u/Denz-El

I'm playing the 10th Anniversary edition on Android. I tried to do Firefighter fair and square. During multiple attempts, I figured out that the hose actually followed along when I swiped the screen to look around, so that made things easier. The highest level I got using the normal method was level 10. I was in Vice Point, near the Links View Apartment. I put out the fires in the 3 piled up vehicles first and managed to put out a couple people who came out. Some managed to run further away, so I followed the ones who went the furthest to put their fires out, leaving a couple running around near the apartment. I went back for them with over 2 minutes left on the timer. I was focusing on dousing one of the guys when, all of a sudden, the mission ended and I heard an explosion, the game saying "You're too late." I had no idea what happened. So I restarted the mission but, once again, I got a moving vehicle target in level 4. I got stuck chasing the car going in circles around the Jeweler's, an area with tight corners. When I noticed that my time was running out, I just called it quits and settled for the Vercetti Estate door glitch. 😑 Move the fire truck up the stairs, trigger the mission and drive into the doorway, spawn inside facing the door and with the fire automatically extinguished, drive out, turn around rinse and repeat. Yes, it was much easier, but I'm not entirely proud of it, since I beat Paramedic and Vigilante fair and square (although I did use a Tank for the latter). After the mission I drove the fire truck to the edge of the Estate close to the sea... and I blasted it repeatedly with the Rocket Launcher. Even when it fell into the water, I blasted it a few more times.

I've been wearing Tommy's various outfits when starting missions to see what they look like in cutscenes. I wore the Red Tracksuit (located in Brownstone Laundromat in Little Havana) before starting two of Auntie Poulet's missions. Both times it reverted back into the Street outfit during the animation of Tommy entering the house and stayed that way throughout the cutscene and the mission.

At first I thought that this was unique to Auntie Poulet and the other missions where Tommy is required to change clothes. For The Job I started with the Mr. Vercetti suit, which worked in the cutscene and gameplay until it was replaced by the Bank Job outfit which was then automatically replaced by the Soiree suit after passing the mission. I switched back to the Mr. Vercetti suit and wore it throughout Phil's first mission Gun Runner. After that I knocked off Brownstone Laundromat and switched to the Red Tracksuit to take away the wanted level. Then I saved and started Boomshine Saigon. The cutscene starts and I'm back in the Street outfit. I reloaded and switched to the Mr. Vercetti suit again and it worked just fine in the cutscene and the mission itself.

The only other outfit I haven't tried in cutscenes is the Black Jumpsuit, but I have seen screenshots from the wiki of Tommy wearing it in cutscenes. Is this issue unique to the Red Jumpsuit (which I read was never unlocked but was immediately available, if unreachable, at the start of the game). Does it share the same code as the Street outfit or something? I'm playing on mobile, is this issue present in the other ports of the game?

I did it in Staunton Island. I already completed the story, so Fort Staunton now spawns the Yakuza, who can keep the Cartel occupied. I didn't finish King Courtney's missions, so the Yardies are neutral and Newport is safe. I generally made my way back to the hospital via the Stadium and Campus side, preferring the grassy embankment by the parking lot as a shortcut over the staircase (which I still used occasionally). When really pressed for time, I took the risk of passing by the Construction Site, hoping that the Yakuza will spawn instead of the Cartel, or at least keep the latter busy if they do spawn. The ambulance still got shot at ocassionally. (Is it true that the ambulance gets repaired a little bit with each trip back to the hospital?)

I found myself straight up praying as I went along... or otherwise saying some weird mantras (silently, of course):

"See, that's enough time to get Ray to the airport!"

"That's ​more time than what I got during S. A. M.!"

"Just a little​ under the time limit for Espresso-2-Go!"

"Don't flip, don't flip, don't you dare flip!"

"Don't shoot. Don't shoot."

"Come on, Yakuza bros, don't let me down!"

"I'd get to the marker faster if it weren't for that fucking sign!"

I hated it when patients spawned in that area where the bridges from Fort Staunton cross over by Asuka's pier. I also hated it when the patients spawned behind the blue fence surrounding the construction site sidewalks, requiring me to slowly guide them to the exit while worrying about possible Cartel spawns. I had to do a drive-by to stay safe at one point!

My first time reaching level 12 I got a bit too excited when I picked up my last three passengers and, despite still having over 4 minutes left on the clock, I decided to take my usual shortcut at the embankment by the parking lot... only to flip the ambulance on its side. I couldn't get it upright again and it soon caught fire. That was upsetting, to say the least. But now I knew I could make it to level 12 so I tried again. I got halfway through level 11 only to accidentally pressed the exit vehicle button. 🤦‍♂️ I took a break for the next few hours, taking the time to eat and sleep. I tried again and got to level 12 and with over 6 minutes left by the time I picked up my last three passengers, I decided to take it easy and not rush, using the proper road that leads into the hospital parking lot. It was so satisfying to hit that marker and see "Paramedic Mission Ended" and hear the usual Mission Passed music along with the pager ringtone. 😌

Still, I can see why it's still highly recommended to do Paramedic super early in Portland since it has a more accessible hospital driveway and no hostile gangs. But Staunton's longer time limits do help a lot. Kudos to anyone who accomplished this in earlier ports that didn't have interactive maps. 👍

The wiki doesn't seem to say anything about this being possible, but I've seen a few comments saying that it is. If it is, does it work in every version of the game (I'm playing on Android). It might be useful if anyone wants to do 100% and making one gang neutral again could feel rewarding, I guess. Will hostile Diablos just stop attacking Claude if he reaches the payphone in time? I imagine that the best way to do this (if it's possible) is to:

1. Do El Burro's first two missions before working for Toni or unlocking Staunton (that way neither the Triads nor the Mafia will try to shoot Claude while he's racing or stealing a Mr. Whoopee truck)

2. Do King Courtney's missions in Staunton (maybe save Kingdom Come for AFTER Grand Theft Aero for dramatic effect)

3. After finishing the main story, go and do El Burro's and D-Ice's remaining missions. I know that Trial by Fire makes the Triads neutral unless provoked and Big 'n Veiny can be done without passing through Saint Mark's (at least on mobile, which gives 20 extra seconds at the start). Meanwhile, finishing all of D-Ice's missions leads to the Purple Nines glitch which affects all future save files, so it should only be done IF you really want the 100%... This would make for a nice "Good Ending" Epilogue of sorts, where Claude manages to befriend two small-time gangs​ after pissing off everyone else.

Portland Garage - Bomb explodes when the engine is started.

Staunton Garage - Activate the bomb, get out and run.

Shoreside Garage - Remote detonator.​

Mine's the Enforcer. It's both fast and durable. I used it a bunch in Staunton and Shoreside Vale.

Next is the Rhino. It blows up any other vehicle it bumps into and is virtually indestructible... But it's slower than the Enforcer and works best in the flat layout of Staunton. It's a bit clumsy at Shoreside.

I only relied on the regular police car during the early game at Portland.

Not really a big fan of the FBI car's handling... But then again, I only tried using it at Shoreside Vale. ​

The last time I did this, I was able to snipe Salvatore right in the face from the rooftop across the street. This time around, I misjudged the angle and missed my first shot. My second shot got him just before he disappeared from my view. While I'm disappointed that it wasn't as clean as I wanted it to be... It actually makes sense for the story. Maybe Claude was still undergoing some turmoil after suffering another betrayal and got a bit sloppy. Plus, realistically, the first shot would have warned the Leones that there was an assassin and the time it took for the second shot to hit would have given them the chance to spot Claude from below. While they couldn't get him this time (perhaps they're preoccupied with a futile attempt to save the Don's life), they made sure to prepare a short and violent welcome for the next time Claude sets foot in their territory.

Since I had already unlocked the Borgnine (with it's bloodied spikes), I drove it to Toni's parking lot and started the mission. Claude and the boys charge into Chinatown in a freaking War Vehicle, mowing down Triad soldiers before and after taking out the first two warlords.

I actually caught police attention while gunning down the first warlord. Ran around the block and back to the Borgnine. Thankfully, both of the bodyguards were still alive. Lost my armor and some health to the second warlord's ambush. One bodyguard was shot down on the way back to the Borgnine. Went for the bribe near Joey's place (back alley that used to have the Rocket Launcher rampage) so I won't get bothered by cops. Went to the hospital to refill health. Drove into Chinatown again to run over some more Triads, before finally driving around the back of the Fish Factory, climbing the little hill there and chucking a Molotov at the third warlord.

Mission Passed... and the remaining bodyguard started wandering around aimlessly, so I got back in the Borgnine and activated the Taxi mission, hoping to do some more lore-friendly roleplay. My plan worked and he became available as a fare. After a hard day's battle, I drove him to the Meeouch Club in the Red Light District and we parted ways. I went to the back alley near Toni's for some new armor and extra AK-47 ammo and I took the time to admire my bloody, smoking and battle-damaged Borgnine. I used the still damaged taxi to drive to 8-Ball's in Blow Fish. Fun way to end the weekend. 😁

Since the Old Oriental Gentleman can get to Pike Creek relatively unharmed if Claude basically just keeps his distance, I think that the missions "Escort Service" and "Decoy" we're just Donald Love's attempts to get rid of Claude once he's served his purpose. Maybe he anonymously tipped off the Cartel that a "Yakuza hitman" could be found escorting a Securicar on the way to Shoreside Vale. The Cartel fails to kill Claude, who comes back to Donald for another job. So, Donald tries to set him up again. He tells Claude that he has to serve as a decoy and lead the cops on a wild goose chase, but really, it's just an attempt to ge​t him killed by the cops. That fails as well, and the next time Claude comes to the Love Media Building for another job, Donald has fled.

I was doing the Taxi side mission in Staunton earlier (I'm just realizing now that these would have been helpful in memorizing the city and committing more landmarks to memory since they give names to random places I've passed by and didn't pay attention to). Anyway, I was surprised to find that a couple of my passengers were Yardies members (I'm playing in a save file where they're not trying to kill me). One asked to be driven to the construction site (currently occupied by the Yakuza and surrounded by the Cartel) while the other asked to be brought to Kenji's Casino. The latter immediately got into a shootout with the Yakuza, who sent him running. It was hilarious. 😄

Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? This is the first time it's happened to me (admittedly, I didn't do Taxi missions much in Portland). I'm playing the Android version, so I don't know if this is a thing in other ports.

I did it! I finished the main story! It took some planning. I watched GTA Series Videos' playthroughs. Scoped out the lower dam area myself before going to Cedar Grove to start the mission. Failed a few times (ran out of time/got wasted).

I settled for just grabbing the pistol of the guy Claude punched and running for the gate. Had to shoot back for a bit as I waited for it to open (fortunately, my armor wasn't taken with the weapons). Then I ran for the Banshee I parked outside. Took the squiggly road to the Safe House and grabbed some select weapons (Pistol, Uzi, Grenade, Shotgun, AK-47, M16, Sniper Rifle and ​Rocket Launcher).

Then I got back into the car and drove past the gap in the road barrier and down the grassy slope toward the lower road leading up to the dam. I stopped by the curve with the trees right across from the Cartel blockade and blasted them with a rocket. Went past and got shot at for a bit by a guy who didn't get caught in the explosion. Took him down with the M16.

I grabbed the Sniper Rifle pickup for extra ammo and to have a safe place to scan the area ahead. Sniped the gunmen above and below and blew up the vehicles. Climbed the first staircase to scan ahead. Did some more sniping. I had to climb back down to get the other trucks within range of the Launcher.

After that I moved in closer and activated the cutscene where Catalina gets into the chopper. After getting hit with explosives and running out of time in my previous attempts, I just went "Screw it! Unceremonious death for you then!" I took aim with the Launcher and missed my first few shots. But I got her. The chopper exploded and took the time limit with it.

I noticed another survivor on the ground, so I switched to AK and gunned him down. After that I climbed up the next staircase on the side of the dam and sniped the guys next to Maria. Then I went back down and scanned the area for more survivors (none) before climbing final set of stairs and shooting the other guy that was protected by a barrier. I went and grabbed the Launcher pick up for more ammo and out of pettiness. Then I switched to a pistol and approached Maria for the final cutscene.

I was really leaning into the ambiguity of the ending and the way I opted to take down Catalina was coincidentally fitting. Claude was armed when he approached Maria, so he could have shot her dead for being an annoying liability... Or maybe a heavily injured Catalina survived her unceremonious chopper crash earlier and tried to sneak up on Maria and Claude only to be shot and killed for good. In this case, I don't really see Claude and Maria becoming a real couple. Asuka's dead so all of Maria's attraction is now directed at Claude, who doesn't reciprocate... Which leads to her funny phone call to Chatterbox FM.

I was a bit disappointed that Staunton Island and Portland Island weren't featured in the credits, but hey, Shoreside Vale is still pretty scenic on its own. 🤷‍♂️

I just completed Espresso-2-Go, so I only have three main story missions left (well, two with a cutscene in between). I just found out that Claude loses all his weapons in The Exchange (which sucks, since I had just maxed out the ammo on my Pistol, Uzi, AK, and M16 😭). Fortunately, I've completed all the hidden packages and had put out 20 fires on each of the three islands. I could just drive to the nearby safe house to restock, run off for a short distance and then turn around to restock some more, before taking the path towards the dam. If I stored the Bulletproof Patriot in the Wichita Gardens garage before starting the mission, I could get into it right after restocking on weapons and use it at the Cochrane Dam... But once the mission is over, would I still be able to keep it? Would it still be in the same spot where I left it, or​ would it simply vanish as the final cutscene and end credits play out? Would it be wiser to just leave the Patriot in the garage and rely more on the Rocket Launcher, the Sniper Rifle and staying calm despite the time limit?

1. Marty Chonks - His missions were quite simple (especially if done before the Triads and Mafia turn permanently hostile). Just pick up and drop off. Darkly humorous. I was sad to see him gunned down.

2. D-Ice - His missions gave me something to do in Shoreside Vale and were pretty fun (except for the part where I got ran over by a Purple Nines Rumpo right after passing Uzi Money 😅). I intentionally did not do his final mission Rumble in order to avoid activating the Glitch.

3. El Burro - I hated Turismo. I Scream, You Scream and Trial by Fire were quite fun, though. Used the shortcut method for Big 'n' Veiny.

4. King Courtney - Didn't even bother doing his missions. I tried Bling Bling Scramble but it's annoying and I kept failing. Plus, the payoff for passing all of his missions just isn't worth it for me, what with adding the Diablos and Yardies to the list of permanently hostile gangs. I prefer to keep them neutral in free roam, with their territories serving as buffers against the Mafia, Triads and Cartel.

After five failed attempts at Bling Bling Scramble... It was time to keep the Yardies and Diablos neutral. 😅

I was having a hard time beating said mission, even with a fire truck, so I just figured I'd skip all four of King Courtney's missions. Uzi Rider was gonna make the Diablos hate me, Gang Car Round Up would require me to venture into hostile territory and Kingdom Come was gonna make the Yardies betray Claude and remain hostile.

"​Never mind. I didn't want more gangs (than necessary) attacking me on sight anyway. Especially when I just want to do some free roaming post-story".

My original plan was to beat Bling Bling Scramble for the cash, save to my original slot and then save again in the second slot. OG slot would have seen me completing King Courtney's missions (mostly for the drama of Catalina sending suicide bombers after Claude) while slot 2 would be the "Neutral Diablos and No Yardies Betrayal" timeline. But all things considered, the additional gang hostility just isn't worth it to me (especially since the phone missions are optional).

Has anyone else tried (and succeeded) in this "multiple timeline" approach? Even if you skip El Burro's mission strand (which I did manage to complete) the story would require the Triads to hate Claude anyway... but how about timelines where Claude stays a Leone henchman in Portland, or unlocks Staunton without assassinating Salvatore, ones where Kenji lives or dies, ones where the Purple Nines are wiped out or stay in existence, etc?

I did Paramedic at Portland. Gangs aren't hostile yet but I still couldn't get past level 4. Once I found out that you can still get the Health Pickup after 43 non-consecutive rescues (according to the wiki), I just kept doing levels 1-3 on repeat until I rescued that exact amount of people. Nothing happened. I was bummed, then figured "What if I need 45 or something?" So I did one more level 1 (44th rescue) and immediately got the page about the Health Pickup being delivered to my safe house. I turned off the mission immediately. 😅 That's all I was aiming for. Although, I did get better at driving the ambulance throughout this effort. 🤷‍♂️ Maybe someday, I'll have the skills, patience and dedication to try for level 12.

First time playing on Android and I've gotten Claude​ wasted a couple times (fell into the sea, overwhelmed during a rampage). From my experience with Vice City and San Andreas on PC, Tommy and CJ always lose their weapons upon getting wasted (unless CJ is dating Katie). So it was a surprise for me to realize that my weapons were still there when Claude spawned back at the hospital. Is this normal for GTA 3 or is it a perk added in the Android version? Or is it just a fortunate bug (perhaps caused by the retry feature) ? I haven't been busted yet, so I don't know yet if I'll lose weapons from that.