[UPDATED] Ways to get your first $20,000 (Beholder Guide)

Steal, Invest, Loot, Blackmail or Grind; This guide aims to focus on the money aspect of the game and how to get that $20,000.
(Updated 24 Nov 2016)

Introduction

Hey guys!
(For those who need a quick answer urgently, go to the SPECIFIC section of this guide)

This is my first game guide and I intend to develop it fully together with the page on my blog (referenced below).

Do let me know what is helpful and how I can make this guide better in the comments section (or in my blog).

This game is great! Enjoy the tips :)

Link to blog:
https://eodgamer.blogspot.com/2016/11/beholder-guide.html

General: Stealing or Looting

Part 1: STEALING
Yes, stealing is very profitable, especially when you steal the medal from the Butcher ($2500), wines/alcohol fetch around $200-400), Arsenic will fetch $700 and is useful.

BUT, there's a catch: the police will come for you

First time: You either pay $500 or 350 reputation points to get away.
Second:You pay with 750 Rep.
Third: Game ends.

(Blog has been updated with more information)

Part 2: LOOTING
An alternative to stealing is to loot the house (WITHOUT GETTING ARRESTED), to do this you simply get a criminal arrested and then a box will appear beside the potted plant. (Do not repair the apartment yet until you loot the box, if not the box disappears).

Note that the box will not contain the item you reported the person for, but will still contain all other illegal items.

Part 3: Comparison
Stealing is quicker, faster and wont evict the person, BUT comes with a price of getting caught.
Looting is slower as you have to arrest the person but you won't get caught.
(Try to loot more than you steal)

Refer to this blog for more information:
https://eodgamer.blogspot.com/2016/11/beholder-guide.html

General #2: Blackmailing or Reporting

One way to earn $1000 each time is to search a person's house and look for illegal items.
1. Blackmailing gets you $1000 (but only once per item)
2. Reporting gets you a meagre $250.

There are two ways to force someone to get evicted: finding illegal things or framing.

Unlike Looting or Stealing which are opposites, blackmailing/ reporting are actually complementary to your goals to become rich.

The question is: How to maximise them together?

Before we dive in, its useful to note that you can plant items in your tenants apartment by searching something then clicking an item in your inventory and select "put".

Lets use an example of the sailor:
Blackmail him for the Blue Jeans and Records. Get $2,000.
Then plant a cheap illegal item, like salt or apples (check my blog for a list of item values).
Report on the cheap illegal item to get $250. The Blue Jeans (worth $630) will still be in the LOOTING box (refer to above section on LOOTING). Sell. Profit.

Referenced from:
https://eodgamer.blogspot.com/2016/11/beholder-guide.html

General #3: Converting REP to $

By buying Level 1 Cameras at 50 Rep each and selling them to Nathan for $150 each.

You convert Rep to Gold at a ratio of 1:3.

The downside to this is you can't trade Gold for Rep as efficiently. This method is only recommended when desperate.

Specific: How I make $20,000

WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS

In this last section, I'll tell you the answer of how I make $20,000.

In the beginning, swap out the Basement's kitchens right surveliance cameras for a level 1 camera.
Either sell this or place it in apartment 2 (jacbo manishek).

Blackmail jacob once, record his tendencies, them arrest him loot his box - get ~1.5k

After evicting Jacob, move in both the sailor and the doctor.

1. Sailor ~$6k+
Take special request, sell the canned fish IN the shop for 3k.
Blackmail him twice, then report him get him arrested loot his box.

This way he doesn't kill you/take the money back, you might be wondering, what about Mr Schimmer's quest? Read on.

2. Schimmer ~2k+ and save on spending on some stuff
Apart from taking the economics book from him and saving 2k.
You can blackmail him or his wife a max of twice. But i prefer to blackmail him once, get him arrested then loot his box, he has philosophy books (?) that are worth a bit. (Check blog for exact details)

3. Doctor ~6k+
If you take him in very early in the game, he gives you free whiskey, (values in blog), Take his initial quest to find him a girlfriend. While some guides advice you talk to the Raneks, I'll say go to the mailbox.

Open the mailbox. Flip the letter of the girl who's advertising for a husband. Go to your phone. Call the number (it appears as an option). Move her in.

After awhile, doctor gets pissed with girlfriend. Asks you to kick her out. Frame her. kick her out. He gives you cruise tickets worth 5k sell value. He only leaves much later so you can save your daughter still.

With this 3 individuals, you would have gained at LEAST 14k. Not even counting quest rewards, sell values for the loot in boxes or other questlines. (e.g. the medal from the Butcher will give you 2.5k) Stealing wines and looting your own home gives you quite a bit.

At this stage, you should have close to 20k including all the costs that your family asks you to come up with. To make up the difference, buy surveliance cameras @ 50 rep then sell them for $150 each. only buy level 1s. they are the most worth it.

And viola, now you have made your first 20k. But more importantly, learnt the key skills to profit. Now try to get $30k more to pay for both your son's university and daughter's medicine. :)

Favourite/Thumbs up this post if it helped!

Referenced from:
https://eodgamer.blogspot.com/2016/11/beholder-guide.html

[Figo1973]

thanks bro

[nkouv25]

Helpful

[vokiel]

This is only valid on trainee. Otherwise it's 20K (medecine) + 15K (fundraiser) for the first round of complaints, then 20K (trip to the boarder) + 15K (cough syrup) for the second round. (70K)

That's without the rest of the stupid costs littered around the game.

[Nm]

I messed up with the doctor task a little but it came out ok. I chose the niece to be the doctor's girlfriend and after investigation I confronted her (about her fake identity). I took the $5000 she offered. I thought I will take the money but tell doc the truth (about her). And I did that. But the doc wouldn't believe me. And so I thought there goes my chance of getting the cruise tickets. But no. I hadn't done a proper search of his apartment before this and after this I went on searching an found the tickets. So, naturally, I stole them. And so everything turned out ok.

The point being, call the niece, confront her, take the money and then steal the tickets from his apartment. And don't pay the college fee.

[Nm]

I did not talk to my son up until 'The last jerk' task (the last task to save your daughter). I bought the medicine and as I was going back to give it to the wife, I saw him and decicded to talk. He talked about mines and how he can no longer bear it and asked for money to leave the country and then I gave him the cruise tickets and he left. So I did not have to pay for his college.

[[ZN] The Over-Thinker]

oh, and don't sell the cruise tickets you can use them for the schimmers to leave the country

[[ZN] The Over-Thinker]

you can also plant the items on anyone else in your building and do the same process over and over again, makes it really easy to frame the doctors girlfriend

oh, and buy the blue ties from the trader before they become illegal

[[ZN] The Over-Thinker]

The sailor will actually have 3 illegal items in his room, so I stole the items after flagging them then blackmailed him than put the items back, flagged them AGAIN, blackmailed him AGAIN than I put the items back....

[CorVeX]

The best plan is to get all the illegal stuff and put them in apartments 1 and 3 where the couples live. If you have apple, blue tie and books you blackmail 4 people 3 times which is 12k. Do the same with doctor and his girlfriend - 6k more. There you go. You can do it with the sailor too for 3k extra. And that's only 3 items. Imagine pistols, fish and others. I would never exchange rep for cash. Rep is very important, when cash can be achieved very easily. Sell the tickets, take the bribe from the "niece" are extra 10k. DO NOT TALK TO YOUR SON. This task can be postponed almost the entire game. Also help the resistance and they will give you the foreign cure for your daughter.

[Guidsmaster]

When planting illegal items to evict someone, I think you should plant one of every kind, since clicking on the red text will give you 75 reputation points, (1.5 camera I's, every 2 illegal items would be 450). Also, I think if you put an illegal item you already blackmailed them for, you can click the red text again, not sure if it gives points but i imagine so.