Before you hit the ladder
No armchair theory here. The rotations on this page were road-tested: run on a real account, recorded, and every dose, every overdose and every hospital bill checked frame by frame against the math the site does. Wherever the game and the spreadsheet disagreed, the game won.
Overdose doesn't kill anybody. That “one more and you might not wake up” is just the game putting on a show to rattle you. For real, when it goes bad you lose the dose you took, you don't get its energy and you go to the hospital for a while. You can wait out the clock or pay the bill and get back to the hustle. You don't lose levels, items or your character. The damage is time or money, and that's what we calculate.
The ladder was built for the working stiff. The math starts from someone with a life outside the game: about 8 rotations a day, with irregular gaps of 1h20 to 2h, all inside about 10 hours. Whoever can play more runs more ladders, grabs more energy and levels up faster. The ladder favors whoever has time, and that's not a flaw in your game, it's just clock math.
It's a recommendation, not the law. Everything here comes from tested gameplay and math done with the server's rules, but it's your hustle. If your path is different, slower, riskier or with no drugs at all, run with it. This page is here so you know what each choice costs.
Rotation by level, starting from zero
The math for someone who started with no hookup: $500 in your pocket, 5 in every stat, no house, no items handed down by anyone. Gear comes from the Starter Shop (gray) and the Market (green). Soda Drinks are only what drops from crimes, and overdose luck is rolled at random: no blessed streaks like in the videos. Every number below is the median of 400 runs from 1 to 16, and “bad luck” is the worst run out of every 10.
Weed and gear
Rotation: Soda Drink (if you have one) + Weed until the risk goes over 30%: 14 doses with a Soda Drink, 7 without.
Overdose: don't pay, wait. Here paying or waiting comes out the same: the bill is cheap, but a Weed dose doesn't give much.
Crime: Lift a Wallet (70%) at level 1, Shoplift Electronics (76%) from 3 on.
Money: all of it goes into gear. The street kit is done at level 2 and the green one at 4. That's what raises your success the most in this phase.
Hits 5 in ~0.9 days of play.
Cocaine comes in
Rotation: Soda Drink + Cocaine ×9 → Speed Pill → Weed ×13, stopping when the next dose would go over 50%. Without a Soda Drink: Cocaine ×4 → Speed Pill → Weed ×7.
Overdose: pay only out of the day's profit. If the bill would eat what you made today, wait out the clock. That way the day never ends in the red because of the hospital.
Crime: Shoplift Jewelry (83%) at 5, Steal a Sedan (86%) from 6 on.
Average for this range: 20 overdoses, 8 paid ($41,244). Hits 10 in ~2.5 days.
Same ladder, a crime that pays
Rotation: the same Cocaine ladder up to 50%, paying only out of the day's profit.
Crime: Steal a Sedan (89%) up to 11, then Rob a Credit Union (59%). It gives a hair less XP per energy than the Sedan, but double the money, and that money is what pays the hospital and keeps the ladder going.
No Heroin yet. With green gear your success still doesn't reach 95%, and its −10 points cost more than the shorter hospital stay saves.
Average for this range: 56 overdoses, 22 paid ($352,362). Hits 16 in ~6.6 days.
What if I do it differently?
| Path | Level 5 | Level 10 | Level 16 | 16 with bad luck | Cash at 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended | day 0.9 | day 2.5 | day 6.6 | day 7.2 | $176,283 |
| Without paying the hospital | day 0.9 | day 2.9 | day 8.2 | day 8.9 | $621,821 |
| Heroin from 10 on | day 0.9 | day 2.5 | day 7.5 | day 8.2 | $167,883 |
| Weed only, without paying | day 0.9 | day 3.8 | day 13.0 | day 13.8 | $819,518 |
| No drugs | day 2.9 | day 14.4 | 40+ days | — | $509,214 |
“Day” is a day of play with 8 rotations. Whoever pays the hospital gets there sooner with less cash in their pocket; whoever doesn't pay gets there later and richer. Both come out ahead. The real break-even is paying only out of the day's profit, like on the recommended path.
Starter gear, in buying order
| Item | Rarity | Price | What it gives | Buy at level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lockpick Set |
Street | $350 | success +5% | 2 |
 Ski Mask |
Street | $300 | jail -2%, success +3% | 2 |
 Crowbar |
Street | $280 | STR +4, success +2% | 2 |
 Running Shoes |
Street | $250 | SPD +4 | 2 |
 Leather Belt |
Street | $300 | SPD +2, CUN +2 | 2 |
 Burner Phone |
Street | $180 | CUN +2 | 2 |
 Night Vision Goggles |
Hustler | $2,200 | success +6% | 3 |
 Fake ID |
Hustler | $1,800 | CUN +4, Bail -5%, success +3% | 3 |
 Signet Ring |
Hustler | $1,600 | CUN +3, crit_pct +1%, success +2% | 3 |
 .38 Pistol (Trezoitao) |
Hustler | $3,500 | crit_pct +1%, jail +5%, STR +6, success +4% | 4 |
 Aerojordano |
Hustler | $1,800 | SPD +5 | 4 |
 Tactical Gloves |
Hustler | $1,600 | SPD +3, CUN +2, crit_pct +2%, STR +3 | 4 |
 Cargo Pants |
Hustler | $2,000 | SPD +3, CUN +2, DEF +3 | 4 |
The game's base price. On the Market the green gear can cost more, and then it comes in a few levels later: the rest of the math doesn't change.
What this math doesn't cover
- Jail. Cocaine raises jail risk by 8 points and Weed takes off 5. If jail is eating your rotation on the Credit Union, go back to the Sedan: the sentence is shorter (15 min vs 20) and the success is higher.
- Drug effects don't stack. Taking a second Weed only resets the “Stoned” timer: the +3 success and the −5 jail only count once (checked on video, dose by dose).
- Items that drop from crimes. Gear drops aren't counted. If something good drops, good for you.
High level with reds: Adrenaline on a loop
With a big bar, crime capped at 95% and items that cut overdose and the hospital bill, the math turns around: each Adrenaline Shot fills the bar (250 energy, about $437,500 in crime on level 50 with reds (sample profile)) against a hospital bill of $100,000. You can pay overdose after overdose and walk away with your pockets full.
| Rotation | Risk ceiling | Doses | Average profit | Bad rotation (1 in 10) | Overdoses paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heroin → Weed → Adrenaline Shot… | 50% | 12 | $2,645,427 | $1,782,950 | 3.1 |
| Weed → Adrenaline Shot… | 50% | 12 | $2,868,303 | $1,647,700 | 3.2 |
| Adrenaline Shot only… | 50% | 12 | $3,194,499 | $2,053,000 | 3.3 |
| Heroin → Weed → Adrenaline Shot… | 65% | 17 | $3,286,765 | $1,890,450 | 5.8 |
| Weed → Adrenaline Shot… | 65% | 17 | $3,510,458 | $2,192,700 | 5.9 |
| Adrenaline Shot only… | 65% | 17 | $3,837,412 | $2,598,000 | 6.0 |
| Heroin → Weed → Adrenaline Shot… | 80% | 22 | $3,520,626 | $1,897,950 | 9.2 |
| Weed → Adrenaline Shot… | 80% | 22 | $3,743,816 | $2,200,200 | 9.3 |
| Adrenaline Shot only… | 80% | 22 | $4,071,002 | $2,605,500 | 9.4 |
Example profile: Federal Reserve at 95%, +100% payout, hospital bill −60%, overdose −20% from items, plus the Soda Drink. Without the items' overdose cut, far fewer doses fit before the ceiling (at 50%: 6 doses), profit drops to less than half and up to 3% of rotations end in the red. In that case, Adrenaline only is still the best of the three.
The advanced rotation (16+, with success to spare)
dose 1
dose 2
dose 3
dose 4
dose 5
dose 6
dose 7
dose 8
dose 9
dose 10
dose 11
dose 12
dose 13
dose 14- Before: wait for the streak to reset (1 hour with no dose — the tolerance timer in My Stash shows it) and spend whatever energy you have.
- Take a Soda Drink (−50% risk for 20 min). The whole rotation takes about 2 to 3 minutes — plenty of time.
- Follow the ladder above: after each dose, spend the energy on your best crime (the calculator on the Crimes page shows which).
- OD'd halfway through? Pay the hospital and pick up where you left off (the dose that OD'd already counts toward the risk). With Heroin in your system the hospital stay is 30% shorter, and the bill drops with it.
- You're done when the next dose would go over 30% or when the Soda Drink runs out.
Pay the hospital or wait?
- On the Heroin ladder, paying and keeping going nearly doubles the rotation (219 → 384 energy) and comes out about 3× cheaper than on the Cocaine ladder, because Heroin shortens the hospital stay. Up to level 12 it even turns a profit ($283 per extra energy); after that it becomes buying XP (at 30, $3,339 per extra energy vs ~$875 that the Federal Reserve brings in). With a payout bonus on your gear and a hospital bill discount it gets close to break-even — that's what the recorded rotations showed.
- On the Cocaine ladder, paying is expensive: at the same level each extra energy costs $4,610 — nothing shortens the hospital stay.
- Safety rule: write down your bank balance at the start of the day. If it drops back to the starting amount, stop paying and start ending the rotation at the first overdose. That way you never end the day in the red.
Confirmed in-game (2 rotations recorded on 10/06/2026)
- Level 16 (City Vault, 95%): 14 doses, 1 overdose (Weed, paid for $8,748), 475 energy from drugs, 20 of 22 crimes successful, +1,600 XP and +$76k on the video.
- Level 33 (Federal Reserve, 95%): 14 doses, 2 overdoses paid ($212,500 and $98,502), 385 energy from drugs — the math predicted 384, 13 of 13 crimes successful, +4,160 XP and +$254k on the video.
- The hospital bill matched to the cent: $25,000 × 0.85 (SUV discount) × 16.47 min ÷ 40 = $8,748.
- The Weed overdose lasted 16 min — under its minimum (20): active Heroin shortens any overdose. The math on this page already accounts for that.
The drugs
| Drug | Price (street) | Energy | $ per energy | Base risk | + per dose at the moment | Hospital if you OD | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weed | $50 | 15 | $3 | 3.0% | +4.25 pp | 20 min to 40 min | speed -3, jail_pct -5, strength -2, crime_pct +3 |
| Speed Pill | $100 | 20 | $5 | 5.0% | +10.00 pp | 30 min to 1 h 00 min | speed +3, defense -2 |
| Cocaine | $1,000 | 50 | $20 | 15.0% | +10.00 pp | 40 min to 1 h 15 min | cunning +5, jail_pct +8, strength +5 |
| Heroin | $2,000 | 75 | $27 | 25.0% | +10.00 pp | 1 h 00 min to 1 h 30 min | speed -8, cunning -5, defense +10, strength -5, crime_pct -10, hospital_time_pct -30 |
 Adrenaline Shot | $6,000 | enche | $60* | 50.0% | +10.00 pp | 1 h 30 min to 2 h 00 min | speed +8, pvp_pct +22, strength +8, hospital_time_pct +50 |
* The Adrenaline Shot fills the bar: the “$ per energy” uses a bar of 100. With a bigger bar it gets cheaper per energy. Heroin takes 10 points off crime success while it lasts — see the warning up top.
Risk of each dose
Doses that caused an overdose count toward the streak. Overdose = you lose the drug, you don't get the energy and you go to the hospital.
Without a Soda Drink
| Doses in the last hour → | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weed | 3% | 7% | 12% | 16% | 20% | 24% | 29% | 33% |
| Speed Pill | 5% | 15% | 25% | 35% | 45% | 55% | 65% | 75% |
| Cocaine | 15% | 25% | 35% | 45% | 55% | 65% | 75% | 85% |
| Heroin | 25% | 35% | 45% | 55% | 65% | 75% | 85% | 95% |
| Adrenaline Shot | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
With a Soda Drink (−50%)
| Doses in the last hour → | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weed | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| Speed Pill | 2% | 8% | 12% | 18% | 22% | 28% | 33% | 38% |
| Cocaine | 8% | 12% | 18% | 23% | 28% | 32% | 38% | 43% |
| Heroin | 12% | 18% | 22% | 28% | 32% | 38% | 43% | 48% |
| Adrenaline Shot | 25% | 30% | 35% | 40% | 45% | 50% | 55% | 60% |
Risk calculator
Sessions compared
A session = you take a Soda Drink and chain doses, spending the energy on crimes in between. Without paying, the first overdose ends the session (you're stuck in the hospital). With each dose the strategy picks the first drug on the list whose risk still fits under the ceiling (15% or 30%). Bar of 100. Average of 20,000 simulated sessions per row.
| Strategy | Stops when the risk goes over | Energy per session | Doses | Ends in OD | Expected hospital | Spent on drugs | $ per energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladder: Cocaine → Speed Pill → Weed | 15% | 133 | 5.2 | 56% | 24 min | $2,123 | $16 |
| Ladder: Cocaine → Speed Pill → Weed | 30% | 183 | 5.5 | 96% | 48 min | $3,988 | $22 |
| Heroin ladder: Heroin → Cocaine → Speed Pill → Weed | 15% | 147 | 4.9 | 58% | 23 min | $3,061 | $21 |
| Heroin ladder: Heroin → Cocaine → Speed Pill → Weed | 30% | 220 | 4.8 | 97% | 45 min | $6,742 | $31 |
| Light only: Speed Pill → Weed | 15% | 90 | 5.6 | 51% | 18 min | $424 | $5 |
| Light only: Speed Pill → Weed | 30% | 103 | 6.4 | 95% | 38 min | $562 | $5 |
| Weed only | 15% | 84 | 6.0 | 44% | 13 min | $302 | $4 |
| Weed only | 30% | 110 | 8.3 | 91% | 27 min | $414 | $4 |
| Adrenaline Shot first, then the ladder | 15% | 144 | 4.4 | 65% | 50 min | $6,906 | $48 |
| Adrenaline Shot first, then the ladder | 30% | 185 | 4.6 | 97% | 1 h 19 min | $8,411 | $46 |
How to read it: stopping at 15% trades energy for less hospital time. “Expected hospital” is the average minutes in the hospital per session (counting the sessions that don't end in OD as zero) — it's the time cost of not paying.
Adrenaline and bar size
The Adrenaline Shot fills the bar, so it pays off more the bigger your max energy:
| Max energy | Energy per session (Adrenaline + ladder, stops at 30%) | $ per energy |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 185 | $46 |
| 160 | 229 | $37 |
| 250 | 296 | $28 |
Is it worth paying the hospital to keep going?
If you pay, the rotation keeps going after the overdose until the next dose would go over 30%. Compared to not paying (and stopping at the first overdose), how much each extra energy costs. Bar of 100, no gear discount on the bill.
| Level | Ladder | Energy (don't pay → pay) | Overdoses paid | Average bill per overdose | Cost per extra energy | Best crime: $ per energy (95%) | Paying… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $3,804 | $94 | $51 (Steal a Sedan) | buys XP |
| 6 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $3,184 | $77 | $51 (Steal a Sedan) | buys XP |
| 7 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $4,015 | $99 | $51 (Steal a Sedan) | buys XP |
| 7 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $3,361 | $80 | $51 (Steal a Sedan) | buys XP |
| 8 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $5,071 | $122 | $60 (Hijack a Cargo Truck) | buys XP |
| 8 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $4,245 | $97 | $60 (Hijack a Cargo Truck) | buys XP |
| 12 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $16,905 | $379 | $131 (Rob a Credit Union) | buys XP |
| 12 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $14,151 | $283 | $131 (Rob a Credit Union) | buys XP |
| 15 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $21,131 | $471 | $133 (Crack the City Vault) | buys XP |
| 15 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $17,689 | $349 | $133 (Crack the City Vault) | buys XP |
| 18 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $59,166 | $1,299 | $339 (Rob the Museum) | buys XP |
| 18 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $49,530 | $947 | $339 (Rob the Museum) | buys XP |
| 24 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $101,428 | $2,219 | $505 (Crack the Casino Vault) | buys XP |
| 24 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $84,908 | $1,611 | $505 (Crack the Casino Vault) | buys XP |
| 30 | with Cocaine | 182 → 315 | 2.9 | $211,308 | $4,610 | $875 (Raid the Federal Reserve) | buys XP |
| 30 | with Heroin | 219 → 384 | 3.1 | $176,892 | $3,339 | $875 (Raid the Federal Reserve) | buys XP |
How to read it: “turns a profit” when each extra energy costs less than your crime brings in per energy. “Buys XP” is when paying costs more than the crime gives back — it can still be worth it to level up faster, as long as the day's balance doesn't go negative. With crime payout on your gear the crime brings in more, and a hospital bill discount (up to 90%) knocks the cost down — both push toward “turns a profit”.