Mission 3: We're Going to Need Guns

Cash Earned: $4,000

Respect Earned: 1,000

Unlocks: New Crib—Shaundi’s Ex’s Apartment; New Weapon—Reaper Drone, Saintsbook, Upgrades

Go to Friendly Fire

Your initial meeting with the Syndicate didn’t go over very well and they are determined to eliminate the Saints. The head of the Syndicate, Phillipe, contacts the leaders of the other two criminal organizations (Luchadores and Deckers) and executes a plan to destroy the Saints. Not only does the Syndicate empty your bank accounts and put a price on your head, but you are stuck in their territory of Steelport.

To view our interactive map for Saints Row: The Third, click here (Best viewed in Firefox or Google Chrome).

Surviving in this new city will require a lot of resources—and in the world of underground crime, that means guns! The Saints do everything big-time and if they need weapons they go directly to the Guard Armory.

Run down the alleyway to the yellow indicator and steal your first car. Once you are in control of the vehicle, enter the Cell Phone Menu to access your map. The green icon for Friendly Fire will be the only thing you can select. Move your cursor over this icon and press the GPS button to plot a route to the gun store.

The minimap in the bottom-left corner provides a zoomed-out view of the route to take. The objective appears as a blue triangle on the minimap as well as a blue indicator on the HUD. The actual path you should travel appears as a series of green dots illustrated on the minimap. If this isn’t enough guidance, arrows appear on the HUD to provide directions when to turn. Don’t sweat if you get off course or take a slightly different path because the GPS will adjust and get you back on track.

When you arrive at the Friendly Fire, exit the car and open to door to enter the shop. Gun stores like these are essential to your survival in Steelport. Inside the shop you can buy ammo and explosives, upgrade your weapons, and access your weapon cache from your cribs. The best use for the money Shaundi gave you is to upgrade your pistol. Not only is it the only upgrade you can afford, but a full upgrade pistol is one of the best weapons in the game.. When you start earning some big money, visit these gun shops to stay well armed and fully loaded.

Find the Weapons Cache

A single weapon upgrade is a great start but you’ll need more to retaliate against the Syndicate.

To take on a major player like that, the Saints need some serious firepower. Where’s the best place to get a lot of powerful weapons? An armory. When your brief shopping trip is over, return to your car and check the map.

The GPS automatically updates to the location of the Guard Armory. Follow the GPS and smash through the gates and guards at the entrance of the armory. Take a quick left and drive a short distance to an area bathed in red light. Ram through the chain-link fence on the right and wipe out the guards in the immediate area.

There are two ways to clear this area of guards: the hard way and the fun way. If you want to go man-to-man, hop out of your car and start eliminating the guards, who are indicated by the red squares on the minimap.

This is certainly doable, but it is a lot of work and not nearly as much fun as the alternative. For a safer and easier method to clearing out the crowd, follow the wall on the left side of the building and hop in one of the armored vehicles.

Shaundi mans the gun on top and takes out the guards while you drive around and position the vehicle to get a good clean shot at them.

Throughout the game you must kill specific enemies in a group. Be sure to check the minimap for the targets you have to remove and don’t focus on wiping out all the enemies indicated by red dots. When you get into a large gun battle, reinforcements can continue to arrive and you don’t need to waste ammo or time trying to get rid of all of them. Concentrate on killing off the key targets only.

It may be tricky to position the vehicle to take out all the guards, especially the ones on the upper walkway. When most of the area is clear, abandon the truck and clean up any straggling enemies. Make sure to park the armored truck as far into the building as possible, as this maneuver can slow down the next wave of guards.

Go to the back of the building to find the weapons cache shown with a blue marker. As soon as you walk over this blue marker you must defend yourself and hold your position until backup arrives.

This is strictly a timed event in which you must survive until Pierce shows up. There is no requirement for how many guards you have to wipe out so take cover and play it safe. Drop the guards that get too close and don’t charge into the firefight.

Destroy the Tanks

Pierce finally shows up with several friends in helicopters to provide some assistance, but you get a little greedy and wont leave without the big bomb. It’s time to use some of the high-tech, high-powered goodies this armory has to offer. Go to the yellow marker and use the reaper drone to provide some aerial assistance to take out the tanks.

The reaper drone has two firing options: a dumb missile that is very quick and lands where you originally fire it, and a guided missile that you literally steer toward your target until in hits something. During this part of the game you have unlimited missiles. Feel free to rain down a barrage of fiery death from above.

The guided missile is fun to control all the way into its target, but you can rack up a great explosive combo by using the quicker dumb missiles.

This battle is a blast and once you kill the tanks Pierce lands just outside the building, offering you an evac. Sprint to his helicopter to make a quick departure.

Protect the Bomb

Escaping with the bomb is not going to be that simple. Several enemy helicopters chase the chopper hauling the bomb and you must shoot them down before they deplete its green health gauge.

Watch the minimap to get a bead on the enemy choppers and continually fire at the helicopters closest to the one you are protecting. The gun you are firing has unlimited ammo, a large clip, and a fast reload time, which should allow you to let loose and shoot like a madman.