11 Tips and Tricks for Taking the Throne in Mafia III

Need some help with Mafia III? We’ve got some handy tips and tricks to help you on your way to the top of the gangster hierarchy.

It’s time to take over the shady underworld of New Bordeaux, so here are a few pointers to help you survive the mafia lifestyle of Lincoln Clay.

1. Get into the habit of storing your hard-earned cash

Money is key to Mafia III. It’s not easy earning enough to buy that new gun you wanted and if you die, you lose half your earnings. So it’s best to get into the habit of storing your wallet in your safe. At the start, this requires you to travel to and from Sammy’s bar, but once you recruit Vito you will have access to the Consigliere service, who will come and pick up your money for you.

2. Scavenge ammo; don’t pay for it

Fortunately for Lincoln, ammo seems to be universal across each weapon type, which makes it far easier to stock up rather than having to pay for it. Since the key feature of the game is shooting people, you’re never far from a spare bit of ammo, so make sure you run around and pick up what you can before moving on. Adrenaline and Tac-Vests (your best friends in the game) can also be picked up at numerous locations around the map, so keep an eye out for them while you’re still starting out. Once you’ve got a better income, you can spend comfortably to your heart’s content.

3. Take the stealth approach (sometimes)

Mafia III’s stealth system is not exactly innovating and in many ways inefficient, but it is a good way to thin out enemy numbers. Separating guards by whistling or throwing a voodoo doll is a great way to take them out silently with your knife, or once unlocked, a silenced weapon.

Sneaking through an area and stealth attacking the Sentries will eliminate the opportunity for reinforcements. Once the sentries have been dealt with, you can safely light the place up and make as much noise as you want.

4. Collect kickback

Sounds pretty obvious, but this is easy to forget. Each Underboss that you recruit and every District that you take over will increase your cut of the profits, but unless you pop over and collect it yourself, you won’t reap the rewards. Without a Fast Travel system, this in itself can be an arduous task, but if you assign your first district to Vito, you can upgrade his Consigliere service. This allows your associate to collect kickbacks on your behalf, saving both time and effort.

5. Don’t neglect side missions

Each Underboss will offer two additional (and optional) side-missions; one personal, one business. Completing either will increase their loyalty but also boost your profits. They are a little out of the way, but grab a fast car and head straight over. It’s a great way to make some fast cash and can be repeated a fair few times. Plus its nice to have a distraction from the rest of the repetitive gameplay.

6. Play your Underbosses against each other (but also keep them happy)

Completing side-missions may increase loyalty, but its assigning districts that your Underbosses are really interested in. Each will offer you something in return for your favour. These can be powerful weapons, upgraded abilities or vehicle modifications, all of which cost a fortune if you buy them yourself.

It’s a good (but admittedly risky) move to assign rackets to separate bosses to acquire each of their rewards, and then hand over complete control to whoever you see fit. You may lose an Associate Marker, but you will retain the rewards. Be warned, however: mess them around too many times and you may find them turning against you, so its best to read the situation at your sit-downs.

7. Let your vehicle repair itself

A nice little trick if you find driving a bit of a challenge. If you beat up your motor, it’s worth keeping in mind that if you enter a Friendly Location (usually one of your rackets), when you return to your car, you’ll find it has relocated to a designated parking spot and is brand spanking new. Particularly useful if you find your wheels keep getting shot off.

8. Spare informants and racket bosses

Hunting down informants and Racket Bosses becomes a recurring thing in Mafia III, and each time you will be given a choice: ‘Recruit’ or ‘Kill.’ Recruiting them comes at a cost, but is far more beneficial in the long-term as it, like most features of the game, increases your kickbacks. So if you can afford them, recruit them. Killing them gains you nothing.

9. Target enforcers

Enforcers will be scattered across each district, and taking them out will lessen the difficulty when it comes to finally taking out a racket boss. It’s worth finding them out in the open with less protection and can just as easily be taken out from long-range with a sniper rifle.

There is an achievement for completing the game without killing any Enforcers, but it’s far easier to take down rackets if you do.

10. Prioritise upgrades

There are lots of things that you can spend your money on in New Bordeaux  to become more powerful, but it’s worth investing first in the upgrades that will give you an easier time in the long run. Upgrades allow for improved accuracy, less recoil, additional adrenaline slots and quicker regeneration times, and my personal favourite, indestructible tires. When you’re earning more, then you can bring out the big guns. But to start off with, prioritise upgrading to stay alive.

11. Dunk yourself to evade the police

The police do not give up without a fight! Prevent civilians from calling the authorities or use one of your Associate Markers to cut the phone lines or pay off the cops, although it is best to save these for later on. But, if you do find the fuzz hot on your tail, then there is a nifty trick that you can pull. You can take out their tires, or in fact just shoot them if you’re comfortable killing the “good guys”, but if that doesn’t work, try this.

Drive straight into water. It’s a little old-school but still works a treat. Pursuing vehicles will often drive blindly after you and get stuck in the water, giving you a chance to swim to the other side and break the line of sight. After that you can run and hide and wait for them to give up looking for you.