Secrets! - Guide for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

         SECRETS!  SECRETS!  SECRETS!






100% Completion Requirements

If you want to gain a 100% completion in the game (you can check this in the stats 
menu), you'll obviously need to complete all of the missions given to you in the 
game. This includes the core storyline missions, as well as asset missions, such as 
those Zero and Cesar give you in San Fierro. If you have any of these left on your 
map, hunt them down and check them off. 

Beyond overt missions, though there are numerous other requirements for 100%. We've 
covered most of these in this chapter, but if you want a concise checklist, here you 
go. 

Vehicle Missions 


Burglar Missions: Gain $10,000 in stolen goods. 
Firefighting Missions: Get to Level 12. 
Paramedic Missions: Get to Level 12. 
Pimping Missions: Get to Level 10. 
Taxi Missions: Deliver 50 straight fares. 
Vigilante Missions: Get to Level 12. 

Trucking Missions 


Complete missions one through eight. 

Quarry Missions 


Complete missions one through seven. 

Race Tournaments 


Get 1st Place in all races in Los Santos race tournament (nine races). 
Get 1st Place in all races in San Fierro race tournament (six races). 
Get 1st Place in all races in Las Venturas Airport race tournament (flying races, 
six total). 
Get 1st Place in all races in Las Venturas Airport Freight Depot race tournament 
(ground races, four total). 

Training Schools 


Complete Driving School in San Fierro. 
Complete Flight School at the airstrip in Verdant Meadows. 
Complete Bike School in Las Venturas. 
Complete Boat School in Tierra Robada. 
Complete the Ammu-Nation shooting challenge. (Not available in all Ammu-Nations, 
check the ones in the big cities. 

Stadium Events 


8-Track 
Blood Bowl 
Dirt Track 
Kickstart 

Courier Missions 


Complete all Courier missions for Roboi's Food Mart in Los Santos. 
Complete all Courier missions for Hippy Shopper in San Fierro. 
Complete all Courier missions for Burger Shot in Las Venturas. 

Freight Train 


Complete Level 2. 

Import/Export 


Complete Exports for all boards (30 cars total on three boards). 

Gyms 


Bulk yourself up and learn new fighting moves at the gyms in Los Santos, San Fierro, 
and Las Venturas. 

Challenges 


Complete the BMX Challenge in Glen Park (Los Santos). 
Complete the NRG-500 Challenge at the Docks in San Fierro. 
Complete the Lowrider Challenge in El Corona (Los Santos). 
Complete the Chiliad Challenge on Mt. Chiliad (southwest corner of the map, three 
races in all). 

Assets 


Buy all safehouses in the game. 
Obtain the Zero RC Shop in San Fierro. 
Obtain Wang Auto in San Fierro. 
Obtain the Verdant Meadows Airstrip in Verdant Meadows. 

TIPS

Early Money

San Andreas is fairly unique in that you aren't going to be rolling in cash in the 
early game; it can take a long time before you have enough money to do much of 
anything. Here are some ideas on how to get some money early in the game. 

Stoppies: If you can find a sportsbike, you can use it to do stoppies over and over 
again for small amounts of cash. The easiest place to do this is in the canals 
behind Sweet's house, as there isn't any traffic to worry about. Just hit the 
accelerator, shift your weight forward, hit the brake, and try to balance the rear 
wheel up in the air for as long as possible. With a little practice, you can get 
over 20 bucks a shot, which is perfect when you only need a little money but don't 
want to spend a lot of time. 

Taxi Missions: Taxi missions are accessible immediately after you begin the game 
(all you need to do is jack a taxi), and can offer quite a bit of reward money. You 
should be able to clear a couple thousand dollars just for delivering six fares in a 
row, making it a low-risk, high-reward profession. 

Killing Gang Members: You'll notice clusters of gang members in the various hoods of 
Los Santos. If they're wearing purple or yellow, ram into them with a car, then get 
out and grab the cash. You won't always make a lot of money from this - the amount 
dropped is somewhat random - but it can make for good padding when you're just 
starting out. You will also get 9mm Pistols and the occasional Tec-9, though. 

Unique Jumps: Although getting Tags won't get you cash, as collecting packages used 
to, Unique Jumps still reward your efforts, with 500 dollars going into your bank 
for each one you manage. There are plenty of Unique Jumps around Los Santos - over 
20 in all - with four or five of them situated along the railroad tracks that run 
from Unity Station to the northeastern corner of the city. Hit any likely-looking or 
conspicuous ramps with a fast car, and you should be able to make some easy money. 


Obtaining Rhinos

One of the ultimate weapons in the last few GTA games has been the Rhino Tank. Known 
primarily for their near-indestructibility, their ability to destroy cars merely by 
running into them, and their formidable turret, the Rhino is one of the most fun 
vehicles to drive in GTA. 

Of course, actually getting a Rhino is fairly difficult, if you're not willing to 
use a cheat code to do it. (See the cheats section below.) If you're a 
perfectionist, then you'll eventually wind up gaining a Rhino when you get a 100% 
completion percentage; at this point, a Rhino and a Hydra will spawn outside of your 
home in Los Santos. 

If you want a Rhino earlier in the game, though, you'll have to jack one from the 
Army. Unlike in Vice City, you won't see any Rhinos as part of your missions, so 
you'll need to get yourself up to six wanted stars before the Army starts rolling 
into town. This is most easily accomplished after you get to Las Venturas, where the 
two rocket launcher pickups in the Emerald Isle parking garage (on the eighth level 
and above the tenth, near the helipad) will let you create a whole heapin' helping 
of mayhem, as well as destroy the helicopters that will come to harrass you. The 
helicopters themselves are one of the keys to getting more stars, as after a while, 
killing cops becomes a seemingly inefficient method of gaining a higher wanted 
level. 

Eventually, though, you'll gain a six-star wanted level. After the Rhinos start 
appearing (you might have to move around a bit to encourage this), you have a few 
options with which to grab one. The most obvious would be to wait until the driver 
pops out, then run alongside and jack the thing, but there are obvious difficulties 
here, the most obvious of which is the fact that the Army grunts pack M4s, and thus 
will be able to drop you fairly quickly. If you can take him out, then proceed with 
caution, as there are likely more cops, FBI men, and Army grunts in the area. 

A second method, and one that proved fruitful in Vice City, is to try and get into a 
Pay N Spray while there are Rhinos in the area. If you can get in and out of the Pay 
N Spray, then the occupants of the Rhinos will likely wait there passively, or drive 
slowly away. This will let you get alongside them and jack them much more easily. Of 
course, as with most occupied military or police vehicles, the doors will be locked, 
but as soon as the grunt gets out, you should be able to start your entry animation, 
thus taking minimal damage (if any) from his weapon. This will probably jet you 
right back to six stars, though, depending on how long you waited after leaving the 
Pay N Spray, but hey, if it gets you a Rhino, go for it. 

Lastly, and perhaps best of all, is to use an exterior save point, such as those at 
the garage in San Fierro or outside Wu Zi's casino in Las Venturas. When you hit an 
exterior save point while there are tanks or other vehicles around, all of your 
wanted stars will disappear, as they would with a Pay N Spray, but all of the 
vehicle should still be cluttered around. Best of all, you won't have a probationary 
period as you would with the Pay N Spray, meaning that if you do go ahead and jack a 
tank, you shouldn't wind up with more than one wanted star, making it a cinch to get 
back to a garage and stow the tank away. 

After you get into a tank, you'll have to maneuver it back to a garage of yours in 
one piece. Unfortunately, the Rhino of San Andreas is a bit more limited than those 
of previous games. To begin with, you can't rotate the turret all the way around the 
tank with the right analog stick, making it more difficult to propel yourself along 
with repeated blasts. You can still rotate it around by holding down the L2 and R2 
buttons, but it will automatically reorient itself towards your front side when you 
let go. Also, it appears to be slightly less resilient than previous tanks; you can 
still take plenty of damage with it, certainly far more than any other vehicle in 
the game, but you can't go headlong through huge numbers of cars without fearing for 
your safety. We haven't counted or anything, but it appears to be around 50 close-
range explosions before your tank catches on fire; when it does, you have to get out 
immediately, because you can't bail out like you can from most other vehicles. 

Note also that the Rhino may be too big to fit in some garages; the large freight-
size storage spaces in some of your San Fierro safe houses are usually your best bet 
to stow it safely. 




Gang Warfare

You'll be introduced to the Gang Warfare mechanic early on in the game, but for most 
of your time in San Andreas, it (and Los Santos) will be off-limits to you. 
Regardless of the time, though, there are a few basics that you can apply to help 
you rule the hood. 

First off, as you get more and more respect, you can bring along more gang members 
with you on your expansion missions, but whether you want to or not depends on the 
player. We personally found them somewhat distracting and less than helpful, and 
never had a problem winning territories without them, but your mileage may vary. 

Equipment 

Beyond that, though, it's vital that you bring along the correct equipment for the 
job. You'll always want to head out with full health and armor, and as many rounds 
for your SMG and AK47/M4 as possible, as these missions do chew up the ammo. (You 
seem to get a small replenishment supply whenever you win a hood, though.) If you 
have access to one, a rocket launcher or minigun will also be helpful when dealing 
with the large crowds of enemies that you'll be facing. 

Getting Started 

When you're ready to rumble, head out into enemy territory and look for a gang of 
enemy thugs. If you're in Los Santos, look for groups wearing purple or yellow. If 
they're wearing green, they're Grove Street Family crew, which you should obviously 
leave alone. Sometimes these gangs may bleed into other territories, especially 
where they border, so be sure you're hitting the right target. Note that gang groups 
can be somewhat hard to find; if you don't see anyone on a given block, jack a car 
and start circling it. A group will eventually spawn in if you're in enemy 
territory, but it can take a few revolutions. 

All you need to do to start a gang war is kill three opposing gang members; after 
that occurs, you should get a popup display letting you that it's on, baby, it's on! 
When you do, take a note of what portion of the map is flashing, then head for the 
middle of it. Eventually, you'll spot enemies spawning in, usually in two small 
groups. 

The most important part of actually killing enemies actually comes before they even 
appear, though; you need to be sure that you have plenty of space around you on all 
sides. Intersections are great for this purpose, as you should be able to spot 
enemies coming at you from a ways off; hills, rooftops, or other high places are 
good, as well. If you stand near a wall or a corner, then the enemies will often 
flood around it in quick order, presenting more targets than you can deal with. If 
you can spot them coming a ways away, though, then you can use your AK47 or M4 to 
good effect; just click L1, fire at a target until it goes down, then repeat. When 
they start getting close, switch over to your Uzis or SMG and repeat the process. If 
you're good, you won't get hit at all, but the fact that you usually have to deal 
with two groups can complicate things a bit; when you note them spawning in, you may 
have to reposition yourself if you think you'll get hit by both groups at once. 
Ideally, you should be in a spot where one group will reach you first, allowing you 
to kill them, then deal with the second mass of foes. 

In addition to the enemies on foot, you'll usually have an enemy car slowly moving 
around the area. You aren't required to destroy this, and should concentrate on the 
foot soldiers, but be aware that the passenger inside the car will try to drive-by 
you if you get too close. If you feel like it's a threat, you can use your M4 to 
shoot it in manual mode and destroy it, but be sure you do so in-between waves of 
enemies. 

In between waves, you may notice pickups appearing around the contested territory; 
armor and health appear in equal measure, allowing you to replenish your life 
without tracking down pickups around the map. These will also let you move from 
territory to territory without saving, if you want to. 

One thing to note is that the AI for the enemy bangers is sometimes broken, and will 
run away from you, instead of towards you. If this occurs, catch up to them as 
quickly as possible, as they will sometimes run far enough away to cancel your 
territory takeover. You can leave the contested territory if you must, but if you 
move too far, it will automatically revert to your enemy's control. 

Defending Territory 

In addition to capturing new territory, you'll also sometimes be called upon to 
defend one of your territories that's under attack by an enemy gang. These appear on 
your screen as little airplane-thing icons that flash; when you spot one, head 
towards the icon. When you reach the zone, you'll have to kill off a dozen or so 
enemies; they usually spawn in between a couple of cars in the middle of the street, 
which will give them a bit of cover from your fire. If you have a minigun or rocket 
launcher, then, try to blast the cars first, as this will usually send the bangers 
flying. 

After you kill all of the invading gang members, you'll retain the territory. If you 
choose not to defend it, or are unable to get there within a certain amount of time, 
you'll lose the territory and CJ will lose a bit of respect. Fortunately, you have 
around five minutes of real-world time before this occurs, which should let you 
reach a hood under attack from pretty much anywhere in the game world. 


Costumes

Costume Unlocked by... 

Valet Outfit    Unlocked in a core game mission in San Fierro. 
Gimp Suit       Unlocked in a core game mission in Las Venturas.  
Croupier        Uniform Proceed along Millie's relationship path until you get 
                the keycard for Caligula's Casino.  
Cop Uniform     Get to 100% Relationship with Barbara. 
Medic Uniform   Get to 100% Relationship with Katie. 
Racing Uniform  Get to 100% Relationship with Michelle. 
Pimp Outfit     Get to 100% Relationship with Denise. 






Cheats

Cheat Code    Effect 
R1, R2, L1 , X, Left , Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up 
Gain 250,000 dollars, go to full health and armor.  

R2, Circle, R1, L2, Left R1, L1, R2, L2 
All traffic moves aggressively, cops more likely to chase other cars.  

Right, L2, Down, R1, Left, Left, R1, L1, L2, L1 CJ 
instantly dies.  

R2, L2, R1, L1, L2, R2, Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, L2, L1 
Destroys all vehicles in immediate vicinity.  

Right, R1, Up, L2, L2, Left, R1, L1, R1, R1 
Cars have higher top speeds.  

Circle, Circle, L1, Square, L1, Square, Square, Square, L1, Triangle, O, Triangle 
In-game clock moves much more quickly, which speeds up the day/night cycle. (This 
also affects CJ's Muscle decay and hunger.) 

Triangle, Up, Right, Down, L2, L1, Square 
The game world (and CJ) moves faster. 

Triangle, Up, Right, Down, Square, R2, R1 
The game world slows down. (You can use this code to counteract the one above, and 
vice versa.) 

Circle, Circle, L1, Circle, Circle, Circle, L1, L2, R1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle 
Spawn Rhino. 

R2, Up, L2, Left, Left, R1, L1, Circle, 
Right Spawn Stretch. 

Down, R1, Circle, L2, L2, X, R1, L1, Left, Left 
Spawn Bloodring Racer. 

Circle, L1, Up, R1, L2, X, R1, L1, Circle, X 
Spawn Caddy. 

R2, L1, Circle, Right, Up, Circle, R2 
Spawn Hotring Racer. 

Up, Right, Right, L1, Right, Up, Square, L2 
Spawn Rancher. 

Down, R2, Down, R1, L2, Left, R1, L1, Left, Right 
Spawn Romero (hearse).  

Circle, R1, Circle, R1, Left, Left, R1, L1, Circle, 
Right Unlock Trashmaster. 

R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up 
Gives CJ a selection of weapons, including 200 Rocket Launcher rounds.  

R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Down, Left 
Gives CJ another selection of weapons, including Flamethrower ammo. Note that these 
are different weapons from the code above, meaning that you'll lose the weapons from 
that code when you enter this one.  

R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left , Down, Down, Down 
Gives CJ yet another round of weapons, including 200 rounds of heat-seeking 
missiles. Woot! 

R1, R1, Circle, R2, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left 
Raise your wanted level 

Down, Up, Up, Up, X, R2, R1, L2, L2 
Pedestrians will attack each other.  

Down, Left, Up, Left, X, R2, R1, L2, L1 
Pedestrians booze up and riot! Watch out for the Elvis Impersonators with rocket 
launchers....