End of the Line

Updated 30 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

End of the Line is the final story mission of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), given by Sweet after Los Desperados. It needs 35% of Los Santos gang territory. CJ breaks into Big Smoke's crack palace and kills him, then chases Frank Tenpenny's stolen fire truck until it crashes. It pays $250,000 and opens the game up for free roam.

How do you unlock End of the Line?

It is the last job in Sweet's strand and appears after Los Desperados. According to the GTA Wiki, it also needs the Grove Street Families to hold at least 35% of the gang territory in Los Santos. If the marker does not appear, the fix is to win more gang wars; how those work is explained on the Grove Street Families page.

What happens in End of the Line?

The GTA Wiki splits the mission into two parts, each with its own checkpoint. In the first, CJ and Sweet drive to Big Smoke's crack palace in East Los Santos. CJ decides to go in alone, steals a S.W.A.T. tank, rams through the fortified entrance and fights his way up through the building. Smoke waits at the top in body armour with the lights cut. CJ kills him, and Smoke admits what he has done before he dies.

Then Tenpenny arrives, takes Smoke's money at gunpoint and shoots a generator, setting the building on fire. CJ gets out. In the second part, Tenpenny escapes in a fire truck with Sweet hanging off its ladder. CJ follows in a Feltzer, catches Sweet, and the brothers swap seats so CJ can shoot while Sweet drives. Tenpenny loses control and crashes off a bridge onto Grove Street.

How does Tenpenny die?

Wikipedia says Tenpenny dies after crashing off a bridge. The GTA Wiki adds that Sweet stops CJ from shooting him as he lies dying, reasoning that it should look like a traffic accident. The Truth turns up to congratulate CJ. The mission, and the main story, closes with the family gathered at the Johnson house; Ken Rosenberg, Madd Dogg, Kent Paul and Maccer arrive, and CJ steps out to see what is going on in the neighbourhood.

What are the rewards for beating GTA San Andreas?

The GTA Wiki lists $250,000, respect and a Micro SMG with 70 rounds. On PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and the Definitive Edition there is also an achievement or trophy named after the mission. After the credits the game becomes a sandbox: CJ can keep roaming, dating, training and fighting gang wars, and leftover strands such as Zero, Wang Cars and the Four Dragons Casino can still be finished. A phone call from Catalina follows the mission.

Tips: what makes the final mission tricky?

The GTA Wiki notes a few rules worth knowing. The mission fails if CJ or Sweet dies, if Tenpenny gets away, or if the tank or the Feltzer is destroyed at the wrong moment. Smoke cannot be hurt by explosives in the final fight, so grenades will not finish him. Thanks to the checkpoint, failing the chase restarts it from the fire truck rather than from the start of the mission.

Who appears in the final mission?

Besides CJ, Sweet, Smoke and Tenpenny, the ending brings back most of the friends CJ made on his travels. Kendl, Cesar and The Truth are there at the close, and Ken Rosenberg, Madd Dogg, Kent Paul and Maccer arrive at the house with news. According to the GTA Wiki, the mission's clock runs from evening into the small hours, although the chase itself is set at 17:00.

What inspired the ending?

Wikipedia notes that the story draws on the Rampart scandal and the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which is why the finale plays out during a city-wide riot after Tenpenny's case collapses. The GTA Wiki says the tank breach recalls the LAPD's use of armoured vehicles in the late 1980s and that the fire-truck chase was inspired by the 1997 film Con Air. For the build-up, see The Green Sabre and the full San Andreas missions list.