How to play guide
GTA V Beginner's Guide: Three Protagonists, Skills, Wanted Stars and Heists
A starter guide to GTA V: your first hours in story mode, switching between the three protagonists, levelling skills, losing wanted stars and the difference between Legacy and Enhanced.
Grand Theft Auto V is Rockstar North's open-world game set in Los Santos and Blaine County. The version that reached PC in 2015 is now listed on Steam as Grand Theft Auto V Legacy, while Enhanced, released in 2025, is a separate store page with visual and loading improvements.
This guide is for players who just bought the game or are returning after years away. It focuses on story mode: what to watch for in the early missions, how the three protagonists work, how skills grow and how to shake off the police. GTA Online gets a brief mention, but its economy is outside the scope of this piece.
Keys refer to the default PC keyboard-and-mouse layout. Almost all of them can be changed under Settings > Keyboard/Mouse, and the game fully supports gamepads.
Goal of the game
Story mode ties together three men: Michael, a retired robber; Franklin, a young man trying to climb out of street life; and the volatile Trevor. The game alternates between main missions and free roaming, with big heists forming the backbone of the plot.
The core loop: pick up missions from lettered map icons, complete them, earn money and skill progress, spend it on vehicles, property or gear, then prepare for the next big job. Side activities such as golf, tennis, races and Strangers and Freaks missions give both cash and skill gains.
Controls
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| W A S D | Move / accelerate, brake and steer in vehicles |
| Left Shift | Sprint (on foot) |
| Space | Jump (on foot) / handbrake (in vehicle) |
| F | Enter and exit vehicles |
| Left Ctrl | Stealth mode |
| Q | Take cover (on foot) / radio wheel (in vehicle) |
| Right click / Left click | Aim / fire |
| R | Reload; melee strike when not aiming |
| Tab | Weapon wheel |
| Caps Lock | Character special ability |
| Left Alt (hold) | Character switch wheel |
| Up arrow | Open phone |
| E / H | Horn / headlights in vehicles |
| C | Look behind in vehicles |
| P / Esc | Pause menu and map |
First steps
- Take the prologue slowlyThe game opens with a robbery in North Yankton that teaches movement, cover and aiming. Read the hints in the top-left corner; they are not repeated in this much detail later.
- Set up graphics and controls firstUse the Settings section of the pause menu to tune mouse sensitivity, aim assist and display options. If you want to control the vehicle camera separately with the mouse, check the keyboard/mouse section.
- Learn to drive in Franklin's early missionsYour first hours bring vehicle delivery and chase missions with Franklin. Short taps of the handbrake (Space) in corners make cars much easier to control.
- Read the map lettersMain missions are marked with the character's initial (M, F, T). Question marks and other icons are side missions and activities you can do without stalling the story.
- Understand safehouses and savingThe game autosaves between missions. To save manually, sleep in a character's safehouse bed or use quick save from the phone.
- Try switching characters earlyOnce all three are unlocked, hold Left Alt to open the switch wheel. The character you jump to is caught mid-activity, and sometimes you land straight in a mission.
- Get to know special abilitiesEach protagonist has one: Michael slows time in gunfights, Franklin slows time while driving, and Trevor takes less damage while dealing more. Activate it with Caps Lock when the bar is full.
- Prepare for your first big heistHeists usually let you choose between two approaches and hire crew. Cheap crew take a smaller cut but may make mistakes; skilled crew cost more. These choices directly affect your payout.
Tips and tactics
- Skills grow through playStamina rises by running and swimming, driving by driving, shooting by accurate hits, flying through flight school and piloting. Deliberately training a character's weak spot makes later missions easier.
- Break line of sight to lose wanted starsWhen police search for you, a search area appears on the minimap. Leave it and stay hidden and the stars will flash and eventually disappear. Tunnels, parking garages and narrow alleys help.
- Use cover constantlyStanding in the open is the fastest way to fail a firefight. Press Q to take cover and only peek out to aim. Health only regenerates partially on its own.
- Keep your vehicles safeA character's personal vehicle usually turns up at the impound lot if lost. Other cars you like are kept if parked in a safehouse garage; ones left on the street can vanish.
- Watch the stock market around Lester's missionsLester's assassination missions in the story move stock prices. You don't have to do them immediately; reading the mission brief and in-game news before checking the related companies is a legitimate, designed way to earn money.
- Don't spend big too earlyLater in the story, heists pay large sums. Waiting for that stage before buying expensive cars or property makes the game far more comfortable.
- Upgrade at Los Santos CustomsEngine, brake and armour upgrades make a real difference in chase missions. Bulletproof tyres are especially useful when you need to escape without leaving the car.
- Replay missionsThe Game section of the pause menu lets you replay finished missions and go for gold medal objectives again. You don't need to hit every objective on your first try.
- Use the phoneThe phone handles quick saves, calling taxis, buying vehicles and property online and meeting friends. Calls during missions often hint at the next step.
- Customise the radioPress Q in a vehicle for the radio wheel. The settings also include Self Radio, which plays your own music files.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the prologue hints and then entering firefights without knowing how cover and aiming work; the game does not re-teach these mechanics.
- Fleeing along the same road with wanted stars; staying in police view keeps resetting the search area, and hiding works better than speed.
- Hiring the cheapest heist crew; their mistakes shrink your cut and make some jobs much harder.
- Spending big in the first hours; the large heist payouts and some properties later in the story reward saving.
- Leaving a valuable car on the street; vehicles not parked in a garage can disappear.
- Jumping straight into GTA Online before the story; the campaign is the easiest way to learn the controls and driving feel.
Frequently asked questions
Is GTA V Legacy available in Turkish?
What is the difference between Legacy and Enhanced?
Can I move my story save to Enhanced?
Can I play it solo?
Can I use a gamepad?
This guide was written for version: This guide reflects the Grand Theft Auto V Legacy version on Steam and default PC keys as of September 2026.
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