case #4: the other side

ROB RUN cops: how playing police works

How do you become a cop?

The cop-or-criminal split exists only in Looty Bay. Kefir's FAQ says that every time you enter the city you can choose either role, or look around first. To play cop, drive to the police station and start a shift: you are issued standard gear and a basic vehicle. Kefir's story is that the department was so short of staff it hired "anyone with a pulse".

How are cops paid?

• Confiscations: officers get a cut of the goods they seize. After the shift you hand in your badge and the seized contraband drops to you; you then have to sell it like any criminal would.
• Arrests and salary. Kefir cut the number of Police Badges that come from salaries on 4 November.
• Bribes: cops can let suspects walk for money. In the playtest, a criminal with a bank account paid the bribe by transfer.

Cops do not risk their own equipment on shift, and Kefir says their rewards are "noticeably lower" to balance that. Players who need money fast still rate cop shifts as a decent solo income.

What gear do cops get, and what are Police Badges?

Cops start with standard-issue gear and trade Police Badges for top-tier equipment. The launch patch changed this:

• Badges can now be bought; which ones you can buy depends on the district you live in.
• Far fewer badges come from looting and salaries.
• On a fresh server, patrol cops only have pistols. Better gear unlocks as the server gets older.

That is why a criminal on a two-day-old server can meet a cop with an SMG while starting with a pistol themselves: the server's age, not the role, sets what cops can use.

How do cop respawns and arrests work?

Cops respawn right in Looty Bay. Since 4 November their respawn time is longer and grows with each consecutive death, so cops cannot simply swarm a robbery with numbers. Kefir's stated aim is for cops to stay "a serious threat to most criminals" rather than targets for one-player massacres. Cops can only shoot criminals; players report that shooting civilians does nothing.

A criminal who surrenders loses only the bag; equipped gear stays (what you lose).

How many cops can be on a ROB RUN server?

Kefir has not published a number. Several players in the first launch days report a cap of four cops per city, and threads asking to bring more cops back suggest the limit was lowered at launch. If the cop slots are full, you play criminal until one opens. We will update this when Kefir confirms the figure.