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Saint's Row

What are Signature Abilities in Saints Row?

By
Nathan Garvin

This page will help you understand what Signature Abilities are in Saints Row (2022), and how to unlock them.

Weapons in Saints Row (2022) can be upgrade a variety of ways - by spending some cash you can increase each weapon’s base stats three times, although these upgrades are level-gated. At level 5 you can pay $5,000 for the first upgrade, at level 10 you can pay $25,000 for the second upgrade, and at level 15 you can pay $100,000 for the third and final upgrade. In addition, most weapons also have a Signature Ability, and this upgrade has to be earned, not purchased.

(1 of 2) You can check each weapon’s Signature Ability and unlock requirements at Friendly Fire.

You can check each weapon’s Signature Ability and unlock requirements at Friendly Fire. (left), Once a Signature Ability is unlocked, the weapon’s icon background will be colored gold. You can toggle the effects of Signature Abilities on and off at will. (right)

What Do Signature Abilities Do in Saints Row?

Signature Abilities can yield boons such as life leech, area-of-effect damage, knockback, full-auto firing mode, armor-piercing rounds, elemental damage and bonus damage over time. The Signature Ability each weapon can unlock is static, but different weapons will have different Signature Abilities; the [Machine Pistol] will always have the Splattergun Signature Ability, while the [AS3 Ultimax Shotgun] will always have the Full Battle Rattle Signature Ability, for example. While a weapon’s stats (base and upgraded) and its core gameplay functionality will likely determine your preferences, unlock a weapon’s Signature Ability can make a weapon significantly more powerful. If you find that you don’t like a weapon’s Signature Ability you can always disable it; enabling and disabling earned Signature Abilities can be done at any Friendly Fire store.

Incendiary ammo is just one example of a Signature Ability.

How to Unlock Signature Abilities in Saints Row

Just as weapons have their own Signature Abilities, different Signature Abilities have varying unlock requirements - as mentioned earlier, throwing money at the problem will get you nowhere, Signature Abilities have to be unlocked by performing specific feats in combat. The unlock requirements for these weapons can at times be fairly specific, ranging from killing enemies from certain factions (Kill Idols), killing enemies from specific factions in specific ways (Get Marshall Double Kills), defeating a certain type of enemy (Kill Marshall Gunslingers), damaging or destroying specific faction vehicles (Shoot out the tires from hostile Panteros vehicles), as well as more general requirements (Destroy hostile enemy vehicles, Shoot a lot of bullets, Get Triple Kills, etc).

Bringing along a weapon just on the off-chance of being able to make progress towards unlocking its Signature Ability may be effective in the long-run, if not ideal in the short run, and if you really want to grind out Signature Abilities, you’ll find that replaying [@TCHA] Side Hustles is generally a decent way to spawn most of the enemies you need to farm, not to mention it’s not a bad way to earn the cash you’ll need to upgrade weapons, and it’s a fine opportunity to test out a weapon and see if you care to use it in general. Detailed tips for unlocking each weapon’s Signature Ability will be found on the page for said weapon.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Deep Silver
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, XB One, XB X|S
  • Genre
    Action Adventure
  • Guide Release
    22 August 2022
  • Last Updated
    24 September 2022
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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