Chapter 4 - Multiplayer Tips

Along with a massive single-player game (that can last well beyond the story has been completed), Grand Theft Auto IV also features a diverse selection of multiplayer game options. You can play a standard deathmatch game, participate in car races, or challenge another team in a round of Cops ‘n’ Crooks. This section provides some multiplayer strategies to help you survive the online competition.

• Running and gunning isn’t effective for long-term success. If you just run around shooting wildly hoping to score kills you won’t end up near the top of the leaderboards. Here are a few tips for good gun skills. First, when you spot a target, crouch. This will increase your firearm’s accuracy. Second, don’t just hold down the fire button. Increase accuracy by firing in shorter, controlled burst fire. Finally, aim for headshots. You’re going to score much faster kills if you learn to aim for the head. Combine all of these techniques and you will survive many more gun battles.
• Knowledge of the map is important for virtually every online game (unless you’re playing Tetris, I suppose). Grand Theft Auto IV is no different. Test out the maps in free mode and learn the location of the most vital items, such as health kits, body armor, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and the rocket launcher. These are the most important items in the game and knowing exactly where to go will save your life time and time again.
• One of the greatest elements to Grand Theft Auto IV’s multiplayer mode is the freedom to be creative. You can be creative in every game mode but free mode is where it really shines. Go skydiving! Well, without a parachute I guess. Reenact your favorite car chase or gun battle movie scenes. Play chicken in your favorite vehicle. See who can survive against the police the longest. Do some stunt jumping or impromptu races. The open-ended nature of the single-player game certainly carries over to multiplayer free mode!
• The rocket launcher is primarily an anti-vehicle weapon. It has a long reload time, which becomes troublesome in close-quarters combat (while you’re reloading, your enemy is blasting you with an assault rifle). But the explosives are powerful. Use the rocket launcher at longer range, ideally at a group of enemy targets for maximum damage. It’s also not the only way to take down a vehicle. Don’t forget you can just shoot the driver with any firearm!
• Winning a deathmatch game isn’t measured by kills but instead by money. You receive money for each kill but you can score more cash by collecting the money dropped by the slain player. Don’t forget to scoop up this cash! You also lose money if you die by "other means," which basically means avoid suicide. Don’t fire a rocket point blank into a wall. That’s just more cash you have to collect to get back to the top. Remember the most money wins.
• Team deathmatch games are about working together with your teammates. Once again, it’s all about the cash. Score kills to earn cash, grab dropped money from slain foes for more bucks, and avoid suicides and other non-player deaths to prevent losing dough. More firepower equals better odds. Communicate with your partner or partners and focus attack on single foes when possible. Set up flanks and ambushes against your opponents. Exploit the environment: use alleys, take cover, or gain height advantage.
• Mafiya Work has players performing jobs for a mob boss. The goal is to complete the jobs before other players or teams. Objectives include killing specific non-player targets, stealing specific vehicles, kill a target and steal their vehicle, escort non-player characters, or deliver particular goods. In a free-for-all game, it’s every player for himself or herself but that doesn’t mean alliances can’t exist. Make impromptu deals and team up against another player and prevent them from completing a particular job. Oh and then of course as soon as you take down that player, betray the alliance! This is Mafiya Work after all.
• Cops ‘n’ Crooks is a great game type in which one team is designated the cops and the other the crooks. In the all for one version, one crook is the boss and the other crooks must escort him to safety. And the cops must take out the boss! Organization is key for both sides. The cops must work together and intercept the crooks and the crooks must work together to protect the boss and repel the cops. Good drivers are also vital; passengers should set waypoints allowing the driver to concentrate on what’s important and that’s driving. Maintain good communication with your teammates: call out the enemy positions and let teammates know where to go for survival and escape.
• The rules of Car Jack City could be summed up in its title. The goal is to steal the target vehicles and get them back to the drop-off point. The vehicles marked by the blue target are standard vehicles; the vehicles marked by the green target are filled with drugs and therefore worth more cash. The catch is that the cars lose value when damaged so you must balance between getting the vehicle back to the drop-off point quickly and maintaining the car’s condition to maximize profit. Even in free-for-all modes, alliances could occur to prevent an opponent from grabbing a vehicle. Watch your back, though. Everyone’s gunning for the top of the leaderboard so don’t expect a partnership to last.