Diversions Introduction

There are a ton of extra things to do in Steelport, when you consider all the Assassinations, Vehicle Thefts, collectables, Activities, etc. If that weren’t enough to overwhelm you, there are a lot more tasks to tackle under this category of Diversions. These encompass a wide variety of fun and optional gameplay elements.

These are literally meant to serve as a diversion or break from some of the more structured objectives. Most of them are very brief and are great for variety, but on the challenging end of the spectrum is Survival.

All diversions will earn you cash and respect to provide the proper incentive. Ultimately, this large and rather loose grouping includes two types: Those that are auto-tracked throughout the game as you complete typical types of gameplay and the type that must be actively initiated like a minigame.

Auto-Tracked Diversions

Auto-tracked diversions are a series of actions that are tracked automatically throughout the game for doing typical gameplay actions like near misses, headshots, wrong-way driving, blowing things up, etc. These don’t require any special setup and can be performed at any time.

A notification appears in the upper right-hand corner of the screen anytime you initiate one of these diversions. You will be rewarded cash and respect for completing these task and they can be even be chained together. In addition, performing them continually or for longer periods of time will earn you bonus multipliers to significantly increase your earning potential. As an added incentive to complete these tasks, many of them also are challenges featured in the Saintsbook that offer additional rewards!

Active Diversions

This is an incredibly diverse group of wacky and daring tasks that include streaking, survival, Assassinations, base jumping, vehicle surfing, performing stunts, and more. These will earn you cash and respect when completed, and if they are done for prolonged periods you can earn bonus multipliers.

Unlike the auto-tracked diversions, all of these must actively be started or, in the case of performing stunts, purposefully attempted. This larger category of active diversions offers some of the best ways to earn respect and money, along with enjoyment in a large diversity of gameplay.

Base Jumping

Many aspects of the game are very thrilling, but for the adrenaline junkie who just can’t get enough there is base jumping. Anytime you leap, or fall, from a decent height you can deploy your parachute and the option to set a base jump point will appear on the HUD. Once set, the goal is to glide and land in the center of the circle to earn maximum respect.

It can be time consuming to find the perfect location to leap from and actually getting back to that spot after each jump. However, once you have obtained the Saint’s HQ, this process becomes more enjoyable. Leap off the side of the heliport and set your target. After you nail your landing, simply go into your HQ, take the elevator upstairs, and repeat the base jump. This quick process is not only really fun but it is one of the best ways to earn respect quickly.

Hostage

Having homies or followers along makes taking a hostage too difficult, as your homies will remove passengers. So ditch your crew prior to taking hostages. Taking a hostage occurs when you hijack a vehicle with one or more passengers. Once the driver is disposed of (unceremoniously ripped from the car) you are left in the driver seat with one or more terrified passengers: You can now activate a hostage situation.

The goal of taking a hostage is to extort some cash from your prisoner. However, the terrified captive will attempt to bail out of the vehicle. You must maintain a fast speed to prevent the hostage from having the opportunity to leap to safety. In actuality, you get credit for taking a hostage as soon as it is activated, so if you are trying to complete the challenge, and don’t care about the money, simply abandon the car right after it starts and find another.

Store Holdups

The Saints are too big-time to need to loot shops, but old habits die hard. Any store you can enter provides the opportunity to hold up the clerk and shake them down for some cash. Simply point your weapon at the person behind the counter and zoom in to start the holdup. Keep your sights locked on the target and the cashier or store clerk will cough up the crash pretty quickly.

Streaking

The stress of running a criminal empire can really wear you out. It’s hard being the boss of the most successful and powerful gang in the world. When you’re ready, kick back and have some good clean fun—and by “clean” we mean naked. Go to any crib or clothing store and remove every last switch of clothing by setting them to None.

Standing around naked is fun but running around Steelport and shocking people in your birthday suit is priceless. When you are naked, you can toggle streaking on and off. This is actually a type of minigame with multiple levels. When you first start streaking, a counter appears in the upper left of the screen with the required number of people you must expose yourself to. If you can shock the initial six people, then you will receive more time (additional time decreases with each level) and the required number of people to shock keeps increasing by two. Obviously, the key to this mission is to start streaking in a well populated area to expose yourself to as many people as possible in a small area. Don’t focus on flashing only pedestrians because drivers and riders are fair game also. A steady stream of viewers on the highways are just waiting to take a glance.

Vehicle Surfing

Take a ride on the wild side and try out some vehicle surfing. It’s simple to start but not that easy to do. Simply jump on top of any vehicle that is moving and ride on top, surfing in the waves of traffic. If you really want to show off, you can even attempt a handstand for increased difficulty and rewards. Any straight stretch of roads is a good spot to give vehicle surfing a go.