ROB RUN Beginner Guide: What to Do First, Fast Money and Your First Plot
Start ROB RUN the right way: scout Looty Bay unmasked, clear small jobs, sell at the Fence Van, stash cash with Lenny, open a bank account, then rent your first plot and launder before the weekly wipe.
ROB RUN is Kefir’s free-to-play crime sandbox, in Steam Early Access since November 4, 2026. You start broke in Looty Bay, rob or work your way up, then rent a plot for a hideout. Cash you carry can be stolen; laundered bank funds last only until the next weekly wipe. This guide is the early criminal path: first jobs, first upgrades, where to sell, and how to get a plot.
Watch a full early-game run below:
What to do first
Finish the intro, then talk to Lenny at his Motel. That is the best place to learn the core loop before you stake a kit you cannot replace.
Stay a Civilian while you learn the city. You only become a Criminal when you put on a mask. Civilians who die in Looty Bay keep their bag and equipped gear; Criminals lose inventory on death. Use the unmasked window to walk your target, getaway, and buyer.
If you do not have a vehicle, rent one free at a Parking Terminal. Park out of sight of the front door (a rear alley or a normal-looking lot space). Listen before you mask up: sirens and nearby engines mean wait.
Your first money: small Looty Bay jobs
A finished cash run beats a flashy heist you cannot escape. Soft targets (small stores, pharmacies, and similar street businesses) are enough to fund a bank account and a first plot.
- Scout the building and the road out while unmasked.
- Put on the mask only when you are ready to commit.
- If the building has an exterior alarm panel, disable it before you start looting.
- Keep staff at gunpoint so they do not raise the alarm. If a cashier starts to call, put the gun back on them.
- Grab the valuables and leave on the route you already planned. You clear Criminal status only by leaving the city.
Do not turn a clean job into a street fight. Other Criminals and the Police can both end the run.
Where to sell, and how to keep the cash
Look for a van marked with a dollar sign on the Looty Bay map, or use a Sales Center if you already have access, and sell to the fence. Take the cash off the counter immediately. Payment is not auto-secured; other players can steal it and police can confiscate it.
A heist streak in a single city visit raises Notoriety, which improves fence deals. Solo and duo players start at a higher Notoriety than full crews.
Stash cash at Lenny’s. You can store stolen goods at a later base, but other players can raid it.
Weapons also turn up as city loot, or you can buy them from Lenny or from the laptop at a base. A cheap early pistol is enough; dying with one is cheaper than dying with a kit you cannot replace.
Open a bank account, then rent a plot
Visit the Looty Bay Bank as a Civilian (no mask, no active Criminal status) and open an account. A bank account does not make dirty cash safe by itself. You still have to launder it.
To get a hideout, rent a plot, not a purchased house:
- You can only set up a base in a settlement that already has an owner.
- Find a vacant plot and pay rent at the sign beside it.
- Level 2 and level 3 district plots need special Black Market documents.
- Prefer an early district and a plot with a short path back to the main map.
Once the plot is yours, run cash through the Laundering Desk. Laundering takes time, but banked money cannot be stolen until the next wipe. You can withdraw at any ATM. Founding a clan also requires laundered funds in the bank.
Protect the plot as soon as you can: install fuses in the Security System so raiders spend more time hacking it, and shut gates when you leave. Defense modules can alert allies during an attack.
Fast money after the first plot
Other ways to earn: sell loot, haul and flip cargo, produce goods at your base, join the police, or collect taxes if you own a settlement or control territory with a clan. Early on, repeat short Looty Bay jobs, sell, stash or launder, and put earnings into the plot and its desk before you buy flashy guns.
If police corner you in the city, surrender to keep equipped gear (the bag is confiscated). If you already have banked money, you can offer a bribe; if the cop accepts, you keep the whole bag.
The weekly wipe
Every seven days, the Federal Raid wipes all plots, bases, weapons, and cash, including banked money, and converts that progress into jail time and authority. Cosmetics, your name, tutorial progress, settings, and accumulated jail time carry over. Play for a complete cycle, not a stash you expect to keep forever.
Early checklist
- Talk to Lenny at the Motel after the intro
- Scout unmasked; rent a free car at a Parking Terminal
- Complete a small store job: mask, control staff, loot, leave the city
- Sell at a dollar-sign Fence Van and take the cash off the counter
- Stash cash at Lenny’s
- Open a Looty Bay Bank account as a Civilian
- Rent a plot in an owned settlement; start laundering at the desk
- Add Security System fuses before you leave valuables on the plot