Pet Heist
Pet Heist beginner's guide
This guide covers everything a new thief needs in the first hour of Pet Heist: the controls, how stealth works, how to pick locks, how stars and trophies are earned, and what to do with your first coins and pets.
1. Controls
Phone and tablet: drag on the left side of the screen to move. Push the stick a little and your thief sneaks; push it all the way and the thief runs. There is also a sneak button. Gadgets sit in buttons on the right, and the lock-picking mini-game is a single tap.
Keyboard: WASD or the arrow keys to move, hold Space or Shift to sneak, E, Q and R (or 1, 2, 3) for your gadget slots, Space or Enter for actions, and Esc or P to pause.
2. Running versus sneaking
Running is more than twice as fast as sneaking, but guards hear running footsteps from a few metres away. Sneaking makes no sound at all. A simple rule works for most vaults: sneak near guards and pressure plates, run through empty corridors and when the alarm is already ringing. Remember that a pet you carry squeaks from time to time, so give guards a wider berth on the way out.
3. Reading the room
- Vision cones are painted on the floor. Being inside a cone fills the detection meter; the closer you are, the faster it fills.
- Guard dogs walk a route, react to noise and chase you once the alarm rings. Touching one ends the raid.
- Cameras and owls sweep back and forth. Wait for the cone to pass, then move.
- Lasers blink on and off on a rhythm. Count the beat and cross when they are off.
- Pressure plates only trigger when you run. Sneak across them.
- Robot vacuums never catch you, but bumping one sets off the alarm.
4. Picking locks
Locked doors and the vault itself have a lock with three to five pins. A needle swings around the dial; tap when it is inside the green zone to set a pin. Each miss makes a noise that nearby guards can hear, so do not spam the button. If a guard is close, back off, let it pass and come back.
5. Stars, XP and trophies
A won raid gives up to three stars: one for collecting coins, one for taking a pet and one for never setting off the alarm. Stars add to your XP and fill star bags (one bag per ten stars). Raids against real players also win or lose trophies, which decide your league from Bronze up to Legend. A loss costs only a few trophies, so try new routes freely.
6. The campaign
After five short training vaults, the story campaign opens: 34 vaults in six chapters (Suburbs, Uptown, Downtown, Neon District, Blossom Hills and The Summit). Each chapter ends with a boss vault. Clearing a vault the first time pays coins, and finishing all three objectives pays gems. Campaign vaults also introduce new ideas one at a time, such as keycards carried by guards and safes full of gems, so it is the best place to learn.
7. Gadgets
You start with the smoke bomb, which blinds cameras and dogs for a moment. New gadgets unlock as your thief levels up: the drill at level 3 breaks one inner wall, the squeak toy at level 4 lures dogs, the EMP at level 7 switches off lasers and cameras for five seconds, the dog treat at level 8 blinds a dog or cat, and later the grapple dash, auto-pick and cloak. You can take two gadgets into a raid, three from level 10.
8. Your first vault
Your vault is where your pets earn coins. Every new account starts with a common cat and 100 coins. Put pets on pedestals to earn coins each hour, or keep them in the nest where they are safe but earn nothing. Open My Vault to pick one of the ready-made layouts or draw your own, then press Test run and beat it once: only then does it go live for other players. The trap vault guide explains every trap and its cost.
9. What to spend coins on first
- A third pedestal (250 coins at level 3), so more pets earn at once.
- Feeding your best pet: each pet level adds 25% income.
- Skill points come with levels and cost nothing: Shadow (detection fills 10% slower per rank) and Nimble fingers (a wider green zone when picking locks) help most in early raids.
Cosmetic hats and looks are fun but do not make you stronger, so leave them for later.
10. When you get robbed
It happens to everyone. Watch the replay to see the route the thief took, then fix that part of your vault. You have 24 hours to raid the thief back for bonus trophies and coins, and you can share a rescue link or call the revenge squad so other players help. Your vault also gets a shield right after a robbery. More strategy is on the tips and FAQ page, and the pet rarity guide shows what each pet is worth.