Saints Row IV: Re-Elected: Complete Guide

A practical guide to Saints Row IV: Re-Elected: superpower and upgrade priorities, how to take back the simulated Steelport, the best alien weapons, what's worth doing in the side content, co-op and crossplay setup, and the two DLC story expansions.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the February 2024 PC patch (crossplay flow and DLC-loading fixes). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Version note: In December 2022 Deep Silver upgraded every PC copy of Saints Row IV (including Game of the Century Edition) to Re-Elected for free. That gave everyone all 25 DLC packs and turned on PC crossplay between Steam, Epic and GOG through Epic Online Services (EOS). If you want the old build, it's on a Legacy beta branch (Properties > Betas). The Australian version is different content-wise and only plays with other AU copies. Gat out of Hell is a separate game, not included here.

Quick Start

Get your powers early and use them all the time. Super Sprint and Super Jump make cars mostly pointless. Gliding and wall-running get you everywhere.
Collect Data Clusters. They're the glowing blue orbs all over the city and they're what you upgrade superpowers with. Early on, grab every one you pass.
Cash buys stat upgrades. Spend it in the Upgrades menu on health, damage resistance, ammo capacity and sprint.
Do the activities. Hacking stores, Rifts, Flashpoints and Towers free up districts and give you cash, clusters and unlocks.
Do every Loyalty mission. Each homie (Shaundi, Pierce, Kinzie, Keith David, Johnny Gat and others) has one. They're some of the best-written missions in the game, and finishing them all changes the ending you get.
Try the alien weapons. The Dubstep Gun, Inflato-Ray, Disintegrator, Polarizer and Black Hole Launcher are ridiculous in the best way.
Customise weapons for free. Weapon skins and the Weapon Cache let you change the look and switch between unlocked variants.
Co-op is drop-in for two players. Crossplay is supported on Steam, Epic and GOG.

Superpowers

You unlock powers through the story. Each attack power has elemental variants that you get from missions and side content, and you can swap between them once they're unlocked.

Power	What it does	Upgrade priority
Super Sprint	Very fast running. You can plough through cars and people	High: speed and stamina upgrades change how you get around
Super Jump	Huge vertical jumps, plus Glide and Wall Run	High: height, glide duration and air control
Blast	A ranged elemental projectile (freeze, fire and more)	High: area and duration make crowd control much easier
Death From Above	A ground-slam from the air, also elemental	Medium: great against groups when you jump in
Telekinesis	Pick up and throw cars, enemies and objects	High: one of the best damage tools in the game
Stomp	A shockwave around you	Medium: good for getting out of trouble
Buff	An aura that adds an element to your attacks	Medium to late

Spending Data Clusters:

Movement first: sprint and jump or glide upgrades.
Blast, including its area or effect upgrades.
Telekinesis damage and whether it can lift heavy things.
Everything else, depending on how you like to play.

Taking Back Steelport (Side Content)

The whole city is a simulation, and liberating it gives you cash, Data Clusters and cosmetics. Useful side content:

Activity	Rewards	Notes
Hacking	Takes stores back, giving discounts and income	Pipe puzzle minigame. Easy money
Flashpoints	Free up a district from the Zin	Clear out the Zin forces holding the area; follow the on-screen objectives
Zin Towers	Clusters, and control of the area	Climbing challenges. Great for practising Super Jump
Rifts	Speed, Telekinesis, platforming and combat challenges	Unlock and test power upgrades. Some are hard to gold
Mayhem	Cash and upgrades	Destroy everything, often with a tank or powers
Insurance Fraud	Cash	Throw yourself into traffic for payouts. A series classic
Professor Genki's Mind Over Murder	Cash and unlocks	A telekinesis game show. Throw enemies into targets
Fight Club	Cash	Arena fights against waves of enemies
Blazing	Cash	Race around the city on fire. Good for sprint practice
Loyalty missions	Story missions, and homie upgrades	Don't skip them

Collectibles: Data Clusters, Audio Logs and Text Adventure pages are scattered around the city. The collectible map shows how many are left in each district once you've freed it.

Weapons: The Standouts

Weapon	Why use it
Dubstep Gun	A music-based beam that makes enemies dance. Very strong and very silly
Inflato-Ray	Inflates enemies until they pop. Best for crowds
Disintegrator	Wipes enemies out in one hit
Polarizer	One of the headline alien guns (it's on the store page's list). Try it early
Black Hole Launcher	Sucks in everything nearby. Late-game crowd clearer
Abduction Gun (Abductor)	UFO tractor-beam fun
The Rectifier / DLC guns	Re-Elected includes all DLC weapons, so try the ones that look fun

Weapon upgrades cost cash. Put money into your favourite gun's damage, magazine and ammo. You can also customise each weapon's look with skins, which Re-Elected expands.

Story Structure (Spoiler-Light)

Prologue: The Boss becomes President of the United States. Then the Zin, led by Zinyak, invade and put the Saints into a simulation of Steelport.
Main campaign: Free your homies, gain powers, and take the fight to Zinyak. Missions are packed with parodies of other games and films.
Finale: Which epilogue you see depends on whether you've completed the optional Loyalty missions. Do them all before the final mission if you want the full ending.

DLC Story Expansions (Included in Re-Elected)

Expansion	Summary
Enter the Dominatrix (2013)	A short, fourth-wall-breaking side story built from content cut from the original game, about an AI called the Dominatrix
How the Saints Save Christmas (2013)	A holiday episode where the Saints rescue Santa from the simulation. It adds festive weapons

They're self-contained mission packs, separate from the main story missions. The weapon and outfit packs (Dubstep Remix, Commander-in-Chief, Presidential, GAT V and more) unlock straight away.

Co-op and Crossplay (PC)

Two-player drop-in co-op for the whole campaign.
Crossplay works on Steam, Epic and GOG through EOS. On first launch an EOS bootstrapper updates itself. After that you can matchmake without linking an account. If you want to invite Epic friends, choose Link Account.
The February 2024 patch fixed the "Missing DLC" prompt, DLC not loading (Thank You Pack, Super Saints Pack, Team Fortress 2 Pack), controllers not working (tested with first-party controllers), a crash when hovering over weapons in the Gateway Weapon Cache, and voice chat bugs.
Australian copies can only play with other AU copies because of rating-related content differences.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Driving everywhere. Once you have Super Sprint and Super Jump, cars are mostly for Mayhem and fun.
Leaving Data Clusters behind. Early upgrades make the whole game smoother. Grab them as you go.
Skipping Loyalty missions. They're some of the best missions in the game, they build up the homies, and completing them all unlocks the fuller ending.
Spreading upgrades too thin. Max out one or two favourite weapons and powers rather than half-upgrading everything.
Trying to play online with an Australian copy. It won't match with other regions.
Expecting Gat out of Hell. It's a separate game.

Advanced Tips

Sprint and jump combos: Chain Super Jump into Glide, then land with Death From Above for movement and damage in one go.
Telekinesis counts as a weapon: Throw cars, enemies and Zin objects. It's often faster than shooting.
Blast and Freeze into melee: Freeze a group, then shatter them. A reliable way to deal with elites.
Rift practice: Rifts are the best practice for power control. Come back for gold medals once your powers are upgraded.
Legacy branch: If a mod breaks on Re-Elected, check the Legacy beta branch. Deep Silver said mods shouldn't be affected by the upgrade.

FAQ

What's the difference between Saints Row IV and Re-Elected? Re-Elected includes all 25 DLC packs, including both story expansions, and supports crossplay. Since December 2022, every PC copy has been upgraded to Re-Elected.

Does Re-Elected include Gat out of Hell? No. It's a separate standalone game.

Can I play co-op with a friend on Epic or GOG? Yes. Crossplay runs through Epic Online Services. Link your Epic account if you want to invite Epic friends directly.

How do I get the old version back? In Steam, go to Properties > Betas and choose the legacy branch.

Where do I start the DLC missions? They're self-contained mission packs that sit alongside the main campaign rather than in its mission chain; look for them in the game's menus once the game is installed. Re-Elected includes both.

How long is Saints Row IV? The main story is roughly 15–20 hours. Doing all the activities and collectibles takes a lot longer.