Jail: Serve Your Time or Break Out

Jail is where you end up when a criminal action fails and you get arrested: during crimes, car theft, drug deals, a failed smuggling run or a hit in the wrong country. While you serve your sentence your criminal actions are on hold, while your rivals keep going. The jail page has two tabs: Behind Bars (the current inmates, including yourself) and Top Players (the best jailbreakers).

The cell screen: your cell travels with you

While you are locked up, you see the cell screen on every action page: crimes, murder, detective, you name it. It is more than a wall of bars:

• A live jail countdown: you watch the seconds tick away.
• A live escape chance: the less time remains, the higher your chance, and the percentage climbs right before your eyes.
• The "Attempt an escape" button: you do not have to go to the jail page first; you can escape from anywhere the cell screen appears.

As soon as the timer hits zero, the page reloads automatically: you are back outside right away, ready to pick up where you left off.

Serving your time

The length of your sentence depends on what you were caught for. For a regular crime or car theft you are usually locked up for one and a half to seven minutes; drug dealing and smuggling can go up to eight to ten minutes, and anyone spotted with a weapon during a hit in the wrong country even risks eight to sixteen minutes: the heaviest sentence in the game. The exact ranges are fixed per offense and can be adjusted separately. Serving your time is the safe option: you do nothing, but you do not lose anything extra either. If you had to step away from the screen anyway, patience is sometimes the smartest choice.

Escaping yourself: the gamble

Waiting is for law-abiding citizens. With the button on your cell screen you attempt your own escape. Your success chance depends on:

• The remaining jail time: the base is about 40% right before release by default (adjustable) and drops for every minute remaining. So you rarely escape a fresh, long sentence.
• Your personal bonus: your breakout skill (successful breakouts plus strength) and your respect partly count. Escaping yourself is deliberately harder than freeing someone else: after all, you are the one being guarded.
• The cap: the chance is capped (80% at most): a guaranteed escape of your own does not exist.

Succeed and you are outside immediately, earning respect, XP and season points, and sometimes you even make the news. Fail and you get caught, and your jail time is extended with a penalty (by default half of your remaining time, with a minimum). That makes it a real gamble: with an almost finished sentence the gain is small, with a fresh sentence the chance is low but the time saved is huge. There is a short cooldown between attempts.

Breaking others out

On the Behind Bars tab you see all inmates: fellow players and notorious NPC crooks. Next to each name is a "Break out" button with the calculated chance: freeing someone earns respect, XP and season points, but if it fails the guard can lock you up. The full story, including the formula and the co-op rescue of friends, is in jailbreak.

Top Players

The Top Players tab shows the best jailbreakers: who pulled off the most successful breakouts today. A nice target for the ambitious escape artist.

Tips for your time inside

• Do the math before you gamble. The live success chance rises as your sentence gets shorter: sometimes waiting five minutes and then escaping is smarter than gambling right away.
• Build your breakout skill by consistently breaking out (others); every successful breakout counts toward all your future chances.
• Respect helps everywhere: even the guards look away more easily for a big name.
• Prevention beats serving time: stop taking risky actions if you have already been caught a lot.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a jail sentence last?

It depends on the offense: a regular crime or car theft usually gets you one and a half to seven minutes, drug dealing and smuggling can go up to eight to ten minutes, and a hit in the wrong country is the heaviest sentence at eight to sixteen minutes. The time counts down live on your cell screen and the page reloads automatically as soon as you are free.

Can I only escape from the jail page?

No: the cell screen with the "Attempt an escape" button appears on every page where you try to take an action. So you can make an attempt from anywhere.

What decides my chance when escaping myself?

The remaining jail time (less time = higher chance), plus part of your personal bonus from breakout skill and respect. The chance is capped at 80% and updates live on your screen.

What happens if my escape fails?

You get caught and your jail time is extended: by default by half of what you still had to serve (with a minimum). Escaping yourself is and remains a gamble.

Does escaping earn me anything?

Yes. A successful escape of your own gives respect, XP and season points. Breaking others out earns even more: see jailbreak.

Limit your time behind bars by playing smart: see Tips & strategy. Play for free

Shorter sentences via your Estate

An Office in your Estate cuts jail sentences by 5% per level; a lawyer on staff adds another 25%, up to 50% in total.