Franky [1529693] —
Original article
Four months ago I began to build a Dirty Bomb. In two weeks, I expect a knock on my door from the feds just for writing that very sentence. For those of you who don't know, a Dirty Bomb is an item which can only be produced by a faction. When one is deployed against another faction, it injures their members and removes a large amount of respect - sometimes obliterating them entirely - as well as causing waves of hospitalizations across Torn City.
The chance to build a Dirty Bomb is rare indeed, requiring amongst other things, the cash flow to afford the necessary items (cesium, hazmat suit) and a position of leadership in a competent faction - something which most players may never come to possess. With that in mind, as the first person to successfully build a bomb after faction trees were released, I put together this little article with some interesting info intended to illuminate those who have never experienced the warm glow of radioactive success.
Despite being unable to use my Dirty Bomb upon its completion - at least until mighty Chedburn gives us permission - I had plenty of reasons for wanting to complete this project. First, it will look cool in my display. Also, I can give others the opportunity to earn their discovery honor, which is awarded to members of a faction when a Dirty Bomb is created.
So I set out on my mission. The path to begin bomb construction is as follows:
The cesium alone cost in the region of 19b$. I did have one gifted to me by a friend and had a few people scouring for bargains to keep the costs down. Two weeks prior to the build neumune tablets were retailing at around 2.5mil a piece, quickly escalating to 5.5mil once rumors were out that multiple bombs were in production. Fortunately, I was able to loan a hazmat suit from a good friend which removed that cost from my build bill. Without the help I received during this project, the cost could easily have exceeded 22b$. Many thanks must go to all the people that traded with me during the build-up phase as well as to my friends who contributed to my cause.
Once I'd confirmed the steps required and the costs involved, I messaged Chedburn to confirm factions were now able to build. Thankfully, I received an affirmative response, so I started finding cesium sellers, always negotiating to find the best price to lower the overall cost. If any fellow terrorists are reading this, I'd recommend getting your faction and friends involved to look out for good deals and buy on your behalf when you're offline. I actually saved quite a bit of money this way. A frugal terrorist is a prolific terrorist - unless you're intent on blowing yourself up, in which case saving money isn't really a priority.
A few weeks later, I had everything I needed other than a place to build. Construction of a Dirty Bomb can only be performed within a faction laboratory. Purchasing said lab requires 105,027 respect. The leaders and the majority of the members of my faction, Itsi Bitsi Bikini, were not keen on spending the respect to get a faction upgrade for this purpose. Their reason was that a Dirty Bomb is a "non-refundable purchase", and it's hard to argue with that assessment.
(To shreds you say?)
I needed a new temporary faction to host my project. I started looking around for people selling factions where I'd be able to spend the 105,027 respect to buy the lab. Fortunately, another of my friends knew someone who had a faction with the necessary respect already in place. I was also able to enter this faction without having to spend extra money to acquire it outright. I was then given leadership of the faction, and my bomb building adventure could officially begin.
I moved into the new home and unset any upgrades that would have prevented me from having the required respect to build the lab. Unsetting upgrades takes 96h, so be prepared to wait. Once this was completed and my thumbs were all twiddled out I purchased the lab, set a date and time for the build and gathered as many people as I could into my new home. Since your assistants will receive the Discovery honor, you may also choose to charge a premium for this. In my case, I chose to forgo the chance to earn the cash and didn't charge. As terrorists go, I'm one of the nice ones.
Instead of inviting mercenaries, I was able to welcome friends and faction members to join me in my bomb building exploits. I also made some new friends based on friends of friends. Isn't that nice? With the lab built, I then completed the science course.
At this point, you need to make sure that everyone who agreed to participate in your project is still on board and available. It's no good setting up a new faction and laboratory if the people you need to run it are in Hawaii and haven't logged on for two weeks. With a gentle prod, I confirmed the availability of my team of dastardly infidels.
Next up was the health and safety aspect. I prepared the team by having them buy their own neumune tablets in case they got radiation poisoning. This is an additional cost you can incur on your own, but it's not particularly recoverable. If you get radiation poisoning, the only way to get out of the hospital is by using neumune tablets. Neumune tablets also help to reduce the stat reduction percentage caused by radiation poisoning; this can be severe in some cases, mild in others. Either way, it's a side effect few are willing to accept, so most people are happy to buy their own.
With all the initial stages of the bomb-building process complete, I eagerly made my way towards the previously greyed-out "Build a Dirty Bomb" button to finalise proceedings. The reason they aren't greyed-out in the images is that I only screenshotted them when the process was complete. It's always good to nip pedants in the bud before they start complaining. Anyway, with my bomb just one finger-tap away, I clicked the button.
Nothing happened.
Click again.
No response.
Interesting. I logged out of mobile, tried through the laptop, and then saw a message on the screen which made my heart sink. "The building of dirty bombs is currently disabled while faction changes take place." This message was not visible on mobile, so I quickly logged a bug report to determine if the problem could be fixed.
While waiting for a response on the thread, I also messaged Chedburn asking him to enable the build process. As you might expect having put so much effort into this project, I kept checking the thread and kept checking messages as if I was awaiting a response from a smoking hot girl to a threeway proposition. Still, there was no reply. At this point, I had to send a message to all the faction members informing them of "the situation".
Having broken the tragic news that the death of thousands would have to be delayed, I clicked the logout button and went to bed. Maybe everything will be alright in the morning. I wake up and log in to Torn. Can I build now? Negative. Check the thread. Check for messages. Feel disappointed. The thread has been locked.
I tried clicking the "Build a Dirty Bomb" button again out of forlorn hope: same result as before. So I send another message to Chedburn. Some members have started leaving the build faction. The project is unravelling before my very eyes. Then, finally, I receive a message from Chedburn saying that building would be enabled the next week.
I send a message to all the remaining members informing them of the postponement, knowing full well that we could try the following week only to reencounter the same results. Nevertheless, seven days later I regroup everyone for another shot. Finally, there is success. The clock begins to tick. The build time to completion is 200 hours, most of which is spent patiently informing members over and over how long it'll be until the bomb is complete. It's as if I'm driving on a family holiday incessantly fielding the question "are we there yet?"
I can't be angry though. These people have dedicated time and effort to my cause. Soon it will all be over. I log on to view the final few seconds until the timer has stopped.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.
A message appears on the screen saying "Completion Imminent". Members are free to leave, so you check your items.
Hmm. No dirty bomb.
I log yet another a bug report. Luckily for me, my wait is shorter this time. I come back a bit later to see that building has indeed been completed one hour later. "The dirty bomb is now in your inventory." I breathe another sigh of relief. This one is louder and more prolonged than the last.
And here, for all the naysayers, is the item I and others have worked so hard to acquire.
So, what's next? What are my plans for the bomb? Paperweight? Permanent deterrent? Shall I toss it in the dump?
No. I'm going to wait for bomb use to be enabled and drop it on an unsuspecting victim to get the honor bars. I don't have any favorite targets in mind, so maybe I can be persuaded to use it on someone else's choice. According to Chedburn, I will be able to deploy my weapon sometime early in 2018 with the release of Destructive Warfare.
But this makes me wonder. While I've been busy with my own efforts, who else has been building a Dirty Bomb? As you can see on the right-hand side of the image, there are fifty-three dirty bombs currently in circulation (54 at the time of writing). When Destructive Warfare begins, how many apocalyptic attacks will be unleashed upon our city?
Holding a Dirty Bomb you cannot use creates a level of blue ball syndrome like you'd never believe. So if my premonitions are correct, and there are others out there like me who are straining to release their lode, 2018's New Year fireworks could prove more explosive than usual.
The chance to build a Dirty Bomb is rare indeed, requiring amongst other things, the cash flow to afford the necessary items (cesium, hazmat suit) and a position of leadership in a competent faction - something which most players may never come to possess. With that in mind, as the first person to successfully build a bomb after faction trees were released, I put together this little article with some interesting info intended to illuminate those who have never experienced the warm glow of radioactive success.
Despite being unable to use my Dirty Bomb upon its completion - at least until mighty Chedburn gives us permission - I had plenty of reasons for wanting to complete this project. First, it will look cool in my display. Also, I can give others the opportunity to earn their discovery honor, which is awarded to members of a faction when a Dirty Bomb is created.
So I set out on my mission. The path to begin bomb construction is as follows:
- ACQUIRE A FACTION A Dirty Bomb cannot be built outside a faction.
- BUILD A LABORATORY A laboratory will provide an adequate environment for the construction process. Cost: 105,027 respect
- COMPLETE GENERAL SCIENCE COURSE You will learn how to research and make the most of what you discover.
- HAVE AT LEAST 20 FACTION MEMBERS READY Faction members are required to be active and not travelling to protect the building process.
- GATHER 100 CESIUM-137 CONTAINERS Cesium containers must be kept under close watch in a lab, anyone who touches a container may become terminally ill.
- EQUIP A HAZMAT SUIT It will protect you from radiation, regardless of its source.
- BUILDING A DIRTY BOMB Start building bomb.
The cesium alone cost in the region of 19b$. I did have one gifted to me by a friend and had a few people scouring for bargains to keep the costs down. Two weeks prior to the build neumune tablets were retailing at around 2.5mil a piece, quickly escalating to 5.5mil once rumors were out that multiple bombs were in production. Fortunately, I was able to loan a hazmat suit from a good friend which removed that cost from my build bill. Without the help I received during this project, the cost could easily have exceeded 22b$. Many thanks must go to all the people that traded with me during the build-up phase as well as to my friends who contributed to my cause.
Once I'd confirmed the steps required and the costs involved, I messaged Chedburn to confirm factions were now able to build. Thankfully, I received an affirmative response, so I started finding cesium sellers, always negotiating to find the best price to lower the overall cost. If any fellow terrorists are reading this, I'd recommend getting your faction and friends involved to look out for good deals and buy on your behalf when you're offline. I actually saved quite a bit of money this way. A frugal terrorist is a prolific terrorist - unless you're intent on blowing yourself up, in which case saving money isn't really a priority.
A few weeks later, I had everything I needed other than a place to build. Construction of a Dirty Bomb can only be performed within a faction laboratory. Purchasing said lab requires 105,027 respect. The leaders and the majority of the members of my faction, Itsi Bitsi Bikini, were not keen on spending the respect to get a faction upgrade for this purpose. Their reason was that a Dirty Bomb is a "non-refundable purchase", and it's hard to argue with that assessment.
(To shreds you say?)
I needed a new temporary faction to host my project. I started looking around for people selling factions where I'd be able to spend the 105,027 respect to buy the lab. Fortunately, another of my friends knew someone who had a faction with the necessary respect already in place. I was also able to enter this faction without having to spend extra money to acquire it outright. I was then given leadership of the faction, and my bomb building adventure could officially begin.
I moved into the new home and unset any upgrades that would have prevented me from having the required respect to build the lab. Unsetting upgrades takes 96h, so be prepared to wait. Once this was completed and my thumbs were all twiddled out I purchased the lab, set a date and time for the build and gathered as many people as I could into my new home. Since your assistants will receive the Discovery honor, you may also choose to charge a premium for this. In my case, I chose to forgo the chance to earn the cash and didn't charge. As terrorists go, I'm one of the nice ones.
Instead of inviting mercenaries, I was able to welcome friends and faction members to join me in my bomb building exploits. I also made some new friends based on friends of friends. Isn't that nice? With the lab built, I then completed the science course.
At this point, you need to make sure that everyone who agreed to participate in your project is still on board and available. It's no good setting up a new faction and laboratory if the people you need to run it are in Hawaii and haven't logged on for two weeks. With a gentle prod, I confirmed the availability of my team of dastardly infidels.
Next up was the health and safety aspect. I prepared the team by having them buy their own neumune tablets in case they got radiation poisoning. This is an additional cost you can incur on your own, but it's not particularly recoverable. If you get radiation poisoning, the only way to get out of the hospital is by using neumune tablets. Neumune tablets also help to reduce the stat reduction percentage caused by radiation poisoning; this can be severe in some cases, mild in others. Either way, it's a side effect few are willing to accept, so most people are happy to buy their own.
With all the initial stages of the bomb-building process complete, I eagerly made my way towards the previously greyed-out "Build a Dirty Bomb" button to finalise proceedings. The reason they aren't greyed-out in the images is that I only screenshotted them when the process was complete. It's always good to nip pedants in the bud before they start complaining. Anyway, with my bomb just one finger-tap away, I clicked the button.
Nothing happened.
Click again.
No response.
Interesting. I logged out of mobile, tried through the laptop, and then saw a message on the screen which made my heart sink. "The building of dirty bombs is currently disabled while faction changes take place." This message was not visible on mobile, so I quickly logged a bug report to determine if the problem could be fixed.
While waiting for a response on the thread, I also messaged Chedburn asking him to enable the build process. As you might expect having put so much effort into this project, I kept checking the thread and kept checking messages as if I was awaiting a response from a smoking hot girl to a threeway proposition. Still, there was no reply. At this point, I had to send a message to all the faction members informing them of "the situation".
Having broken the tragic news that the death of thousands would have to be delayed, I clicked the logout button and went to bed. Maybe everything will be alright in the morning. I wake up and log in to Torn. Can I build now? Negative. Check the thread. Check for messages. Feel disappointed. The thread has been locked.
I tried clicking the "Build a Dirty Bomb" button again out of forlorn hope: same result as before. So I send another message to Chedburn. Some members have started leaving the build faction. The project is unravelling before my very eyes. Then, finally, I receive a message from Chedburn saying that building would be enabled the next week.
I send a message to all the remaining members informing them of the postponement, knowing full well that we could try the following week only to reencounter the same results. Nevertheless, seven days later I regroup everyone for another shot. Finally, there is success. The clock begins to tick. The build time to completion is 200 hours, most of which is spent patiently informing members over and over how long it'll be until the bomb is complete. It's as if I'm driving on a family holiday incessantly fielding the question "are we there yet?"
I can't be angry though. These people have dedicated time and effort to my cause. Soon it will all be over. I log on to view the final few seconds until the timer has stopped.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.
A message appears on the screen saying "Completion Imminent". Members are free to leave, so you check your items.
Hmm. No dirty bomb.
I log yet another a bug report. Luckily for me, my wait is shorter this time. I come back a bit later to see that building has indeed been completed one hour later. "The dirty bomb is now in your inventory." I breathe another sigh of relief. This one is louder and more prolonged than the last.
And here, for all the naysayers, is the item I and others have worked so hard to acquire.
So, what's next? What are my plans for the bomb? Paperweight? Permanent deterrent? Shall I toss it in the dump?
No. I'm going to wait for bomb use to be enabled and drop it on an unsuspecting victim to get the honor bars. I don't have any favorite targets in mind, so maybe I can be persuaded to use it on someone else's choice. According to Chedburn, I will be able to deploy my weapon sometime early in 2018 with the release of Destructive Warfare.
But this makes me wonder. While I've been busy with my own efforts, who else has been building a Dirty Bomb? As you can see on the right-hand side of the image, there are fifty-three dirty bombs currently in circulation (54 at the time of writing). When Destructive Warfare begins, how many apocalyptic attacks will be unleashed upon our city?
Holding a Dirty Bomb you cannot use creates a level of blue ball syndrome like you'd never believe. So if my premonitions are correct, and there are others out there like me who are straining to release their lode, 2018's New Year fireworks could prove more explosive than usual.
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