Beginner’s Guide to GTA Online

It’s better to complete the single-player campaign before start playing in GTA Online. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for you to master the controls and get used to the features of the game due to the aggression of more experienced players towards you.

For the same reason, it’s better to start playing in private sessions where there are no other players. Some types of missions are not available in these sessions, such as selling goods, but you will not need them anyway in the beginning.

Character Creation

Here we will not dwell on the appearance in detail since it doesn’t affect the gameplay and can be changed in the future.

Change of hairstyle, hair color, etc. isn’t expensive at all. A plastic surgery that allows you to create a character’s appearance from scratch costs GTA$100,000, which is also pretty affordable in terms of GTA Online.

Of the character’s stats that affect the gameplay, it’s the most difficult to raise lung capacity, strength, and stealth. The remaining parameters raise quickly enough during the game, without requiring any special efforts from you.

Therefore, set the lung capacity, strength, and stealth as high as possible, and assign the remaining free points at your discretion.

Tutorial

After the opening cutscene, your first race will begin. Choose any fast and easy to drive car, such as Fugitive or Schafter. Apart from you and Lamar, there are up to six players can participate in the race. Try to stay away from them, otherwise, you will probably collide. The outcome of the race doesn’t matter.

At the end of the race, your first mission will begin. I recommend you to read the walkthrough to it before you go to the meeting. Otherwise, you can spend a lot of time on it.

After completing this mission, you will be in Freemode in a public session, so I recommend either enter Passive Mode or switching to a private session.

There are few more tutorial missions await you.

Сlothing

Sometime after the end of the first mission, the game will direct you to a clothing store. Buy something there.

In general, clothing stores, barber shops, tattoo parlors, etc. are the same as in the single-player. Only the assortment is different in Online.

Convenience Stores

Sometime later, you will receive an invitation to rob the store from Lamar on your phone. Accept it and head to the marked point. Shop robberies are almost the same as in the single-player. The more you rob, the higher the wanted level will be. Take breaks if you don’t want to get more than 2 wanted stars.

You can not only rob these shops but also buy foodstuff there. In the future, they can be used through the interaction menu to restore health. Beer doesn’t restore health, cigarettes reduce health.

You can also completely restore health using vending machines with drinks for GTA$1.

Your First Personal Vehicle

After your first shop robbery, Simon will call you and offer to visit Los Santos Customs.

Get an inexpensive but fast car or motorcycle. If you still have Fugitive or Schafter, it will do. Pegassi Bati 801 suits well as the first bike.

Stolen vehicles that cost more than GTA$100,000 can’t be modified and saved for permanent usage.

In Los Santos Customs purchase a Tracker and Insurance under “Loss/Theft Prevention”. After that, the car or motorcycle will become your personal. It will be displayed on the map, and you will be able to make a claim for a new vehicle if this one is destroyed.

Respray the car and take a look at the other available options. Some of them can be installed for free this time — this is a gift from Simon.

While you don’t have a garage, you can own only one personal vehicle at a time.

Weapons and Armor

All picked up weapons disappear at the end of the session. The only way to have them permanently is to buy them at Ammu-Nation. Not all weapons are available at the initial ranks, the range expands as the character’s rank increases.

The Double-Action Revolver, Stone Hatchet, and Navy Revolver are exceptions. You can get them for free by completing quests, and even earn on it.

Armor can only be bought or picked up in jobs. It never spawns in Freemode.

Your First Last Team Standing

After some time, you will receive an invitation from Gerald to participate in the Last Team Standing. This is the last introductory quest. Head to Cypress Flats and enter the blue corona.

Read the tips and get ready for the LTS. If you are the host, confirm the settings and wait for other players to join. If not, just wait for the start. The outcome of the LTS doesn’t matter. You can even not start it at all, but immediately go back to Freemode.

How to Make Money in the Beginning

Purchase a Standard Diamond Casino Membership and spin the Lucky Wheel every 24 hours of real-time. In addition to money, you can win vehicles, clothes, discounts, RP and other prizes.

Complete the following quests: Treasure Hunt, Bounty Hunting, Los Santos Slasher. It will bring more than GTA$750,000 in total.

Collect 54 playing cards, find 100 action figures, and destroy 50 signal jammers.

Reaching Rank 8 grants access to the Flight School. If you get gold medals in all the lessons, you’ll earn more than GTA$200,000 in total.

Do daily objectives. They unlock at Rank 15, and for completing them, you can get more than GTA$1,900,000 every 28 days.

Participate in jobs and heists. To maximize your earnings, choose those ones that bring double or triple rewards during the current week. They are marked by the “$” and “RP” icons.

This is not a full list of options to make money for beginners in GTA Online, but other ways are less effective.

Your First Property

Purchasing properties available starting Rank 5, but only after a call from Simon. If he doesn’t want to call, read this article: If Simeon Doesn’t Call.

Go to dynasy8realestate.com and choose suitable housing. A good option for a beginner is Apartment 7 in Del Perro Heights for GTA$200,000. It has a convenient location, including for the future when you need to purchase real estate for business.

With the purchase of this apartment, you will get a room for robberies planning, a garage for 10 vehicles, and a mechanic who can deliver personal vehicles to you on call. You will also be able to purchase cars, motorcycles, and bicycles on the Internet.

Your First Business

A nightclub is an excellent business for a beginner, which allows gradually begin the arms trade, smuggling, and biker business, as well as grants access to the client jobs.

Other

• Read the tips that the game shows you. Usually, they appear in the upper left corner of the screen.
• Don’t forget to bank your cash using your smartphone, computers, or ATMs.
• Almost every week there are discounts on certain goods or categories of goods in the game. They allow you to save about 30-40%.
• Before reaching level 100, give preference to cooperative modes. In competitive modes, it will be difficult for you to win, which means that your income will be low.
• Part of this guide is not applicable for PS3 and Xbox 360, as GTA Online updates haven’t been released on these platforms since September 15, 2015.