The GTA 6 Wanted Levels have received a significant overhaul, meaning they won't just be conveying how much trouble you're in with the law by the number of stars you've racked up. The stars will also take on different appearances in GTA 6, so you can tell if the local police are simply investigating a crime or have your details and are actively hunting you down. Add in the new Heat system that reveals exactly what information the cops have and there's a lot to take in, so let me explain how that and the Wanted Levels in GTA 6 will work.
We've also got details of the GTA 6 side activities you can take part in, plus the radio stations and songs revealed so far from the GTA 6 soundtrack.
GTA 6 Wanted Level explained
The GTA 6 Wanted Level meter has been increased to six stars, allowing for great nuances between the different measures of threat from the cops, so don't expect them to come after you guns blazing as soon as you get your initial star. For the first time in the series, these wanted stars will also take on different appearances to indicate various statuses, and by cross-referencing footage from the Extended Look with preview coverage I believe they mean the following:
- Black and White Stars: The cops are investigating a crime but don't know who you are, so avoid drawing attention to yourself and you can slip away.
- Gray Stars: The cops are investigating a crime and know information about who you are, based on the Heat icons underneath (see below) so are actively searching for you.
- White Stars: The cops are actively pursuing you and have you in sight.
- Red Stars: You have evaded the cops, but they still have information on you based on the Heat icons (see below) so you need to lose those before they identify you again.
At higher star Wanted Levels it looks like your minimap becomes obscured with red and blue flashing lights, so you can't use it to track the movements of any cops around you. Instead, you'll need to use your eyes to spot any police threats and lay low to avoid them.
GTA 6 Heat system explained
In addition to your Wanted Level stars, the GTA 6 Heat system uses a selection of red icons displayed in the top-right corner of the screen to indicate what clues the cops are using to track you down, supplied by eye witnesses to your actions or from the police's own observations. We've seen six of these so far, which I've marked above as follows:
- Security camera footage
- Accomplice
- Clothing
- Face
- Weapon
- Vehicle
Losing the cops will be harder the more of these Heat markers you have active, so where possible you should take preventative actions such as wearing a mask or face covering and avoiding or taking out security cameras. Once they're there, actions such as hiding weapons or changing clothes will lose that Heat, and the effect appears to be instant – after the car chase escape in the Extended Look, the red Vehicle Heat icon disappears the moment Lucia steps out of Raul's car.
If you have the Accomplice Heat marker, you can lose it by splitting up Jason and Lucia to go their separate ways. However, if either one of them gets caught during this time then you still get Busted by the cops, so you can't sacrifice your partner in order to make a quick escape yourself.
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