RC Possessor

**Appears in** | *Saints Row: The Third*

The **RC Possessor** is a weapon in *Saints Row: The Third*.

*Why play with a tiny remote-controlled car when you can remotely control a full size vehicle!*— Weapon description

## Overview

The RC Possessor shoots a tag-like projectile which can take control of vehicles, presenting the player with a third-person camera view as if they were driving the vehicle in question; while controlling a vehicle Playa stands upright and perfectly still, and can still take damage. By default it can control anything except military vehicles. The second upgrade increases ammunition count, while the third upgrade allows detonating controlled vehicle on command. The fourth upgrade allows the RC Possessor to control tanks and military aircraft.

There is no time limit for controlling a vehicle, but there is a range limit; if the vehicle moves outside the fixed radius from Playa, control is lost. When this happens, vehicles with nobody inside coast to a halt, while occupied vehicles resume normal activities after a few seconds; aircraft often crash before the pilot regains control. Remote control mode can also be exited at any time.

Controlled vehicles are operated using normal driving Controls, includes those with turreted weapons, even if there is a crewman manning the weapon in question. Any NPCs in the vehicle are ignored, but Co-op players are not. Stopping a vehicle or landing an aircraft causes the driver to exit after a short time, making the vehicle easy to steal. Exiting a possessed vehicle appears to be treated the same way as passengers exiting a stolen one. Enemies never attack a possessed vehicle; instead they attack Playa if they use a mounted weapon.

The weapon is unlocked after completing the mission "The Belgian Problem." The is featured in the mission "A Remote Chance", which is structured rather like a tutorial, even though the weapon has been available for a very long time by that point.

## Analysis

Pros
* Fast-firing semi-automatic.
* Long range.
* Never needs to reload.
* When fully upgraded, can be used to attack enemies with their own support or quickly neutralise dangerous vehicles.
* Allows attacking enemies from outside their line of fire, even around corners or from inside buildings.
* Controlling and detonating a vehicle does not count as an aggressive action and does not increase Notoriety, including during Vehicle Theft.
* Allows easy access to dangerous and rare vehicles when fully upgraded; can force helicopters to land and neutralise tanks.
* Detonating destroys any vehicle instantly, no matter how tough it is.
* Exploding vehicles are powerful, and a few random cars can kill a large group of enemies or destroy an enemy vehicle.
* Self-destruct kills all vehicle occupants instantly, even Brutes.
* Excellent weapon for dealing with helicopter snipers.
* Cheapest upgrades of any Special weapon.

Cons
* Cannot directly harm organic targets.
* Has limited use during indoor missions and Activities.
* Requires an initial line of sight to the target vehicle.
* Playa is completely vulnerable while controlling a vehicle.
* Short downtime after ceasing to control a vehicle.
* Highly dependant on upgrades.
* Relatively low ammunition count.
* Self-destructing a vehicle does not count as killing the occupants for purposes of kill-based Survival waves.
* There is a one-second delay if the controlled vehicle is crashed into another vehicle.

## Trivia

* The plot is contradictory about the weapon's origins; it is unlocked at the end of "The Belgian Problem" with the implication that it is taken from the Syndicate Tower, but in "A Remote Chance" Kinzie claims she 'threw it together' one night when bored. This along with the tutorial-like presentation of the latter mission implies that the weapon was originally going to be given much later.
* Some scripted vehicles, such as most of the F-69 VTOLs in "Gang Bang", do not show a red reticle when the weapon is aimed at them and cannot be possessed.
* Co-op can produce numerous glitches with the RC Possessor
	+ The RC Possessor cannot control a vehicle if a Co-op player is driving. If the game desyncs, it may *appear* to control a vehicle which another player is in control of; this can happen if the vehicle is possessed just as that player gets into / onto it, but they remains in control of the vehicle on their end.
	+ If the player is controlling a vehicle while riding as a passenger and is forced to exit the vehicle they're riding in, the controlled vehicle freezes and the player glide around without responding to anything but movement commands. This state can be ended by having the other player destroy the controlled vehicle.
	+ When a Co-op player gets into an RC Possess aircraft being delivered by a Vehicle Delivery Homie, they enter the second seat. When the aircraft is released, the *Homie* is still the pilot, requiring the aircraft be possessed again and landed for the other player to change seats.
	+ If a second player gets into a possessed aircraft with *no* pilot, the aircraft no longer responds to the first player's commands; helicopters sink slowly to the ground, while landed aircraft are unable to take off or use the weapons the first player controls. Regaining control of an aircraft in this state requires the second player exit and the first re-possess the aircraft. If the player ends possession, the second player finds themselves in the gunner's seat of an aircraft with no pilot; if the second player exits, the aircraft remains unresponsive until it is released and possessed again.
* If a helicopter is landed using the RC Possessor and control is relinquished, the lights stay on and the rotors keeps turning.
* With the "All vehicles have Nitrous" upgrade, nitrous are available during RC Possession only after entering and exiting the vehicle; vehicles which are never entered do not have nitrous available.
* STAG aircraft can still change modes while possessed.
* If the Accelerate button is held while while blowing up a vehicle, the gun may stop firing. Reselect the weapon from the Weapons Cache fixes it.
* If the RC Possessor is upgraded before the mission "A Remote Chance", it may reset to level 1 afterwards.
* Firing at chain link-link fences, bus stop shelters, and other breakable objects causes the RC tag to slowly slide across the surface, and may attach to passing NPCs that get too close.
* Detonating vehicles may occasionally cause Playa to use a thrown weapon. A patch fixes this.[*which?*]
* After upgrading the RC Possessor to level 3, there is tutorial message regarding controlling military vehicles, even though level 4 gives the RC Possessor that ability.
* Despite being a non-lethal weapon, it is still possible to perform Mugging and Store Hold-Ups.
* When using the RC Possessor on vehicles which fire rockets, the rocket prematurely detonates and destroys the vehicle. With the Vulture, Tornado, Eagle and AB Destroyer, only the right rocket prematurely detonates. The F-69 VTOL and Commander have only a single rocket launcher always detonates.
* If the RC Possessor is used on the Blaze, it is possible to continuously fire the weapon, although this has no effect on anything.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 **Twitch**: *SAINTS ROW THE THIRD* EARLY!!! - With permission!
2. ↑ **Gameinformer**: The weapons of *Saints Row: The Third* (no longer available)
3. ↑ **YouTube**: Quick Look: *Saints Row: The Third*
4. ↑ **Transcript**: A Remote Chance
*Got bored one night and threw it together.*— Kinzie Kensington

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