On this page 16 sections
TL;DR
- Win chance = attack² ÷ (attack² + defense²). Hit 1.5× their defense and you win 69% of the time; 2× and it's 80%.
- The cheapest power in the game is the bench press (up to +4 strength, free, every 2 hours) and the gym ($5 plus 50¢ per point you already have).
- Muggers only reach cash above your safe (two days of salary). The bank is untouchable.
- Nobody can beat you more than twice a day. If they do, hit back within 24 hours: it's free and 15% stronger.
- Muscle stacks on top: each Enforcer is +6% attack and +1 attack a day, each Bodyguard +6% defense. The first costs $2,500 and $200 a day.
- Don't punch down. Loot shrinks with the level gap, and in a starting city a target 5+ levels below you pays nothing.
The basics
- You can only attack players in your city, and you need at least 25 health.
- A fight costs 20 energy and one daily attack: criminals 12, police 10, civilians 8, plus one every 4 levels and one per Enforcer, up to 30. They reset at midnight UTC.
- The server decides the result, then a zoomed-in fight scene replays it, blow by blow, in a set that suits the city: the docks, a back alley, a rooftop, a motel lot, a parking lot, the foundry floor, a casino floor or a diner. Robberies happen at the storefront.
- Both squads fight: your hired muscle and up to three crewmates in town step in beside you, and in a fight with a player, theirs do the same. Attacks left? Go again from the result screen.
- Nobody in jail, in the hospital or on vacation can be attacked. Accounts linked by device or network can't fight each other.
How odds work
Win chance = attack² ÷ (attack² + defense²)
Clamped between 5% and 95%: nobody is unbeatable, no fight is hopeless. Because both sides are squared, small edges become big ones.
| Your attack ÷ their defense | 0.75 | 1.0 | 1.25 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win chance | 36% | 50% | 61% | 69% | 80% | 90% |
- Attack
- (strength + weapon + 2 × level) × side × health factor
- Defense
- (defense + armor + 2 × level) × side × health factor
- Health factor
- 0.5 + health ÷ 200. Full health is ×1.0, half health ×0.75.
- Multipliers
- Criminal ×1.30 / ×0.90. Police ×1.10 / ×1.25 (×0.85 more when arresting: suspects run). Civilian ×0.80 / ×1.15. Shooting range +15%, revenge +15%, crew backup up to +25%, +6% attack per Enforcer, +6% defense per Bodyguard.
- Criminal attack: (10 str + 0 + 2) × 1.30
- 15.6
- Civilian defense: (10 def + 0 + 2) × 1.15
- 13.8
- Odds, empty-handed
- 56%
- Criminal buys a 9mm Pistol (+16): 28 × 1.30
- 36.4
- Odds with the pistol
- 87%
If the civilian answers with a $200 Leather Jacket (+3), the pistol's edge drops to 82%. Gear on both sides matters.
The player directory shows your exact odds against everyone before you commit. Use it every time.
Growing your stats
| Source | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Level up | +1 strength, +1 defense, full health, and +2 to both powers | XP |
| Bench press (gym) | +1 strength per 12 reps, up to +4, and healing | Free, every 2 hours |
| Gym training | +1 strength or defense | $5 + 50¢ per current point, 10 energy |
| Fight Club (Ironbridge) | 40% chance of +1 strength on a win, plus a purse | $15 × level entry, 20 energy |
| Shooting range | +15% attack for 2 hours (score 15+) | Free, every 4 hours |
- Ten gym sessions ($10.00 up to $14.50 each)
- $122.50
- 100 energy, or four Energy Drinks
- $60
- +10 strength
- $182.50
A Switchblade adds +9 for $1,000. Strength and weapon count the same in the formula, so training beats shopping until a session costs more than a gun's price per point. Buy gear when you need power right now.
Weapons and armor
Pawn & Arms in every city sells the ladder. Buying something better than what you're holding equips it automatically. Only equipped gear counts.
| Weapon | Attack | Price | Criminal (−20%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brass Knuckles | +3 | $150 | $120 |
| Baseball Bat | +6 | $450 | $360 |
| Switchblade | +9 | $1,000 | $800 |
| 9mm Pistol | +16 | $4,000 | $3,200 |
| Shotgun | +26 | $12,000 | $9,600 |
| SMG | +38 | $35,000 | $28,000 |
| Vintage Tommy Gun (Havenbrook only) | +46 | $70,000 | $56,000 |
| Assault Rifle | +58 | $120,000 | $96,000 |
| Armor | Defense | Price | Police (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leather Jacket | +3 | $200 | $150 |
| Riot Padding | +8 | $1,500 | $1,125 |
| Kevlar Vest | +15 | $5,000 | $3,750 |
| Tactical Armor | +28 | $25,000 | $18,750 |
| Armored Overcoat (Havenbrook only) | +36 | $60,000 | $45,000 |
| Bulletproof Suit | +48 | $150,000 | $112,500 |
Muscle: Enforcers and Bodyguards
Hire muscle from the 💪 Muscle tab in the player menu. You need an account; guests can't hire.
- Enforcer: +6% attack and +1 attack a day each.
- Bodyguard: +6% defense each, which counts every time someone hits you.
- You can keep one of each, plus one more of each every 4 levels, up to 8 of a kind.
- Each hire costs more than the last: $2,500 × n² for the nth of a kind.
- Wages grow too: $200 × n(n+1)/2 a day per kind, paid hourly from your cash and then your bank. If you can't make payroll, one of them walks.
- They show up in every fight scene, beside you on the attack and in front of you on defense.
| Hire | From level | Hire cost | Wages/day (all of that kind) | Total bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1 | $2,500 | $200 | +6% |
| 2nd | 4 | $10,000 | $600 | +12% |
| 3rd | 8 | $22,500 | $1,200 | +18% |
| 4th | 12 | $40,000 | $2,000 | +24% |
| 5th | 16 | $62,500 | $3,000 | +30% |
| 6th | 20 | $90,000 | $4,200 | +36% |
| 7th | 24 | $122,500 | $5,600 | +42% |
| 8th | 28 | $160,000 | $7,200 | +48% |
- Hire cost: $2,500 + $10,000
- $12,500
- Wages: $200 × 2 × 3 ÷ 2
- $600/day
- Attacks a day: 12 + 1 (level 4) + 2
- 15
- Attack power
- ×1.12
- An even fight becomes
- 50% → 56%
Three extra muggings a day at better odds cover $600 easily for a working criminal. For a civilian who fights twice a week they don't: hire a Bodyguard instead and let the muggers bounce off.
Muggings, arrests and robberies
Mugging
Any criminal or civilian attacking a player. Win and you take 6–15% of their cash above the safe, times your loot rate (criminals 150%, civilians 80%), never more than a quarter of it. The loot cap stops a broke mugger cleaning out a millionaire: one win takes at most the greater of $1,000 or half your own cash plus bank. The city keeps 10%. A target knocked to zero goes to the hospital. Lose and you take 15–30 damage.
- Victim's cash on hand
- $3,548
- Their safe (two days of $274)
- −$548
- Exposed
- $3,000
- Criminal rolls 10% × 1.5 loot
- $450
- City's 10%
- −$45
- The mugger keeps
- $405
Had the victim banked first, the mugger would have won the fight and walked away with nothing.
Arrest
Police attacking a wanted player. Win and the suspect pays a fine of 10% of their cash plus $10 × their level × their stars, their heat is wiped and they go to jail. The officer keeps 60% of the fine plus a city bounty of $10 a star, less the city's 10%. See the police guide.
Robbing a property
Criminals only. Defense is the building's security × 10, plus its level × 4, plus half the owner's defense. Win and you take 45–90% of the register. Each property can be hit once an hour. See the criminal guide.
The safe and the loot cap
Everyone carries a safe: two days of salary that no mugger can touch. That's $548 at level 1 and $1,780 for a level 10 civilian. It grows with your wage. It covers walking-around money, not a week's take.
Fair fights
Beat someone below your level and loot and XP shrink by their level ÷ yours, down to a quarter. A level 10 beating a level 5 gets half. In Port Marlow and Havenbrook, beating someone 5+ levels below you pays nothing at all (no loot, no fine, no posted bounty) and earns you extra heat.
Revenge
Got beaten? For 24 hours, hitting that player back is 15% stronger and free: no energy, no daily attack. Heal first, then go collect.
Bounties
Anyone can post $500 or more on a player's head, plus a 10% fee that leaves the economy. Whoever beats them in the next 7 days collects the lot, on a mugging or an arrest. Unclaimed, the poster gets half back. Check the open bounties before you pick a target: the right one pays twice.
Jail and the hospital
- 10 minJail per star, max 60
- $25Bail per minute per level
- 50%Bust-out odds
- 20 minHospital at 0 health
Jail: no fights, robberies, travel, building or services. Post bail (it can come from the bank) or have a crewmate bust you out: a coin flip, shifted 1% for every level of difference between you (the bonus tops out at +20%). A failed bust puts them in a cell for 15 minutes.
The hospital: knocked to zero, you're out for 20 minutes. Treatment checks you out early and costs 50¢ plus 25¢ per level for each missing point of health, so $175 for a full heal at level 5. A Sandwich heals 15 for $8, which is the cheapest healing in the Nation.
- Level 6, arrested at 3 stars
- 30 minutes
- Bail: 30 min × level 6 × $25
- $4,500
- Waiting it out
- $0
Bail is for when a heist launch or a bounty is on the clock. Otherwise, grab a coffee.
Heat, protection and vacation
- Heat is a wanted level from 0 to 5 stars. While you have a star, police can arrest you. It cools one star an hour. Civilians never gain heat. Every way to cool off is in the criminal guide.
- New-player protection: below level 3 in your first 24 hours, players can't attack you, until you start a fight yourself. Guests can only fight bots.
- Vacation makes you and your places untouchable for at least 8 hours, but rent stops. See the long game.
- Crew backup: every crewmate in your city adds +5% attack and defense, up to +25%. Crewmates can't hit each other.
Advice by side
Criminals
Your ×0.90 defense means people hit back. Buy armor (or a Bodyguard) before your second gun, and spend every attack on 65%+ odds. Enforcers pay for themselves fastest on your side.
Police
Arrests run at ×0.85 attack, so the defense bonus won't win them for you. Carry a real weapon, hire an Enforcer to claw the attack back, and arrest at high heat.
Civilians
Eight attacks and ×0.80 attack: fight only when the directory says 70%+. Your real weapons are the bank and a Bodyguard.
Pre-fight checklist
Common mistakes
- Fighting at half health. That's ×0.75 on both your attack and your defense.
- Coin-flip fights. A 50% fight costs 20 energy and a daily attack either way.
- Buying guns before training. Early on the gym is ten times cheaper per point.
- Punching down in a starting city. No loot, extra heat, and everyone sees it in the feed.
- Paying bail by reflex. At high levels it costs thousands to save half an hour.
Pro tips
- Range, then rumble. The +15% lasts two hours. Shoot first, then spend all your attacks.
- Hunt bounties. A bounty pays on top of the loot or the fine.
- Move as a pack. Five crewmates in town is +25% on both sides of every fight.
- Bench press on a timer. Up to +4 free strength every two hours is the best deal in the game.