Schedule 1: How to Pickpocket

Schedule 1 is the latest indie co-op to climb its way to the top of the Steam charts. Despite being in Early Access, there’s plenty of content and illegal activities to sink your teeth into. The primary aim of the game is to build your very own drug empire, managing every aspect of production, distribution, and of course, meeting your customer’s requests. In the grand scheme of what Schedule 1 has to offer, going out on the streets to pickpocket someone isn’t so bad after all.

Pickpocketing is the most effective in the early game. If you’re running low on cash or want to get your hands on a mixing ingredient that you haven’t unlocked yet, pickpocketing is an effective way to secure those items. Just like any other illegal activity, make sure that you pickpocket somebody away from the police.

More Schedule 1 guides

Schedule 1: How to Launder Money | Schedule 1: How to Move Furniture | Schedule 1: All Cheats and Console Commands | Schedule 1: How to Change Clothes | Schedule 1: How to get Customers |

How to pickpocket in Schedule 1

To pickpocket, crouch directly behind an NPC using the CTRL key. When you see the option to pickpocket them, hit E on your keyboard to activate the mini game. An arrow will move up and down a red bar and you must press the space bar for the arrow to land in the green section to steal the item that’s above it. The more valuable an item is, the harder it is to pickpocket, so you will have to work on your timing to master this mechanic.

If you successfully pickpocket, the NPC will carry on with their day without even noticing that an item is gone from their inventory. However, if you fail to pickpocket by landing the arrow in the red area of the bar, there are three potential outcomes.

The best scenario is that the NPC will give you a stern look, before proceeding to walk away. Some characters will call the police and law enforcement will arrive in a flash. In this case, you will want to run away and find a hiding spot until your wanted meter expires. There’s a chance that an NPC will turn around and fight you for trying to pickpocket them. Whether you fight back with a weapon or run away is up to you.

For the most part, you can pickpocket anyone aside from your dealers and the police. To make the most out of the pickpocketing mechanic, the best way is to pickpocket an NPC you just sold drugs to for an opportunity to get the product back, while keeping the money from the sale. That may be grimy, but that’s what this line of work is all about, isn’t it?