APB: Reloaded: How to Play + Tips

Starting the game

When you first start the game, you're asked to login with your Gamersfirst ID. You can also login with your steam account, if you have one. Register if needed, and go ahead and create either a Criminal or an Enforcer.

Neither faction is really 'better' than the other, but I can tell you their main differences;

- Enforcers can kill and run over civilians and damage property without the risk of being arrested or killed.
- Criminals can farm money much more easily by ramraiding stores or mugging people.
- Enforcers will need to play missions most of the time to earn cash, so you need to be up for that.
- Criminals are allowed for much more 'free play' to earn big cash.

However, being a criminal is much more risky as with every crime you commit you risk the chance of being witnessed by an Enforcer. A criminal always needs to be on the lookout, whereas Enforcers can patrol the streets quietly.

After choosing a side, you will be given total freedom in creating your character! You can choose it to be either male or female, and you can practically change everything that shapes a human being, from jaw width to pupil color, from height to muscularity. I recommend hitting the randomize button a few times so you can get the basic shape you want, or hit the 'advanced' tab in the lower left corner to totally customize every bit of your character, which I recommend. Take your time, though you can always change it later, it will cost you some ingame cash, and right now you can adjust every bit for free.

NOTE: by ingame cash I mean the cash you earn from doing ingame stuff.

TIP: When changing the height of your character, or its weight, notice the 'hand' that appears on the screen. Press and move your cursor to increase or decrease its value.

Playing the game

When starting out, you can choose to play the tutorial. You will be thrown into a game with total n00bs just like you. At the start of the tutorial, or the start of any APB:R game, you will be asked to join a group. You can say yes to this and start playing missions. However, if you just want to be left alone, untick the boxes at the lower right such as 'looking for group' (LFG) and the other one below it which I forgot the name of it, just untick them all. Now just close the popup screens, and wait for the counter to start in the top left of the screen. Once you see a 30 second countdown, press 'K' (by default) to unready yourself for missions. Now you can freely roam the city without being shot by anyone.

Be careful though, as a mission will start if you get witnessed by an enforcer. So just be careful and look around first being you commit a crime being a criminal.

NOTE: You can always tick the boxes again to ready yourself for a group. You will then be thrown into a group and you can play together against the other side.

So what you can you *do* with this Prestige and Notoriety? Both affect your bonus. At the top left of the screen you will see a bar with stars, which depicts your level of notoriety/prestige, and next to it is your bonus, for criminals it starts at 0.4 and for enforcers at 0.9. This may seem unfair for the criminals as enforcers start out with a higher prestige, but then again, it's so much more easier for criminals to increase their notoriety than for enforcers to increase their prestige.

Probably one of the funniest thing to do in San Paro is mugging people. However it's kinda risky as you're doing this on the open streets as you risk being witnessed by an enforcer (hired 'cops'). I recommend finding a nice mall with lots of people so you don't have to mug them in the open.

To mug someone, just walk up to the person and keep the action button pressed ('F' by default). If you want to stop mugging, in case you see that enforcer driving by, simply release the action button. When the circle that shows up is full, you're done mugging and you can pick up any items such as electronics, suitcases and jewelry. Pedestrians will drop stuff randomly after being mugged. Don't shoot them though, that won't give you any money or items!

Another really funny thing to do is ramraiding. Just find a garage door or store front and ram it! If you ram it with your front of the vehicle, it might take two times, ramming with the back of your car takes more time but is more efficient, as it is also easier to load up any items from the store.

Just like mugging, stores and garages will randomly spawn items to pick up, after you've rammed the door/front, only it will be much more worthwhile doing, in terms of cash that is. Simply pick up the items with the action button ('F' by default) and load them in your trunk by walking up to it and pressing the action button again, rinse and repeat until your trunk is full. Now ramraiding is much more riskier than anything; everyone can see that van parked in front of a smashed store, and you'll be a nice target for enforcers. So make sure you ramraid in small streets and places that are less than obvious.

Wondering how much stuff your vehicle can carry? When in a vehicle, just check the top right of the screen where it says '0/5' for example. A large task item, such as TV's or a safe, take up 5, medium task items like a suitcase take up 2. Small items can be carried on you as a person. Your first personal vehicle will have a very small trunk, so you might have to make several runs. I don't recommend stealing a van (though it has the largest storage of all vehicles) and loading it up to the fullest, because other players can steal your van at all times (both enforcers and criminals) and deliver the items themselves.

Just save up some money instead, and buy your own personal van on the ingame marketplace (the van is called 'Packer Ceresco'), so neither enforcers or other criminals can steal your van, or take stuff out of it!

Need a car fast? Just go ahead and break into a vehicle by pressing the action button ('F' by default) when standing near the door. You can only break into vehicles that are parked. Watch out as the alarm might go off and you may call the attention of enforcers. If you just want to take a car from the street, simply press the action button while next to the door of the vehicle, and take it!

- mugging people
- killing people
- running people over
- stealing goods
- delivering stolen goods
- and ramming cars, signs, fences, billboards, and more!

What to do with stolen money and goods

Now once you've picked up and/or loaded up items in your vehicle and got some cash (if you mugged people), you really want to go to a contact (press 'M' for the map, and look for the suitcase icon) to deliver your items. To deliver small items, just walk up to a contact and stand close to it. To deliver medium items like suitcases, or large items like a safe or TV you'll need to unload these from your trunk. Just press the action button ('F' by default) near your trunk and deliver the items to your contact.

Finally when you've delivered all your items you must launder your dirty money. If you have over 1500$ on you, or that value in your car, you can be witnessed by an enforcer at all times, you don't need to be caught in any act, they can simply see how much money you have on you because the bills are flying out of your pocket (as a figure of speech)! So make your way to the laundry FAST! The laundry location is also displayed on the map. In the Financial district it is located at the top right of the map. In Waterfront, it is somewhere in the middle of the map.

You will need to take out the criminal, and pick up any item/cash the criminal might have dropped, which will then need to be delivered on a specific location, shown on your screen. If you picked up the item/cash, you will need to go to 'your drop'. If the criminal still has the item/cash you will need to chase him and get it back before delivering it to 'their drop'. Be careful though, as you might have more than one person up against you (press tab to see) and that dropping off an item takes time, and you MUST stay in the drop-off circle.

Personally, I'd rather see the drop-off time reduced, as you're often a sitting duck. Now the criminal might be too, but then again you will be too afterwards, as you also need to make a drop So make sure you team up with some fellow enforcers before you start witnessing!

What crimes can be witnessed?

You can witness about anything, but most common witnessable crimes are;

- damaging property
- shooting civilians
- shooting vehicles
- stealing vehicles (both breaking into them or stealing them from the street)
- mugging people
- ramraiding stores and garages

Like I said before, enforcers can do some of these things to and can't be witnessed while doing so! That's one of the main advantages of being an enforcer.

NOTE: You can sometimes not witness a crime when the player is already in a mission. Kinda annoying for the enforcers, but this is the way it is.

How to arrest a criminal

You can also arrest a criminal, but you will need a stun gun first. You can buy one at any of your contacts but might need to be at a certain rank (R) or have unlocked it from the contact. By stunning them, you won't kill them but you can cuff them instead. Much more fun, and much more worthwhile as it also adds to your prestige. Just run to the criminal and press the action button ('F' by default) to cuff the criminal.

Be careful as always, as when you reach prestige level 5 you can be killed by everyone! Now you won't often get killed by a fellow enforcer, because they will be punished for claiming a bounty on an enforcer. However, there are often many criminals after getting that bounty on your head!

NOTE: You can't impound more than one vehicles every few minutes.

Impounding vehicles can give you some good money and is ofcourse completely legal. Before impounding a car, make sure you repair it first at a GA5 station, as you will get extra bonus for it being in a pristine condition. Don't ask me why, but some impounds won't take your vehicles, like the one at the top right at the Financial district. It might need to be unlocked somehow. Expensive cars will grant you more bonus, as will Security vans.

Stealing the criminal's vehicles!

As an enforcer, all you often need to do is drive around in a civilian car and chase that stolen van! Wait for them to do a ramraid or two, and just before they're finished loading up, jump out of your car, and get in theirs! You will have some getaway time as the criminal needs to drop his stuff first (if he remembered what button that was), and then needs to get in vehicle (also fast enough) to chase you. Make sure you go to a drop-off on the other side of town, park the van in a dark corner in the parking garage and start earning money by delivering the stolen goods from the van.

NOTE: You cannot steal or unload the van if it is player owned.

What to do with (dirty) money.