Hiring Protection: A Bodyguard Against PvP Attacks

Not all safety comes from a gun. At Shop & Equipment, tab Hire Protection, you hire a bodyguard: for a number of hours, no player can attack you. Not a bulletproof vest that softens damage, but a solid wall that simply blocks a PvP attack before it even starts. Handy after a big job with a fat stack of loot on hand, or just before you go offline.

What protection blocks exactly

As long as your protection is active, no player can attack you through a regular PvP robbery, so no cash can be stolen from you either. The attacker gets a message that you are "currently under the protection of a bodyguard" and untouchable until it runs out.

Note: this is no protection against murder attempts

A common misconception: the bodyguard from "Hire Protection" does not protect you against a murder attempt through the murder system. That is deliberately a separate system. Want to be impossible to find for killers? Then use the Go Into Hiding tab in the same Shop & Equipment: a separate, cheaper tool (around €10,000 per hour by default, with its own daily limit of 5 hours per day by default) that makes you untraceable for murder attempts specifically, but does nothing against a regular attack. On top of that there is armor (tab Murder Protection), which increases your chance of surviving a murder attempt without blocking it completely. Three separate, narrow systems instead of one all-covering shield: you choose which risk you cover and at what price. Read more about the full arsenal in Shop & Equipment.

What protection doesn't cover

A bodyguard guards you against attacks, not your possessions and not every other danger in the game:

• Murder attempts are still possible: that's what the separate Go Into Hiding is for (see above).
• Businesses can still be robbed: see robbing businesses.
• Map spots can still be bombed and taken over: see capturing map spots.
• Bleeding out from earlier damage just continues: protection doesn't prevent death from wounds you already had.
• Staff action (for example for rule violations) always goes ahead, protection or not.

So protection is purely a shield against one specific risk: a regular PvP attack on your cash. Every other risk in the game still exists.

Hiring: price and duration

You hire per full hour, at a fixed price per hour (€150,000 by default, scaling with the active economy preset). If you hire on top of a running period, it simply stacks: buy 1 extra hour while 20 minutes are still left, and your protection ends 1 hour and 20 minutes from now.

The tab shows exactly how much time is left on the clock and until what time you're covered, plus how much cash you have on hand to hire more.

The daily limit: why you can't hide forever

Being able to buy unlimited protection would destroy the fairness of the game: anyone with enough cash could simply never be attacked again. That's why there is a hard daily limit (2 hours per calendar day by default, adjustable by staff). Once you've used up that limit, you can only hire again the next day: the counter resets every night at midnight. That keeps protection a tactical tool for the right moment, instead of a permanent shield.

The tab always shows how much of your daily limit you've used (for example "1 / 2 hours"), and as soon as you hit your maximum, the buy option disappears until the next day.

Smart use

• After a big job: sitting on a fat pile of cash after a successful robbery or drug deal? Hire an hour of protection so you don't immediately become the target of a counterattack.
• Before you go offline: a few hours of protection before you're away for a while keeps you from being robbed in your sleep.
• Combine with Go Into Hiding if you really want broad coverage: Protection stops attacks, Going Into Hiding stops murder attempts. Together they cover the main PvP risks to your person.
• Not an escape route for your businesses: remember that your possessions stay vulnerable: protection saves you, not your empire.
• Plan around your daily limit: with only a few hours available per day, timing matters more than hoarding.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does protection block?

One thing: regular PvP attacks on you by other players (including cash theft). As long as your protection is running, they bounce off immediately.

Does protection also protect me against murder attempts?

No, that's a common misconception. Murder protection runs through a separate, cheaper system: Go Into Hiding (a tab in the same Shop), around €10,000 per hour by default with its own daily limit. Hire Protection (the bodyguard) only blocks regular attacks.

Does it also protect my businesses or map spots?

No. Protection only covers you personally against attacks. Businesses can still be robbed and map spots can still be bombed and taken over, whether or not your protection is active.

Am I also safe from bleeding out?

No. Protection is purely a shield against a regular attack by another player. Bleeding out from existing wounds is still a risk, and so is staff intervention.

How much does protection cost?

€150,000 per hour by default, scaling with the active economy preset. You hire per full hour, and a new purchase stacks on top of a running period.

Why is there a daily limit?

Without a limit, a player with enough cash could be permanently untouchable for attacks, which isn't fair to everyone else. The daily limit (2 hours per day by default) keeps protection a tactical tool instead of a permanent shield. The counter resets every night at midnight.

Never want to be robbed in your sleep again? Play for free and hire your first bodyguard in BELLOCCO.