On this page 12 sections
TL;DR
- Your paybacks are a quarter shorter than anyone's: a Taco Stand pays back in about 10 days, not 14. Reinvest almost everything.
- Your wage grows fastest: $890 a day at level 10, $1,164 at 20. Shifts and the restock rush scale with it.
- Police can never arrest you and heists never heat you. Your only threat is the mugger, and the fix is the bank.
- Crews want you: civilians are the best Face and Inside man on any heist.
- Fight only when the directory says 70%+. Eight attacks at ×0.80 aren't your game; a Bodyguard from the 💪 Muscle tab is.
The profile
Strengths
- Wages grow 10% a level
- 10% off land and buildings
- +20% rent
- ×1.15 defense
- Never gains heat
- Grocery shifts at 1.5× wage
Weaknesses
- ×0.80 attack
- Can't rob stores or properties
- 8 attacks a day (plus 1 per 4 levels)
- Keep 80% of loot
- A juicy target for criminals
Your first hour, day and week
First hour
First day
First week
The civilian economy
Everything you build costs 10% less and earns 20% more. Together that cuts every payback by a quarter, and the gap compounds every time rent buys more property.
| Building | Your cost | Your rent/day | Your payback | Police payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Cart | $1,350 | $130 | 10 days | 14 days |
| Taco Stand | $3,150 | $302 | 10 days | 14 days |
| House | $8,100 | $634 | 13 days | 17 days |
| Deli | $10,800 | $850 | 13 days | 17 days |
| Warehouse | $81,000 | $5,184 | 16 days | 21 days |
| Office Tower | $2.7M | $132,710 | 20 days | 27 days |
Base rates before land and city bonuses. Full ladder in the property guide.
- Gas Station, 10% off
- $198,000
- Rent: $440/hr × 1.3 highway bonus × 1.2
- $16,474/day
- Payback on the building
- 12 days
A police officer building the same thing in Port Marlow waits 21 days. That's the civilian game: the right building, in the right city, as often as you can afford it.
Shifts
- Grocery shift at FreshWay: 1.5× your hourly wage for 20 energy, every 30 minutes.
- Dock work in Port Marlow: 1.8× for 25 energy, on the same 30-minute shift timer. Better per shift, about even per point of energy.
- Restock rush at the grocery, every 12 hours: up to 2× your hourly wage for 25 items shelved.
An Energy Drink costs $15 for 25 energy. A shift pays more than the energy it burns at every level, so on a busy day, buy the drinks.
Where to build
- Havenbrook (day one): delis, restaurants and bakeries +25%, homes +15–20%. A civilian Deli here pays back in about 10 days.
- Port Marlow (day one): fair land; warehouses and fish markets +25%.
- Sundale (level 3): 40% off land on top of your 10%. Gas stations +30%, motels +25%.
- Ironbridge (level 5): 30% off land; warehouses +30%, factories +25%.
- Neon Bay (level 8): the endgame. Casinos and nightclubs earn the most, but land costs 40% more. Arrive with real money.
Bad Penny's contracts
Three a day, sized to your level: work shifts, open or upgrade a business, collect your registers, bank some money, win a fight, make a run. 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. Most are things you were doing anyway. See the long game.
Heists: the civilian's secret
Face and Inside man run on charm, and civilians get 30% more charm than anyone at the same level. You also never draw heat on a job, so you walk off with an even share and nothing for the police to chase. A level 10 civilian Face is worth a level 13 criminal in the same seat. See the roles.
Defending your empire
Muggings
A mugger takes a share of your cash above your safe (two days of salary: $548 at level 1, $1,780 at level 10). Your wage lands in your pocket every hour, so the fix is simple: bank often. Your ×1.15 defense helps, armor helps more, and nobody can beat you more than twice a day. If someone does, hit back within 24 hours: it's free and 15% stronger, or put a bounty on them.
Property robberies
Robbers take 45–90% of what's in a register, never your pocket. Registers hold 12 hours, so collect morning and night and there's nothing to take. Upgrades and your own defense both add to a building's defense.
Find a crew
A crew turns a lonely landlord into a hard target. Crewmates can't attack or rob each other, and each one in your city adds +5% attack and defense, up to +25%. A crew that holds your block pays you +5% instead of taking a 3% cut. See the crews guide.
Should civilians fight?
Rarely. Eight attacks a day at ×0.80 attack. Pick fights only when the directory says 70% or better, usually injured or under-geared players, and use bots for contracts that ask you to win fights. You never gain heat for it.
Spend on defense instead. A Bodyguard from the 💪 Muscle tab adds +6% defense and stands in front of you in every fight scene. You can keep one at level 1 and one more every 4 levels; the first costs $2,500 and $200 a day, and wages come out of cash, then the bank. See the combat guide.
Common mistakes
- Leaving days of payroll in your pocket. The safe covers two; the rest is a mugger's.
- Letting registers sit full. A full register stops filling and invites a robbery.
- Rushing Neon Bay at level 8. The land premium eats a young portfolio.
- Sprawling. Past five buildings, each one shaves 1.5% off all your rent. Build bigger.
- Breaking the streak. It scales with level, and you level steadily.
Pro tips
- The vault pays you interest. Crack the bank's daily code for 1% of your balance (up to $1,000 per level). On $50,000 banked, that's $500.
- Docks in Marlow, grocery everywhere else. Same timer; take whichever is in town.
- Make friends with criminals. In your crew, they can't touch you, and they bring the muscle on heists.
- Upgrade where the bonus is. A city bonus re-applies at every level.