My Trip Back to Vice City

[Grotti Vigilante]

I don't usually make these posts, but I feel like I might be able to make my life easier by seeking advice like others have done before me. As the title of the thread suggests, I am going to be returning to GTA: Vice City on PS4, but more than that, I shall be going for the full 100% complete run, and I am very much looking forward to joining Tommy Vercetti on his great adventure through GTA's satirised version of Miami, full of drugs, gangs, and a load of dumb Florida morons. Here's my plan:

 

1. From the start of the game, I'll be doing the first missions for Ken Rosenberg.
2. Then I shall begin doing the Pizza Boy missions so I can get full health early on in the game, which will help in more difficult missions later down the line.
3. After this, I shall go hunting for all the Hidden Packages on the first island to unlock myself some weapons in case things go wrong and I die, saving me money to buy the properties later on.
4. One done, I'll move on and do Avery Carrington's missions, to break things up a bit and actually feel like I'm doing something entertaining in between the more grinding parts of the run.
5. From then, I'll also do 30 taxi fares, splitting them up so I don't have to grind my way through the game and deal with the intense monotony of picking people up and dropping them off.
6. After that, I'll get to doing 12 stunt jumps on the first island (if possible), splitting them up to make sure it doesn't feel like a proper grind where I lose interest and patience.
7. I shall then do Colonel Cortez's missions until Ricardo Diaz wishes to call me.
8. At that point I shall then do his missions until the next island is unlocked.
9. When that happens, I shall search for remaining Hidden Packages to unlock more weapons.
10. I shall then do another 35 taxi fares, earning some money and getting almost two-thirds of the way from the total fares needed for 100%.
11. I shall do "Death Row", and then "Rub Out" so I can take over Diaz's mansion and complete the Vercetti Estate missions.
12. After completing "Cop Land", I'll go to Fort Baxter and use the Hunter helicopter to do the Vigilante missions quick and easily for me.
13. I shall then obtain a Fire Truck and do the Firefighter side missions so I can become fireproof and earn more money along the way.
14. After that I'll start robbing the 15 needed stores and get myself more of the money I need later on for property buying.
15. I shall then do all the Assassination missions all in one go rather than breaking them up, since I feel like it'd make things easier and more easy to keep track of.
16. I'll then move on to the Hyman Memorial Stadium Missions and complete them all in one go.
17. After that, I'll move on to another 12 stunt jumps, taking myself two-thirds of the way through them.
18. I'll do the Umberto Robina gang missions, as well as the Hatian missions alongside it.
19. Then I'll do Love Fist missions with Big Mitch Baker's missions alongside it so I can complete those side-missions.
20. I'll then do Chopper Checkpoint Missions, followed by the RC checkpoint missions, then the Off-Road missions, before finally finishing off on the street races.
21. If unlocked, I'll move on to doing the Rifle Range side-mission, though I may do this if it needs to be unlocked by the mission "The Shootist".
22. I'll finish the final 12 stunt jumps and complete that side-quest, before picking up the last 45 necessary taxi fares to complete that side-quest.
23. With considerable money having now been made, I'll buy the properties, including the asset ones (Pole Position Club, Malibu Club, Boatyard, Kauffman Cabs, InterGlobal Studios, Sunshine Autos, the Cherry Popper Ice Cream company, and then finally the Print Works)
24. I'll complete Phil Cassidy's missions after the Malibu club missions at whatever point that may be.
25. I shall complete the Print Works missions last, and once "Cap the Collector" is finished, I'll end the run on "Keep Your Friends Close", achieving 100% completion!

 

Forgive me if that was a bit long, but as well as asking for some tips and tricks you may have during the story and side-missions, I also wanted to know whether you guys/gals would recommend me doing the activities in a certain way such as maybe doing certain property missions before others, or whether I should do certain things in a certain order to minimise grind and difficulty and make things easier. If at any point I missed out a task for 100% completion, let me know! If you have an idea where that can fit in, do let me know of that as well. As expected, I shall keep you updated on my progress, and I hope you can all share some good valuable tips and tricks with me. Thanks in advance for all those who help.

[Guest]

If you don't want the Cuban outfit to get glitched out and thus unable to be worn, you should complete Avery's last mission 'Two Bit Hit' only after completing the missions Cop Land, No Escape and The Job. The former is a Vercetti Estate main mission while the latter two are from the Malibu club strand. This won't make your playthrough feel as immersive I guess but if you care about having that outfit then this is what you should do

 

Unlike the fates of similar threads in the San Andreas and IV section, let's hope you actually complete the game eh 

[god speed]

-I would do Umberto's last mission Trojan Voodoo as late as possible since this makes Haitians hostile towards Tommy.
-I'd recommend waiting until the Kaufman Cabs asset is finished before doing all taxi fares, the unlocked Zebra Cab is faster than the other taxi cars.
-You forgot to mention Paramedic and the Rampages. I'd do Paramedic early for the infinite sprint ability. The 50% health boost from Pizza Boy and 50% armor boost from Vigilante make Rampages easier, the fireproof ability from Firefighter and the quick reload ability from the Rifle Range can also be useful for them.

[Grotti Vigilante]

7 hours ago, Utopianthumbs said:

If you don't want the Cuban outfit to get glitched out and thus unable to be worn, you should complete Avery's last mission 'Two Bit Hit' only after completing the missions Cop Land, No Escape and The Job. The former is a Vercetti Estate main mission while the latter two are from the Malibu club strand. This won't make your playthrough feel as immersive I guess but if you care about having that outfit then this is what you should do
 

Thanks for the most helpful tip! I’d like to be able to get all outfits possible, and so I think I shall move the Avery Carrington missions to later on after those ones you speak of. It was foolish of me to forget about that dreaded glitch! 

 

7 hours ago, Utopianthumbs said:

Unlike the fates of similar threads in the San Andreas and IV section, let's hope you actually complete the game eh 

I ain’t starting yet because I want to give time for more tips and tricks to come in, but I’m going to do by best! I’ve already done a full 100 run before, so I know I’m capable!

 

29 minutes ago, perennial said:

-I would do Umberto's last mission Trojan Voodoo as late as possible since this makes Haitians hostile towards Tommy.
-I'd recommend waiting until the Kaufman Cabs asset is finished before doing all taxi fares, the unlocked Zebra Cab is faster than the other taxi cars.

I know they were separate points, but I actually realised that Kaufman Cabs is in Little Haiti, and so it would be very much ideal to get then missions done before the Cuban and Haitian missions! Thanks for the intentional tips as well as the one unintended tip!

 

29 minutes ago, perennial said:

-You forgot to mention Paramedic and the Rampages. I'd do Paramedic early for the infinite sprint ability. The 50% health boost from Pizza Boy and 50% armor boost from Vigilante make Rampages easier, the fireproof ability from Firefighter and the quick reload ability from the Rifle Range can also be useful for them.

I knew I would forget something. I’ll be getting the Paramedic missions done early, probably after the lawyer missions, and rampages I’ll probably do later on in the game too. The abilities to mention will be of most help in that scenario.

[Sombra]

If you have the time you can pretty much complete all side missions and collectables bar one of the unique stunts before even starting the main mission strand.

 

 

[Guest]

Suppose you're short of money or just want to get a lot of cash you can grind the cone crazy side mission, since for each successive completed round your cash doubles from the previous round. 

 

Explanation from GTA wiki

Quote

The reward for completing the mission for the first time is $200 and brings the player a step closer to 100% Completion. For every successive completion of the mission, the reward is double the previous reward for each new record.

 

This side-mission is the quickest way to make money in the game as the monetary reward exponentially increases – players will start seeing significant payouts from the seventh win onwards – but there's a limit to how many times the player can complete it; realistically, the maximum money one can earn from one run in Cone Crazy is up to $838,860,600 (the 23rd successful win), for a total of $1,677,721,400.

 

# of wins	Reward	Total
1	$200	$200
2	$400	$600
3	$800	$1,400
4	$1,600	$3,000
5	$3,200	$6,200
6	$6,400	$12,600
7	$12,800	$25,400
8	$25,600	$51,000
9	$51,200	$102,200
10	$102,400	$204,600
11	$204,800	$409,400
12	$409,600	$819,000
13	$819,200	$1,638,200
14	$1,638,400	$3,276,600
15	$3,276,800	$6,553,400
16	$6,553,600	$13,107,000
17	$13,107,200	$26,214,200
18	$26,214,400	$52,428,600
19	$52,428,800	$104,857,400
20	$104,857,600	$209,715,000
21	$209,715,200	$419,430,200
22	$419,430,400	$838,860,600
23	$838,860,800	$1,677,721,400

Video explanation

 

Another suggestion, preferably don't save in the Cherry Popper save point since sometimes it has been known to corrupt save files. Dont know if it always happens but best to be safe

Edited July 11, 2020 by Guest

[Red_hot_redemption]

I always do the paramedic mission from the hospital in Vice Point, as most of the patients spawn on the beach, making it easier and also less chance of damaging the ambulance, might take a bit of practice to stop in time on the sand tho, as its slightly easier to run them over if your not careful (as soon as you can see the pink arrow, just steer slightly left or right to avoid them)

[Grotti Vigilante]

8 hours ago, Utopianthumbs said:

Suppose you're short of money or just want to get a lot of cash you can grind the cone crazy side mission, since for each successive completed round your cash doubles from the previous round. 

 

Explanation from GTA wiki

Video explanation

 

Another suggestion, preferably don't save in the Cherry Popper save point since sometimes it has been known to corrupt save files. Dont know if it always happens but best to be safe

That's very helpful! Money will be at utmost necessity to buy all the properties, and though I'm confident that completing all the missions and hidden packages will help, I shall turn to this should the need arise. Also, that point about the Cherry Popper save is most helpful and something I actually forgot about! It's a good job that the Vercetti Estate is so close by and the mission is easy enough that I won't need to reload and repeat enough times. 

 

3 hours ago, Red_hot_redemption said:

I always do the paramedic mission from the hospital in Vice Point, as most of the patients spawn on the beach, making it easier and also less chance of damaging the ambulance, might take a bit of practice to stop in time on the sand tho, as its slightly easier to run them over if your not careful (as soon as you can see the pink arrow, just steer slightly left or right to avoid them)

Thanks for the tip! I remember in my first playthrough doing exactly this, and I remember getting to the last level before accidentally running over one of the last patients on the sand and failing the whole thing! I'll most definitely have to remember the point about the sand and what to do to avoid that again.

[Grotti Vigilante]

So I plan to start my run on Tuesday, but as of now my amended plans are roughly the same except for the fact I shall be leaving Avery Carrington's missions until I have completed the Vercetti Estate and Malibu Club assets so I don't lose the Cuban outfit, and as well as that I shall be doing the Paramedic missions early on in the game. The rampages I will likely do at some point after the gun challenge in Ammu-Nation, which I shall do as early as possible since the fast reload will likely help very later on in the game. I hope you can give me some more tips and tricks so I can make my run better or quicker, and also I hope you all continue to inform me of any major glitches that I need to be aware of.

[Keegan01]

Personally I rely on the Vigilante missions with the Hunter chopper.

 

What I do is try to move as close as to the Vice City Airport as close as possible,after that,tons of criminals will spawn in the Airport.This allows for you to make tons and tons of money.I made up to around a billion.Thanks to this,you can now buy every property you desire.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Keegan01

[Grotti Vigilante]

First thing's first, I started the run today. It all went relatively well bar a few minor hiccups, but the Pizza Boy mission really keeps you on your toes towards the end. I had about forty seconds to spare, but I did that after the Lawyer missions. But unfortunately, halfway through the Paramedic missions I ended up driving into the water, and I just decided "nope, I'm done for today". Few changes in the plan such as now doing all the hidden packages and stunt jumps all in one go, but otherwise it seems to be going fine.

Edited July 14, 2020 by Grotti Vigilante

[Patrizio]

This topic fills me with such nostalgia. I still can't believe they made VC in just one year. Incredible.

 

Keep us posted GV!

Edited July 15, 2020 by Patrizio

[Grotti Vigilante]

As of today, I have completed the Paramedic missions, Diaz's missions, most of Cortez's missions, Cone Crazy, and currently halfway through the stunt jumps. But today came some frustrations. For one, PCJ Playground I fell off and missed the last one the first go, and in the mission "Supply and Demand" I ended up getting blown up. For some reason, my aiming visor of Kruger and heavy machine guns disappears when I move, so I'm probably going to need the rocket launcher in "All Hands on Deck". The stunt jumps were very much annoying though because I don't think there was one where I didn't end up falling off like a prat and losing all my armour after so many times. But I should have them completed soon, and then I'll get the hidden packages and Firefighter missions done. 

[Americana]

Ah, yes. Immersion. When I was a kid I was so immersed I faked Tommy going to the bathroom every evening, and then he went to sleep.

 

Rockstar, why there are no open bathrooms in Vice City, though?

 

---

[eyeballs]

You can always come back to vice city. It is not a real place so it doesnt really take a lot of effort. You dont have to drive to it

[Grotti Vigilante]

So after a few days off, I've made considerable progress today. I have taken over Diaz's mansion and done all the Vercetti Estate missions, which were considerable easier than I remember! I had no struggle on even Cop Land. Then I collected all 100 hidden packages and did the Vigilante missions in the Hunter helicopter to get my 150% armour. First time around though, thanks to some serious BS, I had do them all over after the last suspects shot me down. But I'm done now ready to get Cortez's final missions completed before moving on to rampages, then I'll probably get round to doing the Malibu Club missions and Mr. Black's assassination contracts.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Grotti Vigilante

[Grotti Vigilante]

Time for another update. So far I've made it over half way. Avery Carrington's missions are completed as are the Kaufman Cabs, Pole Position, Malibu Club, Cherry Popper Ice Cream, Love Fists and Mitch Baker missions, along with getting the 45 points in the Rifle Range challenge. For the most part, many were easier than I remember, but those Malibu Club missions haven't changed a bit. I hated them back in the day and I hate them just as much now. The Driver was an easy first try this tiem round, but The Shootist was just total frustration even if it only took three tries. But I got through it, and I think most of the hard stuff is out of the way for now. Next up are Sunshine Autos, the RC missions, Chopper Checkpoints and Rampages. 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Grotti Vigilante

[Grotti Vigilante]

Time for one more update! I've made great progress today! All stunt jumps are completed, Sunshine Autos lists are completed along with the street races, the RC missions are completed, Phil's missions are completed, Mr Black's Assassination contracts are completed, the film studio asset is completed, the taxi fares have reached 100, and now all that's left is the stores to rob, rampages to beat, the rampages, the Cuban and Haitian missions, Chopper Checkpoint missions, and finally the Print Works missions before I end the run with Keep Your Friends Close. Current progress is around 87% with just over 15 hours playtime, and by the looks of things I could get the 100% completion in under 20 hours! Next time I'll be back, I'll have likely finished the run!

[Grotti Vigilante]

On 7/11/2020 at 3:33 AM, Utopianthumbs said:

Unlike the fates of similar threads in the San Andreas and IV section, let's hope you actually complete the game eh 

Your hopes have come to light! As of the time of typing I have now officially finished my 100% run of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on PS4!

 

So how's it been? Well, for the most part it's been a mixed bag. Some things were a grind such as the hidden packages and rampages, most especially searching for cars for Sunshine Autos, and many missions such as those for the Malibu Club were very much as hard and annoying as I remember (except The Driver for some reason, that was a first try win). But in the end, many missions were easier than I remember, including the Cuban and Haitian missions (Dirty Lickin's though is still very annoying). Keep Your Friends Close gave me a bit of trouble with Sonny's overpowered gun, and there was some moments where I went "WTF! Bull!". Despite those hurdles, I was able to finally finish the run in the end!

 

Honestly, Vice City was much more fun and much better than I remember, and Tommy Vercetti still holds up as a great protagonist. The story and missions for the most part are great, and while mechanics such as the auto-aim, first person camera and inability to move the camera while in vehicles, are very much outdated and sometimes frustrating, for it's time it was a great game, and today is still very much one. In the end, my time it took to beat was 19:30 hours, which is pretty good in my opinion. Though I spent a month doing my own short sessions it seems that I could've done it in a whole day. Screw that though, it would've ruined the game for me. 

 

I want to give a shot out to you guys who gave me tips that helped greatly in my run:

 

@perennial the Zebra Cab was very valuable for the taxi missions, as it was very fast and durable which made it very easy to complete my three sessions of taxi mission. Having left the Haitian and Cuban missions late as possible towards the end of the game, I saved myself a lot of damage in earlier activities like Hidden Packages and Rampages. Doing Paramedic, Pizza Boy, Vigilante, Rifle Range and Firefighter missions also helped give me more health and allowed me to run away without being screwed over by getting tired, and the fireproof ability helped during fire bomb rampages. 

 

@Utopianthumbs your suggestion to leave Avery's missions until after the Malibu Club and Vercetti Estate missions were helpful since I wanted access to all my outfits in the game, and I did not want to end up losing the Cuban outfit simply because I forgot to consider that old issue. Though I didn't need to exploit the Gone Crazy money making trick, it was a nice thing to have in case I needed it. But the Hidden Packages were enough to earn me the money I needed I reckon.

 

@Red_hot_redemption your suggestion of doing the paramedic missions was very much the correct way to do the Paramedic missions, which though a grind, were not difficult. Though it was very much the tactic I always used, I had to give you a shout out for at least trying to help, and technically your trick worked in the end!   

 

@Keegan01 though I was always doing Vigilante missions how you suggested, I must again at least give a shout out for trying to help, and it was very much a tactic that can be used for others in future. It also did help me buy every property I desired alongside what I made hunting for Hidden Packages. 

 

If I missed anyone out, I am very sorry, but in the end, I appreciate the tips you all gave me! Hopefully I can come back soon if I decided to do another 100% run in a GTA game, but until then, thanks once again, and have a nice day! 

Edited August 1, 2020 by Grotti Vigilante

[Guest]

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Edited August 2, 2020 by Guest