| Given by | Roman, Little Jacob, Brucie, Packie and (optionally) Dwayne, each after a story mission |
|---|---|
| Opens after | Bleed Out is the first. The rest follow through the story. |
| Counts toward 100% | Yes. Friends are worth 10% of the total. Three friends are required: Little Jacob, Brucie and Packie. |
| Reward | A special ability from each friend once their like level passes 75% |
Niko can become friends with five people in Liberty City. Each one calls now and then to go out, or you call them. You pick the person up, drive to the place you agreed on, and play or eat or drink. Every good outing pushes that friend’s like level up. Past 75% they hand you a favor you can call on any time. Win the activity they ask for and the game shows a 100% requirement notice, so keep an eye out for it. Roman’s bowling night is a good first outing to learn the routine.
Friends are worth 10% of the game, and the checklist only asks for three of the five. See the 100% checklist for the full split between story, side jobs, collectibles and friends.
The five friends
| Friend | Unlocked by | Free hours | Ability at 75% | Needed for 100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Roman Bellic | Bleed Out | Any time | Free taxi | No |
 Little Jacob | Shadow | 1 pm to 4 am | Discount guns | Yes |
 Brucie Kibbutz | No. 1 | 7 am to 1 am | Helicopter rides | Yes |
 Dwayne Forge | The Holland Play, one choice only | Noon to 1 am | Backup crew | No |
 Patrick “Packie” McReary | Three Leaf Clover | 4 pm to 6 am | Phone car bomb | Yes |
How outings work
Outings start with a phone call. Sometimes the friend rings you with an idea, sometimes you call them and choose from a list: eat, drink, bowling, pool, darts, a club or a show. They tell you roughly when to pick them up, usually within the next hour. If you call someone late at night they may be asleep and ask you to try again later, so check the hours in the table above.
Then you go and get them. A marker shows where they are waiting. Any vehicle works, including a taxi, the subway, a bike or a helicopter, and most friends comment on your choice. Fast driving pleases Packie but bothers Dwayne. Turn up more than about an hour late and the friend loses a few points of like. Leave them for several hours and they give up and cancel, which costs more.
Turning down a call also hurts, usually 5 to 10 points of like. If you simply cannot go, accept the call and choose to cancel plans afterward. That avoids the penalty. You can also line up more than one friend. Pick one up and the other plans are dropped with no penalty.
Outings cost money. The meal, the lane, the round of drinks, they all come out of Niko’s pocket, so a call from Roman early on can be a pricey evening.
When the main activity is done, the game tells you the outing is complete. You can take your friend home or add up to three more activities on the way, such as a meal or a drink. Extra stops raise the like level further, and a clean trip with no detours and no lateness gives the most for a single outing, around 7% for bowling.
Friends may also ask for a lift if they get hurt during an outing. The injury costs you a little, but driving them home or to the hospital wins it back.
Keeping the like level up
Like drops when you ignore calls, show up late or abandon a friend in the middle of an activity. Leaving a friend behind at another friend’s outing costs 10 points of like and 5 of respect. To stay above 75%, take an outing now and then and pick up when they ring. Drop under 75% and the ability goes away until you raise it again. You get a text when it comes back.
The story helps too. Several missions raise a friend’s like on their own, so you rarely start from nothing. Check the stats page in the pause menu to see each friend’s like value.
Activities and where to do them
| Activity | Where | Who joins |
|---|---|---|
 Eating | Burger Shot, Cluckin’ Bell, Pizza This and diners around the city | Everyone except Packie |
 Drinking | Bars in Hove Beach, Steinway, Purgatory and Hatton Gardens | Everyone |
 Bowling | Alleys in Purgatory and on Firefly Island | Roman, Brucie, Dwayne, Packie |
 Pool | Schottler, plus the loft in Algonquin if Dwayne lives | Roman, Jacob, Packie |
 Darts | The pubs in Steinway and Purgatory | Roman, Jacob, Packie |
 Strip club | Northern Gardens and Tudor | Everyone |
 Shows | The cabaret in Hove Beach and the comedy club in Star Junction | Roman, Jacob, Brucie, Packie |
| Heli ride and boating | Brucie’s own trips around the city | Brucie only |
Eating
Every friend except Packie will eat. Most have a favorite chain, and Roman prefers Burger Shot while Jacob and Dwayne want Cluckin’ Bell. Brucie goes for fancier places and likes the cafe in Lancaster. Park near a marked spot, walk in with them and finish the meal. A stop at the right place gives a bigger boost than a random one.
Drinking
Every friend will drink. Niko gets drunk, and the game warns you that your vision blurs and walking gets hard. Driving drunk is a bad idea, because the cops notice. A cab is the smart way home, and your friend still needs dropping off at the end.
Bowling
Walk up to the desk, pay for a lane and play a full game. Beat your friend and you get the 100% requirement tick for the activity. Roman, Brucie, Dwayne and Packie bowl with you. There are two alleys, one in Purgatory and one on Firefly Island.
Pool
The pool hall in Schottler is where most pool outings happen. Win the game for the 100% requirement. Little Jacob, Roman and Packie play, and Packie loves to trash talk about it. If you spare Dwayne, a pool table in the Algonquin loft opens up too.
Darts
Darts runs from 301 down to zero. The pubs in Steinway and Purgatory both have a board. Win to get credit. Roman, Jacob and Packie will throw with you, though Packie says the game bores him. Roman gets extra like from a match.
Strip club
Every friend will go to a strip club, and the two in the city are in Northern Gardens and Tudor. You do not have to buy anything. You can also leave your friend inside and walk out, and their like still goes up, and they text you to say so. The club only counts as an outing, so there is nothing to do there for the 100%.
Shows
Two venues put on shows. The cabaret club in Hove Beach has singers and stage acts, and Split Sides in Star Junction is a comedy club. Roman, Jacob, Brucie and Packie will go to either. Sit through the show, then head out with your friend. It is a calm way to raise like.
Heli ride and boating
These are Brucie’s own outings. He takes Niko up in a helicopter or out on the water with a couple of friends, then drops Niko off at the end. If you ask him early in the game, the trip waits until Blow Your Cover opens Algonquin.
The boat trip runs along the waterfront. Brucie gives you a landmark to head for, and you drop everyone off at the end.
Each friend
Roman Bellic
Roman is Niko’s cousin and the first friend you get, opening after Bleed Out. He is free around the clock, which makes him the easiest friend to keep happy. He likes Burger Shot, strip clubs and darts, and will also bowl, play pool, drink and go to shows. He is not part of the 100%, but his ability is worth having.
Ability: Car Service. After Bull in a China Shop, pass 75% like and he will send a taxi to take Niko anywhere for free. The cab works even with a wanted level, which makes it a good escape.
Little Jacob
Jacob joins after Shadow and is free from 1 pm to 4 am. He likes Cluckin’ Bell, and Club Liberty is his favorite bar. He will eat, drink, play pool and darts, go to a strip club and see a show. He does not bowl.
Ability: Guns. Once his like passes 75% he phones Niko with an offer. Call him, pick Guns and he drives to a quiet spot nearby with a trunk full of weapons, ammo and armor at a discount. What he stocks grows as the story goes on. This one counts toward the 100%. See the weapons page for what is on offer.
Brucie Kibbutz
Brucie opens up after No. 1 and is free from 7 am to 1 am. He eats, drinks, bowls and goes to a strip club or a show, but there is no pool or darts. His favorite eating spot is the cafe in Lancaster. He also offers the helicopter and boat trips listed above.
Ability: Chopper. At 75% like Brucie will pick Niko up in a helicopter. Call him, choose a landing zone and meet him there. Algonquin destinations open after Blow Your Cover, and Alderney opens after Three Leaf Clover. It counts toward the 100%.
Dwayne Forge
Dwayne is the odd one out. He only becomes a friend if you let him live in The Holland Play by killing Playboy X instead, and then answer his email in a friendly way. He is free from noon to 1 am and eats, drinks, bowls and goes to a strip club. He likes classy spots but still loves Cluckin’ Bell, and he does not like fast driving or helicopters.
Ability: Backup. Past 75% like, he sends a car with two armed men who follow Niko and help in a fight. Sparing Dwayne also keeps Playboy X’s loft open, pool table included. He is not needed for the 100%.
Patrick “Packie” McReary
Packie becomes a friend after Three Leaf Clover and is free from 4 pm to 6 am. He will drink, bowl, play pool and darts, and go to a strip club or a show, but he never eats with you. He enjoys fast driving and a fight, so he is the friend most at ease when things get rough.
Ability: Bomb. At 75% like Packie leaves a phone bomb nearby. Pick it up, plant it under a car and set it off from Niko’s phone. It is handy for tough targets and counts toward the 100%.
When a friend is unavailable
A few story beats lock friends out for a while. After That Special Someone, no one will hang out with Niko until the final missions are done, and calls go to voicemail. Roman’s taxi service also pauses for a while after Roman’s Sorrow and returns after Blow Your Cover. If you choose the Deal ending, Roman is gone for good, which is why he is not counted for 100%.
For the full list of what counts toward 100%, see the checklist. Want to meet people who are not friends? See girlfriends. Pool, darts and bowling also have their own page, pool, darts and bowling.
