Wanted Level

A player in GTA Vice City with a four-star wanted level. Ahead is a police bribe

A Wanted Level is a measure of the how much the player is wanted by the police or other law enforcement. In GTA III era games, the player has a six-point scale of stars. One wanted star is gained by minor crimes, two by more serious crimes, and these are increased if the player continues to retaliate against law enforcement.

If the player has one or more wanted stars, the Police will give chase and attempt to arrest the player - bringing up the message "Busted". An arrest is executed by either knocking the player onto the ground and surrounding him, or by opening the player's car door and aiming weapons at him. In both cases, the player has no choice but to give up. If arrested, the player is transported to the nearest police station and is released minus some money and their weapons.

If the player retaliates and shoots at a police officer, they will attempt to take the player down with lethal force. If the player dies, the usual procedure of returning to the nearest hospital will happen. With a wanted level of 3 stars or more, police helicopters will give chase and attempt to shoot down the player. On 4 stars, SWAT teams will arrive in Enforcers, and also will descend from the police helicopters, and attempt to kill the player. On 5 stars, the FBI will take over in their Ranchers. On the maximum wanted level of 6 stars, the Army will take over the entire operation and attempt to terminate the player with their Rhino tanks and Barracks trucks.

A players wanted level can be decreased by several means. A one-star wanted level will disappear if the player "lies low" for a while (is not seen by the police, and does not commit more crime). Higher wanted levels can only be lost through the use of Bribes, which are floating stars (similar to Hidden Packages) which will lower the wanted level by 1 star. Also, putting the car through a Pay n Spray will help put the police off the player's scent.

It is notoriously difficult to survive higher wanted levels without the use of Cheats, available only in GTA III and subsequent games.

For all GTA III Era games, there are cheats to raise and lower wanted levels.
In GTA Vice City,upon being Busted, the voice of lawyer Ken Rosenberg can be heard persuading the police to let him go: "Officer, do you really think my client is capable of that?".
GTA San Andreas has a cheat to prevent the player from ever obtaining a wanted level. However, the player can still get attacked at the police impound station.
In Grand Theft Auto IV, it's possible for pedestrians to call 911 on their cellphones, giving the player a wanted level even if no police officers witness their crime.

"Instead of sprinting to the first available car, jacking it then hurtling to the nearest Pay N Spray, escaping from the cops in GTA IV is a far more organic affair. For starters, any crime you commit will give you a wanted level. Jack a car anywhere and you'll get a star because there are witnesses. Instead of the cops just screaming to your position though, the star warning you're 'awarded' translates to a visible search area on the radar. If you manage to escape the circular search area, then your wanted level will flash and disappear. If you're spotted though, the centre of the circle changes to your position, and you have to start again. This offers up numerous options. As police only operate on their own line of sight, if they can't see you they can't stop you."

One Star

A one-star wanted level is attained by committing minor crimes, such as:

punching someone
shooting someone
shooting/punching a car
destroying a car
driving into/shooting a police vehicle.
firing a weapon in public, if seen by a police officer
stealing a parked car near an officer/carjacking a car near an officer
failing to pay at a tollbooth (in GTA IV)
driving while intoxicated (in GTA IV)
carjacking a parked police car (in GTA IV)

Police officers who see you will chase you and try to hit you with their nightstick if you aren't displaying a firearm, but if you are they may fire at you with a pistol. If a police car is close by it will follow you, but won't keep up a high-speed pursuit. It is easy to lose the police on a one-star wanted level, as if you run long enough and lie low, or just hide (and don't commit more crimes), then they give up.

In Grand Theft Auto IV, police will spot you and will try to arrest you for DWI. Note that controlling the vehicle while intoxicated may be difficult, so it is safe to wait until the intoxicated vision weas off.

You will get Busted if you stop and a police officer opens your car door, or if you get knocked down (after a fall or being hit) and a police officer has time to get to you.

Two Stars

Two stars are attained by:

killing a police officer
pointing a firearm at an officer (in Vice City)
destroying many cars at once.
killing many people in a short space of time.
crashing into a petrol pump (causing death or severe property damage)
holstering a weapon at the police station/performing a bank robbery
destroying an aircraft (in San Andreas)
faking arrest (in GTA IV

Police officers will shoot at you, police cars and bikes will start chasing you, and if stopped by a police car, they will brandish shotguns and take cover behind their car doors. Getting a bribe will lose one star and you can just hide from them, or you can visit a pay 'n' spray. If you're on water, police boats will appear bit only in open water and they'll barely do anything, except shoot at you with their turrets. In GTA: San Andreas, cops appears on top of Predator boats and will attempt to shoot you while you try and escape.

Three Stars

You get three stars by:

continuing to attack police officers
killing more civilians
destroying property
causing excessive property damage very quickly, such as blowing up several cars at once
entering and staying at the police impound station, which causes the police to call for backup (in GTA: SA)

Small roadblocks will be set up with police cars and officers shooting at you, a police helicopter will follow you, putting a spotlight on you; and if given the chance will shoot at you; they will also make funny remarks "I can see him, its a guy!". Police will become more aggressive, keeping up with you no matter what car you are driving and shooting at you at any chance.

In GTA Vice City, upon reaching three-star wanted level, spike strips will be thrown out to pop your tires. Also, Uzi-carrying vice squad members (highly reminiscent of Miami Vice's Crockett and Tubbs) will pursue you in VCPD Cheetahs.
In GTA San Andreas, upon reaching three-star wanted level, Police bikes will also chase you and fire all the time. Police boats will fire at you a bit more. It is still possible to lose this wanted level by lying low, however as there is now a helicopter chasing you it is signifigantly harder. It is really only possible to lose this level when hiding in a place the helicopter(s) can't come, such as under a bridge. (When not spotted by police boats)

Four Stars

You get four stars by:

continuing to shoot back at police
killing more civilians
shooting down several police helicopters
causing extreme property damage, such as blowing up 20+ cars with remote explosives
entering a city that you are not allowed into yet (in GTA: SA)

With four stars, the SWAT team will chase you in their Enforcer cars armed with uzis; however they will not appear very frequently. The police helicopters will shoot at you constantly, and drop SWAT members down on you if they get the chance. larger roadblocks with more agresssive firing and very agressive police cars/officers. The SWAT team will not react to you as expertly as you'd imagine; eg if you are hiding on a building they will not sneak up from behind but will drive into the wall below, get out and shoot. Note that police bikes will no longer appear, only ones left over from three stars will continue to chase you. A News Chopper or VCN Maverick will also follow you, but won't do anything. It will, however, lead the police to your location. Retaliation for crossing the border if you are flying is that Hydras will follow you, respawn if somehow taken down and never give up (on top of the chopper and SWAT team). Less civilians will be seen on the roads too.

In GTA San Andreas, upon reaching four-star wanted level, shooting a police helicopter down with a sniper rifle just below its rotor blades, will take it down without more stars being added. It is possible team to lose this level by staying away from the SWAT team. As the SWAT team is based in the city, going into the countryside (In GTA: SA) will make it possible to avoid them and lose this level.

Five Stars

Attained if you:

continue to retaliate
take down 2-4 more police choppers
cause more property damage
fly into restricted airspace, such as that over a military base

Response is the FBI will chase you in FBI Ranchers, or in FBI Washingtons in GTA Vice City, armed with SMG's. They will set up strong roadblocks that are likely to seriously damage/destroy you vehicle if not avoided. Note that all other police and SWAT members will no longer appear and only ones left over from four stars will continue to chase. The FBI are not too sophisticated either, still opting for the drive at target tactic. If you stay a certain distance away from a Rancher in an airport they will completely ignore you and drive in circles, hitting each other of there are more than one. going slightly closer, will trigger them to drive at you, but go back and they go back to smashing each other up. Flying over restricted Military base results in SAM sites firing at you until you exit the plane/chopper, fly far away or get wasted. There will be almost no civilians around at this point. It is possible to lose this level by avoiding the FBI for long enough. This is however very hard, as the FBI spawns a lot and is fast. Hiding in the water is a good way to lose this level, unless a helicopter or boat finds you (which will frequently be the case).

Six Stars

Attained if you:

continue to retaliate
take down more police choppers and FBI agents
cross police barricades (GTA IV)

The Army will take take over the pursuit, chasing you with Barracks (or Barracks OLs) and Rhino tanks. They are armed with M4's and Shotguns. In GTA Vice City they apparently have grenades ^{[Verification Needed]}, but if they do they never use or drop them. Roadblocks get set up with Barracks and they'll destroy most cars. If you are flying Hydras will give chase and never give up. The army can but you, but you'll probably be dead before they get a chance to. By now there are no civilian cars left apart from at spawns to use to get to a Pay 'n' Spray - which is the easiest way to legitimately stop the chase (if slow). You can't hold out on top of a building forever without cheats as helicopters will continue to appear and the wanted stars will not disappear. Sometimes if you drive around a freeway or in the countryside/desert long enough, you may loose a star but it takes time and is very hard. Note that staying on a car park level with a roof, but not ground floor will make the police give up and no choppers appear, but your wanted level will freeze and not go down. There are still several ways to lose your six-star wanted level: using a Pay 'n' Spray, finding several police Police Bribes, getting busted, getting wasted (killed), or using cheats. In Grand Theft Auto IV, the One Man Army achievement is unlocked when the player stays alive for at least five minutes with a six-star wanted level.