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11 Overview
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33 The crime and wanted system in Neverness to Everness governs the consequences of illegal activities within Hethereau. Players who commit crimes such as attacking passers-by, stealing vehicles, damaging property, or driving dangerously draw the attention of law enforcement. The system adds a layer of open-world freedom and consequences to the supernatural urban setting, drawing clear inspiration from the Grand Theft Auto series while adding its own twists through prison mini-games and breakout mechanics.
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55 Criminal Activities
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77 Several actions raise the player's wanted level. The system tracks cumulative criminal behavior, so a string of offenses escalates the response faster than a single incident.
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1010 CrimeDescriptionAttacking civiliansStriking or slashing NPCs on the street with melee weapons or abilities. NPCs cannot be killed; they will dodge or flee when attacked.Running over pedestriansHitting NPCs with a vehicle while driving recklessly through pedestrian areas.Vehicle theftForcibly requisitioning a vehicle from an NPC. Players can also flash their badge for a peaceful requisition, but if the NPC refuses and the player takes the vehicle by force, it counts as theft.Stealing from shopsTaking items from shops without paying triggers an immediate wanted response.Property damageDestroying public or private property, including street furniture, storefronts, and other objects.Vehicle destructionBlowing up or severely damaging vehicles in the city.Dangerous drivingSpeeding through pedestrian areas and causing repeated collisions.
1111 Notably, NPCs in Hethereau cannot be killed. They always dodge, flee, or simply recover from attacks. This keeps the tone lighter than more realistic crime sandboxes while still letting players cause plenty of chaos.
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1313 Wanted Star Levels
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1515 The wanted system uses a star-based rating that escalates based on the severity and frequency of criminal acts. Each star level brings a more aggressive law enforcement response.
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1717 The star-based system functions similarly to the wanted levels in Grand Theft Auto, providing a familiar framework for players. At one star, law enforcement treats the situation casually with a single patrol car giving chase. By two stars, multiple units converge and actively try to box in the player's vehicle. At three stars, the response shifts dramatically: police open fire, and aerial drones deploy overhead to drop bombs on the player's position. Each escalation makes escape noticeably harder, turning a casual police pursuit into an intense action sequence. The progression incentivizes players to think carefully about whether committing additional crimes during a chase is worth the compounding heat.
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1919 LevelResponseDifficulty1 StarLocal police begin a low-priority pursuit. A single patrol car may follow the player.Easy to evade by driving away or ducking into an alley.2 StarsAdditional police units join the chase. Cop cars will actively ram and box in the player's vehicle.Requires more deliberate evasion, such as switching vehicles or using side streets.3 StarsSerious enforcement forces deploy. Police open fire and aerial drones appear overhead, targeting the player with bombs.Very difficult to escape. Players need to break line of sight and hide.
2020 Wanted levels decay over time if the player avoids committing further crimes. Staying out of sight and driving calmly for a stretch will gradually reduce the star count back to zero.
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2222 Police Chase Mechanics
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2424 During an active pursuit, police vehicles will spawn nearby and give chase. At lower wanted levels, a single patrol car may tail the player and attempt to pull alongside. At higher levels, multiple units converge from different directions, and police will shoot at the player's vehicle.
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2626 At three stars, aerial drones join the pursuit. These drones hover above the player and drop targeted bombs, making it much harder to simply outrun ground units. The combination of ground vehicles and aerial drones forces players to think creatively about escape routes, using tunnels, bridges, and narrow alleys where drones have limited tracking ability.
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2828 Players can also use their character's combat abilities during chases, though fighting the police head-on at high wanted levels is extremely risky. The most reliable escape method is breaking line of sight and finding a hiding spot until the search radius expires.
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3030 Police chases become increasingly intense as the wanted level climbs. At lower levels, a single squad car on your tail is manageable with basic driving skills. At higher levels, the pursuit becomes a coordinated effort with multiple vehicles approaching from intersections ahead while drones track you from above. The escalation is designed to feel cinematic, rewarding skilled drivers who can weave through traffic and use the city's layout to their advantage while punishing reckless behavior with overwhelming force.
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3232 Capture and Detention
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3434 If law enforcement successfully defeats or corners the player, the character is arrested and sent to the detention center. Upon arrival, the player character changes into a prison robe and must spend several in-game days behind bars. The length of the sentence scales with the severity of the crimes committed before capture.
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3636 Players have two paths forward once detained: serve the sentence through prison activities, or attempt a breakout.
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3838 Once at the Detention Center, players are not simply left to wait out a timer. The facility is a fully interactive environment with its own daily schedule. Players can choose to pay a fine for immediate release, perform work assignments to reduce their sentence length, visit the dining room during meal times, or attempt a daring escape by stealing a spoon and digging a tunnel. The variety of options means that getting caught is not a dead end; it opens up a distinct slice of gameplay within the larger open-world experience.
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4040 Prison Activities
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4242 The detention center is not just a time-out screen. It has a full set of interactive activities and mini-games that players can engage with while serving their sentence.
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4444 ActivityDescriptionWall cleaningScrub dirt and grime off prison walls in a cleaning mini-game reminiscent of PowerWash Simulator. Players aim a cleaning tool and scrub surfaces until they are spotless.Dining hallVisit the prison dining room for meals at scheduled times. Part of the daily prison routine.Prisoner tradingTrade items with other inmates. Useful for acquiring tools or resources needed for escape planning.Medical visitsVisit the prison doctor. Can be part of the daily routine or used strategically during escape attempts.Debt repaymentWork off the financial penalty associated with crimes through assigned labor tasks.
4545 Prison Breakout
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4747 For players who prefer action over patience, the detention center offers a breakout path. The escape involves stealing a spoon from the dining hall and using it to dig a tunnel out of the facility. The digging process spans multiple in-game days and requires the player to avoid detection by guards during each attempt.
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4949 Getting caught mid-escape resets progress and may extend the sentence. Successful breakouts are rewarded with immediate freedom, though the player re-enters Hethereau with their wanted level cleared. The breakout sequence has been highlighted by the community as one of the more entertaining side activities in the game, adding a stealth-puzzle element to the open-world experience.
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5151 Bail
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5353 Players who want to skip the prison experience entirely can pay bail for immediate release. Bail costs a hefty sum of in-game currency, scaling with the severity of the original offense. While expensive, it is the fastest way to return to the open world. Players who choose bail still lose the money but avoid spending any time behind bars.
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5555 Tips
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5757 Wanted levels decay over time. If you accidentally trigger a low-level pursuit, simply drive calmly and stay out of sight to let it cool down.The vehicle requisition badge flash is the safest way to take an NPC's car without triggering a wanted response. Only force-take vehicles if the NPC refuses your badge.Prison breakout attempts are entertaining stealth puzzles, but bail is faster if you need to get back to a quest or event on a deadline.Some City Commissions put the player on the law enforcement side, investigating crimes rather than committing them.At three stars, watch the sky. Drone bombs deal heavy damage and can destroy your vehicle quickly. Head for covered areas like tunnels or parking garages.Avoid committing crimes near quest NPCs or event locations. An accidental wanted level mid-quest can be very inconvenient.
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5959 Illegal Activities in the City
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6161 Beyond the broader crime categories tracked by the wanted system, the city of Hethereau offers several discrete illegal activities that a player can commit while exploring. Each one plays out as a targeted interaction with shop staff, civilians, or parked vehicles, and most of them draw immediate attention from law enforcement if performed in view of NPCs.
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6363 ActivityHow It WorksLaw Enforcement ResponseConvenience store theftA stealing mini-game played inside a convenience store. The player has to lift an item off a shelf without the staff at the counter spotting the motion.Triggers a wanted response if the staff notice the theft. Slipping out clean avoids attention.Forcing a civilian out of a carInstead of using the peaceful vehicle requisition badge flash, the player uses violence to pull a civilian driver out of their vehicle and take the car.Immediate cop attention. This is one of the fastest ways to escalate the wanted level in the city.Assaulting civiliansAttacking pedestrians on the street with melee strikes or abilities. NPCs cannot be killed, but the assault itself is flagged.Draws a notable response from patrols in the area.Looting enemy campsClearing overworld enemy camps and looting their safes is not treated as a city crime. It is listed here only to distinguish open-world looting (not tracked by the wanted system) from civic gang events (which do interact with the wanted system).No wanted response. Camp clears are normal open-world gameplay.
6464 Civic Gang Events
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6666 The city continuously spawns small crime events around the player: gangs robbing civilians, gangs harassing shop owners, and gangs attempting to steal parked cars. Intervening on the civilian side is treated as a civic activity rather than a crime, and each completed event awards a currency that reduces the player's wanted level the next time they get into trouble with the police. These events are the inverse of the illegal activities listed above: the same world systems that let the player commit petty crimes also let them stop those crimes for a reward.
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6868 Event TypeActionRewardGang robbing civiliansA gang confronts a pedestrian and attempts to take items. The player intervenes by defeating the gang members before the robbery completes.Currency that reduces the wanted level when the player is later caught committing a crime.Gang harassing a shopA gang blocks or harasses a shopfront. The player clears the gang out to restore the shop to normal operation.Currency that reduces the wanted level when the player is later caught committing a crime.Stolen car recoveryA gang steals a parked vehicle. The player chases, defeats the thieves, and recovers the car. Some of these events require the player to personally drive the recovered vehicle back to the police or security office to finish the objective.Currency that reduces the wanted level when the player is later caught committing a crime.
6969 Wanted Level Reduction Currency
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7171 Completing civic gang events grants a dedicated currency that is banked on the player's account and spent automatically to shave stars off the wanted meter when a pursuit begins. In practice this means that a player who spends time helping the city between bigger activities builds up a reserve of leniency: the next time they are cornered by police, part of their wanted level is wiped before the chase gets serious. The reserve is not unlimited, so aggressive play through repeated high-star crime sprees will still overwhelm it, but for everyday driving mistakes or single-star trouble it can effectively cancel the response.
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7373 The civic-side loop therefore doubles as a soft insurance policy against the crime-side loop. Stopping gangs, recovering cars, and escorting stolen vehicles back to the security office pays in two ways: the immediate reward from the event itself, and the stored wanted-level reduction that protects the player the next time they slip up in the open world.
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7575 Crime Event Notifications
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7777 Both gang robberies and car-theft events are surfaced to the player through in-world notifications. When the player is near an active event, a pop-up appears on screen indicating that a gang is nearby, that civilians are being robbed, or that a car theft is in progress. These notifications act as a prompt to choose between ignoring the event, committing a crime of the player's own, or intervening on the civilian side. Because the pop-ups only trigger when the player is in range, most civic events are discovered organically while driving or walking the streets of Hethereau rather than from a menu list.
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7979 Police AI (Beta Note)
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8181 In the third closed beta, the police AI is still being refined. Patrol spawns, pursuit routing, and capture logic do not yet behave as reliably as the final wanted-level design calls for, and the developers have flagged law enforcement behavior as an area that needs further work before release. Specific quirks observed in the beta include inconsistent pursuit intensity at matching star levels and occasional gaps in how quickly backup arrives after a crime is committed. Players should treat the current pursuit behavior as a snapshot that is expected to change: the star-level ladder and the civic currency loop are the stable parts of the system, while the moment-to-moment chase behavior is not final.
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8383 Relationship to the Prison System
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8585 Getting caught at the end of a pursuit funnels the player into a dedicated prison system with its own rules and interactions. The prison system article covers the details of what happens after capture: paying a fine for immediate release, serving a seven in-game-day sentence through prison activities, or attempting a jailbreak that branches into several possible endings. The sections on this page describe how a player arrives at that point; the follow-on choices inside the detention facility belong to the prison system article.
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8787 Civic players who stack up the reduction currency through gang events will usually avoid the prison path entirely for minor offenses, because their wanted level is cut before police fully corner them. Players who go on deliberate crime sprees without stopping any gangs in between will burn through the reserve quickly and land in detention after major incidents, where the rules of the prison system take over.