I wrote this guide because I've seen a lot of guides out there give misconstrued ideas about myth hunting and what it is exactly. I therefore decided to help the community by giving you this handbook in hopes that it be the guiding light in the darkness for you. First of all, let me say that I'm glad you've decided to become a myth hunter. Myth hunting is a very exciting experience and has many heart stopping moments. There will be times you're on the edge of your seat, and then there will be times you're bored staring at a screen for hours with nothing to do. Nonetheless it's good that you decided to come along and join the hunt, as we need honest myth hunters to help track down some of the biggest mysteries in game.
It's all part of the journey.
You're going to want to be at least past The Green Sabre story mission, so that you can unlock theMount Chiliad area. This is one of the most common myth hunter areas in the entire game. That isn't to say that myths are only in that area, as myths are in many different locations in the game. If you don't feel like completing the game, you can download a 100% completion save file from the internet and convert it to your game's version instead.
Health - You're going to want to max this out before myth hunting. Should you accidentally fall off of a mountain face, you'd stand at least some chance to survive. You can complete Level 12 of the Paramedic missions to max out your health, or optionally exercise a lot until you do.
Stamina - You're going to be doing a ton of running. You'll be looking high and low all throughout San Andreas during your investigations, and may even encounter something incredibly dangerous you need to get away from. All too often, you'll wander too far away from your vehicle when out in the middle of nowhere. Your car will despawn, and then you'll be left alone in the woods on foot. That's why it's recommended that you accumulate at least $30,000 in Burglary missions to unlock infinite sprint.
Weapon skill - Having a decent weapon on you while myth hunting can and will save your life. Even more so if you max out your skill for that weapon at the ammunation shooting range.
Many people would recommend things like Lung Capacity and Muscle , but those things only come in handy in a very few select scenarios. Muscle increases your melee ability. Lung Capacity will come in handy during myth hunts when looking for underwater myths such as the shark, but otherwise is rather a waste of time. Though it can be enhanced by collecting all of the oysters .
LISTED IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE
Camera - Your most important tool. Without your camera, you're not even a myth hunter; just a sight-seer. A camera allows you to zoom in on objects very far away from you, allowing you to see distant objects in a very detailed manner. It also allows you to capture images of your finds during your hunts, and document your investigation. Cameras can be found all over San Andreas, and is your number one priority before starting an investigation. Your camera allows you to gather photo evidence of all your findings.
Your photos that you've taken in game can be found under: C:/Documents/GTA San Andreas User Files/Gallery
Thermal Goggles - Thermal goggles give you the ability to see living entities such as peds in poor visibility conditions such as storms, darkness and fog. Thermal vision reflects their heat off of them, allowing you to see it. Living beings light up red, while non-living beings such as cars, trees and the landscape turn blue. This tool is essential for myth hunters as often you'll be conducting an investigation when a storm comes in, or maybe fog.
"The goggles allow the player to see the heat signatures given off by people and vehicles. When used, the game world will appear in a variety of blue, purple, pink, and red hues, blue representing cold areas and red representing hot areas.
After equipping the goggles, it is possible to switch to another weapon and even drive vehicles while retaining the thermal vision goggles' effects. Like the night-vision goggles, the goggles uses the same goggles design and is best suited for use at night. However, moving around while "wearing" the goggles can be confusing and potentially hazardous due to cooler landscape areas and buildings "blending" together. They are first introduced in the mission "Black Project". --- GTA WIKIA
Tear Gas - Allows you to incapacitate your enemies for a very short duration. Handy in situations where you find yourself outnumbered or unable to deal enough damage to your attacker. It's main use during myth hunting is to stall whatever entity you find yourself up against, allowing you to capture a picture of the encounter with your camera. It's the equivalent of pepper spray with an area effect. Buys you time to get away. Great for defense against groups of enemies when you don't have a gun.
"In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Tear Gas can be used to attack pedestrians, while the player is unaffected and can freely walk around the gas, until the smoke subsides. Throwing a single can will last approximately 30 seconds, and by dropping more cans
, the smoke will last longer and any pedestrians or cops who enter the smoke will choke on the toxic gas until they die. However, using Tear Gas in a very populated area such as Ocean Beach or The Strip will give the player a high wanted level rather quickly and if Tear Gas cans are used in succession, it may possibly award the player a six star wanted level."
- GTA WIKIA
"There is a glitch in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas involving the Tear Gas. After the Tear Gas is thrown into a crowd, the player can perform a stealth kill on anyone. Everyone affected by the gas will undergo the same animation and die at the same time. However there is a rare glitch that if the player performs this within the smoke cloud, they will also die as if someone did the stealth kill on them."
- GTA WIKIA
Cane - Basically a good luck charm that allows you to knock attacker's upside the head. It's commonly believed among myth hunters that the cane increases the chance of myths spawning in the world, though this isn't confirmed. If you find yourself out of ammunition or without a gun, the cane will work in a pinch.
"The cane is the most common melee weapon found in GTA San Andreas, with as many as 17 spawning locations."
Baseball Bat - Your least important tool but the most Iconic of GTA weapons. Your weapon can be your own specific preference. Your bat will keep you alive or at least give you something to fight with. Sure, the likelihood of you needing it in isolated areas are slim. The reality is that your bat will aid you in defending yourself against both myths and man, and so therefore should have some stopping power and the ability to quickly stop threats. You can also knock down fences with it and break open car doors (occasionally).
Baseball bats don't have many spawn locations in the world, but can be easily obtained nonetheless. Hit random cars and there is a chance a driver will get out with a bat in their hand. Kill them and take it.
Often times during burglary missions, bats will spawn in bedrooms of the house. Occasionally the owner might be armed with one as well.
Combine the baseball bat with tear gas and you're golden in terms of self defense. Your car can be used to outright kill any attackers or mythical creatures trying to attack you.
Or, y'know, if you like guns, carry one of those.
THE INVESTIGATOR'S VEHICLE
Can be any type of model that you like. I personally prefer something old fashioned like a Sabre or a Washington as they just have that private detective feel to them. The classic myth hunter vehicle is the Sabre.
Off-Road tires are a must. Some might say they are just aesthetic but in reality they seem to actually increase traction when driving on off-road terrain. Since most investigations are not right beside the road, off-road tires are one of the most important features your car should have.
Hydraulics also aid in driving off-road. If you find yourself about to flip the car, you can use hydraulics to help balance the car in the opposite direction. Using hydraulics you can get your car out of sticky situations
Paint it black, as traditionally myth hunters paint their cars solid black to set themselves apart from other vehicles, as well as making it easier to spot their vehicle from a distance should they get turned around. Black stands out against the landscape quite well.
Add some nitro: It doesn't have to be very much, just standard 2x nitro will give you that needed speed boost to climb steep hills and escape threats.
The Investigator's vehicle is one of your most valuable tools, on par with the camera. Your car allows you to travel from your safe house (HQ) to go out and visit various myth locations. It also gives you protection and a way to escape should you find yourself in grave danger out in the wild.
There are hundreds of locations in the world of San Andreas. Both location and timing is important during investigations and therefore are too many to list in this handbook. Sometimes myth hunting requires different times of the day, like falling lemmings for instance. They are better documented during daylight hours.
Back O Beyond
Meanwhile, creatures like the "Shady Creek" creature can only be found on stormy nights.
It's best to research each myth's location ahead of time before conducting an investigation in game. Figure out what the best time is to investigate and then set out for your inquiry. If the myth requires a certain time frame, you can advance time by saving your game.
Alternatively, you can wait in the area until the required time.
Snapping - Take random pictures of points of interest during your investigation. You might just capture something you missed during the investigation and did not notice. It's important to photograph anything you find interesting. This method captures more myths than anything else because it's proven and stood the test of time. So get capturing.
Scoping - Occasionally zooming in with a camera or rifle on large forested areas, or points of interest. It's primary function is to spawn things that otherwise wouldn't be there, as the game only spawns entities where the player's camera is not looking. It also allows you to just see far away as well. Scoping is best done while wearing thermal goggles so that you can see any potential entity hiding in the wilds.
Rotation - Rotate the camera around from time to time when in an area of examination. Creatures and peds as well as cars spawn the opposite of which the player is facing. You could face another direction and instantly another entity could quite literally spawn behind you, where there previously wasn't anyone. You might notice this happening out on highways, cars appearing from nowhere; that's why. Don't stand and stare at an area too long. Rotate the camera.
Sliding - A glitch used by speed runners. It allows you to travel longer distances quicker, but can be incredibly tricky to master. Can be really useful when myth hunting as it allows you to traverse vast expanses of land in less time than just running on foot. CJ is said to move 20% faster than running when sliding.
Baiting - Generally done by recruiting someone and then taking them to the potential spawn location of a myth like leather-face for instance. You'll tell them to wait in that area and then you'll walk off and leave them (not too far though) while you examine the surrounding area. If you hear gun shots or find that they died (usually displayed at the top left of the screen when this happens) then they were likely killed by a myth.
Capture the investigation on film. Your investigation means nothing if you cannot prove what it was that you captured. Many YouTubers out there are myth hunters for many videogames. Recording your myth hunting experience is both rewarding and hard work.
Just look at TheTruthHunter's video to see an example of myth hunting caught on tape.
How to get the most out of your Baseball Bat - GTA SA
