Putting on the mask changes the risk
Kefir’s gameplay overview describes entering the city as a civilian and putting on a mask to become a criminal. That is not just a cosmetic change. It enables the criminal activity at the center of a robbery run and exposes you to police and other criminals. Plan the exit before making the change rather than assuming that removing the same item returns every rule to its earlier state.
The November 7 games.gg guide explicitly says Criminal status remains after taking the mask off and is cleared by leaving Looty Bay. This is secondary guidance, clearly distinguished from a direct official quote. We do not add a hidden timer, a line-of-sight condition or an exact unverified border location. The relevant documented distinction is between staying in the city and leaving it.
What do you lose if you die or surrender?
Secondary beginner guides say a civilian dying in the city keeps bag and equipment, while a criminal dying there loses both. Kefir’s September 17 overview describes surrender as a different outcome: police confiscate the bag but leave equipped gear. That difference can matter more than the theoretical value of one more robbery. It is not a promise about every edge case or an account-specific recovery policy.
The global desert does not share the city’s role protection. games.gg and Power Up Gaming say death there loses everything regardless of role, while the official global-map overview describes a lawless PvP area. A successful departure from Looty Bay is therefore not the same thing as reaching secure storage. Think through the journey after the city exit as well as the chase inside it.
How does Notoriety affect a run?
The official gameplay overview connects a longer crime spree in one city visit with rising Notoriety. Higher Notoriety brings more valuable opportunities but a stronger police response. The research does not supply a complete meter table, threshold list or exact payout multiplier. We do not turn that qualitative trade-off into a numerical optimization guide.
Destructoid’s house-robbing guide recommends disabling an exterior alarm, intimidating occupants and leaving carefully by car. Power Up Gaming discusses junction boxes and cameras. These are secondary accounts of reducing the response during a robbery, not methods that erase Criminal status. Taking precautions before a heist and leaving the city afterward answer different questions. Neither should be presented as an invisible “wanted reset” button.
Cash in hand is not the same as secure progress
The official October 2 FAQ says a base Laundering Desk turns cash into money safe from thieves. That protection is not a promise that funds survive a wipe. The November 7 games.gg guide says bank funds reset alongside cash and bases. Treat laundering as protection during the current cycle, rather than permanent savings across all future servers or updates.
The November 4 official changes also replaced cash with documents for Tier 1 settlement and plot costs. games.gg points players to the Black Market for those documents. This matters when comparing older guides: advice about saving a specific cash amount for your first plot may describe an earlier build. Check the actual item, currency and seller shown in your game before paying for equipment or land. Our prices and routes are dated reference material, not a live shop feed.
What about bribes and playing as a cop?
games.gg says a bribe is possible when you have money in the bank, and the cop decides whether to accept. That does not establish a guaranteed escape option, an automatic price or immunity. The official role material also describes selecting the police role when entering Looty Bay. This is a different play style, not a sourced mid-chase technique for instantly clearing a criminal flag.
For a beginner, the simplest reading of the evidence is to scout unmasked, choose a manageable objective, understand what the mask changes and plan the departure. This is editorial planning advice built around the documented mechanics, not an assertion about untested controls. Consult the linked official overview and dated guides before risking equipment, and do not assume a future update preserves every launch-week rule exactly as recorded here.