The Best Solo Money Route in ROB RUN for Your First Week
Playing ROB RUN on your own, the best first-week route is to start with jobs where you have little to lose, then put your first $20,000 into an Action Camera, which sells for $50,000 once you fill it. After that, work up through the Code Tablet and the USB Hacking Tool. Each one pays for itself the first time you fill it. For every way to earn and launder cash, see our money guide.
How the costs work
Most Black Market items cost you twice. First you pay once to unlock the item's shipment. After that you pay the item's Black Market price every time you buy one. The tables below show both. You can plan any chain of unlocks on our Shipments planner.
Sell prices are the base figures from our database. The game says a high Notoriety level raises what the Fence and the Smuggler pay, but it doesn't say by how much, so treat these numbers as a guide, not a promise.
Step 1: earn with nothing at risk
Civilians and Police Officers keep their inventory when they die. Criminals lose all of it. That makes your first hours cheap to learn in:
- Police duty. Officers get free gear and transport while on duty. They're paid into their account for lawful actions, and at the end of each shift they get confiscated goods worth what they earned. Arresting a Criminal pays more than killing one. You can work without a badge, but the best gear needs one. The game doesn't list salary figures.
- Your first robbery. The tutorial has you put on a mask, take one valuable item and sell it to the Fence. Carry as little as you can while you learn, because a Criminal who dies loses everything in their inventory.
Lockpicking never sets off the alarm, and keys found in the city open safes and locked rooms. Our keys guide lists them all. The beginner's guide covers the first hour in more detail.
Step 2: the starter kit
Until you have a plot of your own, Lenny lets you use his laptop for the Black Market. This kit costs $44,399 in total:
| Item | Shipment unlock | Black Market price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| DP-9 Mk1 | None | $300 | $300 |
| Lockpick | $5,000 | $99 | $5,099 |
| Light Body Armor | $5,000 | $4,000 | $9,000 |
| Sports Bag | $5,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Action Camera | $5,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 |
Step 3: fill the Action Camera
The Action Camera is a fillable item. It takes 40 points, which you earn by committing criminal actions at the Notoriety level it asks for. Once it's full it becomes a full Action Camera worth $50,000.
Your first camera brings in $30,000 more than its $20,000 cost. Every camera after that costs only $15,000, because you've already paid for the unlock, so each one makes $35,000. One full camera also covers the whole $44,399 starter kit. While it fills, it's an inventory item like any other, so you lose it if you die as a Criminal.
The game also has a Solo Mode (Hard). It puts you straight on Notoriety level 4, with better chances of extra rare loot, which suits a player working alone.
Step 4: a base and clean money
Lenny says you can pay cash for your first plot, and that a trailer will be waiting there. If you need to buy one, the Trailer costs $10,000 and has no unlock cost. It holds up to $5,000,000 of dirty cash and has one laundering speed-up slot.
You need a bank account in Looty Bay before you can launder cash. Launder at your own base: Lenny takes a cut for laundering at the motel. Money in your account can't be stolen. A Banknote Counter speeds up the Laundering Desk and costs $40,000 in total ($10,000 to unlock, $30,000 to buy).
Step 5: the next fillable items
Each of these needs the one before it unlocked first. They're tier II and III stock on the Black Market. The game says the Black Market range grows with new shipments and when you move to a higher-level district.
| Item | How it fills | Points | Unlock | Price | Full sells for | First fill profit | Each later fill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code Tablet | Crack safes in Looty Bay | 4 | $25,000 (after Action Camera) | $20,000 | $75,000 | $30,000 | $55,000 |
| Action Camera (II) | Criminal actions at the required Notoriety level | 70 | $35,000 (after Action Camera I) | $30,000 | $100,000 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
| USB Hacking Tool | Hack computers in locked rooms | 5 | $50,000 (after Code Tablet) | $50,000 | $200,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 |
| Action Camera (III) | Criminal actions at the required Notoriety level | 100 | $80,000 (after Action Camera II) | $50,000 | $200,000 | $70,000 | $150,000 |
Get the Code Tablet first. It has the cheapest unlock and fills after only four safes. You'll find the safes on the safes layer of the map. Next comes the USB Hacking Tool, which has the best return for each point. Keep the bigger cameras for when you have spare cash.
Two fillable items to skip for now:
- Deposit Box Keys cost $200,000 in total, but a full set sells for just $20,000. They're only worth it if you plan to barter them for the Bank's gold vault ID Card.
- The tier II Cargo Sheet needs 410 years of total jail time before you can unlock it.
When it pays back
| Step | You spend | First sale | Paid back? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter kit and first camera | $44,399 | $50,000 | Yes, on the first camera |
| Code Tablet | $45,000 | $75,000 | Yes, after four safes |
| USB Hacking Tool | $100,000 | $200,000 | Yes, after five computers |
Each of these only pays back if you get out alive and sell. The bigger earners are your own operations: see the Grow Room guide, the Laboratory guide and the collections guide.
More ROB RUN guides: how to rob the Bank Vault.
