Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a game so vast and ambitious that even the newer GTA games fail to live up to the content standards it set back in 2004. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been an audience ready to accept the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy remaster with San Andreas at its forefront.

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As proof of its timeless craft and mastery of the open-world genre, there are still many secrets and techniques in San Andreas that might surprise even some experienced players. These range from memorable Easter eggs to highly helpful gameplay tips. As players cruise along Rockstar Games' bootleg digital version of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, they might want to keep these activities in mind.

10 Max Out CJ's Fitness Quickly

buff cj in gta san andreas

After spending too much time on the East Coast, specifically Liberty City, CJ is a little out-of-shape. Even Sweet mentions this, and then points him to the nearest gym. Sadly, CJ can only work out for so much within a day before getting exhausted. Players will then have to wait several in-game hours to get him in the gym again.

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Thankfully, the save function lets players advance the time by several hours. All one has to do is save around three to four times after going to the gym so that they'll advance to the next day, and then CJ's sore muscles are magically repaired.

9 Max Out Shooting Skills

sweet shooting in gta san andreas screenshot

Speaking of leveling CJ up, his shooting and weapon skills also leave much to be desired. It takes a considerable amount of time before players can max out CJ's shooting skills, which the game assumes players will earn naturally and gradually. In fact, one doesn't have to go that slow. Instead, follow these steps:

  1. Find any car.
  2. Park it in front of Sweet's garage.
  3. Shoot the car until it starts to smoke.
  4. Stop shooting the car and park it inside Sweet's garage.
  5. Leave the garage; the car will be repaired anew.
  6. Take the car out again.
  7. Repeat step three.
  8. Keep doing this until CJ has maxed out his shooting skills.

8 Unlimited Ammo Trick

cj shooting in gta on a motorcycle

The problem with the shooting skill hack above is that it takes a lot of bullets. Players might not have a huge supply, since those can eat up the budget really quick. Gamers will then be pleased to know that there is an unlimited ammo trick and all it takes is heading to the nearest Ammu-Nation store. Here, players can:

  1. Pick a gun of their choice.
  2. Enter the shooting range and step into the circle.
  3. Wait for three seconds and then cancel the shooting challenge.
  4. Keep repeating it until no ammo is shown; this means it has become unlimited.

7 Balancing Out CJ's Musculature

cj in burger shot san andreas photo

Now that CJ has become a proper Grove Street gangster with weapons, he will still have to be more mindful about his status in order to maintain it. It turns out that not eating, even if CJ is ripped or buffed, will result in his losing his muscles.

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That's what happens in real life as well: lack of fat and food reserves forces the organs to take protein and nutrients from the muscles. Thus, players will still have to feed CJ and even keep him at an optimal fat level so that his muscles don't shrink. They can do this by feeding CJ once per day at the very least.

6 Trespassing The Airport For Free Weapons

san andreas flying

One of the most restricting parts of San Andreas is that players are prohibited from entering airports until they have a pilot's license. They don't get to unlock that until they've ventured far off into San Fierro legitimately. That's too bad, because airports always house some good weapons.

Luckily, there are some tall cars in GTA: San Andreas, and CJ is a little more athletic compared to older protagonists. All players have to do is drive a tall car (such as an SUV or truck) parallel to the airport fence and have CJ climb over. After that, they can have all the planes and weapons they want.

5 Visiting San Fierro Prematurely

GTA_SA_dinghy_bridge

Why would players even want access to planes as early as Los Santos? Because it opens up many places, such as San Fierro. If players try to visit that spot before it becomes officially available as per the story, then they'll become wanted; however, A trick to get to San Fierro prematurely without the consequences is to fly a plane over Mount Chilliad and then parachute down to the peak.

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There will be bicycles stationed there. Players need only take one of those bikes and then jump off the top of Mount Chilliad near towards the direction nearest to San Fierro. CJ will die, but will likely respawn in a San Fierro hospital, free of any wanted level.

4 Become A Millionaire By Betting On A Horse

inside track in gta san andreas photo

San Andreas is a rags-to-riches game, but players don't get to achieve the latter part of that journey until they've nearly finished. There's a way to rush that, though, and it involves gambling. Players will need to accumulate enough cash either by doing Vigilante missions or killing drug dealers. Make sure to save after accumulating cash.

After that, they can look for the place Inside Track in Mulholland Intersection, where CJ can bet on a horse race. For better odds of winning, pick the one with the 12/1 chance. There's a chance CJ might lose, but luckily, there's a save file for financial backup. Just keep reloading for every loss and saving for every win.

3 Search For The Ghost Car

san andreas ghost car screenshot

One of the weirdest ghost Easter eggs in San Andreas is a hidden ghost car somewhere near the U-shaped patches of land between Los Santos and San Fierro, to the east of Mt. Chilliad. Players can drive there, and if they get the timing right, the forested area will suddenly become foggy or rain will start pouring.

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They might then be welcomed by a spooky battered car that moves on its own and has no driver. If they stand too close or carelessly, the car might run over them. If players want, they can also commandeer the ghost vehicle though they can't be repaired and are only a few collisions away from exploding.

2 Free Jail & Hospital Pass

An RPG in GTA San Andreas

Getting wasted or busted are two of the most infuriating things in any GTA game. San Andreas had quite a seamless and innovative countermeasure for this: girlfriends. There are six girlfriends in total for CJ to choose from but the two most beneficial are Katie and Barbara.

Katie is a nurse and will look after CJ in the event he gets wasted, which will waive all hospital bills and lets CJ retain his weapons. Barbara is a policewoman and thus vouches for CJ whenever he gets busted, foregoing the bail money. Likewise, he gets to keep all his weapons despite going to jail.

1 Unlock Every Store Interior At The Start

cj and big smoke in san andreas

One of the best things about San Andreas is the incredible amount of detail the developers spent in crafting the interiors. It was with San Andreas that GTA began incorporating functional and interactive building interiors. Too bad most of them are locked at the beginning of the game.

That's not a problem for some players willing to bend the rules a bit and deny their playthrough some achievements. Inputting the jetpack cheat ("rocketman" for PC) during the opening cutscene will result in CJ dying after the cinematic. He will then respawn at a hospital and this will unlock all building interiors and stores for CJ. Have fun shopping.

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