How to recruit a gang in GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition

To recruit gang members in GTA San Andreas: Definitive Edition, you first find some Grove Street Families members. These gangsters are dressed in green and can be found around the Grove Street area, as well as in any other gang territory you’ve managed to gain control of. Once you’ve found a potential recruit, aim at them and press the Recruit button (not the Fire button). They should then join your gang.

If they refuse to join you, it could be because your respect level isn’t high enough.

• To recruit 7 gang members: Your respect must be at least 80%.
• To recruit 6 gang members: Your respect must be at least 60%.
• To recruit 5 gang members: Your respect must be at least 40%.
• To recruit 4 gang members: Your respect must be at least 20%.
• To recruit 3 gang members: Your respect must be at least 10%.
• To recruit 2 gang members: Your respect must be at least 1%.
• You can always recruit 1 gang member, even with no respect.

The best way to increase your respect level is to gain new gang territory, but it also increases when you complete missions, kill rival gang members, kill cops, and kill dealers. It decreases when your territories are lost or when your gang members are killed, so try to avoid letting those happen.

Gang members aren’t the most effective fighters, but they will draw enemy fire away from you. If you have a large gang, you’re also going to need a large vehicle to fit them all into. The only vehicles large enough for the maximum gang size of 7 are Buses and Coaches, which aren’t ideal for drive-bys. Most other vehicles can only take 1-3 passengers, so having a large gang isn’t all that useful unless you want to go everywhere on foot.