Saints Row: The Third challenges guide

Saints Row: The Third challenges
(Image credit: Deep Silver)

There are 41 Saints Row: The Third challenges in total, which range from the ultra-violent to the plain ridiculous. On the one hand you're blowing up different types of vehicles and running over hundreds of pedestrians, while on the other you're taunting rival gang members and stripping off to streak naked through Steelport. It's a real mixed bag, but you need to hit the target in all of them to earn the 'You’re My Hero' achievement or trophy. Some of these will come naturally while you complete the campaign, but others require a targeted effort to get through, so let our Saints Row: The Third challenges guide explain everything you need to know to beat them.

To get all the challenges completed, it would be wise to complete any and all gang related challenges before the gang territories are taken over in full. When the Saints control an area, it can be difficult and even impossible to have certain gangs show up to help satisfy a challenge requirement. The same goes for the lone STAG challenge which must also be done before the end of the campaign to ensure that STAG responds to your mischievousness.

Don't miss our Saints Row: The Third collectibles locations guide, so you can tick all of those off your list as well.

Saints Row: The Third

(Image credit: Deep Silver)

Nut Shots

25/25 Shots

This is definitely not one of the hardest challenges on the list. Simply aim at a person’s crotch and pull the trigger. Chances are you’ll get this throughout the game by accident, but if not, you can just walk down the street and shoot 25 people in the nuts.

Grenade Kills

50/50 Kills

This is most easily nabbed during the Mayhem Missions. During those you are given infinite grenades and can toss them all willy-nilly at any and everybody that comes to get you. Two or three Mayhem Missions and you will have this easily.

Cars Destroyed

300/300 Cars

This challenge is another that will come over the course of the game. Unless you have an affinity for cars and go out of your way not to blow them up, 300 won’t take long to hit.

Helicopters Destroyed

60/60 Helicopters

When you piss off the Morningstars, STAG, or the cops enough to hit the three star level, they will start sending in choppers to attack. Take them out as they appear and you should get a few before things start to get really hairy. You can also head to Magarac Island after pissing off the cops some and they will send loads of choppers after you there.

Boats Destroyed

25/25 Boats

Obviously you’ll want to head to the docks to find some boats, but another way is to cause some trouble to get a 3 star wanted level and then make your way over to Magarac Island where the large statue is. Dive in the water and many police boats will show up. Take one and then exit it back on the island and you can then take out all the rest that are in the water. Rinse and repeat until 25 and it is much easier with either the fully upgraded RPG or upgraded Shepard Pistols.

Tanks Destroyed

25/25 Tanks

There are plenty of challenges that can be completed when you cause a big enough ruckus to reach a 5 star wanted level and the cops will send in the SWAT or STAG along with some tanks. Destroying 25 tanks of course is one of them. Hijack a tank when it rolls in and then use it to destroy the other tanks that show up. Keep switching tanks when yours is too damaged and you’ll hit 25 in no time.

Carjackings

250/250 jackings

Each and every time you take a car from someone, you’ll add another tally to this challenge. If you don’t have it by the time the main campaign is done, simple head to a freeway where the cars are continually coming towards you and keep going from car to car. Jump in, exit, jump in, and exit, and so on.

Hoods Explored

18/18 Found

This will probably be one of the first challenges you finish just by driving around the world and going from mission to mission.

Mascots Killed

200/200 Mascots

During the Mr. Genki Super Ethnic Reality Climax activities, all the enemies you’ll face are either Mascots or Brutes. During each activity you’ll face about 20-25 mascots, so you can simply roll through one activity 8 or 9 times to get it. Alternatively, there will be survival missions later on in the game that has waves and waves of mascots that come at you. Aside from being hilariously creepy, it is a good way to nab the 200 kills.

Shortcuts Found

50/50 Found

Chances are you’ll find many of the shortcuts during the main campaign, but if not, you can go to the Trail Blazing activities and there are plenty of shortcuts during each of the activities. Keep in mind there are tons of shortcuts (over 200) throughout Steelport, so finding 50 of them really isn’t as daunting as it seems.

Hostages Taken

50/50 Hostages

To get hostages, you need to hijack a car that has at least two people in it, a driver and a passenger. Jump through the window and start driving and immediately hit the prompt to initiate the hostage diversion. You don’t have to finish it and you can even stop the car and go find another hostage. As long as you start the hostage diversion, it will count.

Stores Robbed

15/15 Robbed

When you enter a store, aim your gun at the clerks head and they will either raise their hands or duck behind the counter. If they raise their hands, keep aiming at them until the alert comes up that you robbed them. If they do duck before you rob them, just leave and go to another store. Quick note: be sure to rob the stores AFTER you do your shopping there.

Streaking Time

600/600 Seconds

To streak around Steelport, you need to hit a crib or store and remove all your clothing- although shoes and boots are allowed for streaking. When you are nekkid, head streetside and double tap down on the D-Pad to initiate the streaking run. The character will then have a certain amount of time to shock a number of people. You don’t need to do this, but it keeps the time going so you don’t have to keep restarting. Go to a busy street like the main strip downtown and you should hit level 8 streaking- the longest you can streak at one time easily.

Big Air Distance

1524/1524 Meters

There are a few good ways to get this challenge completed. One way is to wait until after the zombie outbreak on Arapice Island happens and the bridges are raised. You can launch off them for some large distance each time, but your car will take some hefty damage on landings. Another way is to head to the airport and launch off the many small solar panel triangle ramps there. You won’t get as much distance, but there are more jumps at a time and your vehicle will last longer.

Gang Members Taunted

50/50 Taunted

This is one of the more pain in the ass challenges to complete. To taunt a gang member you need to run up to any of the enemy gangs and press left on the D-pad. When you do, you will aggravate them, give you a star wanted level, and they will attack which will then not allow you to taunt any of the remaining gang members in the area. To make this somewhat easier, taunt gang members near a store you own, so that after you taunt them, you can run inside to lose your wanted level and can then go out and taunt another gang member close by. You can’t taunt the same member twice so it makes it even more difficult, but if you happen to come across two gang members walking together, you can taunt them both at the same time.

Windshield Cannon Distance

304/304 Meters

Basically the idea for this is to drive and hit a solid object forcing your body to shoot out the windshield. Seems easy enough but many times you’ll stay in your car and other times you won’t fly out far at all by hitting walls or poles. The best place I found is to hit guard rails and launch over them for the most distance. Go to The Grove and there is an Insurance Fraud activity near the bottom. Activate it and then go to the west and there is a dead end road with a guard rail at the end. You don’t need to do it during the Insurance Fraud activity, but the rag doll controls during it let you get some extra distance. Keep running into the guard rail at the end of the street over and over and you’ll get this in one or two activity tries.

Vehicle Surfing Time

600/600 Seconds

To surf on a vehicle, you just need to jump top of its roof and hit the prompt when it appears. When it starts, a meter will appear and you will need to move the left analog stick left and right, trying to keep the arrow in the middle and not let it go too far to the left or right. The vehicle surfing mini-game will continue until either you fall off or until the car comes to a stop. When you fall off or the car stops, just go and hop on another car and repeat.

People Run Over

500/500 People

This is another challenge that will come during the course of the game. If you still find yourself lacking in the body count department, you can either head downtown where there are lots of people mulling about the sidewalks, or take a car over to Arapice Island and mow down load of zombies for an even faster way to rack up the kills.

Oncoming Lane Distance

30480/30480 Meters

This challenge will come over time as long as you make a conscious note to always drive in the opposite lanes, especially when driving on highways. Alternatively, you can just drive back and forth on the freeways in the direction over and over to get the full amount completed the quickest.

Powerslide Time

300/300 Seconds

This challenge will come over time as long as you tend to use the powerslide almost every time you take a corner. Hit the A/X button to skid around corners at high speeds and when you are almost lined up with the next street, push the opposite way of the turn to keep the slide going on longer. If done right, you can usually get a 1-2 second slide from each turn.

Continue to page 2 for the remaining Saints Row: The Third challenges.

Jeff McAllister is a freelance journalist who has contributed to GamesRadar+ over the years. You'll typically find his byline associated with deep-dive guides that are designed to help you scoop up collectibles and find hidden treasures in some of the biggest action and RPG games out there. Be sure to give Jeff a thanks in the comments while you're completing all of those tricky Achievements and Trophies.