Friendships in GTA IV

This article refers to maintaining major friendships in GTA IV. For the minor characters Niko meets in the street, see Random Characters

In Grand Theft Auto IV, the player will eventually befriend several acquaintances over the course of the game's storyline, primarily after performing adequate number of missions for the contacts.

Overview

The player's friendship with a character is determined by a "[Character name] like" attribute found in game stats; the higher a friend's "like", the better their relationship with the player. Hanging out with friends is the primary method to improve on the player's relationships with their friends, eventually allowing the player to unlock special benefits; the player can also increase his friendships (as well as their "respect") through certain storyline missions. However, rejecting offers by friends to go out or ignoring friends for too long will eventually result in a friend's "like" towards the player dropping; players will be notified of the latter via a text message.

The player may engage in specific activities with a characters, including bowling, going to a strip club, and going for a drink at a bar; these activities are activated by either having the player call their friends for a specific activity on their mobile phone, or wait for their friends to call instead (to which point their friends will pick a specific activity to do instead).

After setting an appointment, the player will have to head to their waiting friend, which will spawn in one of several possible points of the city; if the player does not pick their friend up for several hours, the friend will eventually become "bored" and cancel the meeting, reducing the friend's "like" towards the player. After picking up their friend, the player's is primarily instructed to head to the activity as agreed upon during the phone call, but can in fact make several stopovers on the way for other activities to boost the increase of the friend's "like" upon completion of the outing. Once the player complete the primary activity, the friend will ask the player to drop them off a specific location, at which point the friend's "like" will increase.

The friendship feature is derided by certain commentators as a tedious and annoying aspect of GTA IV, as friends will consistently call the player on offers to go on outings, and there is no clear way of avoiding the activity without sacrificing their player's friendships. Even if the player chooses not to go on any outings, friends will still call the player regardless, even if the player sets their phone into silent mode (which is intended to block incoming calls). However, there is a simple method of avoiding going on outings without penalty; this is achieved by initially accepting a friend's offer to go out, and selecting the "Cancel Plans" option after the call.

The friendship feature was apparently downgraded in importance following GTA IV. The feature was brought over to The Lost and Damned (see Friendships in The Lost and Damned), but is no longer mandatory to the player to do. The feature is absent altogether in The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Friends

There is a total of five available friends in GTA IV, two of which may be killed over the course of GTA IV's storyline:

• Roman Bellic, unlocked after "Bleed Out".
• Little Jacob, unlocked after "Shadow".
• Brucie Kibbutz, unlocked after "No. 1".
• Dwayne Forge, unlocked after "The Holland Play", if the player chooses to kill Playboy X instead.
• Patrick McReary, unlocked after "Three Leaf Clover".

It should be noted the gap between the completion of the mission and the point which a friendship is established may last several days.

Activities

There are a total of ten activities that can be performed in an outing, including

• Eating. This can be done at any Burger Shot, Cluckin' Bell and Pizza This branch throughout Liberty City, and also other diners, cafes and restaurants that become available while you're out with a friend.
• Drinking at the bars in Hove Beach (Broker), Steinway (Dukes), Purgatory (Algonquin), or Hatton Gardens (Algonquin). Being seen driving drunk will attract Wanted stars; it's best to take a taxi. It may take more than one try to hail a cab whilst drunk, as the taxi driver may not respond to your calls.
• Go bowling in the alleys at Purgatory (Algonquin) or Firefly Island (Broker).
• Play pool in Schottler (Broker) or at Playboy X's loft (if available; see spoilers below).
• Throw some darts at the Irish/German Pub in Steinway (Dukes) or in Purgatory (Algonquin).
• Visit a strip club. There are The Triangle Club in Northern Gardens (Bohan), and Honkers Gentlemen's Club in Tudor (Alderney). Lapdances are available in strip clubs.
• Visit the Cabaret Club in Hove Beach (Broker) or the Comedy Club, Split Sides, in Star Junction (Algonquin) to catch a show.
• You can go with Brucie Kibbutz and two of his lady friends on helicopter and boat trips throughout Liberty City.
• Occasionally you will be called to give someone a lift; this usually happens when a friend is injured.

Only certain activities are available to each friend, and even then so friend may express preferences towards a certain type of establishment to go to:

Eating

• Roman Bellic: The Burger Shot in Beechwood City, Broker
• "Little" Jacob Hughes: Cluckin' Bell in Cerveza Heights, Dukes
• Brucie Kibbutz: Superstar Café in Middle Park East, Algonquin
• Dwayne Forge: Cluckin' Bell in The Triangle, Algonquin.
• "Packie" Patrick McReary: You can't eat with Packie.

Benefits

Like girlfriends in GTA San Andreas, friends provide special benefits if their "like" percentage reaches 80% (they will call you to offer their particular ability). You can lose these benefits if their "like" percentage fall below 80%; when you raise the level again, you will get a text message. This will also have effect on the voicemail your friend leaves when he/she is absent.

Note: Sometimes a friend's benefit will not be available, due to excessive use or being blocked during certain missions.

• Roman Bellic: Sends a cab to pick Niko up and take him anywhere for free (albeit at the driver's annoyance). Following Roman's Sorrow, this benefit will be unavailable for several missions (as his depot has been burned down). The car service will be avaliable after completion of the mission Blow Your Cover, when Roman buys a new fleet of cabs. After Mallorie calls to report Roman missing, Niko cannot hang out with him or call for a taxi until he rescues Roman in "Hostile Negotiation". Roman is available at all times for activities.
• Little Jacob: Drives to a secluded location near the player; his car's trunk is full of guns to purchase at a discount (60% off). Niko can do this during a mission. The best times to call for activities are between 1pm - 4am.
• Brucie Kibbutz: Picks Niko up with his helicopter, and transports him to designated landing zones around the city (Niko will have to meet him at these points). The best times to call for activities are between 7am - 1am.
• Dwayne Forge: Sends a car with two armed men who will follow and help Niko in combat. In order to unlock his friendship, the player must allow him to live in The Holland Play, and later respond positively to an e-mail he will send (some time after this he will invite Niko out). The best times to call for activities are between 11am - 3am. Sparing Dwayne also allows use of Playboy X's loft apartment, including its pool table.
• Patrick McReary: Supplies Niko with a car bomb which can be placed under any car and detonated using Niko's phone. The best times to call for activities are between 3pm - 6am.

Notes

• It is possible to arrange more than one appointment with multiple friends, but the player can only select one friend to pick up, to which point other appointments are automatically canceled. There is no penalty in friendship under this condition.
• The player can use nearly any mode of transport during an outing. In addition to regular road vehicles, the player can also take a taxi or ride the subway. If the player chooses to pick a friend up using a motorbike or a helicopter, the friend will utter unique comments on the player's choice of vehicle.
• After picking up a friend for an outing, he will usually engage the player character in a conversation about their personal life.

See also

• Friendships in The Lost and Damned
• Girlfriends in GTA IV