GTA 5 Online Guide For Beginners: Everything You Need To Get Started

8 years after its initial release and new players are still flying in both the single and multiplayer of GTA 5 really regularly - the game is constantly in the top 10 most played game on Steam, with 100k players online at all times. After all these years, the game has been updated numerous times, with robust mechanics that can't be learned in a short period of time, even with help from other players.

In this GTA 5 Online Guide For Beginners 2021, we would list out everything you need to know to get started.

1 - What lifestyle option to choose?

This is the first choice you can make while creating a character. It would determine how your character spends a typical 24 hours... and the result would change your appearance and alter your stats to an extent.

You should focus on the appearance aspect, as your avatar would be the one thing you looking at the most while playing. Changing the overall looks of your character in-game can be pretty expensive... so it's better to just do it right the first time.

2 - Should you skip the tutorial?

You can skip it, but it is recommended to play through the tutorial at least once. It begins after you board a flight into Los Santos International Airport and would guide you through the basics including races, missions, shopping, and robberies, as well as introducing you to several other handy contacts.

3 - What should you do next?

After completing the tutorial, you would enter Free Roam mode and do whatever you want in the open world of GTA Online. This is the perfect opportunity to just go out and explore the world for everything it can offer. Stealing vehicles is a good activity for starters - you can either drive them to a Los Santos Custom to sell or take them to Simeon if the particular Vehicle is on the wishlist he sent you.

If you want a proper activity, you can open up the Job list on your phone and pick between various jobs to do. Working through these quests is the fastest way to flesh out the story of GTA Online while earning more money and levels.

4 - How to stop other players from attacking you?

This is an online game... and while a lot of players you meet would be friendly, there would definitely be griefers who just want to cause chaos and mayhem. As a new player, it would be hard to deal with them... and it is definitely frustrating to have someone constantly tailing you and blowing you up.

To deal with them, you can either turn on Passive mode (using the Interaction Menu - M key on PC) or go to the players' menu and suggest to kick the attacker from the session. Both have downsides, of course - you won't be able to attack anything at all with the passive mode on... and you need enough votes to kick a player.

If the above methods don't work, just choose a job to jump into or quit and find a new session to leave the attacker behind.

5 - How do I replenish my health, armor, and ammo?

To recover health, just stock up on snacks from vending machines or convenience stores. Armor and ammo are trickier - you need to purchase them at ammu-nation stores. Furthermore, ammo can be purchased directly from the inventory menu if you pay extra.

6 - Should you buy a property?

There are multiple different types of properties available in the game, each would give players bonuses for ownership. Overall, the Garage for storing vehicles is super useful - it is worth picking up as soon as you are able. Open the internet on your phone, pick the Money and Services tab then navigate to Dynasty 9 Real Estate.

When you have acquired more money, a high-end apartment is a must - it would provide a base of operations for heists, a bonus garage for more vehicle storage... and a location to change your clothing.

Finally, there are business properties that you can buy to open up new streams of missions. Maze Bank Foreclosure will sell you everything from motorcycle clubhouses and nightclubs to huge underground bunkers while Dynasty 8 Executive Realty would sell you Offices for cargo and vehicle missions. All these businesses require a lot of money, time and investments to get up and running, so don't worry about them too much when starting out.

7 - What is the best way to grind money and level?

A lot of cool missions and weapons are reputation gated - you have to reach a certain rank first before unlocking them. Those RP or Reputation points can be earned by completing various tasks in-game like spin the casino's lucky wheel or play adversary modes.

Money is hard to come by in GTA Online - the best way to get them is to do heists, cargo missions, VIP work, and other types of quests.

This is the end of our GTA 5 Online Guide For Beginners 2021. Interested in more of our articles related to GTA Online? Please check out this post for a complete guide for the Bunker system.