Saints Row Guide – How to Unlock Helicopters, and Use the Wingsuit

In a Saints Row game, one of the most fun things to do is hijack powerful aircraft and rain fire on the city. With the reboot being more grounded, you’ll have to settle for helicopters but there are still plenty of powerful options available. First off though, you’ll want to unlock the helipad at Saints HQ.

To do this, you need to complete Neenah’s missions, culminating in “The Forge.” Completing this unlocks the helipad next to the garage. A Thompson helicopter is available by default, but now any chopper stolen in the city can be stored and accessed later on demand.

What are the best places that helicopters can spawn? In Monte Vista, just east of the Santo Ileso sign, there’s a house to the northeast with a helipad. You can steal a helicopter from here quite easily. Next, there’s the north of the Badlands. Travel to the Marshall Prison complex in the northwest and look for some shipping containers. A Tornado Attack Helicopter can spawn here, though it’s not guaranteed.

Check back here often and when it does spawn, steal it. Using the Thompson Helicopter provided free with your helipad is a good way to get it. The Tornado is powerful and capable of firing high-velocity bullets and missiles, making it a great addition to your arsenal.

How to Wingsuit

The wingsuit is unlocked pretty early into the game and can serve as an excellent means of traversal for those without vehicles or aircraft. While you could leap off a decently-sized building or cliff to deploy it, you can also drive a car, get onto the roof and use it, carrying some momentum while flying. There are also Weather Monitoring Stations which provide a boost as you deploy the wingsuit.

While flying, Left Trigger/L2 is used to reduce your speed. Hold the button down, and you’ll land with a roll (otherwise, The Boss will crash unceremoniously). Alternatively, look for enemies and press Right Bumper/R1 to execute a Wingsuit Takedown after the icon appears. This will immediately defeat any enemy and is a good way to enter battles.

Upgrading your Criminal Empire to tier 2, which is done by starting a few Criminal Ventures, will unlock a new ability – Wingsuit Bounce Boost. It allows for bouncing on any NPCs while wingsuiting and using them to launch back into the air. Simply press Left Bumper/L1 to execute it, though make sure there are a few people in the area to maximize the chances of success. If relying on the Wingsuit alone for traversal, the Wingsuit Bounce Boost will become your new best friend.

Saints Row is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia. Check out our review here.