Overview

Although it's highly recommended that you read this entire guide at least once, it's possible that you are just looking for information on a specific trophy or game mode. Below is a table of contents to facilitate finding sections of the guide.

General Information

1. Introduction

• To Boost or Not to Boost?

2. The Gamespy Shutdown & Resulting Changes

• Trophies, Leaderboards & the R★ Social Club
• The Current Situation
• Ranking Up & Double XP
• Stat Tracking
• “Do I Need to Restart from Scratch Now?”

3. The Basics

• Preferences & Controls
• Maximizing Internet
• Invite Problems & Signing Out/In
• Party Mode
• Creating a Private Lobby
• Joining via Invite

Walkthrough

4. Walkthrough - Intro

5. The Infamous “Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic” Trophy

• Requirements
• Why Didn't it Ding?
• Getting it on the First Try
• Tracking Progress
• AWP - Checklist
• The Two Important Questions
• Chat Rooms & Disconnecting

6. Step 1 – Free-for-All Wins

•  Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie
•  Cut Your Teeth
•  Top of the Food Chain
• Deathmatch – Quick Win
• Deathmatch –  Top of the Food Chain Win
• Mafiya Work
• Car Jack City

7. Step 2 – Team Mode Wins

•  Taking it for the Team
•  Teamplayer
• Team Deathmatch – Quick Win
• Team Deathmatch –  Teamplayer Strategy
• Team Mafiya Work
• Team Car Jack City
• Cops n' Crooks
• Turf War

8. Step 3 – Co-operative

•  Fly the Co-op
• Hosting Impacts Gameplay
• Difficulty, Settings & General Tips
• Using the Uzi
• Hangman's NOOSE
• Bomb da Base II
• Deal Breaker

9. Step 4 – GTA Races & Races

•  Join the Midnight Club
•  Top the Midnight Club
•  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic
• Read this Before Starting
• Using the Checklist
• Race Settings
• Getting Stuck

10. Step 5 - Getting to Rank 10

•  Wanted
• Bomb da Base II Sniper Respawn Glitch
• Happiness Island Glitch
• Grinding Hangman's NOOSE

11. Final Notes

• Self & 2-Player Boosting
• How Long Will it Take?

12. Myths

13. Closing Words

1. Introduction

With several years of experience helping attain these trophies under my belt now, thousands of people assisted, and many myths busted, I've decided to write a comprehensive guide for the Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer trophies. This will be an attempt to cover all things related to the online portion of the game. This will include an in-depth step-by-step walkthrough to get all of the trophies in minimal time and with as little effort as possible. It will also have an abundance of tips, tricks, and strategies which can prove useful along the way.
 

To Boost or Not to Boost?

Although most of the trophies can be achieved legitimately in public lobbies, this approach is not recommended. It will likely increase the time to completion tenfold and drastically raise the odds of  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic (“AWP”) not unlocking, which will be expanded on later. Also, depending on your location, day of the week, time of day, and game mode, it could take anywhere up to 30 minutes to find a lobby with enough players in it to start up a match. This guide will focus primarily on methods for boosting, but for the most part, the same tactics can be used in public lobbies by creating custom matches.

An excellent place to start looking for partners to boost with would be in the Gaming Sessions page found on this website. Feel free to also create your own sessions if there aren't any already.

More information on earning these trophies without boosting can be found in X_Raceking_X's guide on this site:
Linked: Grand Theft Auto IV Trophy Guide
Welcome to Liberty City. You play as Niko Bellic, a foreigner that comes to America to join his cousin to seek freedom and enjoy the good life. Meet some new people and help them in many quests to reach full status with your friends.
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2. The Gamespy Shutdown & Resulting Changes

The online portion of the game underwent some pretty radical changes in 2014. Here's the deal on what has happened and the way things are now.
 

Trophies, Leaderboards, & The Rockstar Social Club

For those who didn't know, on June 10th, 2014, GameSpy, the company that was in charge of running the GTA IV online servers, shut down. As a result of the servers being transferred to a new provider, a patch was released on that date. It was no longer possible to accumulate cash in multiplayer which meant no more ranking up and two of the trophies became unattainable,  Cut Your Teeth and  Wanted. All leaderboards and the Rockstar Social Club stat tracking were also removed at that time but soon after, things changed again, this time for the better. Which leads us to:

The Current Situation

On August 18, 2014, it was confirmed that Rockstar had released their latest patch. Several major changes occurred. Multiplayer game data is now stored with the GTA IV profile data on your PS3 as opposed to online servers. Previously, if you deleted your game data your multiplayer progress would not be affected, whereas now, deleting your profile data will reset your progress; so be careful.

Ranking Up & Double XP

The ranking system has also been restored so it is possible to earn cash and rank up again. This is very good news because it means that ALL GTA IV TROPHIES ARE ATTAINABLE! Not only can we accumulate multiplayer money again but since the latest patch, all cash that you earn in a match is doubled. That's right, DOUBLE CASH! The doubled amount will not appear during an online match nor on the results screen at the end of one. Rather you will see that it has been doubled if you pay attention to your multiplayer money total, which appears at the bottom left of your screen in-lobby, before and after completing a match.

Stat Tracking

The leaderboards and Social Club are still gone and Rockstar Games has said that they are not planning on bringing them back. This, in a sense, is good news because some people were using them as a way of tracking game wins for their progress in getting the  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic trophy. Unfortunately, the stats were not always accurate and just led to confusion. It was possible to have a win displayed in every game mode and still not have the trophy ding.

This sort of statement has been said quite a bit since the latest patch: “I started this game several years ago. I had done most of the requirements for AWP other than some of the races and was Rank 8 before the shutdown.” Which usually leads to the question:

“Do I Need to Restart from Scratch Now?”

It's not entirely certain, but it seems that the answer is no, you do not need to restart from scratch. Any data that was on your save files before the GameSpy shutdown should be intact. If you are using the same console, PSN account, version of GTA IV, and have not touched any of your save/game data files, everything should be fine and you can just pick up where you left off. All trophies should unlock normally. Please do not quote me on this though, I have not done extensive testing on this point.

The only major difference that has been encountered is the way the  Wanted and  Cut Your Teeth trophies are now unlocked which is discussed in their respective sections below.

3. The Basics

Before we start the journey to getting all the online trophies taken care of there are a few basics we should cover.

Preferences & Controls

You'll first want to make sure all game preferences and controls are set to the best possible settings for your multiplayer experience with this game, recommended settings are below.

Preferences

The following settings should be selected before playing online for the first time and will not be changed once set. They can be found while in singleplayer by bringing up your in-game cell phone, press  once, and choosing Multiplayer > Preferences. Ideally, they should be set to:

• Auto-Aim : Allow
• Friendly Fire : Off
• Police : Off

 

Aim Sensitivity

The other setting which you may want to change before starting is the aim sensitivity. It's recommended that you have it on Low as it will be easier to move to get headshots once locked-on to a target and also use weapons which don't have auto-aim like the sniper rifle and rocket launcher. It can be modified in the Pause Menu by pressing . Go to Controls > Aim Sensitivity > use / to set it to Low.
 

Standard vs Classic Controls

Choosing either the Standard or Classic control scheme is like choosing whether to buy a standard or automatic transmission car. The differences in the button commands are as follows:
  Action Standard Classic Auto-Aim Lock Fire  / Reload None Drop Grenade Tap None Take Cover Accelerate Reverse/Brake Switch Weapons (Vehicle)
Personally, I find the response of / for firing more comfortable than / and also like driving using only my right thumb for accelerating and braking, so am a fan of classic controls. There are several disadvantages though. You cannot drop a grenade, which you can do by tapping with Standard, nor is there a button to reload (although you can reload by quickly pressing and then , and it is very difficult to use the in-game cell phone while driving since doubles as both the “Forward” button and the vehicle accelerator.

You can switch between Standard and Classic controls by pressing , which will bring up the Pause Menu. From the Pause Menu, select Controls, then choose Configuration, and use / to toggle.

Maximizing Internet

For many years now connecting to other players and excessive lag have been serious problems with GTA IV's multiplayer. Even more so, having tested many theories, connectivity issues seem to be the only obstacle preventing some players from unlocking  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic. Unfortunately, things have worsened since the latest patches so BEWARE!... It's highly recommended that you do the following step. It is to be repeated every time you are boosting online and, as redundant as it may appear, can be the key to getting  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic unlocked:

Turn off any device that shares your internet connection and that may significantly reduce its speed. This includes a PC, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox, etc.. It may not be convenient to do this if you live with other people; just do as many as you can. Once shut down, start up your PS3 and load up GTA IV.
 

Invite Problems & Signing Out/In

There are often problems when trying to join or invite people on your friends list. These may include any of the following:

• Players don't appear as being online when trying to invite them with either the in-game cell phone or from within a match lobby.
• Sent invites are not being received or are taking a long time to show up.
• Having accepted an invite an error message appears saying “The game session no longer exists” or “You have been kicked from this match”.
   

The next process is one that I use every time I load up GTA IV and almost always fixes any of the above problems; please note that rebooting your system will not have the same effect:

From within one of your safehouses in singleplayer, bring up the XMB by pressing the PS Button on your controller. Go to PSN > Account Management, press and choose Sign Out. Bring up your in-game cell phone, select Multiplayer and press  to sign in again.

Should you continue to get error messages after completing the above step, create a new lobby and try to join/invite again. If problems persist, consider trying the previous step in “Maximizing Internet” (which will include rebooting your console) and then, once you've loaded up the game again, repeat the signing out/in process.

Party Mode

It may occasionally happen that after trying all of the above methods that you still won't able to connect to people on your friends list. As a last resort you could try starting up your match from Party Mode. This mode is the same as creating a custom lobby with maximum private slots. Here's how to set it up:

Bring up your in-game phone. Choose Multiplayer > Party Mode. Once in Party Mode, bring up your cell phone again. Now go down to Friends and highlight the ID of the player(s) you want to invite. Press to invite. When everyone has joined up with you, bring up the cell phone one last time and select Games and whichever mode you are going to be playing.

Creating a Private Lobby

All trophies can be gotten in Party Mode and also in custom lobbies set to the maximum number of private slots. Furthermore, players do not get kicked from matches for idling for extended periods of time. Here's how to set up a private lobby:

Bring up the in-game cell phone, go to Multiplayer > Games > Custom Match > “Game Mode” (choose whichever one you are boosting) > Private Slots > choose the last option, Max. Press  to confirm. Invite other players once in the game lobby by pressing and then  once you've highlighted their online ID.
 

Joining via Invite

To join a match once you have received an invite:

Bring up the in-game phone, go to Multiplayer > Invites, select the player you wish to join and press . To join from within an existing game lobby, press  and highlight the player who's inviting. The game mode they are inviting you to will be displayed beside their name on the right-hand side of the screen. Press  to accept.

Now that you know how to get a stable connection and successfully join up with other players, let's get down to business on
earning these trophies.

4. Walkthrough - Intro

This walkthrough has been written in an order that would be ideal for someone looking to speedrun their way through the online GTA IV trophies. The logic behind it was to do free-for-all, team games and co-op first because they involve the participation of several other players and can be the most difficult to co-ordinate. While adding people to boost with and completing these modes you will get an idea of who you're playing with and who's online times are compatible with yours. There is a good chance that at the end of them you will already have found someone to boost races with as well as people to help with leveling up to Rank 10. You will also be making money while doing wins for  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic  and getting a better feel for the game. Once it dings you should be better prepared to tackle your final trophy,  Wanted, which requires you to amass a total of $5,000,000.

If you follow this walkthrough step-by-step, all of the trophies other than  Wanted will be gotten while racking up wins for  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic. Since most of your time will be spent completing requirements for the latter and, due to its glitchiness in not unlocking is the one that has caused many people much frustration and dilemma, an entire section will be dedicated to it.

5. The Infamous “Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic” Trophy

Description: You won in all variations of multiplayer games.

Requirements

You will need to meet all of the following requirements for it to be considered a win. They do not need to be done all in one session:

• Deathmatch, Car Jack City & Mafiya Work
  Be the winning player; have the highest score/cash earned when the match ends.
• Race & GTA Race
  You will need to win both modes and all variations of race; have the fastest time when the match ends. They also do not need to be done all in one session. There are 108 in total. This includes:

Race GTA Race Cannonball Runs (10 Tracks) Cannonball Runs (10 Tracks) Free Races (10 Tracks) Free Races (10 Tracks) Helicopters (10 Tracks) Helicopters (10 Tracks) Boats (4 Tracks) Boats (4 Tracks) Road Races (20 Tracks)
Supercars or Motorcycles recommended Road Races (20 Tracks)
Supercars or Motorcycles recommended

• Team Deathmatch, Team Car Jack City, Team Mafiya Work & Turf War
  Be on the winning team; the team with the highest score when the match ends. You do not need to be the highest scoring player on your team. The score/cash earned will be divided evenly between each team's players.
• Cops 'n Crooks
  Be on the winning team and win both rounds of the match, one round as the cops and the other as the crooks. You do not need to win both All for One and One for All; one Game Type is sufficient.
• Deal Breaker, Hangman's NOOSE & Bomb da Base II
  Have at least two players in the match pass the mission. You do not need to be the highest scoring player upon completing them. You also do not need to pass under the time requirements for  “Fly the Co-op” for it to count as a win.
  *N.B. Unlocking the  Taking it for the Team,  Fly the Co-op and  Top the Midnight Club trophies does not guarantee that all of their associated game modes have registered properly for  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic. Read on to find out the best techniques to ensure and confirm that they do.

Why Didn't it Ding?

The answer to this question is much simpler than many people have been led to believe: “Connectivity problems.” There seems to be a direct link between people who have poor internet in general (NAT Type 3 and wireless seem to be the worst culprits), a bad connection to the player(s) they are boosting with and/or a weak connection at the times they are playing (i.e. busy times in their country; weekends are particularly bad for this) and  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic not unlocking. That being said, having good internet does not mean that the trophy will ding on your first attempt but it will certainly tip the odds in your favor.

Getting it on the First Try

In my experience, the odds of  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic popping up without any problems the first time around is somewhere between 90% – 95%. Although that's a high percentage it can be very frustrating to spend hours racking up wins just to have it not ding at the end of them all. Your safest bet would be to follow this guide to the letter. Over the past few years I have used these techniques with over 100 people, many of them who had won all of the game modes and still no trophy. Some players even had all wins shown on the Rockstar Social Club and Leaderboards, before they were removed that is. Others were on their 4th or 5th run when they came to me for help. Everyone I've assisted now has the trophy and it has never taken us more than one run through all of the game modes.

Whether it be your first or fifth run the most important aspect to consider is connectivity. Please read section “3. The Basics” before continuing if you haven't already. Pay particular attention to and follow the steps outlined in “Maximizing Internet” and “Invite Problems & Signing Out/In” before boosting any of the game modes. Five minutes taken now could save you hours of frustration later on as having a solid, stable connection will almost guarantee the trophy unlocking. If you think your internet speed is not up to par, try to find players to boost with that are either in the same continent as you or that you have good compatibility with. Also, try to avoid boosting at peak times like on major holidays or weekends. If players and objects are teleporting around or often disappearing/reappearing or if you are frequently getting disconnected, consider finding other people to boost with or trying again on a different day. Aside from connectivity, tracking your progress will be the second most important process of a successful  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic run.
 

Tracking Progress

Over the years, it has often been stated that time is needed for wins to register and that allowing a waiting period after won matches is an effective way to make sure they do so properly. It has also been thought that saving the game in singleplayer will help stats register. Yet another technique I've heard of is exiting the game through the XMB > Game > Quit Game option and then shutting down your PS3 as opposed to doing so directly from in-game. Whilst I have to admit they all do sound like clever methods, I can assure you that none of them will make any difference to the stat registration process because there is no such “process”. Stats register almost instantly upon completing a game mode. It is only your connection, which has been discussed extensively above, that will determine whether or not things go smoothly. Furthermore, carefully monitoring your multiplayer money total combined with effective use of a checklist have always been the most reliable methods of tracking online progress and particularly when it comes to problems that arise from lag and getting disconnected. Allow me to explain when and how this should be done.

First off, please print both pages of the following checklist now:

AWP - Checklist

It will be an essential tool in tracking your progress. Use it throughout all of the steps of the walkthrough to mark down money totals and to check off wins and trophies.

Assuming you've followed all of the steps listed above in “3. The Basics”, are ready to start boosting wins and are now in a match lobby, have a look at the bottom left corner of your screen. There you will find your current multiplayer money total. Make this money total statistic your best friend. It will be the only way to monitor your online progress in-game. Start off by writing your current money total in the space at the top of your checklist where it says “Starting Money Total”.

The Two Important Questions

There are two important questions you should ask yourself upon completing each and every match. They are:

Is everyone who started the match still in the game at the results screen?
Whether you are playing in public or private lobbies this is a very important question. Any player(s) joining, leaving or disconnecting from a match can prevent your game from registering properly. This can be particularly problematic if you end up having less players at the end than is required to start up the given game mode. Example: You start a game of Cops n' Crooks with four players. You win the match but end up with just two players remaining at the results screen. Although the chance of it registering properly is high, there is still a risk of it not counting as a win. Your safest bet would be to repeat any match where players either join or leave until the same players who started the match also appear on the results screen. Put simply, repeat the game mode until the answer to this question is “Yes”.

Has my money total gone up?
This will be verification that everything is going smoothly and will be crucial when doing GTA Races and Races. If at any time your money total has not gone up after completing a win, repeat the match until the corresponding amount of money is earned. The races themselves will take 8-10 hours so be meticulous about watching your earned cash to avoid having to repeat them. Remember that all money made is doubled so be sure to calculate accordingly.

If you answered “Yes” to both of the above questions it's time to mark it as a win on the checklist and write down your money total in the appropriate box. Just to be safe, make an additional marking (I use a star) beside any of the games where you answered “No” to either question even if you repeated it and had everything go smoothly the second time around (i.e. both answers “Yes”). I will give more specific instructions in “9. Step 4 – GTA Races & Races” on how and when to track race progress.

You may notice that I have included a couple extra spots for writing money totals at the top of the checklist. These are for people who are boosting over several sessions who might also happen to play random public matches in the interim. You can write down your new money total before starting to boost again in these boxes.
 

Chat Rooms & Disconnecting

There is one last thing that is recommended that you do to help become aware of connection problems that is worth mentioning here. All players involved in a boosting session create a PSN chat together and stay in it at all times while going for the wins. It may occur at some point that one or more of the members in the chat gets disconnected/kicked from it. Even though you will notice nothing in your actual gameplay, it is a strong indicator that there has been a flaw in connection and that the win may not be recorded properly. Should this happen, send a private message to the person(s) who has been kicked to join the chat again, repeat the match and make a marking on your checklist (a triangle works) to indicate that this happened.

Now that you know what  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic is all about, let's get started on our wins.

6. Step 1 - Free-for-All Wins

Trophies obtained in this step:
 

 “Let Sleeping Rockstars Lie”

Description: You killed a Rockstar in multiplayer.

This will likely be the first trophy you unlock. All that's needed is to kill a player who has the trophy. Since most people already do, you should get it while going for either Deathmatch win described in this step. If you are having any trouble with this one, join a public competitive mode lobby and just start killing opposing players until it dings. Earning this trophy will also unlock the Zombie option for your Player Model.
 

 “Cut Your Teeth”

Description: You were successfully promoted up a rank in multiplayer.

This will also unlock while boosting your Deathmatch win. Only $1,000 is needed to reach Rank 1. Both win methods below will earn you enough money to get this trophy.

*N.B. Once you complete the match that puts you above $1,000 (i.e. Rank 1) it is likely that the  Cut Your Teeth trophy will not unlock. If this happens, play another match of any game mode and it should ding upon completing it, regardless of outcome, once in the "Next Game" lobby after the results screen. In other words, no need to worry, just keep playing and it will pop up.
 

 “Top of the Food Chain”

Description: You successfully killed 20 players with a pistol in a deathmatch.

The simplest way to get this trophy is to follow the method described below in 'Deathmatch -  “Top of the Food Chain” Win'.
 

Deathmatch - Quick Win (minimum 2 players, 5 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Happiness Island
• Duration: $500
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Distance: Near
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: Simple enough, the player who needs the win kills the other player(s) until the match ends. The winning player can also pick up dropped cash and ammo if they want.

Deathmatch -  “Top of the Food Chain” Win (2 players, 3 - 4 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Happiness Island
• Duration: $2,500
• Weapons: Pistols
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Distance: Near
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: The 2 players meet at the Western pier of Happiness Island. The winning player parks himself on the weapon pickup and just repeatedly kills the other player until the match ends. It is not recommended for the winner to pick up dropped cash just in case they should pick up over $500 and end the match before getting their 20 pistol kills. Also, you will need to wait about 5 seconds after the player has respawned before being able to kill them as there will be a spawn shield which makes them temporarily immune to damage. Ding!  Top of the Food Chain.

Here's a short video that displays this strategy:
 
 

Mafiya Work (minimum 2 players, 6 - 10 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Random (Alderney recommended for helis)
• Duration: $2,500 or 10 mins
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method 1 - Duration: $2500 This method is for players that have a certain confidence in their driving, flying and shooting skills. Executed correctly, and with a bit of luck on the value and location of tasks, it is the fastest way to complete this mode. The winning player will complete tasks and kill opposing players as quickly as possible. Depending on spawn location at the start of the match, it might also be a good idea to take one of the helicopters and fly to tasks instead of driving. The video at the end of "Team Mafiya Work” shows the spawn locations for both helicopters on the Alderney map. The losing players can either idle or make their way to the winner and just let themselves be killed. Since each kill is worth $100, the latter can sometimes save the winner from having to do an extra task to reach $2,500.

c) Method 2 - Duration: 10 mins With this method, the winning player can take their time in completing just one task. Once completed all players can idle while waiting for time to expire. Regardless of which method you use, all four players take their turn getting the win.
 

Car Jack City (minimum 4 players, 10 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Random
• Duration: 10 Minutes
• A.I. Level: Off
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• [I]Weather: Clear

b) Method: The winning player only needs to deliver one car for the win. Once delivered, they can then just idle for the remainder of the ten minutes or continue to deliver cars until time expires; the choice is theirs. The losing players don't need to do anything in this mode and can just remain idle the entire match. The four players take turns winning this mode.

7. Step 2 - Team Game Wins

The following game modes will all be explained using four players. They will be labeled as AAAA, BBBB, CCCC and DDDD to make it easier to distinguish between them. The colours of each team listed below are not important as long as the grouping is the same. It will be assumed that all four players need the wins and trophies for each strategy.

It may be necessary at times for players to switch teams. To do so, use the D-Pad to navigate the list that appears on the right-hand side of the screen once in-lobby. Go to the Team option and use / to select the appropriate team.

Trophies obtained in this step:
 

 Teamplayer

Description: You killed 5 opposing team members.

A strategy for getting this trophy with only four players can be found in 'Team Deathmatch -  “Teamplayer”'.
 

 Taking it for the Team

Description: You were on the winning team in all multiplayer team games.

For this one, you will need to be on the winning team for all of the game modes that are listed in this step. It should ding after winning “Turf War”.
 

Team Deathmatch - Quick Win (minimum 3 players, 2 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Happiness Island
• Duration: $500
• Team: Team 1 - AAAA & BBBB / Team 2 - CCCC & DDDD
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Distance: Near
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: Team 1 kills Team 2 until the match ends. They can pick up dropped cash if they like. Repeat the match with the same teams, but this time Team 2 kills Team 1.
 

Team Deathmatch -  “Teamplayer" (minimum 3 players, 10 mins)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Happiness Island
• Duration: $1,000
• Team: Team 1 - AAAA (host) / Team 2 - BBBB / Team 3 - CCCC / Team 4 - DDDD
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Distance: Near
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: When the match begins, BBBB, CCCC and DDDD group up together at the center of the map (the big flagpole is a good spot).  AAAA kills them all in one shot with a rocket. Upon respawning CCCC, DDDD and AAAA group up. BBBB kills them with a rocket. DDDD, AAAA and BBBB group up. This time CCCC kills the entire group. This will give players AAAA, BBBB and CCCC three kills each.

Now it's time for DDDD to leave the match by bringing up their in-game cell phone and selecting Leave Game > press . AAAA, BBBB or CCCC invite DDDD back to the match with their phone; Friends > highlight DDDD's ID in the given list, press . DDDD will then be in singleplayer and will accept the invite using their phone; Multiplayer > Invites > press  on correct invite.

Once back in the same match as before, AAAA kills DDDD. When DDDD respawns, BBBB kills them too. CCCC will then take their turn killing DDDD. Since DDDD counts as a new player after leaving and rejoining, AAAA, BBBB and CCCC now have four kills each.

Repeat the process of DDDD leaving and being re-invited/rejoining one more time. Once they are back in the game again, AAAA kills DDDD one last time. Then BBBB and finally CCCC take their turn as well. This gives AAAA, BBBB and CCCC the five opposing team kills needed for the  Teamplayer trophy.

Now it's DDDD's turn to get it. From this point on, only they will kill until the trophy dings. AAAA, BBBB and CCCC group up closely. DDDD blasts them all with an RPG; 3 kills. BBBB then does the leaving and rejoining process two times. Each time BBBB rejoins, DDDD kills them once; 5 kills. Ding! Now all four players have the trophy and a free-for-all begins. First to reach $1000. It doesn't matter who gets the win at this point so just have fun.

*N.B. It may happen at any time that the player who is leaving/rejoining ends up on the same team as someone who is supposed to kill them. In that case, the player who has rejoined will need to leave and come back to the match until they are not on that team anymore.

The video below shows how this method works when only 2 players need the trophy.

Team Mafiya Work (minimum 3 players, 5 - 7 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Alderney
• Duration: $2,500
• Team: Team 1 - AAAA, BBBB & CCCC / Team 2 - DDDD
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: At the beginning of the match, AAAA goes to get a heli and heads to the first task. BBBB and CCCC get separate cars. BBBB rushes to help AAAA complete tasks that have more than one objective point. CCCC goes to kill DDDD over and over, picking up dropped cash, the entire match. DDDD, the losing player, can either just stay idle until the match ends or go get killed by CCCC.

The following video gives a good example of how the match can be completed quickly with this strategy; it also shows both heli spawn locations on the Alderney map.


Repeat the match with the same strategy, but this time with CCCC and DDDD swapping teams.
 

Team Car Jack City (minimum 4 players, 10 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Random
• Duration: 10 mins
• Team: Team 1 - AAAA, BBBB & CCCC / Team 2 - DDDD
• A.I. Level: Off
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: The strategy will be the same as Car Jack City. The winning team only needs to deliver one car for the win. Once delivered, they can then just idle for the remainder of the ten minutes or continue to deliver cars until time expires; the choice is theirs. The losing player doesn't need to do anything in this mode and can just remain idle the entire match. Once again, repeat the match with CCCC and DDDD swapping teams.
 

Cops 'n Crooks (minimum 4 players, 3 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Random
• Game Type: One for All
• Team: Team 1 - AAAA, BBBB & CCCC / Team 2 - DDDD
• Weapons: Rocket Launchers
• Online ID Display: On
• Icons: All
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Respawn Time: N/A
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: The “One for All” game type is similar to team elimination; each player only gets one life and there is no respawning. When the match starts, DDDD drives to the nearest rocket launcher pickup on the map/radar. They get out of their car, pick up the weapon and shoot a rocket at the ground at their feet; RPG suicide. That will be the end of the first round. DDDD does the same thing for Round 2 as well. Boom! End of match.

The video below shows what it should look like.


Repeat the game with the same strategy, but once again CCCC and DDDD will trade teams.
 

Turf War (minimum 4 players, 5 - 7 mins/win)

a) Game Settings:

• Location: Random
• Duration: $1,000
• Team: Team 1 - AAAA, BBBB / Team 2 - CCCC & DDDD
• Weapons: SMGs
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Blips: All
• Online ID Display: On
• Respawn Time: 1 second
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

b) Method: When the match starts, Team 1 split up. AAAA goes to kill Team 2 and capture the turf they have spawned at. BBBB captures the remaining turf. Then Team 1 kills Team 2 and picks up the cash dropped upon dying as quickly as possible until the match ends.

The video below is a demonstration of this tactic on the Alderney map.


Repeat this mode with the same strategy, but this time make it to where Team 2 is the winning team. Upon completing this match, the  Taking it for the Team trophy should ding.

8. Step 3 - Co-operative

Trophy obtained in this step:
 

 Fly the Co-op

Description: You completed "Deal Breaker", "Hangman's NOOSE" and "Bomb da Base II" in time.

Some people consider this to be one of the hardest online trophies; I beg to differ. With proper understanding and co-ordination, just about anyone can pass the required times within their first five attempts (provided Petrovic doesn't glitch too often in NOOSE). I've spent a lot of time creating the videos in this section to simplify the process and walk you through each mission individually. Huge thanks to Jiwan01 for his invaluable help and insight with these missions. You will get the trophy upon completing Deal Breaker.

*N.B. Should you be doing these missions with more than two people and one or more of the players lose all their lives (putting them in spectator mode) but the remaining two manage to pass the mission under the required time, it will still count towards  Fly the Co-op for all players, including the one(s) who died out.
 

Hosting Impacts Gameplay

A lesser known fact about the co-op missions is that the A.I. will act differently towards the session host than to other players. They will be less aggressive and back away from the host, even taking cover at times. Because of this, the host should do the role of the Shooter in Hangman's NOOSE, plant the bomb in the Captain's room in Bomb da Base II, and be the person working from the ground up in Deal Breaker.
 

Difficulty, Settings & General Tips

Difficulty does not affect the A.I. level of these missions. The differences between easy, medium and hard are the number of lives given and the amount of cash earned by completing the mission. They are as follows:

• Easy – 5 lives / $2,500
• Medium – 4 lives / $3,500
• Hard – 3 lives / $4,500
   

The settings for all 3 missions will be the same:

• Difficulty: Easy
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Online ID Display: On, if more than 2 players
• Reticule Health: On
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

Also wanted to add a few quick tips that may help you along the way:

• Aim for the face. You can do so by gently adjusting once locked onto an enemy. As with most games, headshots are one-shot kills.
• Try not to strafe and shoot. Do your best to get into positions that will allow you to kill several enemies while standing still or stop moving once you spot an enemy before you take him out. Be aware that running and shooting drastically reduces accuracy.
• Fire in short bursts. This ties into the above two points. Firing 2-5 rounds while lining up the head with is much more effective than emptying a whole clip into the enemy's chest.
• Avoid taking cover and using grenades. There is no need to do either. They will likely just end up slowing you down.
• Get to know the radar/minimap. Properly using the radar in the bottom left corner of your screen can save quite a bit of running around wasting precious time off the clock. It can also be useful to spot locations of teammates and enemies that are in cover. Some examples of when to use it would be for police locations as the shooter in NOOSE, the initial armored van spawn in Bomb da Base II and biker, drug and the final spawn co-ordinates in Deal Breaker. You can toggle zoom on the radar by pressing .
• Spam to get into vehicles. Occasionally it may seem that your character just doesn't want to get in. Keep spamming until he gets one leg in.
• You can still get health while in a vehicle. If you drive/fly over a health pack this will not only restore the condition of the vehicle you are in, it will also completely replenish your health as well. This can be useful after picking up Petrovic in NOOSE (it works even if the heli is on fire), after stopping the armored van in Bomb da Base II and also before taking on the final spawn in Deal Breaker.
   

Using the Uzi

Sometimes it's the small things that can make the difference between either just passing or just missing the required time for a mission. One of the things that can make a rather big difference is the use of the Micro-Uzi. It holds 50 rounds per clip, has a high response and fire rate, a decent zoom and, most importantly, allows you to run much faster than the AK-47. Aside from killing cops in NOOSE and clearing the ground in Deal Breaker, it's highly recommended that you use it all the time. Personally, I switch to it right at the beginning when I spawn by pressing once and use it exclusively throughout all three missions... Yep, it's that much better...
 

Hangman's NOOSE

Time to Beat: 2'32

Below is a video tutorial that shows both simple and advanced tactics for passing the mission on time with two players. Thanks to Jiwan01 for the help with this.


There are also two excellent NOOSE tutorials by cryptoclassical, How To Level Up With NOOSE - Tutorial and Can't This Thing Go Any Faster? The Art of Popping Tires in NOOSE which can also be found below in ”Grinding Hangman's NOOSE” for those interested.
 

Bomb da Base II

Time to Beat: 5'34

The first tutorial, which was once again recorded with the help of Jiwan01, demonstrates all that is needed to complete the mission with just two players:


The second one displays a "solo" method that I use when playing in public lobbies or when helping inexperienced players:

Deal Breaker

Time to Beat: 7'03

Big thanks to Jiwan01 who helped me put together the following tutorial. It shows how two players can pass the mission under the required time with ease:


 Fly the Co-op should ding now. That wasn't so difficult now, was it?

9. Step 4 - GTA Races & Races

Trophies obtained in this step:
 

 Join the Midnight Club

Description: You won a multiplayer race without damaging your vehicle too much.

Although GTA Races don't count towards this trophy or the next one, it is necessary to win those races in order to obtain the  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic trophy. If you do the races in the order specified in this guide, the first opportunity to get this trophy will be during the Race > Free Races. If you drive slowly and are careful taking corners you should be able to unlock this without too much effort. If you are having trouble it can also be gotten during one of the shorter races like the Race - Road Race, “Stars in you Eyez” but make sure to set “Vehicle Damage: Normal” first. It cannot be gotten with “Scrapes Only”.
 

 Top the Midnight Club

Description: You won 20 different multiplayer standard races.

If you follow this walkthrough, this will unlock upon completing the Race - Free Race, “Business Trip”.
 

 Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic

Description: You won in all variations of multiplayer games.

If you follow this entire guide religiously,  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic will ding at the end of the last Race - Road Race of this step, “Taxiing”.
 

Read this Before Starting

Out of everyone that I've helped get the  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic trophy who needed more than one run, this step of the guide is the #1 problem area. Almost all of them had it ding randomly while redoing one of the races and 9 out of 10 got it while doing either the Cannonball Runs or the Free Races. As boring as this section may be, please be as cautious and patient as you can. It is best to drive slowly, take corners precisely and minimize your vehicle taking damage. Proper progress tracking will also be crucial.

It will take 8 – 10 hours per person to boost wins for all of the races. They don't need to be done all at once but completing them in as few sessions and as short a time as possible is recommended. I also suggest only having one boosting partner for these. Here is the best way to go about doing them:

First off, it's strongly suggested that you read all of The Infamous “Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic” Trophy section of the guide if you haven't done so already. This would also be the time for both players to get into a PSN chat room as mentioned in “Chat Rooms & Disconnecting”. Next, follow all of the the steps outlined in “3. The Basics” and join up with your partner in a private GTA Race lobby. Once in lobby, write down your money total in the box on the checklist labeled “Starting Race Total”.
 

Using the Checklist

With the current double cash system you will earn $1,000/win provided there are only 2 players in the lobby. Make sure to confirm that your money total has gone up properly between races and write the total in the appropriate box on the checklist after each race. Should it occur that you have not received the correct amount of cash upon completion, repeat the track until you do.

If things seem to be going smoothly, you and your partner have a solid connection and money is steadily going up, there is an alternative to writing down your money after each race. Another option is to write it only at the beginning/end of each section and then calculate that it has gone up properly. The math is pretty simple. There are 10 GTA Race – Cannonball Runs so confirm that it has gone up $10,000 at the end of your last one. Should you repeat a race by accident, make a second marking on the “win” column of the checklist and factor that into your section total (i.e. add an extra $1,000). The downside of this method is that, should the math not add up, you will need to redo the entire section of races.

If at any point you and your partner get disconnected during a race, check your money total once back in a game lobby. If it hasn't gone down, repeat only the one in which you got disconnected. If it has gone down, redo the corresponding number of races. For example, it went down $3,000; redo the previous 3 races.

Complete the races in the following order, it is the same as on the checklist. The estimates are based on the average time it takes for one player to finish a given category. Double it if your partner also needs the wins:

1. GTA Race – Cannonball Runs (10 tracks, 105 mins)
2. Race – Cannonball Runs (10 tracks, 105 mins)
3. GTA Race – Free Races (10 tracks, 45 mins)
4. Race – Free Races (10 tracks, 45 mins)
5. GTA Race – Helicopters (10 tracks, 45 mins)
6. Race – Helicopters (10 tracks, 45 mins)
7. GTA Race – Boats (4 tracks, 30 mins)
8. Race – Boats (4 tracks, 30 mins)
9. GTA Race – Road Races (20 tracks, 60 mins)
10. Race – Road Races (20 tracks, 60 mins)

If you and your partner are trading wins, swap sections of races as opposed to individual races. For example, you win all 10 GTA Race - Cannonball Runs and then your partner wins all 10 GTA Race - Cannonball Runs, then you win all 10 Race - Cannonball Runs, and then your partner wins all 10 Race - Cannonball Runs and so on and so forth. If you are going to be doing them over multiple sessions try to plan ahead how many races you will have time for based on the time frame listed above. For tracking purposes it is best not to finish a session in the middle of a section if avoidable. It should also be noted that it is not necessary for the losing player to finish any of the races in order for the win to count. They can just idle while the winning player completes them if they prefer. Now that we've covered race progress, let's talk about settings.
 

Race Settings

Cannonball Runs & Free Races:

• Weapons (GTA Race): Health Only
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off
• Online ID Display: On or Off
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

Helicopters / Boats / Road Races:
For Road Races you only need to do one type of Race Class. It's suggested that you use Supercars or Motorcycles because they have the fastest vehicles. The ones suggested below are the fastest in their respective class. It is not mandatory that you use them. Feel free to choose whichever you're most comfortable with.

• Vehicle: Annihilator / Jetmax / Comet or NRG-900
• Laps: 1
• Weapons (GTA Race): Health Only (“Off” for Helicopters)
• Vehicle Damage (Race): Scrapes Only
• Traffic: Parked
• Pedestrians: Off (“n/a” for Boats)
• Online ID Display: On or Off
• Time of Day: Midday
• Weather: Clear

Getting Stuck

There is one last thing that's needed to be mentioned before moving on to step 5. It will likely not be an issue but is has happened to people in the past.

If your car gets stuck during a normal race, just hold  to respawn at the last passed checkpoint. Should this happen during a GTA Race though, holding will not work. Your best bet is to exit with the Leave Game option in your cell phone, then set up a new lobby and restart the race.

You're all set to start grinding races. This will take quite a long time so please keep in mind the moral of the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” while you drive; slow and steady really does win the race.  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic should ding at the end of your final race. Congratulations! You've made it through the worst part and only have one online trophy remaining.

10. Step 5 - Getting to Rank 10

Trophy obtained in this step:
 

 Wanted

Description: You achieved the highest personal rank possible in multiplayer.

The trophy description should really be “Kill 25 000 enemies”. There are many ways to grind ranking up in GTA IV multiplayer. I'll only be listing what I consider to be the top three methods although I do hesitate to even mention NOOSE as it is not nearly as effective as the other two. It is, on the other hand, the only “legit” way that I will be describing, meaning it does not require you to exploit a glitch to make your money, so deserves its place in this section. Choose whichever method suits you best.

*N.B. Once you complete the match that puts you above $5,000,000 (i.e. Rank 10) it is likely that the  Wanted trophy will not unlock. If this happens, play another match of any game mode and it should ding upon completing it, regardless of outcome, once in the "Next Game" lobby after the results screen.
 

Bomb da Base II Sniper Respawn Glitch

Without a doubt this is the fastest way to level up. It might seem difficult at first but as long as you follow all of the right steps, you will likely improve as you go and be pro by your final run.
 

• Overall Difficulty: Intermediate
• Average Earnings: $1,600,000 - $1,700,000/75 mins
• From Rank 0 to 10: 4 - 5 hours for each player
• Pros: The payout is huge compared to other methods; it's possible to start at $0 and unlock  Wanted within a day; some parts of this glitch are very easy to execute.
• Cons: Your thumb will be sore (haha); requires patience, concentration and a certain degree of skill to succeed; bugs sometimes occur (primarily due to lag) that can unpredictably prolong or end a run; only one player can make money at a time; must find boosting partner(s).

It took me quite some time to put together the following tutorial:

Happiness Island Glitch

This will be the only part of this guide that requires players to have both DLC's installed. As far as I know, any combination of versions of the DLC can be used, digital or disc, Episodes from Liberty City or Complete Edition. The only requirement will be to have save files for both The Ballad of Gay Tony (TBoGT) and The Lost and the Damned (TLaD) on your system. This can be accomplished by completing the first mission in TBoGT, “I Luv LC”, as well as TLaD's “Clean and Serene”.

The Happiness Island glitch is definitely the easiest way to level up and has very few complications. It can, on the other hand, take the longest time to reach Rank 10 and particularly if you are boosting by swapping an hour for an hour with a partner.
 

• Overall Difficulty: Novice
• Average Earnings (1 Player): $260,000 - $280,000/60 mins
• Average Earnings (2 Players): $320,000/2 hrs
• From Rank 0 to 10 (1 Player): 18 - 19 hours for each player
• From Rank 0 to 10 (2 Players): 30 hours
• Pros: Requires minimal skill to set up properly; can make money while away from your console; very simple setup with few complications.
• Cons: Requires DLC; needs to be set up every hour; takes a long time for 2 players to reach maximum rank; must boost and can be difficult to find committed partner(s).

A video walkthrough for the glitch is below:


 

 Grinding Hangman's NOOSE

This is by far the most difficult way to rank up. The videos below are tutorials by the one of the world's best players and, for those interested in learning advanced techniques, can help take your game up a notch. Feel free to also refer to the video “Hangman's NOOSE” in the co-op section above for additional tips.

There are a great number of things that can go wrong with Hangman's NOOSE, the most common being that Petrovic will glitch and ruin an otherwise perfect run. You will need to successfully pass the mission on hard difficulty 500 – 600 times to get to Rank 10 so be prepared for a long repetitive grind. The “Average Earnings” below is based on it taking from 2:45 – 3:30 (including the ending cutscene) per run. It could take 50+ hours if you factor in players dying, potential glitching, failed attempts and errors that could extend your run time.
 

• Overall Difficulty: Advanced
• Average Earnings: $150,000 - $200,000/60 mins
• From Rank 0 to 10: 20 – 30 hours for 2 - 4 players
• Pros: Players can all earn money at the same time; you do not need to exploit any kind of glitch to do this successfully; can be done with random players in public matches.
• Cons: There are many bugs (primarily involving Petrovic) that can unpredictably prolong or end a run; it will require players to be quite skilled and have decent chemistry together; it may be difficult to find reliable partners.
   

Advanced techniques video walkthrough:

• This excellent video by cryptoclassical contains all the info needed to complete NOOSE quickly and efficiently.
• All credit due to cryptoclassical for this tremendous video which explains how to shave off a few more seconds as the pilot in NOOSE.

CONGRATULATIONS! You've just unlocked  Wanted and finished all of the Grand Theft Auto IV online trophies. You've also earned the right to roam around Liberty City in very fashionable swimwear which can be selected through the Player Model option. Feel free to read the last few parts of the guide if this is your first time through it.

11. Final Notes

The following two points are not directly trophy-related but have come up quite a few times over the years so I thought it would be best to address them.
 

Self & 2-Player Boosting

If you have 2 PS3's, 2 PSN accounts and 2 copies of the game here are the sections of the guide you can accomplish on your own:

• Deathmatch Quick Win
• Deathmatch –  Top of the Food Chain Win
• Mafiya Work
• Bomb da Base II (some skill required)
• 9. STEP 4 – GTA RACES & RACES
• Bomb da Base II Sniper Respawn Glitch (some skill required)
• Happiness Island Glitch (will need to have 2 copies of both DLC's)

The things that can be boosted with just 2 players includes the list above but also:

• Hangman's NOOSE
• Deal Breaker
• Grinding Hangman'S NOOSE

 

How Long Will it Take?

One of the most commonly asked questions. There are a ton of factors to consider here but let's look at the potential slowest and fastest ways to achieve all of the trophies. The “Speed Boost” category is if you manage to find a player willing to help who doesn't need either the wins or trophies.

Step 1 – Free-for-All Wins

• Public Lobbies: 3 hours - This estimate is based on the average win taking about an hour when considering the time spent waiting for enough players to join the lobby, all players staying in the match until the end, and getting the highest score within three tries.
• Guide Strategy: 1 hr 20 mins - This estimate is based on 4 players needing the wins/trophies.
• Speed Boost: 55 mins - This estimate is based on only 3 players needing the wins/trophies and 1 person already having them.

Step 2 – Team Mode Wins

• Public Lobbies: 6 hours - This estimate is based on the average win taking about an hour when considering the time spent waiting for enough players to join the lobby, all players staying in the match until the end, and your team getting the highest score within three tries.
• Guide Strategy: 1 hr 10 mins - This estimate is based on 4 players needing the wins/trophies.
• Speed Boost: 35 mins - This estimate is based on 3 players needing the wins/trophies and 1 person already having them.

Step 3 – Co-operative

• Public Lobbies: 9 hours - Lately the co-op lobbies have been pretty quiet. Finding random players who are actually trying to pass the time and then actually executing it properly might be very difficult for some people. This estimate is based on it taking 3 hours per mission to do so.
• Guide Strategy: 1 hr 30 mins - This estimate is based on passing the mission time within five attempts.
• Speed Boost: 45 mins - This estimate is based on passing the missions on the first or second attempt.

Step 4 – GTA Races & Races

• Public Lobbies: 35+ hours - This estimate is based on the average win taking about 20 minutes when considering the time spent waiting for enough players to join the lobby, all players staying in the race until the end, and finishing with the fastest time within your first three tries.
• Guide Strategy: 20 hours - This estimate is based on 2 players needing the wins/trophies.
• Speed Boost: 10 hours - This estimate is based on only 1 player needing the wins/trophies.

Step 5 – Getting to Rank 10

• Public Lobbies: 45+ hours - Basically your fastest option here is to try to find a NOOSE lobby with decent players who seem to be doing the same as you; repeating it over and over to rank up. This could take a while, so this estimate is based on passing the mission once every 5 minutes. It could drastically increase depending on your luck in finding compatible random players.
• Guide Strategy: BDB2: 10 hours | Happiness Island: 30 hours - These estimates are based on 2 players needing the trophy.
• Speed Boost: BDB2: 5 hours | Happiness Island: 19 hours - These estimates are based on only 1 player needing the trophy.

 

Summary

• Public Lobbies – Grand Total: 90+ hours - Although the %100 legit way of getting all the trophies is very honorable, it is not an approach I would recommend anymore and especially not if you're looking to get the multiplayer stuff done in a relatively short amount of time. Due to the servers being quiet and  “AWP”'s glitchiness it is probably best to find boosting partners for at least co-op and the races. If you are happy chipping away at the trophies a little bit at a time, enjoy GTA IV's online gameplay and don't mind spending some time waiting in lobbies for players to join, then by all means do as much of it as you can without boosting.
• Guide Strategy – Grand Total: 34 hours using BDB2 to rank up | 56 hours Happiness Island rank up - This is obviously the recommended approach to getting all the trophies done simply and effectively. The main factors that will affect completion time will be the method used to level up and the quality of your connection with your boosting partners. Since you will be relying on other people to help you, time zone and when and how many hours you're online at a time will also obviously make a difference in how long it takes to get all the trophies.
• Speed Boost - Grand Total: 17.5 hours using BDB2 to rank up | 31.5 hours Happiness Island rank up - If you are lucky enough to have someone on your friends list willing to help out who already has all the trophies you need then, as you can see by the above totals, you can potentially zip through the multiplayer portion of the game in very little time. Once again, player connectivity and the method you choose for leveling up will be the main differences in the hours required to acquire all the trophies.

12. Myths

This section will sum up some of the common myths associated with the GTA IV online. Rest assured, they are all myths indeed. Having them all in one spot seems like the best way to do it for easy reference. If you think any of the following statements is true, please go back and read the guide more carefully. The number at the end is reference to the section of the guide in which they are discussed.

• The GTA IV  is unattainable. (2)
• You cannot unlock trophies in private matches or Party mode. (3)
• For it to count as a win, you need to be the highest scoring player:
  • -On your team in team game modes. (5)
  • -Upon completing the 3 co-op missions. (5)
• You will need to win all races/game modes in one session to unlock  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic. (5)
• You need to pass all the co-op times in one session for  Fly the Co-op. (5)
• You need to win both All for One and One for All game types as both the cops and as the crooks in Cops n' Crooks for it to count towards  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic. (5)
• Unlocking  Taking it for the Team,  Fly the Co-op and  Top the Midnight Club is a guarantee that their related game modes have counted as wins for  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic. (5)
• Exiting to singleplayer and then through the XMB before shutting down will help wins register for  Auf Wiedersehen Petrovic. (5) **Exiting through the XMB is a “best practice” for all games if I'm not mistaken so am not discouraging people from doing this.
• Saving in singleplayer will help wins register. (5)
• Winning all of the races except one and then waiting several hours will give the other races time to register. (5)
• You need a minimum of 6 players to get  Teamplayer. (7)
• Hangman's NOOSE is the best way to level up. (10)

13. Closing Words

This guide has been written in hopes that people will no longer think that the Grand Theft Auto IV's online trophies are difficult to obtain. It was also an attempt to clarify some of the myths, methods, and misinformation that have been going around for years about the game's multiplayer.

I have spent thousands of hours playing GTA IV during which I've tested a variety of theories and strategies and tried to keep on top of the latest information and any new ideas that come out. This entire guide is the result of several years spent perfecting and applying its steps. Of the thousands (more realistically tens of thousands) of people I have played with now, I have NEVER failed to help someone attain a trophy using its methods. I realise that I have not included much information as to how I have come about testing out myths and strategies but would be more than happy to expand on them for those interested. All that being said, it is possible that some of you out there think that you have a faster way or better strategy for certain parts of the guide. Should that be the case, I'd be more than happy to hear about it, test it out, and edit it into the guide if applicable.

In closing, I would like to thank anyone who has made it this far. Should you have found this guide useful and getting the trophies relatively easy then please spread the word. I'm hoping to never hear someone say “AWP glitched on me!” or “GTA IV online is difficult.” again. Thanks. Cheers!