On this page 11 sections
TL;DR
- You can only attack players with at least one star of heat. Every attack you make is an arrest.
- Suspects run: arrests use ×0.85 of your attack. Carry a real weapon; your defense bonus won't win arrests.
- The fine is 10% of their cash plus $10 × level × stars. You keep 60% plus $10 a star. Hunt rich, hot, high-level targets.
- Overtime at PD HQ pays 2× your hourly wage every 30 minutes. It beats dock work, which shares the same timer.
- The cold case and lineup pay you a bounty instead of clearing heat. Do both every time they're up.
The profile
Strengths
- ×1.25 defense, best in the game
- A city bounty on every arrest
- Overtime at 2× wage
- Wages grow 7% a level ($816/day at 10)
- 25% off armor
Weaknesses
- Only wanted players (probable cause)
- Arrests at ×0.85 attack
- Can't rob stores or properties
- Keep 60% of the fine
- 8 attacks a day
Your first hour, day and week
First hour
First day
First week
Probable cause
You can only attack players with at least one star of heat. Heat comes from crime: muggings, robberies, registers, smuggling, park hustles, a botched vault. Civilians never gain heat, so they're off limits. A suspect who solved a cold case in the last six hours has "friends in the department" and can't be arrested.
Filter the player directory to wanted, sort by heat and read your odds. Criminals cool off a star an hour, so the list changes fast.
Arrest math
Every attack you make is an arrest. Win and:
- The suspect pays a fine: 10% of their cash plus $10 × their level × their stars, capped by their cash and your loot cap (the greater of $1,000 or half your own cash plus bank).
- Their heat drops to zero and they go to jail for 10 minutes a star, up to an hour.
- You keep 60% of the fine plus a $10-a-star city bounty, less the city's 10%. Any player-posted bounty on them is yours too.
- Your attack: (14 str + 16 pistol + 10) × 1.10 × 0.85
- 37.4
- Their defense: (14 + 0 + 10) × 0.90
- 21.6
- Odds
- 75%
- Same suspect in a Kevlar Vest
- 53%
- Same suspect, and you forgot the pistol
- 52%
- Suspect: level 10, 5 stars, $20,000 on hand
- Fine: $2,000 + $10 × 10 × 5
- $2,500
- Your 60% of the fine
- $1,500
- City bounty: $10 × 5 stars
- +$50
- City's 10%
- −$155
- You collect
- $1,395
The same suspect with half a star and $500 on hand? Not arrestable. With one star and $2,000? About $170. And a broke officer can only seize up to $1,000, so this payday needs $5,000 to your own name. Heat and cash make the payday.
Steady income
| Job | Pays | Every | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overtime (PD HQ) | 2× hourly wage | 30 min (shift timer) | 20 |
| Dock work (Port Marlow) | 1.8× hourly wage | 30 min (same shift timer) | 25 |
| Cold case (PD HQ) | $40 + $10 × level | 24 hours | – |
| Lineup (PD HQ) | Half a cold case | 12 hours | – |
| Vault (bank) | 1% of your bank balance, between $15 and $1,000 per level | 24 hours | – |
Dock work and overtime share one shift timer, so overtime is always the better shift for you. Property is at standard rates: chase city bonuses and collect between patrols.
Commissioner Croft's contracts
Three a day, sized to your level: make arrests, work shifts, train, play activities, open or upgrade a business, make a run to another city. Each claim raises your standing (Unknown, Known, Trusted, Made, Legend), every tier pays 10% more, and all three in a day pays a 50% bonus. See the long game.
Gear and training
- Weapon first. Arrests run at ×0.935 of your strength-plus-weapon, so a 9mm Pistol (+16) is your most important buy.
- Then armor at 25% off: Kevlar $3,750, Tactical $18,750. Stacked on ×1.25 defense, you're very hard to mug.
- The Armored Overcoat (+36, $45,000 for you) is sold only at the Havenbrook Auction House.
- Shoot 15+ at the range for +15% attack for two hours before an arrest spree.
Heists
Badges sign up for crew heists too. Your defense makes you a strong Lookout, and a high level a solid Planner. Police pick up heat on a job like anyone else, which means a fellow officer can arrest you. See heists and the long game.
Where to patrol
- Port Marlow: every smuggling run adds 2 stars. The docks are the richest hunting ground in the Nation.
- Sundale: a land rush means robberies, and the Speedway draws winners carrying cash.
- Neon Bay: rich criminals on the Strip, and the VIP Lounge refills your energy.
- Havenbrook: the hub. A bus to any city is about $48 to $54 from here.
Common mistakes
- Arresting at one star with an empty wallet. Tiny fine, same 20 energy.
- Relying on your defense. Arrests are won with attack.
- Working the docks. Same timer as overtime, less pay, more energy.
- Chasing a target to another city. They'll have cooled off by the time your bus arrives.
- Leaving registers full. Criminals rob a cop's buildings as happily as anyone's.
Pro tips
- Bounty hunt. Player-posted bounties pay on an arrest. Check the board before you pick a target.
- Save attacks for the evening rush. Criminals log on, crime up, and the wanted list fills.
- Pick on equals. Arresting far below your level shrinks the fine, and in a starting city 5+ levels down pays no fine at all.
- Bank the badge money. Your safe is two days of salary. Everything above it can be mugged.