Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas/Basics/Stats

Stat Changes

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has significantly more stats than Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The community is divided on if these changes increase game realism, or if it makes the game more irritating. people like it, claiming it makes the game more 'realistic'. Others suggest it's merely 'irritating'. For better or worse, there's quite a lot of them to cope with, so here's a guide to how some of them work.

On-screen Stats

These stats are usually visible in the top-right corner of the screen. They consist of:

Current Weapon

This is a white icon representing the currently armed weapon (or other item). There are twelve different potential weapon 'slots', which are cycled using the L2 and R2 buttons on a PS2 controller.

Time

This is some white text indicating current game time. Note that one game second is approximately equal to one minute of real time.

Armor

This is a white bar to indicate the amount of protection currently being offered by whatever body armor you happen to be wearing. If you have no armor, this bar will not be visible at all.

Oxygen

This is a blue bar (light grey on PC and Xbox) to indicate how much longer you can hold his breath for, when swimming underwater. If you are not in the water, and the value of this stat is at its maximum, then this bar will not be visible at all. When not swimming it will stay visible until it refills, even if you are on land and doing other things where your breath is not immediately necessary.

Health

This is a red bar indicating amount of energy you have remaining. When this is depleted, you are 'Wasted'.

This is set to its maximum value each time you save the game. Other ways to increase the value are:

Eating meals. Note that some meals also increase your Fat).
Collecting the red heart icons.

Certain events in the game increase the maximum value of your health, such as: e

Exercising outside of the gym.
Not being wasted for lengthy periods of time.
Not being busted for lengthy periods of time.

Maximum health will decrease if you die frequently.

Cash

This is some green text indicating amount of cash you have remaining. This count can turn into a red bar if you have negative money.

Wanted Level

This is a number of gold stars indicating how much effort the law will devote to stopping you. If you are not wanted at all, this will not be visible. Possible values are:

No stars: You've done nothing wrong. Relax.
One star: Police officers will chase you on foot, and a police car or bike might join the chase if they happen to spot you. Fairly easy to avoid, and hiding out for a while will cause this to disappear eventually.
Two stars: Police cars and bikes will now seemingly appear out of nowhere, and join the chase. Still not too much of a problem, but you might want to get to a Pay N Spray.
Three stars: Police helicopters will join the chase, firing at you whenever possible. They're generally not too accurate, but be careful.
Four stars: Police SWAT teams will join the chase. They are armed with sub-machine guns, so watch out. If you are in flight, you will be chased by Hydra planes.
Five stars: The FBI joins in. They are armed with MP5s.
Six stars: The Army joins in, with tanks and soldiers armed with M4s.

To increase your wanted level, commit any of the following crimes:

Assault
Murder
Destruction of vehicles, especially by shooting the gas tank
Collision with a police vehicle
Entering a restricted area: (Warning: wanted level increases to 5 stars)
- Area 69, Bone County
- Easter Basin Naval Base
Going to an Area that has not been "unlocked": (Automatic 4 stars. Bribes/Pay n Spray don't work unless you go back)
Spraying over a spray tag with police nearby
Pointing a gun in a police officer's face
Carjacking
Stealing a car off a parking spot (sometimes)

These crimes will not increase your wanted level:

Speeding
Running a red light
Dangerous driving
Collision with a non-police vehicle
Soliciting prostitutes

To decrease your wanted level, visit a Pay N Spray or save the game. When respraying at a pay n spray, the wanted level will flash for a while. During that time, if you commit a crime, the full wanted level is brought back. If you only have one or two stars, you can lose stars by "hiding out" from the police by staying in an area away from cops and any roads. Swimming is a good way to do this. Saving the game removes the wanted level completely.

Going to your wardrobe and changing your clothes has the same effect as visiting a Pay N Spray, but is free.

L1 Stats

These stats become visible in the bottom-left corner of the screen, as long as you depress the L1 button. These are:

Respect

This is a measure of your Total Respect.

Weapon Skill

This is a measure of your weapon skill for the currently held weapon. This is not visible in the L1 stats if your currently selected weapon or item does not have a corresponding Weapon Skill Level stat.

Stamina

This is a measure of CJ's ability to perform sustained amounts of physical activity. As this increases, it allows you to sprint longer, pump the pedals for longer on your bicycle, and swim swiftly for longer periods of time.

To increase stamina, try sprinting, swimming, cycling, or using the exercise bike or treadmill at a gym.

Stamina never decreases.

Muscle

This is a measure of the amount of muscle you have. Muscle increases sex appeal and makes melee attacks more powerful. Build up by doing vigorous physical activities or by lifting weights in the gym rather than driving. Running for extended periods of time will cause you to lose muscle.

Fat

This is a measure of the amount of body fat that CJ currently has. There are no major penalties for having no fat, but having a large amount of fat can prevent you from doing certain activities, and triggering certain missions.

To increase fat, eat any meal from a fast-food establishment (Cluckin' Bell, Burger Shot, Well Stacked Pizza), except for the salad meals. You also gain fat by going on a date in a bar or restaurant.

Your fat level will automatically decrease over time. To speed up the process, try sprinting, swimming, cycling, or using the exercise bike or treadmill at a gym.

Contrary to popular belief, you can gain fat from eating from vending machines, but the amounts are hardly noticeable. Spending $50 on a vending machine will add only about 10% of fat. It is not certain whether the same applies for street vendors.

Sex Appeal

Sex appeal is decided on what type of car you have, which would include fast and flashy cars, the clothes you have, and the amount of muscle. Note, however, that high muscle will prevent some girls from dating you at all.

The sex appeal boost gained from having a flashy car will drop off once you have walked more than a certain distance away from the car. Also, if your car is damaged, that will affect its "sexiness".

Start-menu Stats

These are accessible by pressing the Start button, then selecting the Stats page. These are:

Criminal Ranking

This is displayed above the other stats at all time. Possible values are:

-10000 - -6000 = Crackhead
-5999 - -4000 = Bitch-made
-3999 - -2000 = Off-Brand
-1999 - -500 = Scandalous
-499 - -1 = Player-hater
0 - 19 = Vic
20 - 49 = Square
50 - 74 = Civilian
75 - 99 = Rat
100 - 119 = Snitch
120 - 149 = Dry Snitch
150 - 199 = Transformer
200 - 239 = Punk-ass Bitch
240 - 269 = Sucka
270 - 299 = Poot Butt
300 - 329 = Buster
330 - 369 = Mark
370 - 399 = Chump
400 - 449 = Trick
450 - 499 = Red-headed Stepcild
500 - 549 = Peon
550 - 599 = Pee-Wee
600 - 609 = Prankster
610 - 649 = Fool
650 - 699 = Street Cat
700 - 849 = Thug
850 - 999 = Hustler
1000 - 1049 = Playa Partner
1150 - 1299 = Mack
1300 - 1499 = Pimp
1500 - 1699 = Crime Partner
1700 - 1999 = Homeboy
2000 - 2099 = Homie
2100 - 2299 = Road Dawg
2300 - 2499 = Hoodsta
2500 - 2749 = Hard-ass
2750 - 2999 = Banger
3000 - 3499 = Lil' G
3500 - 3999 = Loc
4000 - 4999 = Jacker
5000 - 7499 = Shooter
7500 - 9999 = Foot Soldier
10000 - 19999 = Hoo-Rider
20000 - 29999 = Soldier
30000 - 39999 = Hawg
40000 - 49999 = Gangsta
50000 - 59999 = Ghetto Star
60000 - 79999 = Monster
80000 - 99999 = Big Homie
100000 - 149999 = Boss Hawg
150000 - 199999 = Shot Caller
200000 - 299999 = OG
300000 - 399999 = High Roller
400000 - 499999 = Four-Star
500000 - 749999 = General
750000 - 999999 = Godfather
1000000 = King of San Andreas

Ways to increase or decrease your ranking are:

$5000 = 1 Point
Killing a civilian = 1 Point
Completing a mission = 5 Points
Blowing up a vehicle = 5 Points
Blowing up a helicopter or plane = 30 Points
Getting Busted/Wasted = -3 Points
Using a cheat = -10 Points

Pilot Ranking

Possible values in increasing rank (incomplete):

Falk (the best ranking, I think you will have to fly for about 10 hours totally)
Lieutenant
Captain
Ace
Wedge (a reference to the character from Star Wars: Episode IV)

Times Drowned

How many times you died by diving, and running out of breath.

Number of Hospital Visits

This stat is for how many times you have been wasted.

Number of Prostitutes Visited

This stat is for how many hookers you have picked up and used.

Number of Meals Eaten

This stat is for how many meals you have bought from a fast-food shop.

Luck

Luck is obtained through collecting the horseshoes in Las Venturas. Your win rate at casinos is improved.

Weapons Section

Current Weapon Skill

This shows the numerical value of your weapon skill for, and the name of, the currently held weapon (if applicable). The maximum value is 1000 (100%).

To increase this value, you must successfully hit a valid target with the currently held weapon. Valid targets are:

Anything that takes damage
- People
- Vehicles
- Stop Lights
- Fences
- Light Poles

Weapon Skill Levels

This give a rough indication of your skill with certain weapons. This can be one of the following values:

Poor (0%)
Gangster (between 10% and 30% depending on weapon)
Hitman (100%)

When you reach Gangster and Hitman levels, you will be rewarded with the abilities listed under each weapon.

Pistol

This is the weapon skill level for the regular pistol.

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by 1 point (0.1%).

Gangster level: 100 hits (10%) - Increased lock-on range, accuracy and rate of fire.
Hitman level: 1000 hits (100%) - Dual wielding, and increased lock-on range.

Silenced Pistol

This is the weapon skill level for the silenced pistol.

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by 5 points (0.5%).

Gangster level: 40 hits (20%) - Move while in aiming stance, increased lock-on range, accuracy, rate of fire and strafe speed.
Hitman level: 200 hits (100%) - Fire while moving, and increased lock-on range.

Desert Eagle

This is the weapon skill level for the Desert Eagle.

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by 3 points (0.3%).

Gangster level: 67 hits (20%) - Move while in aiming stance, increased lock-on range, accuracy, rate of fire and strafe speed.
Hitman level: 334 hits (100%) - Fire while moving, and increased lock-on range.

Shotgun

This is the weapon skill level for the shotgun.

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by half of a point (0.05%).

Gangster level: 400 hits (20%) - Move while in aiming stance, increased lock-on range, accuracy, rate of fire and strafe speed.
Hitman level: 2000 hits (100%) - Fire while moving, and increased lock-on range.

Sawn-off Shotgun

This is the weapon skill level for the sawn-off shotgun.

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by two fifths of a point (0.04%).

Gangster level: 500 hits (20%) - Increased lock-on range, accuracy and rate of fire.
Hitman level: 2500 hits (100%) - Dual wielding, and increased lock-on range.

Combat Shotgun

This is the weapon skill level for the combat shotgun.

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by half of a point (0.05%).

Gangster level: 400 hits (20%) - Move while in aiming stance, increased lock-on range, accuracy, rate of fire and strafe speed.
Hitman level: 2000 hits (100%) - Fire while moving, and increased lock-on range.

Machine Pistol

This is the weapon skill level for both the Tec-9 and Micro-SMG (Ingram MAC-10 lookalike).

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by two fifths of a point (0.04%).

Gangster level: 250 hits (10%) - Increased lock-on range, accuracy and rate of fire.
Hitman level: 2500 hits (100%) - Dual wielding, and increased lock-on range.

SMG

This is the weapon skill level for the MP5.

Each time you successfully hit a target, this will increase by one and a half points (0.15%).

Gangster level: 200 hits (30%) - Move while in aiming stance, increased lock-on range, accuracy, rate of fire and strafe speed.
Hitman level: 667 hits (100%) - Fire while moving, and increased lock-on range.

AK47

This is the weapon skill level for the AK47.