ROB RUN Power Pyramid: How to Become Shadow Governor

ROB RUN's power pyramid has five tiers: Hobo, Settlement Resident, Settlement Owner, District Owner and Shadow Governor. Each tier taxes the one below it, and only one player on the whole map can be Shadow Governor. This guide explains what every tier unlocks, how land and districts work on the desert map and what it takes to climb before the wipe.

The five tiers at a glance

The money flows up. Residents pay settlement owners, settlement owners pay the district clan, and every clan pays the Shadow Governor's clan. The higher you climb, the bigger the cut you take from everyone below you.

How land works on the desert map

All player bases on a server share one global map in the desert around Looty Bay. The map is split into districts, and each district is made of separate settlements.

• To rent a plot, the settlement has to be owned by you or another player. You cannot claim land in an unowned district.
• Each district has a level. The level decides which features are available there and which items you can buy.
• Special structures boost the settlements around them with extra defense, business bonuses or discounts. Some settlements sit near more than one.
• Every district has a central hub where residents sell stolen loot, often for much more than in Looty Bay. Busy hubs are also dangerous places to carry cash.
• The desert has no law. Any player can attack you there, including your neighbors.

Since launch, Tier 1 settlements and land rentals cost documents instead of cash, while some items in Tier 2 and Tier 3 settlements cost more to unlock and buy.

Settlement Resident: your first real step

Renting land turns you from a Hobo into a Settlement Resident. This is where most of the game opens up: you can build a base, run businesses and unlock shipments that motel players never see. You can also sell goods at the Sales Center and buy contraband at a discount.

The criminal contacts you can use, and the goods they sell, depend on the level of your home territory. A plot in a higher level district unlocks more, so it can be worth paying more for better land. Your whole base can be moved at any time if a better spot opens up.

Settlement Owner: collecting taxes

With enough cash you can buy a whole settlement and rent plots to other players. As owner you collect taxes on the laundered money and Black Market purchases of everyone living there, and you place your own base for free on your own land.

Best of all, nobody can seize your settlement before the wipe. Once you own it, the income is yours for the rest of the cycle. Collecting taxes is one thing and getting out alive with the cash is another, though, so plan how you move the money.

A settlement only pays if people live in it. Land near special structures and in higher level districts is likely to draw more renters.

District Owner: you need a clan

Taking a whole district is a clan job. The clan that controls a district takes a cut of all taxes paid to settlement owners on its turf and gets faster money laundering. The higher the district's level, the bigger that laundering boost.

• Clans hold up to 100 players and exist only on the server where you made them.
• Clans can own property and territory, but they have to fight rival clans to take it and to keep it.
• You can switch clans between wipe cycles.

Holding a district means defending it. Kefir puts it simply: allies hold off raiders better than any defense module.

Shadow Governor: the top of the pyramid

The leader of the clan that controls the central Highlands district becomes Shadow Governor. There is only one in the whole game world at a time.

The Shadow Governor's clan gets the best money laundering rates and taxes every other clan on the map, so even the strongest groups pay into it. That makes the Highlands the prize every big clan is after, and the question each wipe ends on is who holds it when the server resets.

How to climb faster

1. Keep your documents early. They pay for Tier 1 land and rentals now.
2. Rent in a district with a good level and a special structure nearby, even if it costs more.
3. Put money into base businesses first. Farms, labs and contraband pay several times more since launch.
4. Launder as you go. Laundered cash is safe from thieves.
5. Join or build a clan early in the wipe. Districts are decided by groups, not by solo players.
6. Start on a fresh server so everyone climbs from the same point. Our wipe schedule guide lists when new servers open.

Related guides

Just starting out? Read the ROB RUN beginner guide first, then check the wipe schedule and server times so your clan starts on a fresh server. For what to put on your plot and how to defend it, see the ROB RUN base building guide.