GTA Online beginner’s guide 05 Purchase a high-end apartment

Eight tips for players starting out in Los Santos’ PSN wilds

Breaking into GTA Online can be downright daunting. With such a wealth of missions, properties and vehicles all vying for your time and money, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Here are some useful tips to ease you into the life-devouring experience.

01 Buy a decent car and a garage

We say ‘buy’, but you can actually pick up one of the bests sports cars in the game for the grand cost of ‘bugger all’. To get an Elegy RH8 completely gratis, just register for Rockstar’s Social Club. Once you do, this two-door speedster (which resembles the Nissan GT-R) will be yours. Thanks to its great traction, it’s a superb choice for races. Make sure you invest in Loss/Theft Prevention to ward other users off nicking your shiny new motor, too. You’ll also want to invest in a garage to keep your cars safe. At $25,000, the Unit 124 garage on Popular St is probably the best bet for cash-poor beginners.

02 Keep cashing in at ATMs

Online Los Santos is a dangerous place. Any cash your up-and-coming crook is carrying on their person can be stolen by other players. To ensure you don’t lose all that moolah from your last job, make sure to cash your coin into an ATM. There are plenty of cash machines located around Blaine County, and you can use the Quick GPS on the Interaction Menu (hold down the touchpad) to direct you to the nearest one. In GTA Online, prudence pays.

03 Save up, then buy an underground facility

To partake in GTA Online’s Doomsday Heist, you’re gonna need a bigger boat/ underground facility to hang your hat. These huge bunkers are one of several key requirements for playing the bonkers robbery (you’ll also need to become a CEO), and as such, they’re expensive. The cheapest can be found at Paleto Bay, and will set you back $1,125,000 from the Maze Bank Foreclosures site – funnily enough, $1,125,000 is exactly what an £11.99 Great White Shark Cash Card nets you. For that whopping fee, your criminal mastermind in-waiting gets a security room, lounge, and sleeping quarters, among other luxuries.

04 Steal a chopper

Blaine County is one sizeable piece of real estate, so stealing a chopper can be a huge time-saver. Considering one of the cheaper ’copters from Elitás Travel (the $780,000 Buckingham Maverick) will still fleece your finances, your change purse really will thank you for nicking a whirly bird. Perhaps the easiest one to steal can be found at Los Santos International Airport, near the flight school. With skilful driving, you can vault the nearby fence and claim it for your own. Let skyward crime commence! Before you can enjoy GTA Online’s superb heists, you’ll first need to hit level 12. Crucially, if you want to plan these multi-part jobs yourself – and thus have power over how the take is split up – you’ll also need to buy a high-end apartment. These fancy flats come with planning boards that are crucial to heist setups, and the ‘cheapest’ can be found in Del Perro Heights. Visit the Dynasty 8 Real Estate on your character’s phone, and the property can be yours for $200,000.

06 Keep your eyes peeled for Weekly Events

Rockstar does regular Weekly Events, which reward players with double RP and double cash rewards, like the recent shotgun-dodging Battle Week. Keep a beady peeper on Rockstar’s Newswire for the latest on these events, because participating in them often offers weekly discounts on cars and properties.

07 Play nice for Rep rewards

As in life, it pays not to be a turd in GTA Online… well, generally. If you frequently help out other players during jobs, and don’t try to screw them over by nicking their motor/money, you’ll receive a ‘Good Sport’ award. Said bonus usually comes in the form of extra Reputation Points or cash. See, it really does pay to play nice.

08 Complete story missions

Playing through GTA Online’s vast array of deathmatch types and races can feel generic. For something more bespoke, try some story missions. The likes of Lamar, Gerald, and Simeon Yetarian all cross over from GTA V, and each has cutscene-laden missions to tick off. Most of these thieving tasks feel nicely personable, and finishing them nets you cash and Job/Reputation Points. To access them, bring up the mission list from the pause menu.