After you complete the "Doberman" mission from Sweet, you need to take care of some business before you go too far into Sweet's final few missions. The reason for this is that you're coming up on a major story shift where you are going to be introduced to a new area, without any equipment, and with a lot of new expenses. Big expenses.

Recommended goals after "Doberman" but before leaving Los Santos:

  • Get your nest egg up to around $100k to $250k. One thing you'll notice after completing "Doberman" is that drug dealers proliferate on the streets like rabbits. It will seem like the more territory that you take, the more will spawn. (Things that make you go "hmm...".) Regardless of the reasons, you're going to see 10x more drug dealers after "Doberman" and before you leave Los Santos. So hunt them down and pocket their cash at every chance.
  • Date Denise. Go ahead, have fun, see how far you can get while staying busy with all the other things that need doing. Learn how often to show up and take her out.
  • Finish tagging your turf. This is a good time to find and spray all 100 tags. I recommend downloading a map, printing it out, then mark it up as you complete tags. Otherwise you'll lose track of which ones you've done. (And some of them are infuriatingly difficult to find.) The weapon spawns inside the Johnson House as a result of completing this will help you immensely during this phase.
  • Take territory away from Ballas (and other gangs). The gang warfare minigame is a good way to learn how to survive heavy combat and will gain you a fair amount of cash. It will also help you raise your weapon skills. I strongly recommend locating the AK-47 spawn points (or completing the 100 tags side quest) or using a full SMG like the MP5. Use your pistol and micro SMG or sawed-off shotgun when you can, but be ready to revert to the AK-47 or MP5 when things get tight. When a wave spawns, run to a part of the block not occupied. This will string out your pursuers so that they come at you a few at a time instead of all at once.
  • Collect your money from in front of the Johnson House regularly. (If you finished all 100 tags, go inside and restock your weapons too.)
  • Don't go crazy on hoarding ammunition. You're getting close to the end of Los Santos missions and you'll be stripped of everything anyway. So use it if you have it.
  • Explore Los Santos. Which you'll do if you chase down all 100 tags, but take time to hit up some of the side games like the dance club, lowrider challenge or racing game at the Los Santos Forum (east Los Santos). Go shopping!
  • Buy up the three properties that have garages (Santa Marina Beach, El Corona, Mulholland).
  • Carjack one or two Cheetahs (2-door sports car, similar to a Ferrari Testarossa) that you find in Rodeo, Los Santos. Store them in the garages (no more then 1 car per garage to avoid a bug).
  • Carjack a few Freeway (motorcycle, similar to classic Harley-Davidsons) and store them for later. Frankly, I usually have at least 4 of these stashed in the four garages available in Los Santos, because I love tooling around on them. They're easier to find north of Los Santos out in Red County.
  • Lastly, don't go crazy with gang warfare. Take as much territory as you want, but don't try to take over all of Los Santos (it's pointless right now).


If you do run short of cash after the Los Santos missions, you can go back to Los Santos (or up to Montgomery in Red County) to the Inside Track (OTB) to bet on the ponies. Between buying new safe houses and having to buy SMGs solely for ammo at the Ammunation stores, I was constantly struggling for cash until I went back and hit the ponies. Eventually, during the San Fiero missions, you'll finally get some assets up and running that will pay you a daily tithe in San Fiero.