How gang wars work in GTA San Andreas and how many territories you need to take

According to GTA Wiki, there are eight major gangs: four in Los Santos, three in San Fierro and one in Las Venturas. Numbering follows GTA Wiki; other guides may list them in a different order.

The Grove Street Families have separate sets — the Seville Boulevard Families and the Temple Drive Families. Per GTA Wiki, the Mafia doesn't appear on the streets of Las Venturas without cheats. Per GTABase, the Loco Syndicate is also active in the San Fierro storyline. Who's who is covered in the characters guide.

According to the PowerPyx guide, territories you take before The Green Sabre will have to be won back after Home Coming. So if your goal is every territory, there's no point spending time on them early in the game. The mission order is in the missions guide.

1. Find an enemy territory. You can only take Ballas (purple) and Vagos (yellow) territories. A darker shade on the map means stronger defense. You can't start a war with the Varrios Los Aztecas.
2. Start the war. Kill 3 members of the enemy gang on foot in their territory.
3. Survive 3 waves. Each wave carries heavier weapons. Health packs and body armor appear on the streets.
4. The territory is yours. It turns green, Grove Street members show up on the streets, and CJ gains respect.

Per GTA Wiki, in the original game a war doesn't clear your wanted level but doesn't raise it either, while in the mobile version and the Definitive Edition it does clear it. Also per GTA Wiki, CJ's crew can have up to 7 gang members — how many depends on respect.

Per GTA Wiki, the waves' weapons depend on how well defended the area is: the darker the color on the map, the stronger the defense. GTABase also says each wave brings heavier weapons.

Health pickups appear on the streets right away, armor after wave 1. In larger areas an enemy car may cruise around with a shooter inside; you don't have to destroy it to win. If CJ dies in wave 2 or 3, the area turns grey — contested — and you'll have to start the war again (all per GTA Wiki).

Enemy gangs attack your territories from time to time — the territory flashes red on the map. If you ignore the attack, you lose the territory and your respect drops. Per GTA Wiki, you get about 5 minutes to defend it; Grand Theft Wiki says there's only one wave.

Once a gang has been pushed out of all its territories, it stops attacking. So the easiest approach is to wipe out one gang completely first, then the other.

Per GTA Wiki, only an area bordering enemy turf can be attacked, and only one at a time. Attackers arrive in several cars, some with shotguns that knock CJ down. You can cancel an attack: save at a safehouse, start a vehicle sub-mission (paramedic, vigilante, etc.), or get wasted or busted before you arrive, while the attackers haven't spawned yet.

There are 53 permanent territories, all in Los Santos — that's the count from GTA Wiki and PowerPyx. Per GTA Wiki, 4 more Varrios Los Aztecas territories in El Corona and Little Mexico can be taken temporarily between Home Coming and Los Desperados. They then go back to the Aztecas and count neither toward the 53 nor toward the achievement. That's where the figure 57 in other guides comes from.

Even higher numbers you'll see on forums are the result of a game bug, not the real number of territories. Go by 53: that's exactly how many the Definitive Edition achievement needs, and the finale counts its percentage from them.

We couldn't find a separate in-game reward for "all territories" in the original game. The benefit lies elsewhere: respect and Johnson House income — up to $10,000 a day depending on how many territories Grove Street holds. Details are in the houses and businesses guide, and the achievement list is in the achievements guide.

You can take Grove Street members along: aim at a member and press the recruit button (Up on the D-pad on a controller). Pressing it again makes the group follow you, including into vehicles; Down tells them to wait, and holding Down disbands the group (GTABase).

The thresholds are the same in GTA Wiki and GTABase. Only a bus fits all seven (GTABase). Per GTA Wiki, respect comes from missions, captured areas and killed enemies; lost areas and dead homies lower it.

• Definitive Edition (2021). The same 53 territories. The Ain't Nothing But a G Thing achievement was added (Gold trophy on PlayStation) — all territories, all property and $1,000,000 in cash. Per GTA Wiki, a war clears your wanted level here.
• Mobile version. Per GTA Wiki, a war also clears your wanted level. We found no other differences confirmed by two sources. More about this version on the GTA San Andreas mobile page.
• Original. A war neither clears nor raises your wanted level.

Gang wars sometimes get mixed up with Beat the Cock! — two triathlons (Santa Maria Beach and Palomino Creek) with prizes of $10,000 and $20,000. They unlock after Yay Ka-Boom-Boom and have nothing to do with territories.

• Watch the color. Lighter areas are less defended — easier to start with.
• Bring a squad. Grove Street members help in fights; how many you can take is in the respect section above.
• Use the camera. Per GTA Wiki, waves spawn out of your field of view. If you face a wall across the street, enemies often come at you from both sides at once.
• Molotov cocktails. Per GTA Wiki, a single Molotov can burn a whole wave if the enemies run in a bunch.
• Not enough enemies to start? In lightly defended areas (near Ocean Docks or Verona Mall) it's hard to find three members. Per GTA Wiki, a headshot through a car windshield also counts, and enemies usually get out of their cars after it. Tiny areas, like the one by the Jefferson Motel or the 24/7 in Temple, can be hard to trigger unless you stand in the right spot.