Rocket Launcher

"A portable, shoulder-launched, anti-tank weapon that fires explosive warheads. Very effective for taking down vehicles or large groups of assailants."

- GTA V description on the Rockstar Games Social Club.

The Rocket Launcher or RPG is a heavy weapon featured in every Grand Theft Auto game. It is manufactured by Shrewsbury in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.

2D Universe
The Grand Theft Auto 1 rendition of the rocket launcher has no obvious real life counterpart, while the Grand Theft Auto: London version looks like a WWII-Era ; as for the Grand Theft Auto 2 variant, it look very much like a with some differences in the grip.

3D Universe
"Supposedly illegal. Banned for civilian use. Have been appearing on the streets of Vice City for the past couples of years, Present extreme danger for public order. I thought we sold all of these things to corrupt dictators and people fighting the Russians?"

- GTA Vice City Website.

In Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, the rocket launcher resembles a (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) rocket launcher, with some aesthetic differences (the GTA III version is held by the unfolded end cap underneath and fired through a scope, unlike the real life M72 LAW, whilst the GTA Vice City Stories version has a pistol grip on the underside, which the M72 does not have). In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, the rocket launcher is based on the Russian portable anti-tank rocket launcher.

Grand Theft Auto IV
In Grand Theft Auto IV, the rocket launcher again resembles the Russian RPG-7 portable anti-tank grenade launcher; however, it is not fitted with the PGO-7 optical sight usually seen on the launchers. Its front cross-hair is more like a standard gun sight.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
"Enemy goon or vehicle? It doesn't matter what you target: Point this steel finger of destruction at it, and witness its obliteration."

- Description at GTA CW.

In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the Rocket Launcher seems to assume the GTA Vice City Stories design, but incorporating a unique army green scheme with the star decal on it.

Grand Theft Auto V
In Grand Theft Auto V, the Rocket Launcher retains the design of the RPG-7, with the exception that the blast port has an hexagonal shape and is more "streamlined". In the enhanced version, the front iron sight is taken from an M136 AT4.

2D Universe
The Rocket Launcher is among the most powerful weapons in the games, being able to destroy almost anything that is able to be damaged in one single shot. The chief advantage of this weapon is its destructive power and large area effect (with its blast being capable of inflicting heavy damage several meters away from the point of impact). Although its rockets self-destruct after traveling a certain distance, its range remains impressive. The weapon's disadvantages are its slow aiming, and its potential to seriously injure or kill the operator if a rocket detonates at close range.

The Rocket Launcher can destroy the vast majority of the vehicles, except Tanks or other similar vehicles.

3D Universe
The Rocket Launcher again proves its effectiveness at destroying heavy targets and is also able to take out pursuing police helicopters during wanted levels.

Its heavy weight will cause the protagonist to be slowed to a jogging pace and not be able to jump while the weapon is equipped except from Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and onwards. The rocket is also very accurate, as it always travels right where the aiming sight is placed. Much like in the 2D Universe, the Rocket Launcher cannot destroy a Rhino instantly.

Grand Theft Auto IV
Unlike previous games where the player was forced into a stationary first-person perspective, the player now aims the rocket launcher from the over-the-shoulder perspective, allowing the player to strafe while aiming; the rocket launcher can also be fired while behind cover. The rocket can be deflected if the tip of the rocket does not hit a solid object in an unfavorable angle. The rocket self-detonates when it reaches its maximum range.

The Rocket Launcher is the most powerful weapon in the game, destroying any target with a direct hit and causing heavy causalities with splash damage. The player does not necessarily need a direct hit on the fuselage of a helicopter to destroy it as the force of a detonating rocket can cause the pilot to lose control and crash. Also, unlike the 3D Universe, the rocket can hit the rotors as they are considered solid objects.

A direct hit onto a target usually kills them in the process, and a splash damage can be also lethal. Depending of the distance, the target usually dies upon impact of a nearby rocket or are severely injured with the impulse generated by the explosion, as they will hit any solid surface and will be also killed if knocked down with enough force or if the conditions are more favorable (i.e. falling from a considerable height or out of a bridge).

The Rocket Launcher can also destroy a vehicle instantly with a direct hit, or deforming them severely if the rocket explodes right next to these, usually setting these aflame. In helicopters, a direct hit onto the rotors result in them losing control considerably and are also set aflame due to the splash damage. In The Ballad of Gay Tony, the APC can survive a single rocket, but will receive a considerable damage.

Grand Theft Auto V
In Grand Theft Auto V, the Rocket Launcher is less accurate, but even more powerful, able to take out targets more easily. Because of the sensibility of characters, a rocket explosion is even more lethal and the splash damage usually kills them in the process. Vehicles are also very vulnerable, as the splash damage can instantly destroy them, as well as destroying helicopters quickly (unlike in GTA IV, where a single hit on the rotors will make them losing control and, in an unfortunate event, will fall and explode right to the attacker).

Notable users

 * All Protagonists
 * Sunny
 * Mendez Cartel goons
 * Wu Lee's goon (during Salt in the Wound)
 * Little Jacob
 * Elwood O'Neil
 * Lester Crest
 * Zaibatsu Corporation
 * Red Valdez
 * Uno Carb
 * Colombian Cartel goons

Grand Theft Auto III

 * Rockford, Staunton Island - Available to buy from Phil Cassidy's Army Surplus after completion of Arms Shortage. ($25,000)
 * Cedar Grove, Shoreside Vale - On the west side of the roof of the large pink house at the west end of The Homes (closest to Cochrane Dam). To get this weapon icon, wedge an Ambulance under the lowest part of the roof on the east side of the house, climb the Ambulance then to the roof, then go west along the south side of the roof to reach it. Another way to reach it, is simply jump over the roof at the nearest corner to the garage in the east side of the house, where the roof almost touches the ground.
 * Spawns at every safehouse after collecting all 100 hidden packages.
 * The rocket launcher can be gotten right at the start of the game, before a single mission is completed provided the player does two things. 1. Use the jump the broken Callahan Bridge by using the two girders trick to get to Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale to collect the hidden packages there and 2. For the hidden package hanging on the broken draw bridge linking Staunton and Shoreside, use the dodo and fly up there. The trick is use the dodo and lift off of the side slanted runway at Francis International. Once lifted off, fly south, away from draw bridge rather than make the hard 180 degrees turn. This is because after leaving Liberty City for a bit, the game will automatically turn the player around and at the city. This means if the player is flying away from it, after a bit, he will be pointed directly at the bridge. This also give the player plenty of distance to adjust the height and aim point. The aim point is the third hole between the bridge support. Try and aim at it so the wing will bounce off of one the support and crash onto the bridge without flying through the bridge. Do not stay too close to the edge as that may cause the plane to skid too far and hit the water below. Once on the bridge it's easy to get at the hidden package.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

 * Phil's Place, Little Haiti - The weapon is available for purchase here after completion of Boomshine Saigon. ($8,000)
 * Hooker Inn, Viceport - Located in the swimming pool, directly after the entrance arch.
 * Spawns at the Ocean View Hotel, the Hyman Condo, and the Vercetti Estate after collecting 70 hidden packages.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas



 * Downtown, Los Santos - On the roof of a building with large radio antenna. One must use a helicopter, a plane or a jetpack to reach it.
 * Downtown, San Fierro - On the helipad of the San Fierro Police Headquarters (only during Toreno's Last Flight). It will remain at the same spot if not taken during the mission.
 * Tierra Robada - Inside Mike Toreno's ranch upon completion of Vertical Bird.
 * Las Venturas Airport, Las Venturas - Beside some shipping containers east of the southern jet bridge of the main terminal.
 * The Emerald Isle, Las Venturas - Two are located here, one on the 8th floor of the garage, the other on a corner of the roof.
 * By activating the Tier 1 Thugs tools cheat which gives an RPG and any other weapons.
 * From pedestrians (only available when cheats 'everyone is armed' and/or 'riot' are activated).

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

 * Francis International Airport, Shoreside Vale - Underneath the Shoreside Lift Bridge.
 * Bedford Point, Staunton Island - Can be bought from Phil Cassidy's Fully Cocked Gun Shop after completing False Idols. ($9,000)
 * Spawns at each safehouse after collecting 90 hidden packages.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

 * Starfish Island - From the western bridge, it is at the front of the second house on the left.
 * Ocean Beach - Available at the Ammu-Nation store after completing the mission "Turn On, Tune In, Bug Out" for $9,000 but the price will decrease to $6,750 after completing Phil's Shooting Range.

Grand Theft Auto IV
General
 * The Rocket Launcher can be purchased at the Underground Gun Shops for $15,000 plus $5,000 for each additional rocket.
 * The Rocket Launcher cannot be bought from Little Jacob in GTA IV; however, the player can buy a Rocket Launcher from Terry Thorpe in The Lost and Damned or from Armando Torres in The Ballad of Gay Tony for $10,000 plus $3,500 for each additional rocket.
 * In multiplayer, by entering any available helicopter, the player will be awarded with a Rocket Launcher with eight rounds.

Algonquin
 * Northwood - Can be found on a large boulder in the water north of Northwood. This is the easiest RPG pickup in the city.
 * Castle Gardens - Can be found in an alcove on the southeastern partition of the construction site seen in the mission Deconstruction for Beginners. The RPG is inside an alcove facing the water, and can be reached with a boat.

Alderney
 * Alderney City - Can be found on the roof of the Kakagawa Building near AutoEroticar. There is no roof access from the street, so a helicopter is needed.
 * Acter Industrial Park - On a corner of a platform of the sunken cargo ship situated the the far west of the district.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

 * Can be bought from Ammu-Nation after the mission Evidence Dash.

Grand Theft Auto V

 * Can be purchased at Ammu-Nation for $6,500.
 * National Office Of Security Enforcement - On top of the building, next to the helipad, where the Buzzard helicopter spawns.
 * At the top of the western part of La Puerta Freeway Bridge, next to Los Santos International Airport.
 * Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness - Inside Altruist Camp, on the ground in the church porch.
 * Alamo Sea - Inside of the sunken Cargo Plane after the mission Minor Turbulence.
 * Used by the Military in Fort Zancudo if the player flies an helicopter or an aircraft close to the ground. They will not switch weapons if the player exists their vehicle, so the player can freely kill them and take their weapon, although they must be careful not to get hit, as it will result in an instant death.
 * Can be looted from Elwood O'Neil if killed by Franklin during the mission Predator.

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * Unlocked at rank 100, then can be purchased for $36,500 at Ammu-Nation.
 * Spawns at waves 4, 7 and 10 in survival mode.
 * Available in the bunker's shooting range alcove after completing all challenges in Tier 3, as part of the Gunrunning update.

General

 * The Rocket Launcher and the Pistol are the only weapons to appear in every Grand Theft Auto game.
 * In all 3D Universe games, excluding Grand Theft Auto Advance, it is possible for a launcher's rockets to be hit by gunfire, knocking them off-course. This is a noticeable occurrence when fighting soldiers, particularly in Vice City.
 * Contrary to their depiction in the series, modern rocket launchers cannot be used to commit suicide by firing them at the ground. This occurs due to most rockets being outfitted with a timer fuse, a safety measure that renders the main warhead unable to explode until a rocket has been airborne for a certain period of time.
 * In reality, rocket launchers such as the RPG and the LAW should not be fired from confined spaces or when there is an obstacle to the rear. This is because these rockets are not "soft launch" capable, meaning they produce a large back blast when launching their projectile. If this happens in a confined space or when there is an obstacle to the rear, the blast, smoke and concussion can seriously harm or even kill the user when it ricochets off of the obstacle. In reality, such weapons require approximately 150 feet of clear space to the rear in order to be fired safely.
 * Strangely, none of the Rocket Launchers are able to destroy a tank easily. In real life, both the RPG-7 and the M72 LAW are effective against tanks and thus, capable of disabling them or even destroying it.
 * In the 3D Universe and the HD Universe, the rocket itself is considered as a standalone throwable device, as it will have properties of a grenade and can even be wielded like a grenade if accessed via trainers. The only difference, unlike other basic grenades, is that it has special properties to travel forward when launched and is set to be used if the launcher is used.

2D Universe

 * Rockets (both from launchers and tanks) in GTA 1 have the ability to set buildings on fire for a limited amount of time. Although the fire goes away after a while and leaves no fire damaged markings. When a building is on fire it only burns from the point in which the rocket hit it, the fire will not spread.

3D Universe

 * Since Claude always looks downwards, the rocket launcher will make Claude look straight/upwards and hold his head straight.
 * In Grand Theft Auto III, pedestrians using Rocket Launchers through cheat codes are incapable of operating the weapon properly. As they adopt the behavior of a character with a normal firearm, they will run up to a target and fire at their feet, killing themselves and anybody standing nearby, or greatly injure them.
 * With the use of the "Infinite Ammo" cheat in GTA San Andreas, the RPG gains a greatly increased rate of fire, comparable to a 9mm pistol. The same occurs with the heat-seeking variant.
 * In GTA Vice City, continuously firing the RPG with the "Fast Reload" upgrade and swinging the weapon will sometimes cause a rocket to detonate by making contact with the launch tube, injuring the player. A similar quirk is present on the Hydra's rocket pods.
 * In GTA Vice City, GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories, the rockets fired did not explode, but disappear when traveling a certain distance, unlike other games, where they self-detonate after traveling a certain distance.
 * When fired point-blank at the mirrors in a safehouse wardrobe, the rockets of the GTA San Andreas model will clip through them and fly for a considerable distance before impacting an invisible object, causing the same fire effect that occurs in normal gameplay. The flames can be seen through the mirror, although the object that was hit cannot be seen. The object is presumably a building/interior in the Hidden Interiors Universe, as the Wardrobe is an interior.
 * In GTA San Andreas, there is a glitch with the rocket fired by any firing device: when the rocket is hit by a bullet during flight, the rocket will be redirected/reflected in "random" directions with a much higher speed. This is often seen in multiplayer, when a Hunter fires two rockets to players who are firing at the chopper, the rocket could fly off into random directions. With a jetpack and Micro-SMG, and very decent aiming, one can fend off all incoming missiles in Area 69 by shooting at the rather slow moving missiles.
 * In GTA: San Andreas, when CJ equips the Rocket Launcher, his facial expression in-game changes to an angry look.

HD Universe

 * When blindfiring from a standing position while facing left, the protagonists of the Liberty City trilogy will release their left hand and fire the RPG using only their right hand. This would be impossible, as RPGs are designed to be fired with the left hand.
 * In GTA IV multiplayer, rockets fired at the ground will disappear into the ground for a brief moment before exploding.
 * In Grand Theft Auto V, a GTA IV-model Rocket Launcher is hung on the wall of all Ammu-Nation stores. It is not obtainable.
 * The RPG's price in GTA V is the cheapest it has ever been in the series at only $6,500.
 * In the BradyGames Guide for GTA V, the Rocket Launcher was said to have an optional grip attachment. However, it is not present in the final game. Probably, it would become useless, as there are two main grips for the user's hands and a third one would have no use, unless the hand is moved to the front and it will increase the accuracy. Near the firing grip, there's a small rail that would fit the mentioned attachment.
 * In GTA V, during The Big Score (obvious approach), Lester Crest called the RPG the "noob tube". In popular FPS series such as Call of Duty, "noob tube" is a slang term usually used for a grenade launcher. This is a reference to Lester's gaming habit.
 * Despite the fact he wields a rocket launcher, it acts more like a Homing Launcher because of its ability to home in on the Merryweather helicopters.
 * In GTA V enhanced version, there is writing on the side of the barrel that reads "Do not aim at pets or feet!"
 * The "aiming at feet" reference is to the Quake video game series having the unique ability to "rocket jump" which allows the user to propel themselves a great amount of distance with the rocket's blast. It is possible to do this with Trevor's special ability, however, it does not propel him very far.
 * In GTA Online, the RPG is usable when the player is hanging out the side of helicopters, unlike the homing launcher.
 * In GTA IV, the rockets fired are able to bounce off any inanimate object (buildings, floors, etc.) at a certain angle, but will explode instantly at any angle if contact is made with another entity.
 * After the Heists Update for GTA Online, the Rocket Launcher looks noticably different in first-person; the player now holds the RPG at a lower angle.

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