Upgrades: Abilities & Skills

Criminal Simulator upgrades are purchased at the computer in your hideout. The reliable loop is steal Loot → return to the hideout → sell it for Cash → buy an upgrade. The loot guide covers the safe extraction and sale step before you spend Cash. If you are searching for a criminal simulator ability voucher, the current evidence does not establish one: the documented purchase route uses Cash, and the live shop is the authority for any current currency or requirement.

How to buy upgrades

Use this route before spending your next payout:

1. Complete a manageable run. Houses are the safer starting point while you are still missing movement, carrying, or equipment upgrades.
2. Bring the Loot back. Put stolen items in the van and return to the hideout rather than risking a second trip while carrying valuable goods.
3. Convert Loot into Cash. Sell the recovered items or use the available hideout sale interaction, then confirm that your Cash balance changed.
4. Open the computer. The computer groups Upgrades with tools, weapons, and supplies, so make sure you are in the upgrade section rather than buying a lockpick or another job item.
5. Match the purchase to your bottleneck. Choose Lifter when weight prevents a pickup, or Running Shoes when movement and getting away are slowing the whole run.

The exact prices, level gates, upgrade ranks, and maximum levels are not confirmed by the available records. Read the current shop panel before confirming a purchase.

Upgrade priority

The best first purchase depends on what is stopping your heists. Use the effect and next action below instead of treating the list as a complete price tier list.

Lifter: the heavy-loot upgrade

Choose Lifter first when the problem is not finding loot but taking it away. Gameplay examples show a character unable to carry an item without the upgrade, and other records specifically connect Lifter with expensive items such as TVs. That makes it the strongest early choice for a player who is repeatedly leaving high-value heavy loot behind.

Lifter does not remove the other risks in a robbery. Heavy objects can still slow you down, and the upgrade does not remove locks, cameras, residents, or security guards. Use stealth and a clear route to the van even after you can carry the item.

Running Shoes: movement and escape

Running Shoes improves movement speed. It helps with searching a location, returning to the van, and creating distance after a resident, guard, or camera exposes you. Buy it first instead of Lifter when your current runs already produce manageable loot but fail because you spend too long moving or escaping.

Running Shoes is an efficiency and escape tool, not a replacement for stealth. Sneak through risky areas, avoid unnecessary alarms, and keep a retreat route open rather than assuming speed makes every location safe.

Choose movement and carrying upgrades

This moment supports the upgrade priorities here by showing how Running Shoes improve movement speed and Lifter makes carrying stolen items easier.

Load 2:55 · Running Shoes improve movement speed; Lifter makes stolen items easier to carry

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Lung Capacity and other skills

Lung Capacity is mentioned as an upgrade in gameplay coverage, but the available evidence does not establish a numeric bonus, duration, price, rank, or level requirement. Treat it as a shop option to inspect rather than a confirmed value to calculate around.

The broader criminal simulator skills material also does not provide a complete, verified catalog of hideout upgrade prices or ranks. Do not infer that every named skill-page entry is the same thing as a computer upgrade, and do not assume that an ability voucher unlocks a skill unless the current game interface explicitly says so.

A practical spending order

Use the following decision rule after each successful sale:

1. Blocked by weight? Buy Lifter before chasing a more dangerous location. The value comes from turning previously unusable heavy loot into a possible haul.
2. Not blocked by weight, but too slow? Buy Running Shoes to reduce travel time and improve your response after detection.
3. Still deciding between an upgrade and equipment? Keep enough Cash for the tool that opens your next realistic target. The computer also sells tools, weapons, and supplies, so upgrades are not the only competing purchase.
4. Considering Lung Capacity or an unfamiliar skill? Read its live description and buy only when its effect matches the route you actually run. The available evidence does not support a numerical comparison.
5. After buying, test the bottleneck on a lower-risk run. Check whether the upgrade lets you carry the item, finish the route faster, or escape more reliably before increasing the location risk.

This order is a decision aid, not a confirmed cheapest build. The available evidence does not document upgrade prices or prove that one upgrade has the highest Cash return in every account or version.

Upgrades, quota, and risk

Better movement and carrying capacity can make it easier to meet the night quota because they reduce wasted trips and let you consider more valuable loot. They do not guarantee a successful run. A heavy item can slow you down, while detection can still lead to a chase, lost Loot, or a skipped day if you are caught.

Start with lower-risk Houses, sell the recovered Loot, and reinvest into the specific problem you observed. Move to locations with more cameras or security only after your route and equipment support the extra risk. If you are choosing between an upgrade and a tool, prioritize the purchase that removes the immediate failure point rather than buying every shop category at once.

What is not confirmed

The current guide does not provide a complete upgrade database. The following details should be checked in the live computer interface:

• Cash price for each upgrade
• Level or quota requirement
• Number of ranks and maximum level
• Exact movement, carrying, or lung-capacity values
• Whether upgrades are permanent, refundable, or account-specific
• Whether an ability voucher exists as a separate currency

That boundary matters for planning. Lifter, Running Shoes, and Lung Capacity are named and their broad purposes are supported, but undocumented numbers should not be treated as fixed build requirements.

FAQ

Where do I buy Criminal Simulator upgrades?

Buy them from the Upgrades section of the computer in your hideout. First turn recovered Loot into Cash, then check the current shop panel for the available purchase and requirement.

Should I buy Lifter or Running Shoes first?

Buy Lifter when heavy loot is blocking pickups; buy Running Shoes when movement and escape are the bigger problem. If both apply, Lifter usually addresses the more binary limitation because an item that is too heavy cannot be taken at all.

Does Lifter make TVs easier to carry?

The available gameplay evidence connects Lifter with carrying expensive heavy items such as TVs. It does not provide a confirmed weight threshold or exact carrying bonus.

Are Criminal Simulator skills and hideout upgrades the same system?

They overlap in the broad idea of improving your criminal abilities, but the available material does not prove that every skills-page entry is a hideout computer upgrade. Use the in-game category and description as the deciding source.