Pass the Tough Missions in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Do you want to know how to easily beat one of those missions in San Andreas that seemed so difficult? Do you want to finish the game, or get 100%, or to complete the game without any cheats? Keep scrolling after the jump to learn to make some of those "tougher" missions much easier.

Steps

Los Santos

Big Smoke

  1. Abandon the bike. The game will complain, but as long as you do not lose them (then you have a big problem because without the bike they do not get a marker on the map), you will be fine. Switch cars under the freeway intersection (where your homies stop) so that you do not catch fire.

Sweet's Girl

  1. The enemy's accuracy is so high because you normally approach them by car. Getting into a car raises enemy accuracy (obviously) and it stays high even after getting out of the car (I do not know when it turns back to normal though). If you switch from the car to a two-wheeler, their accuracy drops by a factor of 3! (proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Z-62GSk9E) This fact applies to (afaik) every single enemy in the game: if you get into a car after he has spawned, he will become very accurate; if you then get onto a bike, his accuracy is back to normal. In many missions, this 'bug' is not an issue because the enemies are spawned after CJ has left his vehicle but for the rest, keep it in mind.

Robbing Uncle Sam

  1. When the "weekend soldiers" show up to shoot Ryder, have CJ get out of the forklift and shoot them yourself. They should be as accurate as if you had been in a car (see "Sweet's Girl") so do not underestimate them.^^

High Stakes, Low-Rider

  1. Get the Voodoo low-rider that is across the street from the mission's red marker. The race will be SO much easier if you do. Another good option is a Savannah (although not as fast with as good of steering as a Voodoo.) Some speed runners use the Remington which drives away from the meet in the mission "Cesar Vialpando" instead.
  2. At the very start, wait for roughly one second. Else they are probably going to spin or crash into you which cost a lot more than one second.
  3. When you get out of the opening straight, stay on the left side of the road (the oncoming lane) to avoid most of the traffic. And gradually work your way to the right lane, for the 1st real turn. Watch out for the poles. The Voodoo has very good top speed, so it will be easy to lose the competitors on the straights.
  4. Brake before starting the turns, for the most part, to adjust your speed. This will make it easier for your car during the turns.
  5. Then just drive safely. Don't crash, look at what's ahead of you. Don't hit any poles, etc. And it should be easy to win the race by a large margin. Also, you can use the right stick to look around corners, to see farther, etc., or the left stick (push forward on it) to see farther ahead. This makes safe driving at fast speeds much easier.

OG Loc

  1. You can leave OG Loc behind, and drive on the motorcycle with just CJ. This will make the motorcycle handle much better, and will let CJ lean forward for more speed, if you want. OG will magically appear at the end.
  2. Know the route, where to turn, etc. It's much easier to know where to go if you've seen the route before. It may help to watch some videos to learn where to turn, etc. The turn off of the highway is right after the billboard or overhead street sign.
  3. Drive safely. You don't have to catch Jeffrey, and there are some places where he stops and waits (but he doesn't stop and wait once on the highway.) So the main thing is to not crash.
  4. To drive more safely during a tricky part (i.e. the downhill before the highway,) release the accelerator, to slow down, and to get more control over the bike, etc.
  5. On PS2, you might be able to kill him before he reaches his destination. The following is the 'pro' strategy: twitch.tv/tduva/c/4053924?t=17m0s In the two areas he is shooting him, he is not invulnerable for a short period of time after the short stop (where normally he waits for you if you are far away), so you memorize the first stopping location, drive straight there (it won't fail the mission), wait for him and then you can kill him using auto-aiming with a good gun. Try the AK or maybe the shotgun.

Wrong Side of the Tracks

  1. Drive on the far right side of the right railroad track, farther away from the train. That will let Big Smoke shoot the gang members without hitting the train instead. Most people drive too close to the train.
  2. During the time when CJ goes up on the dirt path (if it gets to that point,) try to get in some good shooting time for Smoke also. That will make the mission easier. Also in general, line up Big Smoke with the gang member he's shooting. That will make it easier for him to hit the target.

Just Business

  1. Shoot the drivers of the motorcycles, and the engines of the cars. Skip the cars that get taken out automatically by the rig.
  2. Pre-aim the gun (and hold down the shooting button,) to make shooting easier. The bikes always take the same path, so you can make shooting and aiming much easier by pre-aiming the gun.

Badlands

Local Liquor Store

  1. Abandon the quad and use a bike. Do the mission after robbing the bank (the mission furthest away from the hideout) so that you have a police bike. It will stay there when you reach the store and there is enough time to switch to it.
  2. Load up on SMG ammo (or the sub-machine gun of your choice) before the mission, and shoot the vehicles yourself.
  3. Go back and pick up the briefcases afterwards. They will still be there.
  4. Or you could just get out of the vehicle and type "ALLCARSGOBOOM" then pick up the briefcases...

Wu Zi Mu

  1. Drive safely. Get an early lead by taking the shortcut through the grass on the right (but don't slide out.) Using the Buffalo is fine for this one. Go fast during the straights, but take the turns safely.
  2. Slow down well, before the 1st wooden bridge. For the farm, go to the left of it, sliding along that wall. Be careful on the next bridge also, and the next downhill, towards the water. And watch out for the bump in the grass on the last turn, going up the hill. You can use that as a guide for making that turn easier too.

Farewell, My Love

  1. At the beginning of the race, cut through the grass on the right side (the corona can be triggered from farther away,) but watch out for the bump put in at the corner. (You can use that bump to help you turn also.)
  2. Take the 2 shortcuts in the next two hairpin turns (the 1st one across the dirt, through the trees, and the 2nd, on the path with the police bribe on it.) That will put you well ahead of the rest of the cars.
  3. Drive safely from there on. It will be easy to win the race once you're ahead of the competitors. The main thing is not speed here, but to simply not crash, or to go a wrong way, etc.
  4. Be careful (slow down) on the wooden bridge at the bottom of the hill, after the hilltop logging area. For the farm, go between to the two buildings to the right of the corona, but watch out for the fence afterwards.
  5. For turns, since this car likes to spin out easily, release the accelerator before a turn, and if you have to, press both brakes before the turn, then let go of them, and then drift through the turn at a reasonable speed. The car doesn't turn as well if you're holding down the accelerator button.

San Fierro

Jizzy

  1. It helps a lot to get the homing rocket launcher before this mission. To get that, drive a car up next to the guard station at the airport. Have CJ climb on top of the car, then jump up onto the office. Then run around to open the gates. Also, you can park your car in front of the gate to keep it open, and just stand CJ on the line between the sidewalk and the road, to make the jump onto the top of the office. The rocket launcher is on the eastern-most side of the airport, between some fuel tanks, which are to the right of the hangars south (or right) of the control tower.
  2. Drive ahead of the preacher's limo. (Don't shoot them yet.) Get out far enough ahead, and aim the homing rocket launcher. Shoot the limo twice, and it will be done. Also make sure it's far enough away to protect the pimp-mobile.

T-Bone Mendez

  1. Don't shoot at the bikes. Simply drive up close and press the appropriate button (L1 on ps2) repeatedly to grab the package off of the back.
  2. At the beginning, you can often position yourself to grab one or two packages from the bikes right away. Use the middle line for the road as a reference.
  3. For regular bike driving, drive on the center line to avoid most of the traffic. But watch for turning cars, etc. If you can, drive on the side of the road, if there's a gap between the sidewalk and the traffic.

Toreno's Last Flight

  1. Use the homing rocket launcher for this one. (See "Jizzy" steps for how to get it.) Simply shoot it twice before the helicopter turns the corner.
  2. Approach the helipad from the east side to make it easier.
  3. these do not work, you cannot acquire a military helicopter before flight school (all gold even, iirc) and the pilot spawns after you reach the helipad and the heli is already in mid-air as the cutscene ends. If you would like it to be even easier, you can always chase Toreno in a hunter or simply use the sniper rifle on the pilot before take-off. Do not chase the chopper in a car!

Ran Fa Li

  1. After getting out of the airport, it helps to get out of the car and shoot the motorcycle drivers yourself. If a cop approaches the car while CJ's getting in, honk the horn to keep him from getting too close.

Air Raid (Optional)

(Zero's missions are not needed to finish the storyline. Only for 100%.)

  1. Shoot the planes while they're far away. To make the minigun more stable while aiming, release the firing button. And move between targets quickly to help save time.
  2. Get the groups of planes in particular.
  3. Once a plane has passed by or dropped its bomb, it may be possible to ignore it entirely after that, so move to the next planes.

Supply Lines (Optional)

(This is only tough on the original version. On the subsequent versions, fuel-saving by releasing the accelerator was added.)

  1. Concentrate on accuracy. If you shoot the gun accurately right from the get-go, the mission will be much easier. Watch the sparks of the machine gun hitting, to see where it's actually hitting. Once you have accuracy, you can shoot the couriers from much farther away, which is quicker, easier, safer for the Red Baron, etc.
  2. To fly the plane, simply hold down the accelerator (although you may want to release it while shooting to give you more time to shoot,) and use small left-stick adjustments to control the plane. Most people's mistake is making too big of movements with the left stick, causing the plane to go everywhere. Use the degree of the plane's bank to control the turning speed of the plane, with an occasional pulling back.
  3. Start with the nearby courier, then the bike one, then the SUV one (usually west,) then check the map. If the van courier has gone somewhere way too far, it's usually best to retry the mission. (It can happen sometimes.) Otherwise, get the Sanchez next. It's particularly important to get the Sanchez from far away (accuracy), because it can really shoot up the Red Baron. Then get the van courier, and head straight back for the home base. Try to keep the plane flying level to maximize speed. And just fly into the corona.

Driving School

Burn and Lap

  1. It helps so much if you use the pause trick to get a good time. Here is how you do the pause trick: When the race beginning shows up, press Pause. Then while exiting the menu, hold down X (the accelerator.) Then as it exits the menu, quickly press Pause again. Doing this, you can start the car moving, and drive, without starting the timer.
  2. Do the pause trick until before the car reaches the first turn. (If you go farther than that, it won't count the first turn.)
  3. Continue the race as normal, without the pause trick. You have now gotten a 2-3 second head start. (This is an easy way to get gold on it too.)
  4. For the turns, concentrate on using the handbrake to turn the car quickly, and watching the side of the car and the inside cone (the one on the end.) Concentrate on starting the handbrake turn as soon as possible, but not too soon.
  5. To fix the camera after a turn, simply tap or click R2 or L2 (the side-view buttons on the ps2) quickly, to reset the camera to looking directly forward.

City Slicking

  1. Use the pause trick (see Burn and Lap) to gain an incredible advantage in this. You can save 45+ seconds using the pause trick all the way to the first corona. (You can't do it after that, because it won't count the corona.)
  2. In general, it helps to use the trolley tracks as a guide, to avoid the traffic. Also, you can go drive on the sidewalk down by the docks for a good, easy, clear line. But with the pause trick, it will be easy to get gold no matter what route you use.
  3. Release the accelerator on tough turns, to keep the car from sliding out, and use the right or left sticks to look farther forward, to get a better view of the road, traffic, etc.

Learning to Fly - Flight School

Circle Airstrip and Land

  1. Raise the landing gear quickly (R3 on ps2) to gain speed earlier. Fly level at first to gain speed before climbing altitude.
  2. Use small flicks or adjustments of the left stick to control the plane, while holding down the accelerator. If you use large adjustments, the plane will go all over the place. Use rudder controls simply for correction, not for general steering.
  3. Fly the fuselage (body) of the plane through the inside edge of the corona. That way you can take a shorter path, which saves time, and will trigger every corona as you go through. For sharp turns, tilt the plane, then pull back. Then level out.
  4. Using 3rd-person view is recommended, because that lets you see the plane and the corona. So it's easier to save time.
  5. For landing, land early, and drive the plane like a car into the corona. The main thing for gold is that it's lined up left and right, even if you go slightly past the corona (too far,) or don't stop directly in the center.

Desert & Las Venturas

Interdiction

  1. Use the homing rocket launcher, from the San Fierro airport. See "Jizzy" on how to get that.

N.O.E.

  1. Fly over the ocean. That's hands down the easiest way. Otherwise, fly towards the airport, and over the highway, but watch out for trees, poles, etc. that may not spawn until the last minute. Remember, use small adjustments of the left joystick for best control. Make sure not to go over the radar limit unless you want to get shot down by a Hydra.

Freefall

  1. This is apparently only tough on the PC version. Apparently adjusting the frame rate will make this mission much easier.
  2. During the chase, the Dodo gets height 'for free', so steering up yourself is a waste of speed.

High Noon

  1. On the original ps2 version, you can shoot the car from close-up right away with the AK-47 or M4 (and apparently also the sawed-off shotguns,) and it will stop right away. The close-up firepower of those weapons bypasses the immunity requirement of the car. So equip a regular weapon (i.e. a Tech-9) to *run* around the buildings, then quickly switch to the assault rifles and shoot the car from close-up range.
  2. Otherwise, shoot one or two of Pulaski's wheels out at the beginning before he drives off. That will make it easy to keep up with him.
  3. Three really cool ways to do the mission (first two are without any weapons) are these:
    If you do not feel like watching them, 1 is turning his car before he gets in, so that he is forced to turn, giving you time to hijack his car, 2 is the same, but running against the car to turn it, 3 jumps on top of the car and waits until he crashes into a sign, then using that opportunity to hijack his car.

Cop Wheels (Optional)

(This is not required for story-line completion, but for 100%.)

  1. Get a car and go east on the freeway. When you get to the first bike, simply get on the bike. Don't shoot the police officer.
  2. After putting the bike on the Packer (truck), take the Julius Freeway north to the parking lot of the hospital. Run into the bike to knock the cop off it. Get onto the bike and go west to the highway.
  3. For the 3rd bike, cut across town, and go to the police station. Get out of your vehicle early and shoot the {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} cops next to the bike. Then you can just run up and get on the bike. Go north on the main Strip in Las Venturas, and there's a church there, with a ramp to the right of it. Use that ramp to get onto the highway easily.
  4. For the 4th bike, go to the nearest overpass to the bike, and get out of your vehicle there. Shoot the last cop from a distance, to keep him from getting on the bike. Get on the bike, use the same overpass to get back onto the freeway, and put the bike on the packer, to complete the mission.
    • The key of this strategy is it avoids any long chases to get the bikes. So you can simply get on the bike, and put it on the packer.

Side Missions

Vigilante

  1. Use the Hunter (military helicopter) or Rhino (tank) if possible. Those are hands down the easiest way of doing the vigilante missions.
  2. For the HPV-1000 (police motorcycle,) get a lot of ammo, and concentrate on keeping your distance from the cars. If CJ's weapon skill is high, he probably has better range than them, so you can hang back and shoot them.
  3. Keep shooting the car until it blows up. That will hopefully get rid of all the criminals quickly. If you have to, while shooting and finishing off the vehicle, honk the horn , to keep cops on foot from approaching the bike. Honking the horn works on all pedestrians and cops, but not enemy gang members. Also don't let them approach too closely, because they could still knock CJ off the bike.
  4. Use body armor, snacks / food, and police bribes to make it easier. Try to keep CJ's wanted level down to 2 stars or lower. And be extra careful on levels 10 through 12, because the shotguns can do a lot of damage.
  5. OPTIONAL: An excellent trick for the HPV-1000, Ranger, or police car, is to use the mini-gun. This blows up cars tremendously quickly. So drive to where you can get a quick shot on the cars, jump out, and fire away. The mini-gun is difficult to come by though at the beginning of the game. (It's in Las Venturas.)

Paramedic

  1. Do them in Angel Pine. It's very easy there. Also, Fort Carson may work.

Chiliad Challenges

  1. If you stay close enough to the main pack, you can shoot them with the sniper rifle at the end of the race (*before* CJ finishes it,) and it will move CJ into first place. This does not work with all weapons.

Blood Bowl

  1. If there's a corona on the other side of the arena, just wait for a closer one to appear.
  2. Release the accelerator to make quicker turns than your opponents. This also tends to throw off their aiming.
  3. If you have to, ram through some cars to get to a corona nearby.

Trucking - Level 8

  1. If possible, use the train tracks to get to your destination. It is so much easier like that. If you go through Los Santos, stay as far away from the roadblocks as possible, while going full speed. And if you go through the desert, be careful to not jack knife the truck when going downhill in the tunnel.
  2. When not on the train tracks, try to stay off-road as much as possible. Obviously use your judgment; don't drive on rain-soaked grass on a hillside. Plan your route out carefully, so you don't have to backtrack or try to make a U-turn.

Bike School - Jump and Stoppie

  1. Lean forward as much as possible to gain as much speed as possible.
  2. Hit the ramp, and before you land, lean the bike slightly forward, so the front wheel touches the ground first. If the front wheel touches the ground slightly before the back wheel, and you've gone far enough (i.e. right before where you stop,) the game will count it as a stoppie, making an easy gold.

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