GTA V Beginner's Guide: Three Protagonists, Skills, Wanted Stars and Heists

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1. Take the prologue slowly The 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.
2. Set up graphics and controls first Use 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.
3. Learn to drive in Franklin's early missions Your first hours bring vehicle delivery and chase missions with Franklin. Short taps of the handbrake (Space) in corners make cars much easier to control.
4. Read the map letters Main 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.
5. Understand safehouses and saving The game autosaves between missions. To save manually, sleep in a character's safehouse bed or use quick save from the phone.
6. Try switching characters early Once 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.
7. Get to know special abilities Each 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.
8. Prepare for your first big heist Heists 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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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