How do you increase the maximum loan amount available from Duke?

TornLife researched this question and found the points below; each one is taken from the sources cited. TornLife could not write them up as a full answer.

How does Duke's loan work (interest, repayment, limits)?

• Contracts are randomly generated tasks using existing game mechanics, mostly attacking-focused. At launch Duke offered 67 contracts, mostly repeatable, one new contract per day at midnight, with up to three available or in progress at once.^[1]
• At launch in 2015 the developer said the first 2.5% fee is charged immediately with up to a month to pay it. Fees are paid by visiting Duke's office, not taken directly.^[2]
• To unlock Duke, speak with Anonymous on the missions page; Anonymous unlocks at level 5. His only mission is an intro to Duke requiring 10 contracts, rewarding an honor bar and 100 mission credits.^[3][1]
• Duke charges 2.5% interest per week on the outstanding balance. After about 8 weeks of unpaid fees he attacks (mugs) and bounties the player. Money mugged is not deducted from the loan.^[4]

• Unlocking a higher difficulty requires a special Duke contract. On the wiki, Hobgoblin (defeat any player 5 times) unlocks Hard, and Cut Them Down to Size (defeat a player of your level or higher) unlocks Very Hard.^[5][6][7]
• Most players acquire points by buying them from the Points Market. A $5.00 USD donation gives a Donator Pack worth 60 points.^[8]
• The 2017 wiki says a player must be level 3 to join a company.^[9]
• The wiki lists Crime Progression bonuses to CE and CS gains, combined additively: +10% Criminality Faction upgrades, +10% Crime Progression Merit upgrades, +10% Education, +5% Crime Enhancer, +5% Law starter job, up to +15% Company specials.^[10]
• Racing skill is gained every race, more with longer tracks and better finishes; car type has no effect. Capped at 100. Torn City Motors stock block gives 10% boost. Custom races give skill but no racing points.^[11][12]
• The Crime Enhancer is the Mountain Bike. Having a Torn City Times in inventory unlocks extra outcomes. Both can be lost on a critical fail. The enhancer gives +5% crime experience and skill gain and must be kept in inventory.^[13][14][15]
• Company specials by star are listed on the wiki. Examples: Fitness Center 10 stars Training Regime is passive, +3% gym gains. Lingerie Store 1 star Nine to Five costs 10 job points for 100 endurance. Game Shop 3 stars Early Release costs 100 job points for money. Logistics Management 10 stars Logistics Report costs 250 points for a targeted company productivity boost.^[16][17]
• Crime chain: successes build it, raising CE and CS gains for all crimes. A failure halves it, a critical failure zeroes it and demoralizes the player, reducing later CE and CS gains until wearing off with successes.^[10]
• Weapon mastery upgrades exist for each weapon type. Each level adds 1% damage and 0.2 accuracy. Temporary Mastery only affects damaging temporary weapons.^[18]
• Under Crimes 1.0, players measured CE per crime by successes needed to regain 60 NNB. Warehouse Arson was the unit because it was safe and gave much CE per nerve. This is old-system data and does not transfer to 2.0. (players' tests)^[19]
• Some contracts are hard for low-level players: target choice can be far above your level, and players report Hard contracts requiring beating much higher-level targets. Inside Job needs the sent item in inventory. (one player's report)^[20][21][22]
• Player-run services pay for selling bounty slots and losses. BLACKSTONE (July 2026) pays sellers $150k per bounty posted and $250k per loss. It charges buyers $300k per loss and the bounty price, listing fee and $170k per slot. (one player's report)^[23][24]

How can the maximum be raised (missions, merits, level, other)?

• Accelerant prices are set by supply and demand and may be too high to be worth using. The developer says Burglary Focus Scouting can farm accelerants, up to 25% of rewards in some areas.^[25]
• Everyone starts on Easy. There are 5 difficulties: Easy, Medium, Hard, Very hard, Expert. Standing rises with completions and falls with failing or declining contracts. Expert contracts pay on average 16x money and 5x mission credits and may need help from others.^[1]
• The TV Company 10-star special (Press Pass) can add loan credit, about 5mill. In 2017 the developer said it could not raise credit that was already maxed, and he raised the cap so the special could exceed the old maximum. Patch list #46 fixed the cap for affected users.^[26][27]
• The 2020 new-player mission says to train a stat to 15 and that players choose the combination that suits their style. Its text says most people juice one stat.^[28]
• Max life rises passively with each level. The wiki mission text says levelling gives access to more areas of the city and increases life.^[29][30][31]
• Merits add up to 10 extra maximum nerve. Faction Nerve upgrades in the Criminality branch add 1 each, up to 40. Company specials add maximum nerve: 5* Amusement Park Unflinching +10, 5* Meat Warehouse Carnage +10, 10* Pub Buzzed +15. Total bonuses can expand the bar by up to 65.^[32][33]
• Several low-level OC 2.0 scenarios pay in faction respect and loot items (cars) rather than cash: Best of the Lot (Level 2) gives 34-69 respect and one car; Smoke and Wing Mirrors (Level 3) gives 39-89 respect and one car.^[34][35]
• In OC 2.0, leadership sets a payout split from 0 to 100% for participants, shared equally. Rewards are cash or items. Item rewards can be paid at market value from faction funds or withdrawn and sold.^[36][37][38]
• The wiki says merits can be bought at the points building for 300 points each. One merit can be bought for every 2 levels, so at most 50 can be bought at level 100. Level therefore raises the merit purchase cap.^[39]
• The guide says high stats are not needed to collect every large bounty. It reports players under noob protection collecting bounties over $1m and level 20 targets with $5m bounties. Hunters may lose the race, lose the fight, or be attacked mid-claim. (one player's report)^[40]
• A community-official player reported in 2018 that after a change he paid interest weekly and withdrew an extra $25,000,000 that Duke allowed; his max rose from $1,500,000,000 to $1,650,000,000 over 6 weeks. This implies credit grows by taking a loan and paying its fees. (one player's report)^[41]
• A player reported in 2019 that any debt held by Duke, including unpaid upkeep sent to collections, builds credit if its fees are paid on time, and larger fees build it faster. Unverified by staff. (one player's report)^[42]

What are the current loan amounts and costs per upgrade?

• The book Working 9 Til 5 permanently raises all working stats based on current stats. At 50,000 working stats each, the maximum increase is 2,500 per stat. It comes from Subscriber Reward, city finds or the Mission shop.^[43]
• Miscellaneous upgrades per level: Nerve Bar +1 max nerve; Critical Hit Rate +0.5% (base about 12%); Life Points +5% max life; Crime Progression +1% crime experience and skill gain; Education Length -2%; Awareness +20% items found; Bank Interest +5%; Masterful Looting +5% mug money; Stealth +0.2; Hospitalizing +5%; Addiction Mitigation 2%; Employee Effectiveness +1.^[44]
• The Life Points upgrade is level-independent: spending at level 1 equals spending at level 50, since the bonus is a percentage of max life.^[44]
• The wiki caps the maximum loan at $2,500,000,000 (2025 capture); the 2017 capture said $1,500,000,000. The Duke page (2025-09) says he lends up to $2 billion.^[4][45][46]
• A 2017 wiki guide says a new player wanting quick money can post in the company forum thread offering to work for $10,000 pay. It warns against asking for more. (opinion)^[47]

Has the loan limit system changed over time?

• Selling items to shops used to count toward the loan limit. Patch list #33 (early 2018) removed that.^[27][48][45]
• Free merit resets can be used any time, must be used before buying one with points, and do not raise the points cost. They come from the book High School For Adults and have been given every year since 2018 as a Christmas gift.^[49]
• Historical changes: casino token merit removed 02/03/12; stat, health and sword merits removed; hospitalization merit changed from +10 minutes to +5% in the 2021 Medical Revamp.^[50]
• A 2026 beginner guide recommends this order for most beginners: Education Length, then Crime Progression or Bank Interest (only if actively investing money), then Critical Hit Rate, then Life Points, then whatever you want. The author calls the order a long debate. (opinion)^[51]

What determines the maximum loan amount?

• At launch the developer said the maximum loan was based on net worth and credit score; credit rises by paying fees on time. Later sources say the net worth basis was replaced by crime money.^[2][52]
• The wiki (2025) says the Duke loan limit is up to 20% of the money made from crimes, and can be raised by improving Credit rating with Duke, which is done by paying back fees on time.^[4]
• A 2020 guide says to max Education first, described as universally a good 55 merits spent. After that, Bank Interest or Life Points are common next choices, and the player should decide a specialisation before finishing Education. (opinion)^[53]