	None.	Extreme Challenge Mode	Playable
Hydroponic Farmer	During your training with The Mentor, you refined your knowledge of hydroponic farming, an efficient way to grow crops in the limited space available on the station. With your expertise, you can help feed the lower levels while making a handy profit.	Hydroponic Farming Manual; Additional equipment (Hydroponic Systems); Start with a stock of Farming Supplies and Seeds; Increased starting rent	Advanced Start	Playable
Gunsmith	During your training with The Mentor, you developed an enthusiasm for firearms and munitions. You learned how to modify weapons, from handmade sidearms to powerful machine guns. With a license in hand, you now fulfill custom orders and earn a steady income arming the residents of the station.	Class I Weapon Permit; Start with a stock of Firearms and Gun Mods; Start with a stock of Ammunition	Advanced Start	Playable
Chemist	During your training with The Mentor, you acquired a nose for narcotics. You are an expert in the illegal, addictive and lucrative trade of controlled substances. You're not bad in the lab, either, should supply run low.	Chemistry Manual; Chemistry Lab Equipment	Advanced Start	Playable
Rat WranglerChanged at launch	To the Mentor's annoyance, you developed a great passion for animal ranching. Rats, more specifically. You've learned the basics of raising rats for meat.	Animal Cage; Rats; Food	Advanced Start	Playable	Rats
AquafarmerNew at launch	During your training with The Mentor, you learned to raise fish in tanks for meat. You start with a small recirculating system and a stock of starter fish.	Recirculating Aquaculture Systems; Start with a stock of Tilapia and Fish Food; Increased starting rent	Advanced Start	Playable
Junker	Before The Mentor found you, you were a scavenger, poor but with solid reputation. Despite your training, you never forgot your past, and have even repurposed your old equipment for your new occupation.	Scavenger's Gear and Tools; Increased starting reputation (Scavengers); Additional equipment (Furnace)		Work In Progress
Organ Dealer	During your training with The Mentor, you developed a grim fascination in the trade of human organs. Certified, ethically sourced organs are legal to trade... but there is more money to be made in illicit stock harvested from living patients.	Organ Trading Manual; Additional equipment (Organ Storage Container); Blood Transfusion Set		Work In Progress
Street Food Vendor	During your training with The Mentor, you developed a passion for cooking and street food. You know how to prepare quick, flavorful meals that cater to the busy residents of the lower levels. Operating a street food stall is a popular and flexible way to make a living, and with the right ingredients, you can turn a tidy profit.	Cooking Manual; Additional equipment (Stove); Start with a stock of Ingredients		Work In Progress
Moonshiner	During your training with The Mentor, you developed a taste for moonshine. You know how to trade, appraise and even brew your own liquor. Moonshine is popular in the Lower Levels due to its low cost, but it is also unregulated and illegal.	Moonshine Trading Manual; Moonshine Brewing Starter Kit		Not on the start screen
Pharmacist	During your training with The Mentor, you took a particular interest in over-the-counter medicines. You learned about the basics of running a pharmacy, helping sick customers and synthesizing drugs.	Drug Trading Manual; First Aid Manual; Start with a stock of Medical Supplies		Not on the start screen

Choosing a start

The start screen gives three kinds of hint. It labels the Apprentice Recommended For New Players; the Hydroponic Farmer, Gunsmith, Chemist, Rat Wrangler and Aquafarmer Advanced Start; and Rock Bottom Extreme Challenge Mode. The Water Merchant and the Fence carry no label. On your first run, if you pick any start other than the Apprentice, the game asks you to confirm and says the Apprentice is highly recommended for new players.

The Apprentice's own description explains the pick: no single specialty, and less money spent setting up the store. Its equipment is more starting credits, a Storage Bay and a stock of household goods and food. We don't rank the other starts; each row shows what the game says it gives you.

The secret scenario players asked about during the Playtest is the Rat Wrangler. When the Playtest opened on August 3, 2026, the developers said a secret scenario was hidden in the starting selection menu, and an update on August 7 made the Rat Wrangler visible alongside the other starts. It begins with an Animal Cage, rats and food; our guide to getting your first rats covers what to do next.

The Water Merchant starts with the Water Trading Manual, water testing and purification equipment and extra storage for water containers; our water guide covers getting and cleaning water. Starting scenarios are separate from the starting perks you choose for a new game, which are in our Probably Stolen perks table.

In the demo and at launch

The demo let you play four of these starts: Apprentice, Rat Wrangler, Water Merchant and Rock Bottom. Since launch, the table shows the full game's start screen instead.

How to read the table

Names are the game's own English names; the Steam store page calls one start "farmer", and in the game it is the Hydroponic Farmer. Specialty is the game's description of each start, word for word. Starting equipment is the list the game shows, also word for word, joined with semicolons; it describes the kit, so it has no amounts, prices or credit figures.

Start-screen label and On the start screen are read from the game code of the build named under the title, not from screenshots. On the start screen uses our wording, except "Work In Progress", which is the game's own text: those starts are listed, but the game won't let you begin a run with them.

Rows follow the order of the full game's start screen. Moonshiner and Pharmacist come last: the game files describe them, but the start screen hides them, and they are the two rows without an icon. Guide links to our guide for that trade where we have one: the Water Merchant to the water guide and the Rat Wrangler to the rats guide.