Disco Elysium: How to Use the Thought Cabinet and Unlock All Thoughts

Disco Elysium essentially reduces your character to a blank slate in the opening scene, wiping their memory and even their identity in a brain-mangling mixture of drugs, liquor and self-loathing. We'll show you how to use the Thought Cabinet and where to find all the thoughts, rebuilding your personality over the course of the game.

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Unlocking and Internalizing Thoughts With the Thought Cabinet

The Thought Cabinet is basically a metaphorical landscape of your character's mind, a diagram showing what they're thinking about and what thoughts make up their core personality. As the game starts, your Thought Cabinet is empty, reflecting the fact that you've chemically erased your own psyche and have to remake it. As you explore the world, take certain actions and encounter particular events, you'll begin to have new thoughts that you can internalize, making them core parts of your identity. When thoughts are internalized, they give permanent stat changes, unlock new dialogue options, or give additional bonuses appropriate to the thought.

How to Access the Thought Cabinet

Your Thought Cabinet is at the bottom of the screen, marked by the symbol of a diamond with the silhouette of a head in it. Simply click on it, and you'll see all the thoughts you're aware of, those you've internalized, and those you're yet to find.

How to Discover New Thoughts

There are 53 thoughts in total, listed on the right side of the screen when you enter the Thought Cabinet. Those that are faded you have yet to discover, while those that are white have been discovered, but not yet internalized.

Different thoughts arise in different ways, but many are a result of patterns in your speech. For example, referring to yourself as homeless enough times will prompt a piece of dialogue with yourself. Pick the right dialogue options, and you'll unlock the "Hobocop," thought, which you can now choose to internalize if you so wish via the Thought Cabinet. Once you do so, you'll get a permanent modification to your stats, and possibly some additional effects and extra dialogue options going forward.

Full List of All 53 Thoughts in Disco Elysium

The following is a comprehensive list of all 53 thoughts and how to access them. As a result there will be minor spoilers in the table below, but we have written it to minimize the chance of giving away any of the game's largest plot points.

Thought	Bonuses	Research Time	Temporary Research Bonus	How to Find
Ace's High	+1 Empathy to Kim, +1 Esprit de Corps	4h	+1 Empathy towards Kim	After shooting down the corpse, attempt Ace's High with Kim but don't do Ace's low.
Ace's Low	+2 Empathy to Kim, +1 Esprit de Corps	2h 45m	+2 Empathy towards Kim	After shooting down the corpse, do Ace's low with Kim.
Actual Art Degree	-1 Hand/Eye Coordination, passive Conceptualization checks heal 1 morale and grant 10xp	1h 30m	-1 Perception	Choose multiple art-based dialogues options.
Advanced Race Theory	+1 Conceptualization, learning cap for Rhetoric raised by 5	1h 40m	-1 Drama	Talk to Measurehead on the closed gate blocking the harbor, and pass the Conceptualization check to subscribe to his theory.
Anti-Object Task Force	+1 Pain Threshold, learning cap for all FYS-based skills raised by 1, attacking objects restores 1 health	2h 15m	-2 Pain Threshold	Hit or kick numerous objects.
Apricot Chewing Gum Scented One	+2 Perception	5h 5m	-1 Reaction Speed	After finding your ledger in the Whirling-in-Rags dumpster, smell the note attached to it. You must also check the jeans in the coal room near Cindy the Skull, and take Pissf****t's leather jacket on Day 3+.
Arno Van Eyck	All MOT white checks unlocked, reveals Arno Van Eyck posters across Martinaise	50m	+1 Interfacing	After setting up the church nightclub, Egghead will ask you to find a tape. It's in a tree near Siileng, the clothes vendor - bring it back to him to trigger this thought.
Bankruptcy Sequence	Failing an INT check gives the player 1 real	5h 15m	-1 Empathy	Successfully pitch a bad idea to the man in the locked Harbor container.
Boiadeiro	-1 Esprit de Corps, cigarettes give +2 INT	6h 30m	-1 Physical Instrument	With a low Encyclopedia score, pass an Inland Empire check when taking to Manana (the man on the stairs watching the strike).
Bringing of the Law (Law-Jaw)	-1 Rhetoric, learning cap for Hand/Eye Coordination raised to 6, all passive Hand/Eye Coordination checks automatically succeed	2h 55m	-1 Rhetoric	Choose multiple law-enforcement dialogue options, and refer to yourself as a Lawbringer to Lilliene the Net Picker.
Caustic Echo	-1 Volition, learning cap for all MOT skills raised by 1, grants 300xp when first internalized	10h	+1 Volition	Open the secret compartment in your ledger and throw away the card.
Cleaning Out the Rooms	+1 Suggestion, +1 Inland Empire, +1 Rhetoric	5h 35m	None	After investigating the mysterious lack of sound in the church at Land's End, talk to Soona and pass a logic check.
Coach Physical Instrument	+2 Physical Instrument, -1 Encyclopedia	40m	-2 Encyclopedia	Talk to Rene, the old man playing pentanque outside the Whirling-in-Rags. Observe rather than play, ask questions, then fail the check to play at the end. You need at least 2 points in Physical Instrument.
Col Do Ma Ma Daqua	+3 Perception, -1 Encyclopedia	7h 10m	None	Talk to Lena about the invisible Phasmid, then go outside, where a thought will prompt you to listen closely.
Cop of the Apocalypse	Leaning cap for Inland Empire and Shivers raised to 6	6h 55m	-1 Rhetoric	Have numerous apocalyptic thoughts and dialogue choices.
Date of Birth Generator	-1 difficulty to all passive FYS checks, learning cap for logic raised by 4	7h 15m	None	Wonder when you were born in dialogue or thought.
Detective Cousteau	+1 Savoir Faire, +1 Esprit de Corps	2h 30m	-2 Conceptualization	Refuse your real name when it is offered to you, fail the Conceptualization check to consider your name and refer to yourself over and over as Detective Costeau.
Fairweather T-500	+2 Hand/Eye Coordination against enemies wearing Fairweather T-500 Armor	3h 30m	-1 Savoir Faire	Find and equip at least one piece of the dead man's armor.
Finger on the Eject Button	Triggers suicidal thoughts in the character every evening	2h	+2 Authority, +2 Suggestion	Have numerous suicidal thoughts and dialogue choices.
Finger Pistols (9mm)	+1 Reaction Speed, empty hands grants +1 Suggestion	1h	-2 Savoir Faire	Talk to Siileng the clothes seller and do finger guns at him (you must have 5 points in Composure).
Guillaume le Million	+1 Pain Threshold, all PSY leaning caps raised by 1	4h 30m	-1 Logic	Interact with the mirror in your room and pass an Encyclopedia check.
Hardcore Aesthetic	+1 Volition, +1 Endurance	Unknown	-2 Interfacing	Manage to form the church nightclub, sync your sines with Noid, and pass the white Conceptualization check in his dialogue.
Hobocop	Learning cap for Shivers raised to 6, reveals extra special collector's edition Tare bottles, grants extra money from selling Tare bottles	4h 20m	-1 Composure	Refer to yourself as homeless in dialogue or sleep outside for a night.
Homo-Sexual Underground	Allows you to discuss sexuality with Kim, stops you obsessing over sexuality	8h	None	Speak to the smoking man when he goes to the Whirling-in-Rags and pass the Composure check. Ask if he's in the underground.
Indirect Modes of Taxation	-1 Empathy, Ultraliberal dialogue options give you 1 real	1h 45m	-2 Empathy	Accept multiple bribes from anybody, support capitalist ideas in dialogue and emphasize earning money above all else.
Inexplicable Feminist Agenda	+1 Empathy, -1 Electrochemistry	3h 45m	+2 Authority against male characters	Choose multiple feminist dialogue options.
Jamais Vu (Derealisation)	-1 Encyclopedia, all INT leaning caps raised by 1, +1xp for every orb clicked on	3h 25m	None	Speak to Lena about reality, then speak to Joyce about the same.
Kingdom of Conscience	Learning caps for Volition and Logic raised to 5, moralist dialogue options heal 1 morale	1h 25m	-2 Half-Light	Choose multiple neutral/moderate/tempered dialogue options.
Lonesome Long Way Home	Learning cap for Perception raised to 5, taking Speed gives +1 PSY	6h 5m	+1 Encyclopedia	Wonder where you live in dialogue or thought.
Magnesium-Based Lifeform	+2 Volition, -1 Logic	1h 15m	-1 Shivers	Go into Cuno's shack, see the magnesium stored there, then talk to him about it.
Mazovian Socio-Economics	-1 Visual Calculus, -1 Authority, communist/left-wing dialogue gives +4xp	3h 10m	-2 Visual Calculus	Choose multiple left-wing/communist dialogue options.
Motorway South	+1 Inland Empire, all locked INT white checks unlock	8h 10m	-1 Visual Calculus	Speak to Joyce about reality, then question her about the Pale. Then go to the elderly woman by the statue and ask her the same thing.
One More Door	-1 Half-Light, all locked PSY white checks unlock	45m	+1 Half-Light	Try to open the bunker door North of the Church and fail.
Opioid Receptor Antagonist	No positive stat changes from drugs, no negative stat changes from alcohol	55m	-2 Electrochemistry	Choose multiple anti-drug/narcotic dialogue options.
Overproductive Honour Glands	Learning cap for Authority raised to 5	20m	-4 Drama	Take no bribes, do things honourably, keep your promises.
Regular Law Official	-1 Shivers, -1 Inland Empire, all learning caps raised to 3	1h 20m	-2 Inland Empire	Choose multiple boring or non-committal dialogue options.
Remote Viewers Division	-1 Drama, -1 difficulty to all PSY passive checks	6h	-1 Perception	Choose multiple dialogue options claiming to be psychic.
Revacholian Nationhood	Alcohol gives +2 FYS, choosing nationalist dialogue options damages your morale by 1	9h 10m	-1 Composure	Choose multiple pro-fascistic dialogue options.
Rigorous Self-Critique	Learning cap for Pain Threshold raised to 6, failing INT and PSY red checks heals 1 morale, failing FYS and MOT red checks heals 1 health	6h	-1 Authority	Apologise repeatedly and feel constantly sorry for yourself.
Searchlight Division	+2 Perception	3h 15m	None	Volunteer to find multiple missing people (even if they're not actually missing).
Some Kind of Superstar	-1 Logic, learning caps for Visual Calculus, Suggestion, Electrochemistry, and Composure raised to 6	1h 10m	-2 Logic	Choose multiple dialogue options where you claim to be a rock star.
The Bow Collector	+3 Shivers	6h 10m	-1 Authority, -1 Hand/Eye Coordination	Read the note in your ledger and choose "Bow Collector" when talking to your Ancient Reptilian Brain.
The Fifteenth Indotribe	Learning cap for Savoir Faire raised to 6, you gain 0.10 real for every green orb clicked on	5h 55m	None	Talk to Joyce about Wild Pines and how they control so much cargo.
The Insulindian Miracle	Unlocks all locked white checks	7h 45m	None	Talk to Joyce about the Union's objective, then let her tell you about the history of the islands.
The Jamrock Shuffle	Find better loot in locked containers	1h 5m	-1 Esprit de Corps	Break into 4 areas.
The Litany of Contact Mike	Unlocks all locked FYS white checks	15m	-1 Logic, -1 Conceptualization, -1 Drama	Talk to Acele (next to the tent at Land's End) about Contact Mike. You will need an Encyclopedia skill of 8 at least.
The Precarious World	Critical Success and failure thresholds are reduced by 1	4h	All red checks fail automatically	Talk to the Dice Maker above the bookstore, and pass the Shivers check in her dialogue.
The Suicide of Kras Mazov	+1 Rhetoric, failing white checks heals all morale	4h 45	-1 Rhetoric	Break into the apartment in the building behind the crime scene and examine the bust of Kras Mazov.
Torque Dork	+2 Interfacing, unlocks all locked Interfacing white checks	Unknown	-2 Conceptualization	Perform three or more of the following: Exhaust all actions relating to Kim's police car, speak to Tommy Le Homme about his truck, go to the old brown car near the statue and prompt the thought relating to it, climb onto the debris past Cuno's shack and have a high enough Encyclopedia skill to admire the crane's mechanism.
Volumetric S**t Compressor	Learning cap for Endurance raised to 4, unlocks all locked Endurance white checks	30m	None	Throw up twice while studying the hanging corpse and wish you could quit.
Waste Land of Reality	+1 to all PSY skills, -1 Physical Instrument, -1 Inland Empire, -1 Suggestion	20h	-2 Physical Instrument	Get sober, either by subscribing to Advanced Race Theory and talking to Measurehead, or by talking to the Crab Man in the church and saying you want to give up drinking.
White Mourning	Learning cap for all MOT skills raised by 1, can zoom out 20% more	5h	-1 Authority	Read the note in your ledger and pass the Interfacing check.
Wompty-Dompty Dom Centre	-2 Suggestion, succeeding on passive Encyclopedia checks gives you +10xp and 2 real	42m	-1 Suggestion	Go to the building next to the boardwalk on Land's End, and talk to the man admiring the mural with his kid.

How to Internalize and Research New Thoughts

Once you have a thought ready to go, and presuming you have an empty slot to put it in, you can click on it in the Thought Cabinet and choose to internalize it. Internalization takes a certain amount of in-game time depending on the thought, usually several hours, during which your character will often suffer some sort of stat penalty, representing his distraction as he ponders over who he is. You also can't internalize while asleep, meaning you have to deal with these penalties while you work.

Once the time has elapsed, the thought will be fixed to the slot, and you'll receive the permanent stat change associated with it.

How to Unlock New Slots in the Thought Cabinet

At most you can have twelve slots for thoughts in your Cabinet, but at the start of the game only three slots will be available. Every time you level up, you can choose to unlock a new slot rather than increase one of your skills. Rather than go into the skill menu, go into the Cabinet and click on a locked slot. You'll have the opportunity to unlock it, burning up the skill point in the process.

How to Forget Thoughts and Empty Your Slots

Sometimes you might want to forget a thought, as some of them come with negative stat changes, or maybe you just feel that your character has changed enough that he wouldn't be thinking a certain way. If that's the case, you can use a skill point to forget a thought and effectively purge your mind of it. Click on the thought when you have a skill point available, and you'll be given an option to empty the slot.

What Does the Electricity/Lightning in the Thought Cabinet Do?

Absolutely nothing that affects the game’s mechanics, at least that we could work out. Your thoughts don’t change if there’s lightning running through them, so it seems more like an artistic flourish than anything based around gameplay, perhaps symbolising the specific train of thought that takes your character from one idea to another. Don’t let it worry you, especially when there’s so much else in our protagonist's head to be concerned about.

Now that you've got your own head sorted out, you can head here to see our review of the game, or check here to see how to find your clothes and shoes in Disco Elysium's opening chapter.