The Wanted Level System
Every GTA game to date has had the trademark “wanted” system to tell the player just how screwed they actually are. In #4, not much has changed. Here is a breakdown of what to expect on each tier of the wanted level system:
1 Star: A police cruiser or two will tail you, foot cops will also attempt to nab you. The escape radius of a one star wanted level is fairly small and the cops will not be hell-bent on capturing you. At this wanted level, if you do not shoot at the police, or any citizen the cops will not fire at you, but they will however approach you with their guns drawn to arrest you. If you fire upon any officer, resist arrest or aim at them, they will open fire on you. Getting a one star level is as simple as shooting a pedestrian, fighting in front of the police, stealing a car or crashing into a police cruiser.
2 Star: More police cruisers join the fray, cops will shoot you on sight. The escape radius gets larger. Not too difficult at this point to evade the police. If you kill any police officer, you will automatically gain a 3 star wanted level.
3 star: Things start getting tough from here on in. The escape radius becomes huge, the police will dispatch helicopters to spot you, and then stay on you from the air. Driving with a slow vehicle will make it extremely difficult to evade the police at this point.
4 star: Now you’ve done it. The police helicopters will now have two police officers perched inside it firing down at you from both sides. The swat vans will be dispatched, with swat team members clad in body armor and with M16’s. Be careful because the swat team will use tactics such as flanking to get to you.
5 star: Annihilator attack helicopters will be sent to kill you. Swat barricades will be set up at bridges in an attempt to block you off.
6 star: Getting a 6 star wanted level requires doing certain actions that will automatically give you a full wanted level. For instance: attacking or attempting to pass the police barricades on the bridges that stop you from going to the other areas early on in the game. On a 6 star wanted level, FIB will arrive in their FIB Buffalo’s and attack you with M16’s. Also, If you happen to be in a helicopter with a 6 star wanted level, the Annihilator attack helicopters will fire at you with their gattling guns in the air.
