Hi all, old gta addict here. Long post incoming, I don't know how much of this is already known either.
-About the grenades pick-up after 'Just Business': (The new jump to get them with the NRG seems more consistent so this is also a bit less relevant now).
There are also grenades right behind the Pizza Stack in BS's hood, time investment to get them is about 15 seconds if you are already driving past. If you pick them up on the way to 'Wrong Side' they can be used during 'Just Business' as well, if that could help.
I have also tried picking them up on the return trip during 'Ryder', but I'm not sure if the investment is worth it. You can save about 5 seconds in round 2 & 3 of 'Nines and AK's' with grenades but I don't know if they are any help in the other missions before 'Burning Desire', perhaps during 'Sweet's Girl'?
-I also saw Tirean ask about the Freddy chase in 'OG Loc':
I don't think you can kill him before you trigger the chase, but you don't have to follow him through the alleys after triggering him. Taking to the road after 2 alleys will give you a lot more time to line up the bike for the shot, but it is also slower since he takes his sweet time getting there when you're not behind.
You can also drive around the block and trigger the chase from the other side, but I think he's too fast to kill when he's not going uphill.
You can also just leave Loc behind if he falls off the bike, I don't think it changes the mission at all, he'll still teleport to you when Freddy's killed.
I have been testing out some new ideas as well. They have both failed for now, but I'll post them anyway in case anyone have further suggestions. They were kind of linked, since the plan was to move a swimming session frome one mission to another.
-Swimming during the second 'Doberman' cutscene:
Jack a car before starting the war and park it on the grass facing the pond. When there's only one enemy left alive in the third wave, jump in the car and drive it into the middle of the pond and the cutscene will trigger. You can see the car during the cutscene, but I guess CJ warps to the road where he spawns at the end of the cutscene so you don't actually get any time underwater afaik.
What I did learn was that you can finish each wave by running toward the pond/grass when there's only one enemy remaining, without killing him. Could be helpful if one of them runs away, hides, etc.
-Quick '555':
After you get the uniform and get back to the marker, quickly jump in a car and drive to the courthouse where he spawns (as seen in the cutscene). There have to be some way to block him so he spawns in one of the other locations, but I could only do it 1 out of 2-3 times. The courthouse is the primary spawn afaik, but if the road is blocked by traffic he'll spawn in one of two other locations. The best secondary spawn is somewhere west of the hotel, and he'll be arriving almost before you can drive back from the courthouse, which should shave off about a minute. There's also a spawn somewhere east but it's a bit slower. You can also drive behind and push him with your car, but it doesn't help much timewise.
I have not found a consistent way of blocking the primary spawn point, some times he's already spawned when I arrive and other times I make it. Also, the faster I did the mission the more I failed to despawn him. His car started spawning inside mine while I was parked on top of his spawn point, so it caught fire and spooked him, and I failed the mission instead.
Also, the first time I drove to his location I drove east toward the sea and along the freeway. I met him at the bottom of the courthouse hill and jacked his car without failing the mission. I then drove it to both the garage and the hotel but couldn't trigger any mission progress. Then I managed to get a wanted star and failed that way. I have not been able to jack his car again without failing, nor have I seen him take that route, so the only explanation I can think of is that he was just an identical ped in an identical car.
-About the grenades pick-up after 'Just Business': (The new jump to get them with the NRG seems more consistent so this is also a bit less relevant now).
There are also grenades right behind the Pizza Stack in BS's hood, time investment to get them is about 15 seconds if you are already driving past. If you pick them up on the way to 'Wrong Side' they can be used during 'Just Business' as well, if that could help.
I have also tried picking them up on the return trip during 'Ryder', but I'm not sure if the investment is worth it. You can save about 5 seconds in round 2 & 3 of 'Nines and AK's' with grenades but I don't know if they are any help in the other missions before 'Burning Desire', perhaps during 'Sweet's Girl'?
-I also saw Tirean ask about the Freddy chase in 'OG Loc':
I don't think you can kill him before you trigger the chase, but you don't have to follow him through the alleys after triggering him. Taking to the road after 2 alleys will give you a lot more time to line up the bike for the shot, but it is also slower since he takes his sweet time getting there when you're not behind.
You can also drive around the block and trigger the chase from the other side, but I think he's too fast to kill when he's not going uphill.
You can also just leave Loc behind if he falls off the bike, I don't think it changes the mission at all, he'll still teleport to you when Freddy's killed.
I have been testing out some new ideas as well. They have both failed for now, but I'll post them anyway in case anyone have further suggestions. They were kind of linked, since the plan was to move a swimming session frome one mission to another.
-Swimming during the second 'Doberman' cutscene:
Jack a car before starting the war and park it on the grass facing the pond. When there's only one enemy left alive in the third wave, jump in the car and drive it into the middle of the pond and the cutscene will trigger. You can see the car during the cutscene, but I guess CJ warps to the road where he spawns at the end of the cutscene so you don't actually get any time underwater afaik.
What I did learn was that you can finish each wave by running toward the pond/grass when there's only one enemy remaining, without killing him. Could be helpful if one of them runs away, hides, etc.
-Quick '555':
After you get the uniform and get back to the marker, quickly jump in a car and drive to the courthouse where he spawns (as seen in the cutscene). There have to be some way to block him so he spawns in one of the other locations, but I could only do it 1 out of 2-3 times. The courthouse is the primary spawn afaik, but if the road is blocked by traffic he'll spawn in one of two other locations. The best secondary spawn is somewhere west of the hotel, and he'll be arriving almost before you can drive back from the courthouse, which should shave off about a minute. There's also a spawn somewhere east but it's a bit slower. You can also drive behind and push him with your car, but it doesn't help much timewise.
I have not found a consistent way of blocking the primary spawn point, some times he's already spawned when I arrive and other times I make it. Also, the faster I did the mission the more I failed to despawn him. His car started spawning inside mine while I was parked on top of his spawn point, so it caught fire and spooked him, and I failed the mission instead.
Also, the first time I drove to his location I drove east toward the sea and along the freeway. I met him at the bottom of the courthouse hill and jacked his car without failing the mission. I then drove it to both the garage and the hotel but couldn't trigger any mission progress. Then I managed to get a wanted star and failed that way. I have not been able to jack his car again without failing, nor have I seen him take that route, so the only explanation I can think of is that he was just an identical ped in an identical car.