GTA IV: How To Dominate Online

By Sam Collins

5 pieces of key info for owning online with GTA IV

With Grand Theft Auto IV less than two weeks at retail, the multiplayer community is still very much in its infancy. So there's no better time to put together a short list of hints, tips and general information for the masses going at it online this week and in the weeks to come. So here it is, five pieces of must-know information to own online with GTA IV.

Cover

Online Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Turf War play often involves a lot of running and spraying everything that moves with hot lead. Few people seem to be making use of the cover system. Utilising cover is perhaps the most effective way to survive in a gunfight, be it mobile cover in the form of vehicles or stationary cover in the form of buildings, walls, dumpsters – you name it. If something looks solid and provides decent line of sight on your target(s) it might be the difference between an increased lifespan or a loading screen.

Auto aim

Auto aim and whether it’s enabled or not has a significant impact on how you should approach fire fights and vehicular combat. With auto aim enabled your best bet is to either approach opposing players on foot or swing your car around and use it as cover. If your target has an SMG or Rifle, trying to gun them down from inside your ride will result in a quick trip to the nearest spawn point.

However, disabling auto aim will provide a much more level playing field between players in vehicles and on foot. You’ll also find the pacing of combat toned down somewhat with everyone having to put more effort into popping tires and making headshots.

Waypoints

Navigating Liberty City unaided is no easy task. Having someone navigating for you or placing waypoints yourself will save you from frustrating detours and minutes spent back tracking - something you’ll want to avoid at all costs in games of Cops N Crooks and the Race modes. If you find yourself riding shotgun you can help your driver out by keeping an eye on the map screen and adjusting the waypoint as your targets move or your objectives change.

Driving

Driving plays an important part in most online modes of play as either the quickest way of getting to a location or as the basis of the mode itself. If your goal is dominating the online scene, not being at least familiar with the many different vehicle types is going to be detrimental to your success.

That being said, vehicles are not just a means of transport – they’re deadly weapons in the right hands. A key part of driving in GTA IV is knowing how and when to act offensively. This can mean just using your ride as a sophisticated battering ram or weaving through traffic and keeping your passengers in line of sight to hit whoever you’re gunning for.

Weapons

With the wide array of arms available it’s hard to decide what one should use at times. That choice is generally based on your distance from your target and what you want to accomplish. Standing three meters away? Try a shotgun. Standing 70 meters away and feel like causing some damage? Give the RPG a whirl. There are tons of different ways to bring the pain – get creative, people.

Take what I like to call ‘Freeway Surprise’ for example - the act of having multiple people throw grenades from a moving car while being chased. Nothing discourages pursuit like explosives.

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Posted by xSHADOWx on 19 July 2008, 03:58PM

Thanks for the tips I'll have to try them out when my 360 is fixed.