Specialist

Specialists are a unique class of enemies in Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row (reboot).

Overview[]

In Saints Row: The Third, Specialists are sent to kill the player if they attain a high Notoriety level with any of 3 Syndicate gangs. Specialists are unique for each gang, and boast high health and damage output. Specialists also share the trait of being unable to be used as Human Shields, instead knocking the player away. On the HUD, they appear as hollow red dots to distinguish themselves from ordinary enemies (who are full red dots).

Each of the three gangs in The Syndicate have specialists, as does STAG. Killing them grants the player Respect, and there are certain Challenges tied to killing them. Typical law enforcement (Steelport Police, SWAT, SNG and STAG) also use specialists, but killing them only grants respect, and there are no Challenges associated with them.

In Saints Row (reboot), Specialists can spawn if the player has level 5 Notoriety with any of the three gangs or the Santo Ileso Police Department.

Specialists in Saints Row: The Third[]

Morningstar[]

Morningstar Specialists are named Norman, and wield a McManus 2015 sniper rifle. The Specialists appear on the ground as part of a roadblock, but are more commonly found being transported into the battleground in the air on an Oppressor helicopter. These Specialists mark their presence more notably than others as their weapon emits a long red beam. Other than that, they are somewhat taller than regular Morningstars, are always bald headed and wear long maroon trenchcoats. This makes them very noticeable and distinguishable even without their sniper rifle.

These Specialists have low health when compared to other Specialists, but are still stronger than Decker Specialists. They often come in pairs (one on either side of a helicopter) and can cause more damage to the player, as well as stunning them when hit.

Deckers[]

Deckers Specialists, named Grace, are younger futuristic looking women on rollerskates; they carry a D4TH Blossom in each hand and also come equipped with a Shock Hammer. Unlike other Specialists, they are very fast and agile and have the ability to teleport. They skate around in a pattern – warping from place to place to disorient the player. This makes them a tricky target. While they are equipped with dual SMGs, their more dangerous moves are hitting the player with their Shock Hammers, which are difficult to evade. It can briefly knock the player to the ground and cause a heavy amount of damage.^[1] They are extremely distinctive since their outfit consists of short mini-skirts and torn fishnet stockings. This set them apart from other Deckers.

A running melee attack is always successful against a Decker Specialist, even while it appears she is teleporting, once the running melee attack animation beings, the teleport is interrupted.

A simple way to deal with them is to use a Fart in a Jar. This causes them to completely stop, and leave themselves wide open to attack. Setting them on fire makes them dash around in a mad panic, and can easily set the player on fire if they run into the player. However, if one uses caution, fire can easily take them out with little to no trouble, especially if one has Incendiary ammunition. As a bonus, the Specialist can also set her own allies on fire if they happen to be in the way. However, one mustn't rely on that to happen.

They tend to show up riding on the back of Solars or Kayaks, the latter of which can house a pair. However, if one reacts fast enough, they can simply destroy the car before the Specialists can get out, saving the player trouble, especially if there are two Specialists. If a player is unable to destroy the car itself, they can just as easily run to the back of the car when it stops and attack the Specialist(s) hanging on the back, chipping off a part of their health, or downright killing them if the player is fast enough.

Because they are so dependent on their speed and teleporting ability, Decker specialists are the weakest specialists. Setting them on fire usually kills them outright, unlike the other two types.

Luchadores[]

Specialist L — The Luchadores Specialist in *Saints Row: The Third*.

Luchadores Specialists, named El Jose, are large wrestlers with a unique Mohawk mask and metal shoulder plates, and come equipped with a GL G20. Despite the large weapon, this Specialist has the weakest damage output of all Specialists and can be quickly killed by a competent player. However, their thick body armor prevents them from being easily taken down from conventional ammunition. Because of this, perhaps the best way to take them down is with an Annihilator RPG or an unrelenting pounding with a melee weapon.

If one can spot the Specialist in time, a fight with them can be very short and simple, as they are easily stunned. However, spotting them can be the main issue, particularly, if one doesn't rely on the HUD. When they show up (usually simply riding along inside a vehicle with other enemies), they have the ability to fire from the vehicle they are inside, which can be very dangerous, as they are hard to pick off inside the vehicle without explosives. The grenades they fire deal somewhat low damage, but tend to scatter along the ground to cover a large area, as well as stunning the player, which can be frustrating when one is trying to pick off a different target. These Specialists also have the largest health out of all The Syndicate Specialists, second only to STAG Commandos overall (unless one counts Brutes as well).

The simplest way to deal with these specialists is to set them on fire with incendiary ammunition. Since unlike the Decker specialists, which run around at blinding speed in a panic, setting everything they touch on fire, these specialists reacts very much like regular enemies when set on fire, making them easy targets when they are stunned this way.

STAG[]

STAG has their own kind of Specialist: the Commando. Commandos are unique among other specialists in that they don't appear as hollow red dots on the HUD. They are also the only specialists which cannot be set on fire, although fire-based attacks still damage them. Commandos come equipped with Viper Laser Rifles, and are easily recognizable by their white and bright orange armor as opposed to the white and black armor worn by the majority of STAG. They have much more health than their normal STAG counterparts and can quickly overwhelm players, particularly during "Air Steelport", where the player must fight a large group of them.

Overall, however, Commandos are simply STAG soldiers with highly increased health, and thus can be simple to take down if a player doesn't get overwhelmed. They do not have any unique abilities to them (aside from being impossible to take as a Human Shield), unlike other specialists, as they simply use standard STAG ordinance. However, Commandos do arguably have the highest amount of health out of all the specialists, and thus fights with multiple Commandos can be both long and dangerous. Melee weapons are one of the most effective means of dealing with Commandos, as they can stun them while dealing a large amount of damage. Perhaps the best melee weapon to use would be the Woodsman; being a chainsaw, it can kill almost anybody in one hit, and Commandos are no exception. Explosives also work well against them too.

Aside from Commandos, STAG has other specialist units which consist of snipers wielding McManus 2015s and soldiers using Riot Shields. Snipers can be found at roadblocks, while riot troopers are often transported into combat on Riot N-Forcers. In terms of equipment, they are both identical to other specialist units that carry Riot Shields and sniper rifles.

Law Enforcement (Steelport)[]

Police Specialist Sniper — Police Specialist with a Sniper in a helicopter

Steelport Police have two types of specialists at their disposal. Much like the Morningstar they have snipers who arrive in Oppressors and try to shoot the player from far above.

Riot Police — SWAT Specialists armed with Riot Shields in *Saints Row: The Third*.

The other type of specialist are deployed by the SWAT. They carry Riot Shields and come in groups of four. Using a couple armor piercing bullets they are taken care of quite easy. Just like the Morningstar specialist they come in pairs, have low health but can still pack a punch if they get too close as they use their Riot Shield as a weapon. Also, incendiary bullets work just as well since it sets them instantly on fire, making them react like everyone else. This leaves them wide open to be killed by any other regular weapons. These foes are quite weak in firepower since with riot shield on, the only weapon they can use are their handguns.

Specialists in Saints Row (Reboot)[]

Los Panteros[]

Los Panteros have two specialist types, the Gladiator and the Thumper. Both are much tougher than regular Panteros, having four times as much armor and slightly more health. The Gladiator is a bearded Panteros with a mohawk wearing gym shorts and a tank top in the Panteros gang colors. They wield a pair of gauntlets made of chains with three blades mounted to the knuckles of each fist. Gladiators are melee-focused, attacking with unarmed strikes as well as rushing in to perform takedowns on the player. They are the only enemy in the game that can perform takedowns other than the Nahualli and a unique hot dog mascot in the Murder Circus who is essentially a re-skinned Gladiator. As they are limited to melee attacks, keeping a distance from them is the best strategy against them. The Thumper is a shirtless Panteros wearing a baseball cap as well as a wrestling championship belt worn across the shoulder. They wield the El Lanzador cannon, which fires powerful shots but also reduces their movement speed to a slow walk. Because their cannons are held at leg height, Thumpers are unable to fire over chest-high cover, making them vulnerable to being shot from behind such cover. Both Gladiators and Thumpers are vulnerable to Flow skills like Pineapple Express, as well as to takedowns as long as their armor is fully depleted.

Idols[]

Idols have two specialist types, the Heavy and the Raver. The Heavy is a male Idol wearing a gold armor cuirass and an Egyptian-themed gold motorcycle helmet in the shape of a cat. They wield Idol star launcher flashbang launchers, who do low damage but have a disorientating effect. True to their name they are better armored than regular Idols, with almost double the health and roughly four times the armor. The Raver is a female Idol wearing an Egyptian-themed gold motorcycle helmet in the shape of a cobra. They wield a pair of nunchuck-like glowsticks which they can both throw like a boomerang or twirl rapidly to deflect incoming gunfire. They can also spin their glowsticks in a 360 degree circle for an area-of-effect attack against enemies at close range. Ravers are vulnerable to damage after throwing their glowstick, so the best strategy is to dodge the glowstick then shoot them before it can return to them. They are slightly less durable than Heavies, having roughly twice the health and three times the armor compared to a regular Idol. Both Heavies and Ravers are vulnerable to Flow skills like Pineapple Express, as well as to takedowns as long as their armor is fully depleted. Like regular Idols, both the Heavy and the Raver can instantly summon weak Idols Wannabes to help them fight.

Marshall Defense Industries[]

Marshall Defense Industries have two specialist types, the Wrangler and the Gunslinger. Both are much tougher than regular Marshall soldiers, having roughly double the health and over four times the armor. The Wrangler is a female Marshall soldier wearing a white ballistic mask, a black cowboy hat, and a black longcoat over a black-and-grey uniform. They wield MDI-68 focus rifles and also deploy wrangler traps which will ensnare nearby enemies with an energy lasso; the trap much be shot and destroyed to break the lasso. The Gunslinger is a male Marshall soldier wearing a white bandana mask and goggles, a white cowboy hat, and a white longcoat over a white uniform. They dual-wield MDI-39m sixguns and can use a hologram projector to create three hologram clones of themselves. The holograms' bullets do not deal actual damage, and they will disintegrate after being shot a couple of times, but they can distract from the real Gunslinger due to being visually indistinguishable. Both Wranglers and Gunslingers are vulnerable to Flow skills like Pineapple Express, as well as to takedowns as long as their armor is fully depleted. Like regular Marshall soldiers, they can drop a proximity mine on death which will explode if approached.

While not categorized as specialists, Marshall also deploys Squad Leaders, female Marshall officers wearing blue uniforms with black armor and blue berets (identical to Gwen's uniform, who seems to hold this rank). They are equipped with both MDI-50 tac shotguns and MDI-68 focus rifles, using the former at close range and the latter at long range. They also deploy smoke grenades. While not quite as tough as Marshall specialists, they are noticeably better armored than regular Marshall soldiers, having over twice as much armor and slightly more health, making them almost as durable as the Idols' specialists.

Law Enforcement (Santo Ileso)[]

Law enforcement in Santo Ileso has two specialist types, SWAT and the National Guard. SWAT will deploy at Notoriety level 3, while the National Guard will deploy at Notoriety level 5. SWAT has a little over 50% more health and armor compared to regular police and are equipped with better weaponry including AR-55 burst rifles, A53 ultimax shotguns, flashbangs, and riot shields. The National Guard have over twice the health and armor of regular police and wield K-8 Krukov assault rifles as well as military weaponry including RPG launchers and frag grenades. While not as dangerous as any of the gang specialists, SWAT and the National Guard come in greater numbers and are accompanied by support vehicles such as helicopters and gunships for SWAT, and tanks for the National Guard.

Trivia[]

One of the moves the Decker Specialists do is hold their submachine guns horizontally straight with their arm outstretched, then fire while slowly rotating. This move is similar to a move that Jill Valentine uses in the game Resident Evil 5.
There is a Morningstar Specialist on a Morningstar promo poster.^[2] They resemble Maximillian Strauss, a character from the game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, having shaved heads, red round sunglasses and red trenchcoats.
There is a Deckers Specialist in the "Behind The Deckers" video.^[1]
There is a Luchadores Specialist in "The Walking Apocalypse" trailer.^[3]
A Luchador Specialist, Almonzo, is a target on the Assassination list. Player needs to get a high Notoriety with the Luchadores in order to get him to "pop".
Specialists were first announced in GamesRadar's Saints Row: The Third preview.^[4]
Decker Specialists do not teleport, it is actually a flash of light when they slow down.^{[Reference needed]}
Decker Specialists in the distance look like they are skating on crutches.^{[Reference needed]}