About this guide
If you are looking for a GTA 5 guide, the first thing to know is that Grand Theft Auto V has two very different experiences: Story Mode and GTA Online. Story Mode follows Michael, Franklin, and Trevor through their criminal lives in Los Santos, while GTA Online focuses on your own character, businesses, missions, heists, and multiplayer progression.
This GTA 5 guide for beginners focuses on the parts that matter most when starting or returning to the game, including story missions, making money, 100% completion, vehicles, and GTA Online progression.
GTA 5 Story Mode: What Should You Do First?
Story Mode is the main single player campaign of Grand Theft Auto V. You begin with Franklin and gradually gain access to Michael and Trevor. You can switch between the three protagonists during many parts of the game. For a first playthrough, the simplest approach is to follow the main story missions as they appear. The game opens up gradually, so there is no need to rush into every side activity immediately.
A typical GTA 5 walkthrough story mode progression begins with missions such as:
- Prologue
- Franklin and Lamar
- Repossession
- Complications
- Father/Son
- Chop
- Marriage Counseling
- Daddy's Little Girl
- Friend Request
- The Long Stretch
The story later expands into larger heists and missions involving all three protagonists. Several missions can become available at the same time, so the exact order can vary during parts of a playthrough.
GTA 5 Missions List in Order
The GTA 5 missions list in order is useful if you are replaying the game, trying to follow the main story, or checking your progress.
The major story progression includes:
| Story section | Main focus |
|---|---|
| Opening | Franklin, Lamar and Michael |
| Early Michael missions | Michael's family, Lester and the first major heist |
| Trevor's introduction | Trevor's activities in Blaine County |
| Merryweather storyline | The three protagonists become increasingly connected |
| Blitz Play | A major operation involving all three protagonists |
| Paleto sequence | A larger operation involving the main characters |
| Bureau Raid | A major FIB related operation |
| The Big Score | The final major heist |
| Ending | Franklin chooses between the available endings |
One important detail is Lester's assassination missions. The Hotel Assassination is required for normal story progression, while the other assassination missions are optional for completing the main storyline. They can also create stock market opportunities, so their timing matters if maximizing character wealth is one of your goals.
How to Make Money in GTA 5 Story Mode
Money becomes increasingly important as the characters progress toward major heists. The stock market is one of the most useful systems to understand. Lester's assassination missions can influence particular companies, creating opportunities to buy and sell stocks around those missions.
If your goal is a GTA 5 guide to making billions, do not assume every assassination mission should be completed immediately. Leaving some optional assassination missions until later can give you substantially more capital to invest after the major story heists.
A basic approach is:
- Complete the main storyline.
- Keep suitable optional assassination missions until later.
- Save before making a major investment.
- Complete the relevant mission.
- Monitor the affected stock.
- Sell when the intended opportunity develops.
The important point is that the assassination missions are not simply side missions. Their timing can affect how much money your characters have available for investment.
What Is the Hotel Assassination?
The Hotel Assassination is the first Lester assassination mission involving Franklin and is required for normal story progression.
The other assassination missions are:
- The Multi Target Assassination
- The Vice Assassination
- The Bus Assassination
- The Construction Assassination
Players interested in maximizing their Story Mode finances should understand the relationship between these missions and the stock market before completing the optional assassination missions.
GTA 5 Map and Open World Activities
The GTA 5 guide map becomes increasingly useful once you start exploring beyond the main story.
Los Santos and the surrounding areas contain:
- Story missions
- Strangers & Freaks activities
- Random Events
- Collectibles
- Races
- Flight activities
- Shooting challenges
- Stunt jumps
- Sports
- Property locations
- Special vehicles
You do not need to complete every activity simply because it appears on the map. If your goal is 100% completion, the game uses a specific checklist rather than requiring every piece of optional content.
How to Get 100% in GTA V:
A common mistake is assuming that 100% completion means doing absolutely everything in the game. It does not.
The 100% checklist is divided into several categories:
| Category | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Story Missions | 69 |
| Strangers & Freaks | 20 |
| Hobbies & Pastimes | 42 |
| Random Events | Any 14 |
| Miscellaneous | 16 |
Gold medals are not required for the overall 100% completion percentage.
Strangers & Freaks:
Strangers & Freaks missions provide additional stories and activities outside the central campaign. Only the required portion counts toward the 100% checklist.
Hobbies & Pastimes:
This category includes activities such as shooting, races, sports, flight activities, parachuting and other recreational challenges.
Random Events:
You do not need to complete every random event. The 100% checklist requires a qualifying selection.
Miscellaneous Tasks:
Miscellaneous requirements include specific collectibles, purchases, vehicle activities, stunt activities and other objectives. This makes a GTA 5 guide trophy or achievement checklist much easier to follow because you can concentrate on the objectives that actually contribute to completion.
What to Do in GTA 5 as a Beginner:
If you are asking, what to do in GTA 5 as a beginner?, start with the story rather than trying to complete the entire map immediately.
A straightforward progression is:
Follow the main missions → learn character switching → unlock more of the map → complete useful side activities → understand the stock market → finish the major heists → return for 100% cleanup.
You can explore freely between missions, but there is little benefit in trying to complete every activity at the beginning.
Vehicles and Driving:
Vehicles are an important part of GTA V, but beginners do not need to spend their early game chasing the fastest possible car. Searches for the fastest car in game GTA 5 and what are the fastest cars in GTA 5 often focus on technical top speed. In normal Story Mode, however, acceleration, handling and mission requirements are usually more relevant than having the absolute fastest vehicle.
The same applies to motorcycles. The fastest motorcycles in GTA 5 can be useful for specific activities, but vehicle choice should depend on what you are actually doing.
GTA Online for New Players:
GTA Online is a separate progression system from Story Mode. Your character starts with limited resources while the game contains years of additional businesses, missions, vehicles and heists.
A good early objective is to establish reliable income before spending heavily on luxury vehicles or unnecessary upgrades.
The major GTA Online progression systems include:
- Businesses
- Properties
- Heists
- Freemode activities
- Vehicle operations
- Special missions
- Research and production
- Seasonal and weekly activities
The most important thing is to understand what a purchase unlocks before spending your GTA$.
Acid Lab, Bunker and Nightclub:
The acid lab GTA 5 guide topic concerns GTA Online rather than Story Mode. The Acid Lab provides another business route for players who want to produce and sell goods. A bunker GTA 5 guide covers another GTA Online business, with production and research forming its main systems.
A nightclub GTA 5 guide is different because the Nightclub can become more useful as part of a larger business network. These businesses should not be treated as identical money makers. Their setup costs, management requirements and relationship with other businesses are different.
GTA Online Heists:
Heists are among the most important activities in GTA Online. A heist GTA 5 guide needs to distinguish between Story Mode heists and GTA Online heists because their progression systems are different.
Major GTA Online heists include:
- Original apartment heists
- Doomsday Heist
- Diamond Casino Heist
- Cayo Perico Heist
Diamond Casino Heist:
The casino heist GTA 5 guide topic centers on the Diamond Casino Heist, which is planned through an Arcade. The heist allows different approaches, giving players choices about how they want to prepare and execute the operation.
Cayo Perico Heist:
The Cayo Perico heist GTA 5 guide focuses on one of GTA Online's major heist systems. It is launched through the Kosatka submarine and takes place on Cayo Perico. Because GTA Online changes over time, specific payouts, bonuses and strategies should always be checked against the current version of the game rather than relying on an old guide.
GTA 5 Beginner Mistakes to Avoid:
Avoid rushing missions, wasting money on unnecessary purchases, ignoring side activities, or neglecting to save progress regularly.
Spending too much time on optional activities:
Side activities are useful and entertaining, but they do not all contribute equally to your immediate goal. If you want to finish the story, prioritize story missions.
Spending story money too quickly:
Money becomes more useful later, particularly around major heists and investment opportunities.
Completing every Lester mission immediately:
The assassination missions can have financial consequences, so players interested in maximizing money should understand their role before completing the optional missions.
Confusing Story Mode with GTA Online:
A Story Mode property, mission or achievement does not automatically translate into GTA Online progression.
Assuming every mission list has the same number:
Mission counts can differ depending on whether a source includes alternate heist approaches, optional missions and other variations. The game's Story Mode checklist commonly uses 69 missions for the main story.
GTA 5 Guide: Simple Roadmap
If you want the shortest practical route through the game:
- Start Story Mode and follow the main missions.
- Learn how to switch between Michael, Franklin and Trevor.
- Progress through the major heists.
- Avoid rushing optional assassination missions if you want to maximize later investment opportunities.
- Explore Strangers & Freaks and other activities as you progress.
- Finish the main storyline.
- Use the 100% checklist to identify remaining objectives.
- Treat GTA Online as a separate progression system.
- Build reliable income before spending heavily on luxury items.
- Learn what each business does before buying it.
- Use heists as major GTA Online progression activities.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How many missions are in GTA 5?
The Story Mode checklist commonly counts 69 main story missions. Different walkthroughs can show additional entries because of alternate approaches and other variations.
How do you get 100% in GTA 5?
Complete the objectives included in the game's 100% checklist. You do not need to complete every activity available in Los Santos.
Do you need gold medals for 100% completion?
No. Gold medals are not required for the overall 100% completion percentage.
Is GTA Online the same as GTA 5 Story Mode?
No. Story Mode follows Michael, Franklin and Trevor, while GTA Online has a separate player character and progression system.
What should a new GTA Online player buy first?
There is no universal first purchase. Your available money, preferred activities, solo or group play and existing properties all affect what makes sense for your progression.
Can you complete GTA 5 after finishing the story?
Yes. Many of the objectives required for 100% completion can be completed after the main storyline.
Final Takeaway:
The easiest way to approach GTA V is to decide what you want to accomplish before trying to complete everything. For Story Mode, focus on the main missions, understand the three protagonists and pay attention to the timing of Lester's assassination missions if money matters to you. For 100% completion, follow the actual checklist rather than attempting every activity on the map. For GTA Online, treat businesses and heists as a separate progression system and understand what each purchase contributes before spending your money.
A useful GTA 5 guide should make the game's systems easier to understand, not bury the important information under unrelated topics. Once you separate Story Mode, 100% completion and GTA Online progression, GTA V becomes much easier to navigate.
