Mechanics

Saints Row's reboot is a business sim wearing a rocket launcher. The money that buys better guns and cars comes from fifteen fronts you place on the Empire Table, the passive perks that keep you alive come from challenges, and the vehicles that make the city fun only reach their potential once JimRob's Garage and its signature abilities are unlocked. This guide walks our Saints Row systems coverage from the Empire Table outward: the venture ladder and every business on it, the challenge and perk economy, the garage, towing and the crew phone, and finally the difficulty screen that tunes it all. The vehicles you collect along the way are in our collectibles and vehicles guide, and the venture mission chains are broken down in our missions guide.

The Criminal Empire ladder

Ventures unlock after the main mission Networking, when the Empire Table appears in the church HQ. Each venture is a building you place in one of the 15 inner-city districts (the four desert districts and the lake district are off limits), it pays an hourly income into the Cash app, and it comes with a mission chain and a set of district threats. Costs and income climb with each tier, and the tiers themselves gate on how many ventures you have built and finished.

Our criminal ventures page lists every business with its price, income range, rewards and mission type. Grouped by cost, which is how they fall into tiers:

Every completed venture also pays 5,000 XP and 30,000 dollars along with a crew outfit and a collectible sign. Placing a venture unlocks that district's threats, small fights marked with brass knuckles: Idols vandals and stashes, Marshall drones, police surveillance vans, Panteros cars and muscle. Clearing them raises the venture's hourly income, so do them as you build.

Challenges and perks

Perks are the game's passive abilities, and the only way to earn them is through challenges. Our challenges guide lists all of them in the order the game hands them out: roughly 74 challenges for 34 perks, which means you can skip the hardest third and still collect every perk. Challenges open after Making Rent, the third main mission, with more appearing as you level and each completed venture adding its own set. A few are worth knowing before you play, because they are easy to fail or expensive to set up.

Vehicles: the garage, signature abilities and towing

Vehicle upgrades open when the main mission A Piece of the Action gives you JimRob's Garage in West Providencia and a cut of its profits. Our vehicle customization page runs through the menus for the more than 80 customizable vehicles: presets, paint (body and trim, rims, decals, windows, interior, age and grime, underglow), body mods (bumpers through wheel covers), tires, the engine, horn and transmission sounds, an equipment slot for nitrous, an off-road kit or a tow cable, and a performance kit that can be bought three times per vehicle. Some upgrades only come from side hustles or from stealing specific cars and bringing them back to JR.

Each vehicle also has a signature ability, unlocked by a stunt. Our barrel roll page covers the common one: launch off a cliff or ramp at speed, pull the handbrake with L2 in the air, then push the left stick left or right while pressing X or A, and land it three times to unlock the Jump ability and the Spins trophy. The car-to-wingsuit challenge unlocks others: build speed on an empty or downhill road, hold Triangle, Y or E to climb onto the roof, then press X, A or F immediately to open the wingsuit above the car; even dying afterwards counts, and the vehicle you used gains its ability, which can be an ejector seat, a jump or an air boost.

Towing needs a tow cable, bought at your base or JimRob's equipment section for 7,500 dollars, or the Wuzyerz Repo tow truck, called the Shaft. Approach the target, press R1 or RB to bring up the rear-view towing guide, line the guide up inside the object until it turns green, press again to attach, and press once more to release. Only objects that turn green can be towed, which covers almost every vehicle and not much else, and handling suffers badly with a load. If the cable refuses to fire, hold the button, and failing that reload a save or switch vehicles.

Dressing the crew

Crew customization arrives after you unlock the headquarters and finish Aggressive Recruiting. In the HQ bar right of the entrance, the glass-cased Saints Crew telephone opens a menu for your members' looks, clothes and vehicles, with themed sets from 80s styles to sporty and gangster outfits, as our crew customization page describes. The venture rewards above add crew outfits for every business you complete.

Difficulty presets and sliders

Difficulty can be changed at any time, and our difficulty settings page explains both layers: five presets and seven sliders that reshape any of them. Higher settings pay more rewards and XP.

Frequently asked questions

Which venture should I build first?

JimRob's Garage costs nothing, and the first venture you place is free regardless, so Shady Oaks or another 30,000-dollar business costs nothing either if you start with it. Both come with early mission chains covered in our missions guide.

Do I have to finish every challenge for every perk?

No. There are more challenges than perks, around 74 to 34, so the hard ones can be skipped. Completing every challenge is still required for 100 percent completion.

How do I unlock a car's signature ability?

With a stunt in that car: three barrel rolls for the Jump ability, or the car-to-wingsuit manoeuvre for others such as ejector seats and air boosts.

Can I change difficulty later?

Yes, presets and sliders can be changed at any point. Only the timed objective slider forces a checkpoint restart when altered during a mission.