ROB RUN Beginners Guide

What to do first in ROB RUN

ROB RUN is a free-to-play crime sandbox from Kefir (Kefir Games), out in Steam Early Access since November 4, 2026. The cops and criminals you meet in Looty Bay are all real people, so the first hour is about keeping your things. This page draws on Kefir’s posts and on player guides, as of November 9, 2026. For the wider picture, start with our ROB RUN game overview.

A sensible first-day order:

1. Break out of your cell, then choose a server that opened recently.
2. Get your car and your bearings at Lenny’s Motel.
3. Scout the city as a civilian, then do one small job.
4. Save toward a Tier 1 land plot title.

In its November 4 announcement, Kefir scheduled at least one fresh server per region each day: EU at 5 PM UTC, East US at 8 PM ET. Patrol cops on a fresh server carry only pistols until it ages; one guide puts that window at 30 minutes, while Kefir gives no time. Several players add that plots on older servers fill within hours to days. Our ROB RUN server status page tracks outages and restarts.

Playing with a friend? Settle it in prison. Servers are called states and you both need the same one, so two players suggest searching for the friend’s server ID before you break out. Switching later means surrendering to the feds, which two other guides say costs your money and property.

Civilian, criminal or cop

Several players describe the start: you enter Looty Bay as a civilian with a white name, and holding F puts the mask on and turns the name red. Two of them add that you stay a criminal until you drive out of the city and back in.

• Civilian. The only status that can open a bank account. You can also search bins for small change.
• Criminal. Needed to sell at a fence. Two players warn against masking up in public; do it out of sight, in your car for example.
• Cop. When a slot is free, the officer at the Looty Bay Police Station signs you up for a shift. Our ROB RUN cop guide covers it.

No role makes you safe outside Lenny’s Motel. Players warn that your own plot, the settlements and the sales centers are all open PvP.

What you lose when you die or get arrested

Players describe four cases:

Situation	What you lose
Civilian killed in the city	Nothing
Criminal killed by a player	Inventory, bag and worn gear
Arrested by a cop	Bag contents; equipped gear stays
Killed on a police shift	No personal items; new kit

The criminal row rests on two sources; the others have three or more. Sources do not fully agree on where civilian safety ends. One player says the desert outside the city has no protection at all, so anyone who dies there loses everything. Until more guides weigh in, treat the open road as criminal rules.

That makes surrender a real option when a cop corners you. Giving up costs the bag but keeps your weapons and armor; losing a gunfight as a criminal costs all of it. Money in a bank account plays by other rules: according to the support center, nobody can steal it, but that protection only lasts until the next wipe.

Your first robbery and where to sell

On your first lap, stay a civilian and find the bank, the fence vans and the two bridge exits.

Several players point new robbers to remote houses, away from groups and cops. Their routine for a clean job:

• Hide the getaway car, not at the front door.
• Break the alarm box outside so smashing things inside alerts nobody.
• Shoot the cameras and keep staff at gunpoint (two sources).
• Use Black Market lockpicks to open back doors quietly.

Per two guides, an alarm countdown means a camera saw you, so start leaving. Cops track you only by sight, so hide in bushes or bins, and keep a second route because police can block bridges.

Notoriety rises with each crime on one trip and improves loot and prices. Still, two players say to leave after one good job, since a full bag on a dead body earns nothing.

Selling is the riskiest moment. Others camp the sell points, players warn, so check the bushes and bins first. Two suggest leaving, returning as a civilian to scout, and masking up only to sell. Grab the cash pile the moment the deal ends. Before selling, check the suspicious door at Lenny’s, a barter station for heist tools such as drills. Saving and laundering are in our ROB RUN money guide.

Your first land plot and base

A base needs a Tier 1 land plot title, and its price moved during week one. Player guides from early November give one pair of numbers, later ones another; one player tied the rise to a November 6 patch.

Guide dates	Unlock	Buy
November 4 and 5	$25,000	$75,000
November 8 and 9	$50,000	$100,000

Several players flag the same mistake: the unlock only lets you buy the title. Buy the document, carry it to a free plot in a level one settlement, and use it at the For Rent sign. Two write-ups add that whoever kills you on the way can take it.

The trailer includes a Black Market laptop and a laundering desk. Early upgrades players suggest:

• A fence around the trailer.
• Fuses on the main door; an electronic fuse forces raiders to bring a diffuser.
• Closing the gate and door each time you leave.

Two players say a move to a tier two plot keeps your house, fence, workbenches and storage. The weekly federal raid still takes it all; per Kefir’s support center, your cash, weapons, base and plot are cleared once every seven days. Our ROB RUN wipe guide lists what carries over.

Playing ROB RUN solo

Yes, and the game pays you for it. Players report a 35% bonus for solo sellers at the fence over squads. Sources split on the notoriety that comes with it: one says solo players show level four, another says level three is the default.

Several guides say quiet targets suit a solo player. One names Lauren Hills, an estate of about five houses, as a lower-risk start because police focus on big stores. Another single source suggests parking in a house’s garage and closing the gate before clearing it.

Do not rush the next settlement tier. One solo player was raided twice in two hours after moving up. For company later, two sources say a party cannot form while either of you is inside Looty Bay.

Logging out safely

Several guides advise logging out at Lenny’s Motel rather than at your base, with everything worth keeping in your inventory. One player explains why: your character stays in the world for about three minutes after you quit, possibly up to 10, so a base logout can still get you killed.

Close your gate and door before you go, and keep loot out of parked cars; one player notes that lockpicks open other players’ trunks.