Friends and Activities

Friends in GTA IV unlock special abilities once they like Niko enough, and those abilities are some of the most useful tools in the game: quick rides, weapon deals, backup crews and even wanted-level removal. Building them up means taking friends on hangouts and answering their calls.

How Friendship Works

Each friend has a like meter. Taking them to activities they enjoy, such as darts, bowling, pool, drinks or a show, raises it, while cancelling plans or ignoring calls lowers it. Some friends dislike bad driving or certain activities, so picking the right outing matters.

When the meter is high enough, a special ability unlocks. You call the friend from the phone to use it, and it stays available as long as the friendship holds.

Friends call often, sometimes in the middle of a mission. Accepting when you can and cancelling politely when you cannot keeps the meter from dropping, and a few friends become unavailable depending on the choices made in the story.

Special Abilities by Friend

Friend	Ability
Roman Bellic	Car service with taxi rides
Little Jacob	Buy weapons from his car
Brucie Kibbutz	Helicopter rides
Packie McReary	Car bomb
Dwayne Forge	Sends gang backup
Kiki Jenkins	Removes up to three wanted stars
Francis McReary	Removes up to three wanted stars
Carmen Ortiz	Restores health over the phone
Alex Chilton	Half-price clothes

Roman's taxis and Brucie's helicopter save huge amounts of travel time. Little Jacob's gun deals are cheaper and closer than walking to a store.

Activities Around Liberty City

Outings include bowling, darts, pool, comedy clubs, cabaret, strip clubs and drinks at bars. Driving drunk after the bar is part of the comedy, with a wobbling camera and police who react to swerving.

Side jobs outside friendships include vigilante missions from police computers, Brucie's car theft lists, street races and taxi work.

Phone numbers for cheats are separate from friends' numbers; see GTA 4 cheats. For the people themselves, read characters.