GTA IV Tips: Difference between revisions

* To move up/down stairs more quickly, jump up/down them. You'll go much faster. Just be careful not to jump in the direction of the stair's edge, as you might vault over the side and fall.

* As soon as you receive a gun, try to master headshots. First auto aim, then move the right stick up a little bit; Niko will aim for the upper body/head instead of the stomach. Headshots are instant kills, so you'll save ammo (money) and kill enemies faster (keeping you alive) by learning to adjust your aim and go for headshots. Especially after you use receive the Assault Rifle and Carbine Rifle; holding the trigger for even a second will cause a spray of bullets that will guarantee a kill if aimed at the head.

* This is very useful when delivering cars to either Stevie or to Brucie and also when having your own car. To do this, go to Niko's in-game cellphone go onto the cheat menu and activate the "DOC - Health" cheat. This is entered into the phone by dialing the number (362-555-0100) and from there on, it can be accessed through the phone's menu. This cheat will heal Niko to full health and also give him a new set of body armour. The health cheat will also repair a car which is where it comes in handy for doing the car delivery jobs and means you don't have to spend your hard-earned cash at a Pay 'n' Spray shop. Use this cheat at your own risk, as it will disable some trophies/achievements.

* Be careful. The pedestrians in [[Grand Theft Auto IV]] are a lot more dangerous and unpredictable than previous games, and many of them are armed. If you bother them, accidentally bump them, aim a gun at them, start shooting, or cause them distress in anyway, some might run, some might call the police, or some might even start a fight with you. If you pull out a gun, those also carrying a weapon will not hesitate to shoot you.

* The police in this game are smarter, and shoot better and more effective than in previous games. Expect to be swarmed even on 3 star wanted levels. Avoiding cop attention is a must, or they will put an end to your day quickly and painfully.

* Use the "Sleep Mode" on your phone. If you just want to cruise around [[Liberty City]] without being nagged by mission-givers, go the Options menu in your phone and choose to turn Sleep Mode ON. This will halt the story's progress so you can call up your friends to hang out with them or just do whatever.

* Clean your clothes. Did you just get your new suit all bloody and you have an interview in thirty minutes? Go to a [[safehouse]] and either sleep (Bear in mind this does cause game time to increase by six hours) or change your clothes & back again. Good as new. However, by saving (and therefore sleeping), time advances six hours. Another way to clean your clothes is just to replenish your health: get a soda or some food, call an [[ambulance]], or be creative! Replenishing your health does the trick.

* How to deal with blind firing enemies: If an enemy is blind firing like his life depended on it, aim for his arm/hand, as it is exposed when blind firing. If you hit it, he'll likely stumble out into the open, where you can hopefully kill him.

* Need good [[weapons]] at the beginning of the game? Go to any weapons shop and kill the guy inside. Make sure he takes out his weapon first, then take it once he's dead. After about 20 seconds, his friends will show up for vengeance. Kill them too to get good weapons early in the game, but watch out! You'll get 1 or 2 stars for the murders and escaping the small shop and narrow alley with cops can be tricky.

* At the beginning of the game, right after leaving your apartment for the first time, take a car from the street (preferably a fast, good handling one, like a Chavos or a Sentinel) and take it to the airport. There is a guard tower in the middle and the end, run the guards over and take their carbine rifles. Kill SWAT members in the vans to gain SMG ammo and kill cops for pistol ammo. Don't worry about dying because you keep the weapons. There is armor near the parking lot at the end and a Sentinel in the guard tower parking lot.

* Take your cousin [[Roman Bellic]] out once or twice early on in the game to get his friendship level up. [[Burger Shot]] and The Triangle Club are good places as they don't need to be unlocked. After you get his friendship level high enough, you'll be able to call him for a free taxi ride anywhere. This is good for a ride to a mission when you can't hail a [[taxi]]. And listening to the driver [[Mohammad]] is a laugh.

* You can park more than one car in your [[safehouse]] parking spot by making sure that at least one tire of vehicle is within the yellow box. Technically, you can save as many cars as you can fit into the box, but Xbox 360 users might face the infamous car eating glitch.

* Buy [[armor]]! If you know a firefight is coming up, buy yourself some armor. If the mission's begun, don't worry. The second destination listed in the taxis besides the "objective" is the weapons store.

* To nick a car without too much conflict in [[Grand Theft Auto IV]], bring up your gun, point it at the driver of the car you want from the side of the road, the driver will then get scared and let you have the car. Doing this right in front of a police, or a police car will not attract any attention (likely design flaw). Most of the time, the driver will step out, running away. As a note, you will get wanted level for pointing your gun at members of law enforcement, and will also recieve a 1-star wanted level when you actually enter the car.

* Keep the meter running, cabbie! If you just need to buy some ammo or food real quickly, when the cabbie drops you off, wait a second or two and whistle for the cab again. Then run and buy your stuff. Come back out and he'll be waiting for you right where he left you, if not, then he's around the corner.

* Many of the Assassination Missions can be simplified if you can get hold of a helicopter. Just land on a high position overlooking the target and take them out using the rifle.

* Look around. Many players think that the car they were in is gone if the player enters a cutscene. But, usually, the car is parked somewhere nearby. Look around the corner or down the street and you'll usually find it.

* If you are ever in need of a [[police car]], [[firetruck]], or [[ambulance]], but are careful to take one in the middle of town, just call 911 and wait for them to come. You can do this somewhere in a dark side-alley, making it much easier to grab the car without too much attention. This can even save you a long trip, as getting into an ambulance gives you a good amount of health back.

* Another great spot to steal a police car is always the local police station. The one in Algonquin, which also features [[Francis McReary]]'s missions, has a squad vehicle parked behind it. No one will see you take it. You can also call the cops on the cell phone and steal the car when they come. However, this gives you a wanted level, and more cops will come to try to arrest you or shoot you down.

* Looking for a helicopter with a little more style? The Police Station in [[East Holland]] has an[[ Annihilator]]. Good luck stealing it though, the Cops there are armed to the teeth. A one star wanted level is all you will get though.

* Use public transportation. Taking a taxi is cheap and fast, you can even take friends with you.

* We've all been there. You look around, think that everything is clear and as you smash the window of a car the alarm comes on and a Squad Car turns around the corner. No worries. As long as they see you neither sitting in the car nor smashing the window, the alarm doesn't seem to bother them. Just interrupt your action, wait until the Police is gone and then get into the car.

* If you're ever caught in a chase from the police, try to avoid driving too fast and instead constantly make turns around corners (watch out for cars that you may crash into). Also, keep track of where the cops are on your radar.

* Never attempt to shoot at a car that's traveling behind you. You will end up crashing and quickly owned by police/team 2. The best idea is to either let a passenger do the shooting or brake and wait for them to fly ahead of your car and shoot forward.

* Super-easy way to get and keep 6 stars - before the other islands are open, drive your car on the metro tracks. If you drive across the river, you'll instantly get 6 wanted stars, but since the metro is underground on the other island, there are no police. When you've stayed underground for a long time, drive back to the other side, drop down to street level near your safehouse and save the game.

* Whenever you deliver vehicles for [[Stevie]] for extra cash you can get more money for the vehicle than the initial base value. This could be a glitch but if you damage the vehicle just a little you get more money. If the car is totaled you will receive less money. Damages like broken headlights, small dents, etc. It usually goes up a few hundred dollars. If you damage it just right the price could go up another thousand. Taking a busted up car to[[ Pay 'n' Spray ]]will increase the value.

* When traveling back and forth between islands, use a cop vehicle to avoid paying the tolls and to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

* Cars and pedestrians respond to your horn, so if you're in a hurry and there are police around, use it.

* Befriend [[Little Jacob]] quickly and buy armor and ammunition from him before any major conflict; this will make combat much easier. Be warned, he doesn't sell the [[RPG]],[[ Sniper Rifle]], [[Desert Eagle]] or[[ Pump Shotgun]]. So if that's what you need, a [[gun shop]] is the best bet.

* If a taxi won't stop for you, chances are that there's already a passenger inside. Simply walk up and 'hold' the button to get into the taxi as a passenger. Hey presto, you'll drag the passenger out of the cab and the taxi driver will now be happy to take you.

* To easily gain ammo, get a wanted level. The higher your wanted level the better selection of weapons. Try not to lose too much health and/or armor. When you have your wanted level where you want it, go to any one of your safehouses. Kill some cops and N.O.O.S.E. officers in front of your safehouse. Kill as many as you can before losing all your health. Once your ready, go inside your safehouse and save your game. Be sure not to die. After you save your game, your wanted level will be gone and your health will be fully restored. Walk outside and collect all the weapons and ammo lying on the ground from all the officers you killed. If you died, the weapons probably won't be there.

* Take a cab a lot but bring a gun, when you get out, go to the front, shoot the cab driver once, if he runs out keep shooting and you'll get a refund, if he drives away, keep shooting.

*For an easy way to make as much as $3,000 a trip find and hijack a "Securicar" (its a large green box shaped van with Gruppe 6 written on the side.) Jack any van, drive around and it should appear eventually) and make sure you have enough shotgun shells to make it easy, take the "Securicar" to the beach or an empty parking lot and proceed to shoot the front grill of the truck, once its on fire stand back. When the truck does blow up money will be everywhere, simply pick it up. NOTE: you may get cops on your case and up to two stars by blowing this up. Another way is to take the truck to a location between two hard objects (e.g. walls). By ramming the truck continuously into the walls, you will cause it to catch fire and blow up without getting the wanted level/cops on your case. If the truck stalls before catching fire, call someone and hang up, it should start again. The Securicar is usually found in industrial areas such as [[Alderney]] Industrial Estate, Tudor, the Industrial section of Bohan & [[BOABO]].

* If your're in a firefight, and your target is hiding and shooting at you behind a large concrete support beam, you can now blast through it with a heavy weapon and kill your target.

* If you are critically wounded and need health without risking a fatal gunshot in a stolen ambulance, paying the paramedics almost $1,000 or filling your gut with questionable food items from the street vendors, you can get an easy heal and gain the moral high ground by giving money to any one of the tramps or saxophone players that you see in Liberty City. It's $10 out of pocket which may sound a bit steep, but Niko will feel so good about himself that he will gain at least 90% health from this simple act of kindness. You can find sax players in the subway, in the park, or any public place where people conglomerate. On occasion, a sax player may accost you, calling Niko such names as "philistine" or "square." Tramps may be found more often at night, in the subway or in the seedy spots of town. When you approach a tramp who wants change, they will acknowledge your presence with a greeting like "Look who it is" or "'Sup family." Occasionally, tramps will have some amusing commentary amongst themselves. And if you are feeling frugal, after you throw your money to a tramp, you can regain your money if you move for it quick enough. The tramp will continue as if they picked up the money and didn't notice you take it back.

* Ever want to just stop and also turn off your engine? Well there is a trick to do that! Just stop and press and hold the Y button (Xbox 360), triangle button (PS3) or F button (default PC) and the lights (if they are switched on) plus the engine will turn off!

*If you have a wanted level, no matter how big, save at your safehouse. As soon as you exit the save menu, the wanted level will immediately be gone. (This especially works at the [[Middle Park East Safehouse]], since the cops cant follow you inside)

* For more experienced players familiar with other competitive shooters, this kind of goes without saying, but for newer players, remember to RELOAD after killing someone with the Circle/B button. Actively reloading before each fight can give you the edge over other players.

* When shooting with an automatic weapon, improve your chances with the auto-aim by firing rapid single shots rather than bursts, and aim just above to hit the chest/head area.

* When you need to shoot behind you in a car whilst driving, click the right stick in and press Lb. You can release the right stick, the camera is 'stickied' behind you, whilst also allowing you to aim and shoot.

* Load up on Armor, Combat Shotgun ammo, Molotov's and Carbine ammo. Head to the 'Cluckin Bell' food outlet in Star Junction. There is a pillar guarding the only entrance, hug to it and start murdering the fat customers. Wait for police and blow them away. Keep this up for 10 minutes and you'll have 6 stars in no time. Another method is to enter a new city when you're not supposed to and just hide for 10 minutes. Some people have also used a hospital. You will find many people to kill and get your wanted level up, and a health pack when you are almost dead. You can also visit littlelacysurprisepageant.com to get five stars, and use a cheat to gain a sixth star (this shouldn't prevent any achievements).

* Another easy way is to get a helicopter and fly to the top platform of the Statue of Happiness (on Happiness Island). One of the platforms there will be 4 doors on each side, one door leads you to the inside of the statue where a ladder is, climb this ladder until you are at the top where the beating heart is. Type 267-555-0150 into your phone which will give you a one star wanted level, keep doing this cheat until you have 6 stars and wait 5 minutes until the achievment comes. The police cannot reach you here.