Bully is a school-set open-world action-adventure originally developed by Rockstar Vancouver and published by Rockstar Games. This guide focuses on first-run fundamentals that apply broadly across Bully, Bully: Scholarship Edition, and Bully: Anniversary Edition, while keeping version-specific class, control, and completion details out of the main route in this first-run guide.
Content warning: Bully is rated T for Teen by ESRB with Animated Blood, Crude Humor, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, and Violence. This guide notes the fictional school setting, teen characters, non-graphic romance/kissing mechanics, violence, alcohol/tobacco descriptors, and crude humor without dwelling on them. The guide keeps those topics non-graphic and gameplay-focused.
This is a beginner tips guide. It is not a full mission walkthrough, all-class answer sheet, 100% checklist, collectible map, boss guide, PC compatibility guide, or mobile control guide.
Essential Tips
1. Treat Classes as Progression, Not Distractions
Classes quietly make the rest of Bullworth easier.
Main missions move the story, but classes unlock the tools that make daily play smoother. English improves social and authority interactions, Gym improves fighting and projectile accuracy, Chemistry feeds prank-tool access, Shop improves bikes, and Art adds a social health-bonus mechanic. Scholarship and Anniversary players also have extra classes, so do not assume every class list applies to every version.
2. Watch the School Day Clock
The safest routine is mission, class, mission, save.
Bullworth runs on morning and afternoon class windows. If you ignore unpassed classes too often, you can turn a normal route into a truancy problem with authority figures chasing you before you are ready. Use free time for missions, errands, money, travel, and collectibles, then return for classes when the clock demands it.
3. Use the Map and Status Screens Often
The pause menus are your route planner.
Check the map for mission starts, class locations, stores, bus stops, and save locations. Check Status for completion progress, current objectives, class report card, and group respect. If you feel lost, open the menus before wandering through campus and creating trouble by accident.
4. Manage Trouble Before It Turns Red
Authority attention is easier to prevent than escape.
The trouble meter rises when Jimmy breaks rules. When it climbs, prefects and other authority figures pay more attention. Use apologies when they are available, leave the area before the situation escalates, and avoid stacking small rule breaks near classes, dorms, or busy hallways.
5. Learn to Fight From Lock-On Range
Do not brawl every group as if it is a one-on-one duel.
Bully gives you lock-on, melee attacks, grapples, sprinting, crouching, and ranged tools. Use the camera and lock-on to keep the target in front of you, create space when several students pile in, and stop swinging blindly when a projectile or escape route would solve the problem faster.
6. Make the Slingshot Your Safe Ranged Habit
Distance is a real advantage in a schoolyard fight.
The slingshot is one of the most useful early tools because it gives you a reliable way to pressure targets without stepping into every punch. Practice aiming, use it to soften dangerous enemies, and remember that Gym upgrades improve projectile accuracy over time.
7. Keep Soda and Escape Tools in Mind
Survival is not only about winning the fight.
Soda restores health, prank tools can slow or disrupt pressure, and travel tools can get Jimmy out of bad positions. A fight that ends with low health and a full trouble meter is often worse than a quick retreat, a soda stop, and a cleaner re-engage.
8. Upgrade Travel Before Heavy Cleanup
Bullworth feels smaller once your movement tools improve.
The skateboard helps with early movement, and Shop classes unlock progressively better BMX bikes. If you plan to chase errands, races, collectibles, or 100% tasks, better travel saves more time than forcing every route on foot.
9. Pay Attention to Group Respect
Bullworth is a social map as much as a physical one.
Nerds, Preppies, Jocks, Greasers, Townies, and authority groups all change how the school feels. Some missions or choices improve standing with one group while irritating another. When an area suddenly feels hostile, check whether the local group has a reason to dislike Jimmy right now.
10. Do Not Rush 100% Cleanup on a Blind Run
Completion is its own route.
Bully’s completion list spans missions, side missions, classes, transistors, collectibles, races, jobs, arcade scores, carnival activities, clothing, travel distance, projectile hits, and version-specific differences. Finish the core school-year rhythm first, then use a dedicated checklist when you are ready to clean up.
11. Use Geography Before Collectible Sweeps if Your Edition Has It
Scholarship and Anniversary editions can make map cleanup less painful.
Geography is not in the original version, but in Scholarship and Anniversary editions it can mark some hidden collectibles on the map after class progress. If you are playing one of those editions, delaying collectible cleanup until after Geography progress is usually cleaner than searching blind.
12. Tune Mobile Controls Before Harder Classes
Anniversary Edition has settings worth checking early.
On mobile, review subtitles, brightness, clarity/shadows, haptics, left-handed controls, vehicle steering, touch auto-climb, manual aim, and button customization before you get deep into classes or combat. Small control friction becomes much more annoying during timed minigames and projectile scenes.
School and Combat Priorities
| Situation | First Move | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| A class window is approaching | Go to class if it is not passed yet | Avoids truancy pressure and unlocks useful abilities |
| You are lost between objectives | Open map and status | Shows missions, classes, stores, saves, objectives, and respect |
| Trouble meter is rising | Stop breaking rules and leave authority sight | Prevents a small mistake from becoming a chase |
| A group fight starts | Lock on, create space, and use ranged tools | Reduces the chance of being surrounded |
| Health is low | Buy or use soda before continuing | Prevents easy knockouts after a messy fight |
| Travel feels slow | Progress Shop or use skateboard/bikes | Makes errands, races, and cleanup less tedious |
| Collectibles become the focus | Check edition tools and completion needs first | Avoids wasting time before map help or chapter unlocks |
Edition Notes
Original Bully, Scholarship Edition, and Anniversary Edition are close enough for broad beginner habits, but not for exact checklist routing. Scholarship and Anniversary add classes that the original does not have, and Anniversary has mobile-specific settings and access details.
Use this guide for fundamentals: class priority, trouble management, map/status use, combat spacing, ranged tools, travel upgrades, and completion planning. Use an edition-specific route before following exact class answers, collectible maps, mission counts, or 100% requirements.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
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Do not skip unpassed classes all day - You miss progression rewards and invite authority pressure.
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Do not fight beside prefects when trouble is already high - Move first, then decide whether the fight is worth finishing.
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Do not charge every group with basic punches - Lock on, create space, and use the slingshot or prank tools when distance is safer.
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Do not ignore English and Gym - Better social/authority interactions, fighting moves, and projectile accuracy help constantly.
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Do not leave Shop unfinished before travel-heavy cleanup - Better bikes make errands, races, and map movement faster.
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Do not start a full collectible sweep too early - Some tools, chapters, and edition features make cleanup easier later.
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Do not keep playing with low health after a fight - Get soda or reset your route before the next confrontation.
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Do not forget to check Status after major progress - Objectives, report card, completion, and group respect explain what changed.
Summary
| Category | Top Tip |
|---|---|
| Classes | Attend early because class rewards affect combat, social actions, tools, and travel |
| Schedule | Plan missions around morning and afternoon class windows |
| Map | Use map/status before wandering into trouble |
| Trouble | Apologize, leave, or hide before authority pressure spikes |
| Combat | Lock on, keep space, and use ranged tools instead of swinging blindly |
| Health | Use soda and disengage before low health snowballs |
| Travel | Improve bikes and use movement tools before cleanup |
| Completion | Save 100% routing for an edition-specific checklist |
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8 checked for this guideEvery factual claim in this guide was checked against at least two independent sources before publication. These are the references used for Bully.
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