The mythology surrounding Grand Theft Auto 4's rarest NPC has grown larger than Roman's desire to go bowling with Niko. The mailman is believed to be the hardest pedestrian NPC model to encounter in the game, making him a must-see attraction for completionists. However, the truth behind this hardworking postal worker's rarity may only be a myth.
More recent findings by YouTuber Internet Rob have confirmed that there is an even rarer NPC encounter in the game than was at first thought. The pedestrian who seems to have the rarest spawn rate in GTA 4 is actually the overhead power line repairman. The specificity of the conditions in which he spawns - in conjunction with how hard he is to spot - give him an even more special story than the legend of GTA 4's postal worker.
The story behind GTA 4's mailman NPC started with a post by GTA's rarest pedestrian NPC. Eventually, many players would find him and post clips of their mailman sightings like Reddit PPRX - most of which were videos of them running over the postal worker in remembrance of Ddbone's initial discovery.
How To Encounter GTA IV'S Overhead Power Line Repairman (& Why He's The Rarest NPC)
Yet the overhead power line repairman NPC in GTA 4 is even more of a rarity. In order to encounter this character, two conditions have to be met. First, an overhead power line has to be present with a pole for them to be work at, and second, the time has to be between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. The tight timeframe alone makes the task of finding one of these repairmen a difficult challenge, but what makes it even harder is that they rarely spawn even with the right conditions. Even if the repairman spawns, they might not be visible because they work high above the ground on the overhead power lines. In contrast, mailmen NPCs in GTA 4 can be spotted on the ground level - specifically near mailboxes - and at a larger variety of times. Thus, while players still have to rely on chance to see a mailman, there is a larger window of opportunity to see and spot them easily when compared to the overhead power line repairman.
That being said, the mailman is still arguably rarer than the repairman. Electrician pedestrians in GTA 4 like the overhead power line repairman have a variety of jobs that have longer shifts, meaning players could spot the overhead power line repairman working on a powerbox instead. Though one could go back and forth on which NPC is rarer, it's clear that encounters with either NPC are part of the interesting details that GTA 4 continues to surprise players with to this day.
Sources: Ddbone / GTAForums, Internet Rob / YouTube, PPRX / Reddit
