Stealing
The two ways to take someone else's mob, interception and carrying, and how each one ends.
Stealing is the heart of the game. There are two ways to do it, and they work on mobs in different states.
Interception
Target: a mob that is walking to someone's base.
While a bought mob is on its way home, it is fair game. Shift + right-click it twice, the same way you buy one off the runway, and if you can afford it, it turns around and walks to your base instead.
- The first buyer gets no refund. Their money is gone.
- They can intercept it right back, paying full price again.
- They get an alert the moment it happens.
- You need room in your base, the same as a normal purchase.
- You cannot intercept a mob walking to a teammate.
This makes buying an expensive mob far from your base a real gamble. Buy early and risk the long walk, or wait until it is close and risk someone else getting it first.
Carrying a mob off
Target: a mob that is secured in a base slot.
Get inside
Wait for the owner's shield to drop, get past their traps, and walk up to the mob you want. You have to be within 5 blocks of it.
Pick it up
Shift + right-click the secured mob. It hops onto your back and the owner hears an alarm bell and gets a chat alert naming you.
Run for home
You carry it yourself, at your own speed, and you can keep holding sneak without dropping it. The owner will be chasing you with a knockback stick. Step into your own claim zone with the mob still on your back and it becomes yours, taking a free slot in your base.
The theft fails if the mob comes off your back before you get home, which happens when you die or log out. The mob goes straight back to its slot in the owner's base.
Some mobs fight back. A heavy mob slows you down while you carry it, and a mob with escape may break free a few seconds into the theft and run home on its own. See Mob Abilities. A base with the auto-defense upgrade also zaps intruders near its claim zone.
Rules and limits
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Reach | Within 5 blocks of the mob (mobs.interact-max-distance) |
| Steal attempts | One every 3 seconds (stealing.steal-cooldown) |
| Where you stand | Anywhere you can reach the mob. You do not have to be in the claim zone |
| Your base is full | You cannot start a theft while all your slots are filled |
| Your own mob | Shift + right-clicking your own secured mob offers to sell it instead |
| A teammate's mob | Cannot be stolen in team mode |
| Successful steals | Count toward free crates, one for every three steals |
Every steal alert names the thief. Revenge is always an option.