Survival in Liberty City often comes down to how well you manage your health and armor. These pickups are crucial for enduring firefights and car chases. Always prioritize picking them up when available, especially before or during challenging missions. Understanding their locations and effects is key to staying alive.
Health Pickups:
- Health Pack (Green Cross): Restores a portion of your health. Found in various locations, often near hospitals, alleys, or mission areas.
- Food Stands: Eating at a hot dog stand or other food vendors will restore your health for a small fee.
- Safe Houses: Entering your safe house fully restores your health.
- Prostitutes: Picking up a prostitute and driving to a secluded spot will restore your health for a fee.
Armor Pickups:
- Body Armor (Blue Vest): Provides a layer of protection that absorbs damage before your health is affected. Found in various locations, often in hidden spots or during missions.
- Permanent Armor Spawn: After completing 20 levels of Vigilante missions (cumulative across all islands), a Body Armor pickup will permanently spawn at all your safe houses, making it much easier to stay protected.
Always try to enter missions with full health and armor. If you're low on health during a mission, look for health packs or food stands if time permits. For armor, the permanent safe house spawn is a game-changer, so prioritize those Vigilante missions early on.