Statistics

Statistics are used in 3D Universe games to indicate progression in certain areas, or to enumerate certain activities -- for example, a "Longest wheelie" statistic will measure how long a player has sustained a wheelie on a motorcycle; "Packages collected" counts how many Hidden Packages a player has acquired; "Hospital visits" counts how many times a player has been Wasted on their current playthrough, etc.

Many of these statistics are also present in older GTA games, but they are not detailed here.

HUD Stats

Rather than recording progress or activities, these statistics are displayed onscreen during gameplay in the Heads Up Display (HUD), to give the player a greater awareness of the protagonist's condition and situation.

• Health - When the player's health is depleted, they are Wasted, which results in mission failure [if the player is doing a mission at time of death], and the player being sent to hospital to be revived. Health can be regained by eating food, saving, or picking up a health "power-up" or first-aid kit. Entering an Ambulance will also restore a small amount of health.

• Armor - Armor counts as an extra "layer" of health; it can be acquired via an Armor pickup, purchased at an Ammu-Nation store, or, in some games, acquired by entering the Police Enforcer. The exact abilities of Armor vary from game to game -- generally, Armor will absorb all gunfire and explosive damage until it is entirely depleted; damage from falls and vehicle impacts may deplete Armor, or may leave Armor intact and deplete Health. In Vice City, shotgun attacks can reduce health as well as depleting armor.

• Wanted Level - The Wanted Level indicates the level of police interest in the player. If the player commits serious crimes (and the police are aware of them), it will indicate the extent of the crimes, and how much force Police will employ in capturing (or killing) the player. If the police catch the player, they will be Busted.

GTA SA Statistics

GTA San Andreas has a number of additional statistics, viewable either by holding the 'status' button or key, or via the Main Menu. These reflect CJ's physique, physical abilities and expertise; unlike in other GTA games, these change according to the player's actions.

Fat

This statistic measures Carl Johnson's body fat. Fat is increased by eating food (including meals during dates), and decreased by exercising, either at a gym or in the world at large, or by not eating for an extended period. Being overweight will naturally change CJ's appearance, dialogue (mostly related to his weight) and eventually lessens most physical capabilities (including health, running speed, jumping, etc.). Having no fat at all is inadvisable, because CJ will instead start to lose muscle if he grows hungry. If he has no muscle to shed, he will then start to lose health.

Food is available at Well Stacked Pizza Co., Cluckin' Bell, and Burger Shot, and their meals will add either 0, 1, 2, or 3% to CJ's Fat level. Eating 12 meals at these restaurants in one visit will make CJ vomit and not gain any fat.

For every 150 seconds of running, or every 100 seconds of biking or swimming, CJ will shed 1.5% fat. At a gym, this is much faster - on the treadmill or stationary bike, CJ will shed 2.5% fat every 14 seconds. When lifting weights, CJ will shed 0.5% fat for each repetition. Also, if the player waits 48 ingame hours without eating, CJ will shed fat at a rate of 2.5% per in-game hour.

Muscle

This measures CJ's muscular development. Muscle influences how much damage CJ deals in melee combat, as well as the respect and sex appeal stats. It also slightly reduces the amount of damage taken from falls. Muscle is increased by working out at a gym, or otherwise exercising (running, riding bikes, swimming). A 100% muscle statistic is detrimental to Sex appeal and will prevent CJ from initiating contact with some girlfriends.

Using the treadmill or stationary bike at a gym for 14 seconds will gain 1% muscle. Lifting weights will gain 1% muscle for each repetition. 150 seconds of running in-game, or 100 seconds of swimming or biking, will cause CJ to gain 1% muscle.

Respect

Respect indicates CJ's level of influence in the Grove Street Families. The more respect CJ has, the more gang members he can recruit, starting with 1 and up to a maximum of 7. Respect is gained upon completing some missions, killing members of enemy gangs or law enforcement, successfully taking over enemy gang territory and spraying over Tags. It is also influenced by CJ's appearance; hairstyle, tattoos, clothing and muscle all offer a small increase to respect. However, wearing green clothes in GSF territory gives a more significant boost. Respect is lost by not wearing green in GSF territory, killing friendly gang members and losing territory to enemy gangs.

Sex Appeal

This statistic indicates how girls will react to CJ. It is influenced by CJ's Vehicle, hairstyle, clothing, tattoos, fat and muscle. Collecting all 50 Oysters can prevent some of the pitfalls of low sex appeal (girlfriends being dissatisfied with CJ's appearance, or potential girlfriends not wanting to talk to CJ). In general, more expensive items offer a more significant increase in sex appeal, especially clothing. Lowriders and sports cars give the greatest boosts to this statistic; any vehicle still provides its increase after Carl exits, as long as he stays within a certain distance of it.

Stamina

The Stamina statistic indicates endurance with regards to running, swimming, and cycling. Low stamina means CJ will grow fatigued easily and stop sprinting after short distances. Stamina has to be built up over the course of the entire game by exercising. In GTA: Vice City Stories, a stamina bar also exists whenever the player is in the water. If it runs out, the player will drown. 

For every 150 seconds of swimming, or every 300 seconds for running or biking, CJ will gain 5% Stamina. At the Gyms, the treadmill and stationary bike will grant CJ 4% Stamina for every 14 seconds. Completing the Burglar side mission (stealing a total of $10,000 worth of items) will reward the player with infinite stamina, independent of the actual statistic.

Lung Capacity

The Lung Capacity statistic represents how long CJ can hold his breath when diving underwater. An oxygen meter is displayed whenever CJ dives underwater. Lung capacity is increased by swimming underwater for extended periods, and by collecting Oysters. If the player stays underwater long enough for the oxygen meter to deplete, CJ will start rapidly losing health until he either drowns or comes up for air. After coming up for air CJ will not regain lost health if this happens, only oxygen.

Vehicle Skill

In GTA San Andreas, CJ's ability to use different types of vehicles gradually increases based on distance covered. There are seperate skills for automobiles, bicycles, motorbikes and aircraft. Becoming more skilled makes vehicles more responsive, allowing the player to turn more sharply and handle more easily. It also allows CJ to perform higher bunny hops and reduces his chance of being knocked off a bicycle or motorbike by collisions.

Weapon Skill

CJ can become more skilled with various weapons by successfully shooting NPC's or vehicles. Most individual weapons have their own seperate skill to build up, but the Tec-9 and Micro Uzi are grouped together as "Machine Pistols". CJ's skill with each weapon begins as "Poor", then can increase to "Gangster" level, and finally "Hitman" level at maximum. Becoming more skilled improves CJ's accuracy, targeting range, strafe speed, rate of fire, and allows him to move while firing. Additionally, reaching Hitman level with the Pistol, Sawn-Off Shotgun, Tec-9 and Micro Uzi allows CJ to wield two at once. Thrown weapons such as Grenades, melee weapons, Rifles and heavy weapons like the Minigun and Rocket Launcher do not have skill meters.

GTA IV Statistics

Please see GTA IV Statistics.

GTA V/Online Statistics

Player stats appear once again in GTA V and GTA Online. The stats include Stamina, Shooting, Strength, Stealth, Flying, Driving, Lung Capacity, and Special. These stats start out different for each protagonists, but can eventually be maxed out.

• Stamina. Extra stamina will allow the characters to sprint, cycle and swim for longer before getting tired. When the character's stamina gets depleted, the health bar will start flashing red, causing damage to the player and drop down exhausted. The stat will increase if the player perform each of those activities.
• Shooting. A higher Shooting stat will make the character more accurate by reducing recoil while shooting any gun. The character will also be able to reload faster and carry more ammunition. The more targets the player hits, particularly headshots, the more his Shooting stat will increase. Spend time in the Shooting Range at Ammunation and take on shooting challenges as a fast way to improve this skill.
• Strength. Additional strength will inflict heavier damage during hand-to-hand and melee combat, increase speed at climbing ladders, increase damage absorbtion from falls, car crashes, explosions and fire, and improve the character's Tennis and Golf performance by allowing him to hit the ball harder. Engaging in unarmed combat, and taking part in sports like Tennis, Golf and Yoga will raise the character's Strength.
• Stealth. The higher the Stealth stat is, the quieter the character will be in both stealth and normal movement modes. And he'll also be able to move more quickly in stealth mode. The Stealth stat will increase the more time you spend moving in stealth or performing silent takedowns. Press L3 to enter stealth mode.
• Flying. When a character has a low Flying stats, the performance of any aircraft he's flying will be more susceptible to the effects of turbulence. As the stats increase, the character will be able to both fly and land more smoothly. Also will improve the ability to fly any aircraft. Spending time flying will increase the stat, whereas the Pilot School will make the process a lot faster by completing its challenges.
• Driving. Improving the Driving skills will improve the character's vehicle handling when airborne and make performing wheelies easier. The more time the character spends driving vehicles, the faster the stat will increase, particularly performing wheelies and landing big jumps on four or two wheels.
• Lung Capacity. Having a high Lung Capacity means the character can stay submerged under water for longer. Lung capacity will increase as the character spends more time under water, whether with Scuba Suit or without it.
• Special. Using a character's Special Ability will gradually improve the stat. As the stat bar increases, the speed at which that character's Special Ability bar fills up will also increase, and as it's active, the bar will deplete more slowly. Only available to Franklin, Michael and Trevor, as the Online Protagonist doesn't possess any Special Ability.

Trivia

• There are cheats for maximum respect, sex appeal, muscle and fat, and for zero fat and muscle. There is also a cheat that allows CJ to remain underwater indefinitely, but does not actually increase lung capacity.
• Gaining weight does not just affect CJ's appearance, it also affects his health, running speed, and sex appeal. CJ's phrases will also change as he hits people or picks up money such as 'I'm just a fat bitch, huh?' or 'Lunch money!'
• When CJ's body fat is at its maximum, you are warned that he runs the risk of a heart attack and to lose some weight, although it is actually not possible for CJ to suffer one through any conventional means.
• Losing or gaining muscle or weight can affect what girlfriends think of you. For example, if CJ gains some weight when he goes to see a girlfriend a cutscene may start depicting CJ's girlfriend making a joke or remark about CJ's weight or muscle, however some girlfriends may like CJ to be fat.