Hostage

Template:Infobox activity Hostage is a Diversion in Saints Row, Saints Row 2, Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV.Broken {{ref}} (outdated style)

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Description

When stealing a car which has at least one civilian passenger, a prompt is shown to press the Action button to start the Hostage diversion. The goal of the diversion is to drive around with the hostage in the car for a pre-determined amount of time. After starting Hostage, a HUD appears showing the amount of money the Hostage has, and the amount of time left.

The amount of Cash and Respect earned depends on the Hostage Class of the vehicle, as well as how many passengers are in the car. 2 passengers gives approximately double the Cash, and 3 passengers generally quadruples it. In general, higher quality cars give more money.

After starting Hostage, Police Notoriety steadily rises, although this is removed after completing the diversion. The rate at which Notoriety rises also depends on Hostage Class and the number of passengers. It is not possible to take law enforcement or gang members as Hostages.

While driving, the Hostage gives various complaints, such as not having any money, or asking to be let go. When driving too slowly, there is an on-screen warning that the hostage may escape, and they leave the car after several seconds.

Although the word "Diversion" does not appear in Saints Row, it fits the criteria of a Diversion, and does not count towards 100% Completion.

Rewards

ATV unlocked

Cash: Varies
Respect: Varies
Achievement: Negotiator SR
Vehicle: ATV (Toad) SR2

Vehicle Classes

There are 6 Hostage Classes: Compact, Sedan, Truck, SUV, Luxury and Exotic.

Class	Passengers	Cash	Respect	Min TimeTemplate:Br(minutes)	Max TimeTemplate:Br(minutes)	NotorietyTemplate:Br(per second)
Compact	1	250	300	0.4	0.3	15
Compact	2	500	600	0.5	0.4	20
Compact	3	1000	1000	1.2	1.3	9
Sedan	1	300	400	0.4	1.0	15
Sedan	2	500	800	1.1	1.4	20
Sedan	3	1000	1100	1.5	2.0	13
Truck	1	300	400	0.4	1.0	15
Truck	2	500	800	1.1	1.4	20
Truck	3	1000	1100	1.5	2.0	9
SUV	1	1000	500	1.0	1.3	7
SUV	2	2000	1000	1.5	2.0	8
SUV	3	3000	1500	2.2	2.4	9
Luxury	1	1000	500	1.2	1.4	7
Luxury	2	2000	1000	2.0	2.2	7
Luxury	3	3000	2000	2.3	2.5	7
Exotic	1	1500	1000	1.3	1.5	7
Exotic	2	2500	1500	2.0	2.2	9
Exotic	3	5000	4000	2.2	2.3	10

Tips

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A convenient way to do Hostage is jacking cars close to an airport and then driving onto the plane runways. This makes it easy to avoid crashes and keep up speed.
There is a pause between the timer reaching zero and the money being awarded, but it is possible to exit the car as soon as the timer reaches zero - making it possible to kill the Hostage before they've handed over the money, and still receiving it.
In Saints Row: The Third, it is possible to kill the passengers before entering the car, then entering with the dead passengers triggers the hostage diversion, allowing for easy money since they are unable to escape, although they sometimes disappear, which fails the diversion.
It's possible for recruited Saints to remove passengers from the car, which means it's either best to dismiss the Saints prior to starting Hostage, or to drive away before they can pull the passenger out.

Trivia

As with many other activities, Hostage can be used to easily escape police. As all police notoriety is removed by ending the activity.
The data for Hostage is identical between Saints Row and Saints Row 2.
The only 4-seat Exotic cars are the Magma and Phoenix. Performing Hostage in these with 3 passengers yields the most Cash.
It is not possible to take people Hostage before joining the Saints.^[1]
- In Saints Row 2 it is not possible to take people Hostage before rescuing Johnny Gat.^[2]
In Saints Row 2, it is also possible to take Hostages in planes which are taking off the airstrip in the airport. The only problem here are police vehicles which may block the path but there should be not any troubles while being in the air.
In Saints Row: The Third, taking 50 people Hostage completes a Challenge that is required for the "You're my Hero!" trophy/acheivement. Since it is not necessary to successfully complete the Hostage minigame to gain credit for the challenge, it is possible to start the minigame then immediately leave the car.
Unlike other games, in Saints Row IV failing or quitting the diversion does not remove Notoriety.
In Saints Row IV, the on-screen text says that the police must be evaded to complete the Diversion, although only Zin appear during 3-unit Notoriety.