vigilante tactics

[jkk]

On the PS2 version, I'm trying to get Vig L12 in a squad car. I'm wondering what the best tactics are, bearing in mind the tendency to get wanted levels and for your ride to take a beating. Also, there are not many police bribes in Portland (where I am still) one can conveniently get with a car.

 

What's your method? Do you shoot them up or just pin their cars someplace? Do you run around long enough to let a single wanted star clear off, tailing your target, or do you just ignore wanted levels?

[Tyedyeskyguy]

You have a distinct advantage with the squad car. Speed and agility. This cop car far outperforms anything from GTA3. Just get up next to them without hitting them and uzi them till they start to flame, then hit the brakes and watch em burn. Just make sure they don't get away. If the cars stops before exploding, the criminals will run.

[Win98crash]

I ended up using the Enforcer up until level 9 or so, when it caught fire. Luckily I was next to the police station and grabbed a Police car.

 

The Enforcer is good at ramming, but has terrible accelleration and manueverability. The Police on the other hand, is my favorite car in the game because of it's awesome accelleration and manueverability

 

I tried to ram the criminals when I could, but mostly drove beside them filling them full of lead. Once I lost the Enforcer, I used drive-by except when they started to flee and had to get out a few times (I hate when they split up!).

 

Getting the bribes is a bear, I only used them when I absolutely had to. Good thing about having stars though is that you have endless supply of vehicles to use, but the cops in LCS can be nasty too. A few times I stopped by the Pay-n-spray and used a normal vehicle to get rid of stars.

 

I failed on attempt #1 by running out of time around level 10. On attempt #2 I had one criminal left with about 5 seconds on the timer going after him on foot. The clock would have ticked to zero if I had killed him a millisecond later. Immediately after I killed him I got "Mission Failed", but I was on level 13 at that point so it still counted for level 12 completion.

 

[Lurk Morrison]

Heck, I haven't attempted the Vigilante missions yet, but I'll probably just load up on Minigun ammo. Get ahead of my targets and BOOM! No worries about them escaping from the car.

[jkk]

You have a distinct advantage with the squad car. Speed and agility. This cop car far outperforms anything from GTA3. Just get up next to them without hitting them and uzi them till they start to flame, then hit the brakes and watch em burn. Just make sure they don't get away. If the cars stops before exploding, the criminals will run.

One thing I've noticed is that the squad car can take a tremendous amount of abuse. Sort of like in SA where, when doing Vig on a cop bike (in my personal view the only acceptable way but I'm bad about stuff like that), every level your bike heals up a little.

 

Okay, I'll try the overtake-and-hose method. One good deal about the ride-along missions on the back of the bikes is you accumulate a buttload of SMG.

[PetsOvernight]

I completed it in Portland on my first attempt using the police cruiser. I just loaded up on ammo and used the drive-by tactic. Worked well. Eventually got a 3 star wanted level, so when I was near the Pay 'n' Spray, I got in a regular car to get sprayed. Time was never an issue, and I usually had 1-2 minutes to spare after eliminating the threats.

[Win98crash]

 

One thing I've noticed is that the squad car can take a tremendous amount of abuse.  Sort of like in SA where, when doing Vig on a cop bike (in my personal view the only acceptable way but I'm bad about stuff like that), every level your bike heals up a little.

 

Do you think it heals? Now that I think about it, the Enforcer I used almost seemed to repair itself or take a bunch of damage too.

 

I just did the Paramedic missions on one try and my Ambulance was still in pretty good condition when I finished even though I abused it a lot during my attempt. Wonder if it does the same thing?

 

[jkk]

Do you think it heals? Now that I think about it, the Enforcer I used almost seemed to repair itself or take a bunch of damage too.

 

I just did the Paramedic missions on one try and my Ambulance was still in pretty good condition when I finished even though I abused it a lot during my attempt. Wonder if it does the same thing?

I very strongly suspect that it does. I mean, look at the rough stuff a police car goes through in a chase even when you aren't ramming someone off the side of the road. You bump into trees, steps, bridge abutments, knock down countless light poles, fire hydrants, scrape walls. You lose your hood. Your windshield is just done. Normally nearly any car you drive that way, eventually the smoke starts coming out. And yet on this battered ride you're still going.

 

It was definitive on SA because the cop bike would have steam coming out, then I'd complete a level and the steam stopped. Or smoke would be coming out and then ease off to steam after a level.

[PetsOvernight]

Yeah after each level completed, your car heals a bit, but not fully.

[tommyalma]

- Vigiliante is harder in LCS than in GTA3, because you can't spray the FBI car this time!

- I like to use Staunton and store two cop cars in the garage, just in case.

- Drivebys, not ramming, are the technique to use. Your car stays around a lot longer. Get up to at least 1500 ammo.

- What else ... I recommend keeping a wanted level of one to two stars at all times, so there's always a cop car nearby if your crashes or flips.

 

Of course, with Edison Carter's Cheat Device, I now prefer doing Vigilante in a hover tank. But that's just me.

[B_da_man]

Use the SMG, I found this a lot easier!