Swing Glitch

File:Swing glitch (GTA4) (catapult).jpg

A glitched swing in action, moments after hurling the player and their car into the air. Notice the "agitated" leg of the swing slamming on the ground and cracking it, illustrating the tremendous force it possesses.

File:DF8toobad00.jpg

A DF8-90 being launched across Broker. The green arrow points to the location of the swingsets.

The swing glitch (also known as the swingset glitch) is one of the more famous, and humorous, glitches in Grand Theft Auto IV. It encompasses a certain swingset which is capable of catapulting the player or their vehicles with considerably great force.

Location

The glitch centers around a playground located in the Firefly Projects in southeastern Broker, or more specifically the derelict swingsets therein. There are four such swingsets in the district, but only two of them, located on the eastern edge of the district, close to the Broker-Dukes Expressway, are surrounded by sufficient space to allow the player to maneuver a decent-sized vehicle into position, the most popular method of exploiting the glitch.

Description

If the player presses up against the swings in a vehicle then it will often be flung, with little or no warning, an incredible distance through the air; it is not uncommon for flying vehicles to reach or even clear Outlook Park to the west. The end result of vehicular flight is almost always catastrophic bodywork damage, although frequently the engine is left running. This enables the player to cruise away in their ruined vehicle. A vehicle that is flung using the swings will often turn out severely deformed in such a manner that could not be easily achieved through street crashes, or crashing into solid objects.

The player risks being thrown out through the windshield upon launch, often depending on the initial orientation of the car; facing the vehicle to the swing will increase the likelihood of it happening. Having been thrown out and falling from a considerable height, the player may fall to his death if he is thrown to the west instead of the east, where the player may land safely in water. However, it is nearly impossible for players to get launched through the windshield in multiplayer. It is also recommended to have the side where the vehicle's engine is located to not touch the swingset or else the engine will eventually catch on fire.

The best swingset to use is the northern one as using the southern one will almost always guarantee crashing into large apartment buildings. It is much preferable to use the middle pole rather than the sides ones.

As well as flinging vehicles, the swings have been known to hurl players and unsuspecting pedestrians on foot who hang from or brush up against them. Although amusing, this is all but guaranteed to result in death.

To get the most distance, back the back of the car to the middle pole, and reverse, when the swing catapults you you should go the furthest you can go (E.G East Hook, this is one of the furthest locations the vehicle can land in).

Best vehicles

Most vehicles are capable of going high and far but only with the correct conditions, some are more reactive than others such as the DF8-90, and some only go far on much rarer ocassions (like the Ingot). The best vehicles that hardly get stuck and go as far as (or beyond) Outlook on average are the: Cabby, Declasse Taxi, Habanero, Merit, Minivan, Moonbeam, NOOSE Cruiser, Police Patrol, Police Cruiser, and the Vapid Taxi. It is possible, yet difficult, to use the glitch on a motorcycle.

Gallery

PatriotSmashed.jpg

This used to be an undamaged patriot before it was launched.

External links

• GTA IV "Swing Glitch" on Youtube - one of many videos showcasing the glitch.
• Map of locations of working swings using SnapMap on WikiGTA