Pyramid Scheme

Template:Infobox mission

"Pyramid Scheme" is the antepenultimate mission in Saints Row 2.

THE PYRAMID EXPOSED!

Description

Infuriated by Ultor's recent hit on the 3rd Street Saints, The Protagonist meets their lieutenants (Johnny Gat, Shaundi, and Pierce) at a quiet bar. Shaundi has discovered that The Pyramid is a huge Ultor R&D facility underneath Mount Claflin. The Protagonist advises Shaundi and Pierce "hit the streets and take out as much Ultor property as [they] can", thereby causing a distraction so Gat and The Protagonist can attack the facility.^[1]

After personally causing some damage in Saint's Row, The Protagonist meets Gat at The Pyramid using a secret entrance via the sewer. Together, they set three bombs in three separate labs and escape the facility in a Bear before the bombs detonate. At a meeting with the Ultor board of directors, Dane Vogel assures the executives that everything is under control. However, they are unhappy with the loss of The Pyramid and his ego, and threaten that if he doesn't finish off the Saints, than "being fired [will be] the least of [his] worries".^[2]

Story

Upon completion of the Mission, this description is available at Newspaper Clipboards.

It was a revelation that no one expected. The Pyramid is real. Emergency crews responded to a powerful explosion that started deep within Mount Claflin, not expecting to find the ruins of a major Ultor R&D facility. In other news: Sephren Nichols TV special has been cancelled.

Gameplay

File:Pyramid Scheme.png

Gameplay from the mission.

The most challenging part of this mission is the first part, where after players reach Saint's Row, they are tasked with gaining four units of Notoriety inside the district. Nearby the marker is a Forgive and Forget, which can be used to wipe Notoriety after fulfilling the objective.

As players build up their Notoriety by attacking nearby pedestrians and vehicles, Ultor quickly dispatchs a multitude of Five-Os, Bears, and even Tornados after the player. Try and use the outside of the Forgive and Forget for cover and, as soon as one reaches four units of Notoriety, quickly head through to clear it.

With the arguably difficult part of the mission over, the player must now head to The Pyramid underneath Mount Claflin and meet Johnny Gat. Head to the marker, climb over the fence, and swim through the water to reach the platform. There, head down through the pipes until one meets Gat, and continue onwards into the facility. The Pyramid is only lightly defended by a few Ultor security guards. Grab the keycard downstairs and then set up the bombs in the three labs; note that after setting each bomb, The Protagonist automatically unequips their weapon.

Once finished, commandeer the Bear and head through the tunnel at full speed before the bombs detonate, exiting the facility via a Stunt Jump and ending the mission.

Rewards

Ultor APC unlock.png
Ultor APC unlocked.
Pimp Cane unlock.png
Pimp Cane unlocked.

Cash: $15,000
Respect: None
Mission: Salting the Earth...Again
Vehicle: Ultor APC (Bear)
Weapon: Pimp Cane

Newscast

Main article: Newscasts

Trivia

Newspaper ep02 Pyramid Scheme — The Stilwater Gazette newspaper clipping shown upon completion of the mission.

The first objective, "Head to Saints Row", misspells "Saint's Row" as "Saints Row".
The fourth objective, "Enter their base while the Ultor are distracted", erroneously refers to Ultor as "the Ultor".
The sixth objective, "Find the keycard for the lab doors" specifically says "keycard", but the target object is a set of keys.
The opening cutscene of this mission is called "Khufu's Legacy". Khufu was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who ruled around 2580 B.C.. He is generally accepted as having built the Great Pyramid of Giza.
As with many missions with assigned Homies, if Johnny Gat is called as a Homie before starting the mission, it is possible to have two of him.
The first part of this mission can be easily accomplished by walking into the Harrowgate police department, stealing the Tornado, and then quickly flying to the nearest Forgive and Forget. This technique alleviates the need to get four stars of Notoriety as stealing the Tornado instantly gives five stars and provides an easy escape.
The newspaper text on the Newspaper Clipboard mentions that Sephren Nichols' TV special has been canceled; Sephren Nichols is an investigative reporter advertised on the radio who once explored the existence of The Pyramid in Secrets of The Pyramid.
- Sephren Nichols "disproves" The Pyramid in a Secrets of The Pyramid radio commercial
The Ultor Five-Os that chase The Protagonist spawn more frequently in the mission.
- This happens only on level 2 and 3 of police Notoriety. Ultor FBIs and Bears start spawning normally on level 4 and 5 of Notoriety.
When approaching the central chamber from the lower level or bottom level, the cutscene shows Gat and The Protagonist approaching from the upper level. In all cases, after the cutscene they are teleported to the lower level.
There is enough time to exit the base using the entrance tunnel, however when approaching the exit, the message "Use the APC to exit the base" appears, then when the exit is reached, the mission fails with the message "You failed to get to the APC".
- Although it is a mission target, destroying the Bear does not automatically fail the mission. Trying to leave via the tunnel after destroying the Bear still fails the mission.
- It is not possible to run the length of the exit tunnel, because Gat's pathfinding is broken and he walks into a wall if taken any point past where the Bear spawns.
- It is possible to use a Toad to exit The Pyramid instead of the Bear, but the Bear must be entered first as it is a mission target. It is easier to find a Toad before the final segment, as all existing Toads are despawned when the cutscene plays.
- It is possible to exit without the completing the mission, either by driving the Toad without entering the Bear, or by driving the Bear to the exit and leaving without it. It is possible to drive the Toad all the way to the Saints Hideout before the timer runs out.

Transcript

"Khufu's Legacy" cutscene

Johnny Gat: "Is this The Pyramid?"
Shaundi: "Yeah. Ultor's built a huge R&D facility underneath Mount Claflin."
Johnny Gat: "Let me guess, they aren't developin' a better breadbox..."
Shaundi: "Honestly, they probably are - they're just, ya know, developing guns and body armor too."
Pierce: "Why's Ultor gunnin' for us?"
The Protagonist: "It doesn't matter. Here's the plan: Pierce and Shaundi, I want the two of you to hit the streets and take out as much Ultor property as you can. If Ultor wants to come after us, fine, but we're gonna make it fuckin' cost 'em. Gat, you and I are gonna hit The Pyramid."
Johnny Gat: "What, we don't get to blow shit up in public?"
The Protagonist: "Fine, we can do some damage street-side, but we gotta be quick. I don't wanna give Ultor any more of a heads-up than we have to."

"Cutting Losses" cutscene

Ultor executive #1: "Dane, while your project has been yielding positive results, the board is a little concerned..."
Dane Vogel: "I don't understand."
Ultor executive #2: "The Saints are out of control!"
Dane Vogel: "That was the point."
Ultor executive #1: "When you budgeted funds for "force majeure", we didn't realize compromising The Pyramid was what you had in mind."
Dane Vogel: "We're dealing with violent criminals - are you really surprised they might do something, I don't know, violent? The Pyramid was not going to last forever. It's better to spin this now when we're the victims than when Channel 6 does an undercover expose."
Ultor executive #1: "Dane... fix the problem."
Dane Vogel: "Okay, maybe I'm being too obtuse. Let me try this again: there is no problem."
Ultor executive #2: "We've had enough of your ego."
Dane Vogel: "My ego is what got you this far."
Ultor executive #2: "Finish off the Saints, or being fired is the least of your worries."
Dane Vogel: "Is that all?"
Ultor executive #1: "Take care of this, Dane."
Dane Vogel: "Of course I will."