ROB RUN Beginner's Guide: First Money, Plot, Laundering and Police

Steam Community guide by Jewicuide.

About this guide

Everything that matters in ROB RUN on one page

This guide answers the questions new players ask most often. Each section covers one task: what to do and how not to lose your loot along the way.
SectionWhat it coversFirst stepsYour first money from nothingRolesCitizen, criminal or copDeath and arrestWhat you loseRobbingHow not to set off the alarmSelling and launderingWho buys loot and how to keep your moneyPlot, house, carYour own base in a settlementPolice and prisonDuty, badges, sentence and tattoosServer and groupHow to play with friends
Everything is written for the current version of the game. If a patch changes something, tell me in the comments and I will fix it.
Prices of all 547 items, the interactive Looty Bay map with keys and safes, and the Larry's Tree planner are on https://robrun.info/en/

First steps

Task: earn your first money when you have nothing

At first you live at Lenny's Motel. You order basic gear through his laptop: this is the Black Market, and it takes cash.

• Drive to Looty Bay, hide and put on a mask. This makes you a criminal.
• Steal something valuable and get out of the city alive.
• Sell the loot to a Fence for cash.
• Save up for your first plot: it unlocks laundering, Shipments and your own car.

Citizen, criminal or cop

Task: choose your role when entering Looty Bay

You choose a role every time you enter the city.
RoleCanLimitsCitizenExplores the city safely, gets free healing, loses nothing on deathCan't use weaponsCriminalPuts on a mask and robsEveryone's enemy, the loot has to be taken out of the cityCopFree gear and a car for the shiftCan only kill criminals To become a Citizen again, just leave the city. Keep in mind that cops can close the bridges and stop you from getting out.

What you lose on death and arrest

Task: know what you are risking

SituationEquipmentBagDeath in a mask❌ lost❌ lostArrest or surrender to the police (Q key)✅ kept❌ takenDeath as a Citizen✅ kept✅ keptDeath in a settlement (no police there)❌ lost❌ lost
A purchased car doesn't disappear after death, and mods installed on it don't drop.

Robbing without the alarm

Task: get the loot out before the police arrive

• 🔓 Open doors and containers with a Lockpick: it doesn't trigger the alarm.
• 🪟 Don't break glass, that can set off the alarm.
• ⚡ Some buildings have an electrical panel you can hack to turn off cameras and the alarm.
• 📷 Break cameras before they raise the alarm.
• 🔫 Hold the clerk at gunpoint so they don't trigger the alarm. Killing them fills the wanted bar faster.

Keys and hidden rooms

A key's description says what it opens. For example, the gas station in Downtown has two hidden rooms, left and right, and each needs its own key.

Where to sell loot

Task: turn stolen goods into money

WhoBuysNotesFenceStolen goodsPays cash, the amount depends on your Notoriety and the value of the lootSmugglerCargoYou can sell cargo without opening itSales CenterLootPays a bonus, but only to players renting a plot in that district
Cargo (a crate, bag or safe) doesn't have to be sold right away: you can open it on a Cargo Workbench on your plot.

Bank and laundering

Task: move cash to an account where it can't be stolen

• Open an account at the Looty Bay bank. You can't launder without one.
• Get your own plot and house.
• Load cash into the Laundering Desk at your base, and clean money goes to your account.
  Laundering continues even while you are offline. Banknote Counters speed up the desk. Until you have your own house, Lenny can launder for you, but he takes a cut. You can withdraw money at ATMs or from a bank employee.

Your first plot and house

Task: get your own place in a settlement

• Research and buy a Land Plot Title in the Trade Laptop. Research only unlocks the item, the purchase is paid separately.
• On the global map, find a settlement that has an owner. You can't even enter a settlement without one.
• Open the settlement map: it shows residents' houses and free spots.
• Find a rental sign and sign the agreement.
• Place a house and other structures through the plot plan. If you want to live next to a friend, rent plots in the same settlement. When you move, everything in your base moves with you.

Your own car

Task: get a personal vehicle

Without your own house you can't have a personal car, only a rental through a parking meter. Once you have a house, put the keys in a free slot of the key locker, and the car will appear in the garage.

How to become a cop

Task: play as the police

Talk to the officer at the Looty Bay police station. For the shift you get free gear and a car, and your personal belongings are stored and returned after duty.
Without a badge, only basic equipment is available. Badges are single-use: they are found around the city or bought in the Trade Laptop after research.
There are almost always more cops, they respawn in the city, and they have good cars and gear. In return their rewards are noticeably smaller. Right now a city can have no more than 4 police officers.

Prison, sentence and tattoos

Task: understand where a prison sentence comes from

A normal arrest gives no sentence: the cop only takes the contents of your bag. The feds give a sentence when they confiscate your property. You can also surrender to them yourself by selecting the prison on the global map.
SentenceHow it is countedMinimum1 yearPlus1 year for every 500,000 of property value in the stateMaximum40 years per state

Server, group and wipe

Task: play with friends on the same server

The game calls a server a state. The only way to another state is through prison:

• On the global map, select the prison and press "Surrender to Feds".
• In prison, find an escape point.
• When you escape, choose the state you need. GroupClanWipeUp to 3 people, invite from the global map or a settlementUp to 100 members, within one state onlyCurrently 7 days

Learn more

Everything that didn't fit into this guide is on https://robrun.info/en/: the site is free, no sign-up, available in English, Russian and French.

• 📦 Catalog[robrun.info]: 547 items with prices, where to find them and what they unlock.
• 🗺️ Interactive Looty Bay map[robrun.info]: locations, locked rooms, safes and keys.
• 🌳 Larry planner[robrun.info]: the Black Market tree with unlock chains and prices.
• ❓ FAQ[robrun.info] and all patch notes in one feed.
  The site is updated after every patch. If this guide helped, give it a 👍, and if you spot a mistake, leave a comment.