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The 2022 Saints Row reboot starts you as a broke roommate in Santo Ileso and ends with a skyscraper carrying your name. Everything in between is a loop of building fronts, doing their dirty work, and spending the proceeds on guns, cars and clothes. This page is the map to our Saints Row coverage in the order a new Boss meets it: set the difficulty, pick a loadout, build the empire, run its missions, sweep the districts for collectibles, and take on the masked Idols who run the city's nightlife.
Before the first mission
The difficulty screen is unusually flexible. Five presets run from Tourist to Boss, Entrepreneur is the default, and seven sliders let you raise or lower damage taken, enemy durability, notoriety spawns, ammo drops and mission timers on top of any preset; higher settings pay more XP and rewards, and everything can be changed later. Our difficulty settings page explains each slider.
A weapon for every slot
Our best weapons guide names one pick per category.
| Category | Pick | Why, and how to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Rifle | K-8 Krukov | Mobile at range and close in, hits armored enemies hard; its signature ability shortens cooldowns |
| SMG | TEK Z-10 | Unusually accurate and stable for the class, with a high fire rate |
| Shotgun | Sawed-Off Shotgun | Lethal damage and decent range for around 400 dollars in the shop, or free for killing 30 Idols; expect recoil |
| Big weapon | Rocket Launcher | Four rockets that flatten anything, upgradable for range and vehicles |
| Sniper | TOGO-13 | The most accurate rifle; unlocked by finishing Drawing Heat |
| Pistol | Idol Life Pistol | Fast reload and steady aim for precision work and close-range emergencies |
| Melee | Axe | Heavy damage with bleed, and its signature ability heals you as you hit |
Building the empire
The mechanics guide is the long read on the systems. It lays out all 15 criminal ventures by tier with their costs and hourly income, from the free JimRob's Garage to the 5,000,000-dollar Saints Tower; the challenges that pay out the game's 34 perks; the garage, vehicle upgrades and the stunts that unlock signature abilities; towing; and the phone at HQ that dresses your crew.
Running the missions
Our missions guide covers everything outside the main story: the 41 side hustles sorted into their five types, the six desert shooting galleries and the weapons they pay, the venture chains for JimRob's Garage, Shady Oaks, Chalupacabra and Wuzyerz Repo, and the seven loyalty missions that double as Castle Kraken's LARP storyline.
Sweeping the districts
Completion is counted district by district, and our collectibles and vehicles guide is built the same way: drug pallets and weather stations tallied for every district, the photo hunts by territory, El Dorado's Hidden History boards, and the 30 Lost Wheels that assemble six cars. It also covers the transport: the wingsuit, the two helicopters including the Prison-spawning Tornado, the VTOL Jet from the final mission, and the Tow Truck. Our locations guide explains the photo-based fast travel system and the five Rooftop Access elevators in Lakeshore.
The Idols
The anarchist Idols hide six leaders behind faceplates, and The Collective challenge tracks them once four story missions are behind you (The Networking, Neenah's Car, The Dustmoot, Aggressive Recruiting). Our Idol Collective members guide places each one: two in Be Your Own Boss and Idol Threat, two together in Going Overboard's rooftop finale, one as a threat after you build a venture in Old Town West, and the last in the Wanted job Litterbugs out in the Rojas Desert.
Frequently asked questions
Which difficulty should I start on?
Entrepreneur, the default, if you want the story with some resistance. Our difficulty page saves Boss for a second run unless you are feeling ambitious, and reminds you that any setting can be changed later.
When do criminal ventures unlock?
As soon as Networking is finished; the Empire Table then shows up in the church headquarters. Your first venture is free.
How do I get the VTOL Jet?
Finish the final story mission, Showdown, and it appears in your helipad garage. Marshall facilities sometimes spawn one, but they are heavily guarded and not reliable.