Missions which are more luck than skill?

[Thomas Vercetti Esq]

I'm playing San Andreas  - second time - and I'm trying to be a bit more "completionist" with it this time round. I don't care about a full 100% game, because I don't have the time to spend hours upon hours upon hours looking for oysters, graffiti, photo spots, etc. But I'm still going to try and get as much done before I finish the game.

 

Right now I'm working on getting all gold at the driving school. The only two lessons to elude me so far are City Slicking and Wheelie Weave.

 

City Slicking has driven my rage levels up to pretty much explosion point (especially with the ridiculous sensitivity of the car controls), but it's clear that there is a method of beating it and that it's on the player if they can't get gold. I think I will get gold with this one, if i keep at it.

 

On the other hand, Wheelie Weave strikes me as heavily luck based. I've got to 99%, but there seems to be no method which consistently gets you close. It feels like if you're not absolutely pixel perfect at the takeoff point, you've blown it. And even if you somehow fluke your way to a perfect line, there's still the chance of a damage penalty, even though you did everything correctly. So my takeaway from this is that Wheelie Weave is essentially a luck based trial, rather than a skill based one.

 

What are some other missions like this, in your view? (Any game, not just San Andreas)

Edited April 7, 2023 by Thomas Vercetti Esq
Grammar

[untitledupcoming]

Ironically also in San Andreas, I think N.O.E is a pretty luck-based mission. You don't have to be good at flying, you just have to survive long enough without a tree randomly loading right as you fly into it, and staying near the ground. 

 

Outside of S.A., No. 1 in IV is a mission that needs no skill or anything. Do you know how to drive? Okay, well everyone just passed in front of you. After trying 1000 times, you finally get lucky and win the race because the other cars stopped accelerating for a split second.

[LowTierDude]

1 hour ago, untitledupcoming said:

No. 1 in IV is a mission that needs no skill or anything. Do you know how to drive? Okay, well everyone just passed in front of you. After trying 1000 times, you finally get lucky and win the race because the other cars stopped accelerating for a split second.

I don't remember this mission being that hard to beat tbh.

[untitledupcoming]

10 minutes ago, kobeni said:

I don't remember this mission being that hard to beat tbh.

Its not hard, just very luck based.

[cant remember]

Some motorcycle races in 3D era. If a car swerves or an opponent does something to knock you off you basically lost the race. Next time you retry traffic is spawned differently.

 

Zero's RC mission where you have to destroy deliveries, passed that one on pure luck

 

Flying the harrier, I didn't know how to even fly it but the pursuing jets crashed themselves into terrain before they could annoy me.

[IVCavalcade]

4 hours ago, untitledupcoming said:

Its not hard, just very luck based.

not really lol, I always pull a huge gap to the rest of the drivers in this mission, you just have to be a decent driver and understand racing lines etc.

 

6 hours ago, untitledupcoming said:

I think N.O.E is a pretty luck-based mission. You don't have to be good at flying, you just have to survive long enough without a tree randomly loading right as you fly into it

Again, it's not really luck because you can learn the map and once you know where the trees are and the best route to take, it's a piece of cake. 

 

Tbh I don't think any missions are luck based - the more times you complete them the less you fail, there aren't really any that are purely rng. The missions that have an element of luck are the missions that give you 4+ stars because police AI can be a bit unpredictable and cause unexpected scenarios. For example, The Job, No Escape and Cop Land in VC can all be a bit of a pain if you use intended methods to finish them. But even in the awkward missions, there are often tips and tricks to minimise the chance of failure, like using shortcuts and off-road routes that police struggle to follow.

Edited April 7, 2023 by IVCavalcade

[Thomas Vercetti Esq]

1 hour ago, IVCavalcade said:

Tbh I don't think any missions are luck based - the more times you complete them the less you fail, 

 

That was what I was referring to with Wheelie Weave (which I finally got gold on, but see below)

For instance, I'm now at 99% with City Slicking, and the pattern of improvement is logical. First, I just got through the course somehow. Then I found a better route and improved my time. Then an even better route, which I committed to memory, etc. My scores got progressively better, and I'm one or two seconds away from gold now. This matches your comment "the more times you complete them, the less you fail".

 

With Wheelie Weave, I got a 99% through more or less complete luck, then there was a period of complete failure until I got the gold, again more through perseverance and luck than an increase in skill.  This doesn't jive with your comment, which is why I consider the City Slicking to be mainly skill based and Wheelie Weave is much more luck based.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Thomas Vercetti Esq
Logic

[Krooked_]

3 hours ago, 2L8 said:

Espresso-2-Go, no explainton needed.

f*ck this mission.

It's easy once you memorize where all the street stalls are. Using Ray's bulletproof Patriot also helps.

[IVCavalcade]

4 hours ago, Thomas Vercetti Esq said:

Wheelie Weave is much more luck based

Actually yeah, I will concede some of the driving school golds are pretty much rng. Wheelie Weave, the one where you land a barrel roll, and to a lesser extent the one where you have to powerslide-park in between 2 cars, are all very difficult to consistently achieve 100% without brute forcing multiple attempts. I have got to the point where I often get them gold first try, but rarely will I get all golds first try without getting a bit stuck on one of those 3.

[String]

Whenever I completed Hose the Hoes in GTA Vice City Stories, it felt like I lucked out rather than passing through the right technique or whatever. Though maybe it's just me

[E Revere]

12 hours ago, untitledupcoming said:

Its not hard, just very luck based.

I don't think so. If anything, luck is in the player's favour because the AI sucks at driving and always slams into that wall near the cemetery road shortly after the race begins because it doesn't know to slow down. I've never had trouble with that mission thanks to that.

[Akaviri]

Turismo in GTA III.

 

Your best option to win is with the Banshee at the car dealer, which explodes in less than three impacts. So even if you're good enough to take 1st place, random traffic spawns can end you easily. The other racers drive invulnerable Cheetahs and are extremely aggressive.

 

Beyond that, trying to capture one of the invulnerable Cheetahs requires an insane amount of luck. I remember my brother showed me the trick. Get a Rhino tank, Trashmaster, Bus or some other massive vehicle. As soon as the race starts, go directly to your safehouse and blockade the street. They will scream down the boulevard at 200mph and blast into your roadblock. By some miracle, one of them ricochets off and lands upside down. Then you have to gently push their flipped Cheetah into your garage without screwing that up.

 

I managed to get it first try exactly one time. I dont think I ever did it again. Best vehicle in the game - crashproof, bulletproof, and fast.

[IVCavalcade]

5 hours ago, String said:

Hose the Hoes in GTA Vice City Stories

It feels like something is weird with the fire hitboxes in this mission.. the time isn't the issue for me, I always seem to struggle to hit the right spot to put the fires out. In Firefighter missions I don't have this issue.

[Collibosher]

"City Slicking" drove me insane back in the day too, but now that I've learned the ideal route and to avoid acceleration while steering/cornering, I can pretty much do it on first try everytime.

 

but yes "Wheelie Weave" or "Jump & Stoppie" from bike school are definitely luck based and collecting all oysters is not even luck based, there's no way any luck can make you find the one in the ocean, top right corner of the map, you need outside help.

I haven't really experienced any other luck based missions in other GTA games, it's always the driving and bike school stuff from SA that put's me off from starting a new game, because I know I have to struggle thru those challenges again and it's just retry after retry after retry...

[GhettoJesus]

Wheelie Weave and Alley Oop are both entirely luck based. The game's damage detection is absolutely garbage. I have been told by the game before that the completely unscratched car is 5% damaged and that the car that has a damaged front bumper is 0% damaged.

[Funktipus]

On 4/7/2023 at 12:11 PM, String said:

Whenever I completed Hose the Hoes in GTA Vice City Stories, it felt like I lucked out rather than passing through the right technique or whatever. Though maybe it's just me

You're not wrong. VCS has some of the hardest (and longest) missions in the series, especially that "Turn On, Tune Out" nightmare.

 

Others:

N.O.E., Wu Zi Mu, Farewell My Love, Flying School, Wrong Side of the Tracks, all Zero's missions, Sexy Time, Demolition Man, Dildo Dodo, S.A.M., to name a few.

 

As for Espresso-2-Go, I snipe the Columbians at each location before I start smashing the stalls. I always save Ray's bulletproof Patriot for "The Exchange"., smashing through the roadblocks until I get to the stairs at the dam.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Funktipus

[cant remember]

17 hours ago, Funktipus said:

As for Espresso-2-Go, I snipe the Columbians at each location before I start smashing the stalls. I always save Ray's bulletproof Patriot for "The Exchange"., smashing through the roadblocks until I get to the stairs at the dam.

Why not use the Patriot for both missions, you can return it to the safehouse after Espresso-2-Go.

[Evil empire]

Maybe Air raid in GTA San Andreas since it seems to require a lot of concentration which is something I constantly lack of and since I completed it on the first try. Or maybe do I just underestimate my merit.

[bahraini_carguy]

I think some people are mistaking "Missions which are more luck than skill?" for just generally annoying/hard missions.

 

----

A luck based mission, in my opinion, would be something like bloodring imo. You either have it really easy with the A.Is and checkpoints or have it the other way around and just suffer. This is especially true in San Andreas.

 

Funny thing is that it's probably my favourite stadium event in both VC & SA.

 

Technically, import/export (or it's derivatives) basically falls under the luck-based category simply due to RNG spawns but not sure if it counts as a mission.

Edited April 11, 2023 by bahraini_carguy

[E Revere]

I really want to see, I mean, literally watch, how people struggle with Flight School and NOE. Not trying to be egotistical, I just don't get how you could have so much trouble with it. I passed them all first try when I was a kid.and didn't have to work too much to get all gold. Anyone care to explain?

[cant remember]

36 minutes ago, E Revere said:

I really want to see, I mean, literally watch, how people struggle with Flight School and NOE. Not trying to be egotistical, I just don't get how you could have so much trouble with it. I passed them all first try when I was a kid.and didn't have to work too much to get all gold. Anyone care to explain?

I feel that way about Demolition Man for VC. The mission was notorious but i always thought it was pretty easy, just tedious because flying the RC helicopter through the building is kinda boring.

[Thomas Vercetti Esq]

22 hours ago, E Revere said:

I really want to see, I mean, literally watch, how people struggle with Flight School and NOE. Not trying to be egotistical, I just don't get how you could have so much trouble with it. I passed them all first try when I was a kid.and didn't have to work too much to get all gold. Anyone care to explain?

 

Because not everyone is good at games?

 

I can, for instance, operate pretty much any kind of camera you give me. Old style camera? No problem. New style camera? No problem. Simple camera? Sure. Super-complex camera with tons of features? Sure.

 

But I don't look down on people who can't.

[E Revere]

1 hour ago, Thomas Vercetti Esq said:

 

Because not everyone is good at games?

 

I can, for instance, operate pretty much any kind of camera you give me. Old style camera? No problem. New style camera? No problem. Simple camera? Sure. Super-complex camera with tons of features? Sure.

 

But I don't look down on people who can't.

I did not look down on anyone. My question was a technical one and your answer wasn't a good one. I asked what exactly -in terms of mechanics- makes the missions difficult because I can't see it. It's not lookdowning to ask people what they see. From my perspective, the controls aren't unresponsive and the layouts of the courses are simple to get through. It's not just a matter of who is better and who is not. But that's my perspective. When other people play it, something happens that makes them fail the missions over and over. Just because I said this, doesn't mean I'm trying to elevate myself.

Edited April 12, 2023 by E Revere

[bahraini_carguy]

10 hours ago, E Revere said:

I did not look down on anyone. My question was a technical one and your answer wasn't a good one. I asked what exactly -in terms of mechanics- makes the missions difficult because I can't see it. It's not lookdowning to ask people what they see. From my perspective, the controls aren't unresponsive and the layouts of the courses are simple to get through. It's not just a matter of who is better and who is not. But that's my perspective. When other people play it, something happens that makes them fail the missions over and over. Just because I said this, doesn't mean I'm trying to elevate myself.

I ask myself the same question (s) but in regards to that prison break heist on GTA Online. For whatever reason, randoms seems to always end up crashing the planes for randomly no reason. When i end up being the pilot or demolition, i find the task to be nowhere as hard it seems to be. 

 

Again, i understand that skill levels differ between one and another but surely flying a plane isn't that hard?

Edited April 12, 2023 by bahraini_carguy