First 10 Things You Should Do in GTA V: The Essential New Player Priority Guide

Starting Grand Theft Auto V for the first time is an experience unlike almost anything else in gaming. The sheer scale of Los Santos — its sprawling urban landscape, its diverse neighborhoods, its enormous surrounding countryside, and the extraordinary depth of activities, missions, and systems waiting to be discovered — can feel genuinely overwhelming when you first gain control of your character and realize the world is open to explore.

Every new GTA V player faces the same fundamental challenge: with so much available from the very beginning, what should you actually do first? The decisions you make in your earliest hours establish habits, financial trajectories, and gameplay foundations that shape your entire experience with the game. Making the right choices early accelerates your enjoyment and progression dramatically. Making the wrong ones — like spending your first money on flashy cosmetics instead of essential weapons, or rushing through missions without understanding the systems — creates unnecessary frustration that takes time to overcome.

This guide identifies the ten most important things you should do when you start GTA V — covering both Story Mode and GTA Online — explaining why each one matters and how to accomplish each efficiently. Whether you're playing on console or PC, whether you're brand new to the series or returning after years away, these ten priorities will give you the strongest possible foundation for everything that follows.

Understanding the Two Experiences Before You Begin

Before diving into the priority list, one foundational decision deserves immediate attention: should you start with Story Mode or GTA Online? This isn't a trivial question — the two experiences have different starting conditions, different progression systems, and benefit from different initial approaches.

Why Story Mode Should Come First

Story Mode is GTA V's single-player campaign — a complete, narrative-driven experience featuring three protagonists whose criminal lives intersect across dozens of missions. For new players, Story Mode serves as the ideal introduction because it teaches controls and mechanics gradually through structured missions, introduces the game world at a comfortable pace, and provides context for the Los Santos universe that makes GTA Online significantly more enjoyable.

GTA Online, while extraordinary, drops you into a persistent multiplayer world where other players have significant advantages in experience, equipment, and resources. The learning curve is steeper, the consequences of mistakes are more immediate, and the sheer variety of available content creates its own form of overwhelming choice paralysis. Players who spend their first hours in Story Mode arrive at GTA Online with combat skills, driving proficiency, map knowledge, and general game literacy that makes the online experience dramatically more manageable.

The priority list that follows assumes you're beginning with Story Mode, with specific GTA Online priorities addressed separately for players who jump directly into the online experience.

Priority One: Complete the Tutorial Missions Without Skipping Anything

GTA V's opening sequence — beginning with the Prologue in North Yankton and transitioning into the contemporary story with Franklin — functions as a carefully designed tutorial that introduces core gameplay systems in a structured, low-pressure environment. Resisting the urge to skip cutscenes or rush through these opening missions provides enormous dividends.

Why This Matters

The tutorial missions introduce:

Basic movement and camera controls through low-stakes exploration
The cover system through controlled combat encounters with manageable enemy counts
Vehicle handling through driving missions that gradually increase in complexity
The mission structure and objective system through clearly explained goal sequences
Character switching mechanics once multiple protagonists become available

What to Pay Attention To

Watch all cutscenes fully — the story context they provide makes subsequent missions significantly more meaningful
Read all on-screen tutorials rather than dismissing them — GTA V's tutorial prompts often contain information that doesn't appear elsewhere
Experiment with controls during low-pressure moments — the brief periods between mission objectives are perfect for testing vehicle handling, weapon feel, and movement options
Notice how the minimap communicates information — learning to read the minimap early is one of the most valuable skills in the entire game

Priority Two: Visit Ammu-Nation and Build Your Basic Loadout

Your character's weapon loadout is your primary survival tool throughout GTA V. Many new players spend their first hours using only the default pistol, unaware that better options become available immediately at Ammu-Nation stores scattered throughout Los Santos.

What to Buy First

With limited early-game funds, prioritize these purchases in order:

Body Armor (Heavy Armor when rank allows): The single most important purchase before any mission with combat — armor depletes before your health, effectively doubling your survivability
Assault Rifle or Carbine Rifle: Your primary combat weapon — more effective than the default pistol in virtually every combat scenario and worth the investment immediately
Shotgun: Devastating in close-quarters building interiors where many early missions take place
Snacks from a nearby convenience store: Portable health restoration accessible mid-mission through the weapon wheel — always carry a full stack

Weapon Upgrade Timing

Don't spend early money on weapon attachments before you have the core weapons themselves. Extended magazines and suppressors improve weapons you already own — but buying attachments before owning adequate weapons is backwards prioritization that many new players fall into.

Priority Three: Explore the Map Before Focusing on Missions

Immediately after the game's opening sequence establishes your freedom to roam, spend thirty to sixty minutes simply exploring Los Santos before tackling your next mission objective. This investment in map familiarity pays consistent dividends throughout your entire playthrough.

What to Discover During Exploration

Hospital locations: Knowing where hospitals are prevents disorienting respawns that leave you uncertain of your location after dying
Ammu-Nation stores: Multiple locations exist throughout the city — knowing the nearest one from any given area saves time during mid-session resupply runs
Los Santos Customs locations: Essential for vehicle upgrades — knowing where they are before you need them prevents frantic searching during time-sensitive scenarios
Gas station and convenience store locations: Snack purchases for health restoration — knowing your nearest options matters during extended missions far from the city center
Neighborhood character: Understanding which areas are wealthy, industrial, suburban, and rural gives you intuitive expectations about what kinds of missions will take place in different parts of the map

How to Explore Efficiently

Use a motorcycle for initial exploration — faster than cars for weaving through traffic, more maneuverable than helicopters for close observation
Drive all major roads rather than cross-country — the road network connects all significant locations and driving it creates spatial memory naturally
Take the freeway loop around the city — this circuit establishes the city's outer boundaries and geography more efficiently than driving interior streets randomly

Priority Four: Learn the Wanted System Through Deliberate Experimentation

The police wanted system is one of GTA V's most iconic mechanics and one that new players most frequently struggle with. Rather than encountering it for the first time during a critical mission where managing it adds unwanted pressure, deliberately triggering and escaping wanted levels during free exploration builds the skills you'll need when they matter most.

Understanding How Wanted Levels Work

One star: Police investigate and pursue — easily escaped by driving away from the search area
Two stars: Active police pursuit with multiple units — requires more deliberate evasion
Three stars: Helicopters join the pursuit — ground evasion becomes significantly harder
Four stars and above: SWAT teams and heavy response — very difficult without knowing escape strategies

Practice Techniques to Master

The search radius: When police lose visual contact, your minimap shows a blinking search area — stay outside this area until it clears
Vehicle changes: Switching vehicles while hidden resets police search parameters — practice this with one and two star wanted levels
Underground hiding: Tunnels beneath the city eliminate helicopter pursuit — locate the main tunnel routes during your exploration session and use them during practice evasion runs
The personal garage method: Driving into any personal garage instantly clears your wanted level — the fastest and most reliable escape method regardless of star level

Priority Five: Understand and Use Character Special Abilities

Each of GTA V's three protagonists has a unique special ability that significantly impacts gameplay — yet many new players either forget these abilities exist or save them exclusively for emergencies rather than using them proactively. Learning to use special abilities naturally from the beginning establishes habits that make difficult missions dramatically more manageable.

Michael's Bullet Time

What it does: Slows time during gunfights, allowing precise targeting of multiple enemies
When to use: Immediately upon entering any combat area with multiple enemies — not just when you're already in trouble
How to recharge: The ability meter refills gradually during combat — use it freely knowing it will recover
Best application: Particularly valuable when facing enemies in elevated positions or when multiple enemies are simultaneously charging your position

Franklin's Driving Focus

What it does: Slows time while driving, providing exceptional vehicle control at high speeds
When to use: The moment any chase or escape driving sequence begins — not just when you're about to crash
How to recharge: Refills during driving — the more you drive, the more ability you have available
Best application: Navigating heavy traffic during timed missions and maintaining control through complex corner sequences during pursuit scenarios

Trevor's Red Mist

What it does: Activates a rage state with increased damage output, reduced damage received, and fear effects on enemies
When to use: When facing large numbers of enemies simultaneously — particularly during the climactic combat waves that characterize many of Trevor's missions
How to recharge: Refills through combat — fighting enemies builds the ability meter
Best application: Opening major combat encounters rather than saving it as an emergency recovery tool

Priority Six: Develop Smart Money Habits from Day One

Money management in GTA V's story mode determines whether you consistently have the equipment, vehicles, and resources needed for challenging missions or perpetually struggle to afford necessities. Establishing smart financial habits from your very first session prevents the financial frustration that makes the early game unnecessarily difficult.

The Essential Financial Rules

Never run out of armor: Body armor is the most important recurring purchase in the game — always resupply after any mission where you took significant damage
Prioritize ammunition over everything else: Running out of bullets during a mission fails faster than almost any other mistake — keep every weapon fully stocked
Weapons before vehicles: A powerful weapon collection serving you in dozens of missions provides better value than one expensive car that only exists to look impressive
Save the assassination missions for last: Lester's assassination missions dramatically affect the stock market — completing them after the final heist with maximum investment capital can make all three characters billionaires. This is the single most important financial decision in the game.

Early Income Opportunities

Armored trucks appear as random events throughout the city — destroying or accessing them yields $3,000 to $8,000 per encounter
Convenience store robberies provide small but immediate cash with minimal risk during early game sessions
Completing story missions earns steady income — prioritize mission completion over free roam activities for primary income

Priority Seven: Master Vehicle Handling Before Attempting Race or Chase Missions

Driving is fundamental to GTA V — virtually every mission involves vehicles at some point, and many missions are primarily driving challenges. New players who haven't developed vehicle handling proficiency struggle enormously with missions that experienced players find straightforward.

Spending Time on Pure Driving Practice

Before tackling missions that put pressure on driving performance, spend dedicated time on pure driving practice:

Take a performance car to the highway north of the city and practice maintaining control at maximum speed
Find an empty parking lot and practice handbrake turns — essential for the tight corners that appear in many chase sequences
Drive through dense urban traffic at high speed until maintaining control while weaving around vehicles becomes instinctive
Practice emergency stops — learning how long it takes your vehicle to stop from various speeds prevents crashes that fail missions at critical moments

Vehicle Upgrade Priority

Visit Los Santos Customs and apply basic performance upgrades to any vehicle you plan to use regularly in missions
Engine, brakes, and tires provide the most significant performance improvements — prioritize these over cosmetic modifications
A modest vehicle with full performance upgrades consistently outperforms an expensive stock vehicle — upgrade what you have before buying something new

Priority Eight: Complete All Available Stranger Missions Early

Stranger and Freaks missions — optional encounters marked with colored question marks on the map — are among GTA V's most rewarding content, yet many players ignore them throughout their playthrough and only attempt them when specifically pursuing 100% completion.

Why Starting Stranger Missions Early Matters

Many Stranger mission series are sequential — later missions only unlock after completing earlier ones, meaning starting early gives you more total time to complete series before finishing the main story
The Epsilon Program missions with Michael have the longest completion timeline in the game — multiple missions unlock on timers that cannot be rushed. Starting this series immediately after Michael becomes playable is essential.
Some missions provide unique vehicles, weapons, or financial rewards that are most useful early rather than late in the game
Stranger missions provide excellent character development and world-building that enhances your appreciation of the main story's themes

Priority Stranger Mission Series

Omega's spaceship parts (Franklin): Begin immediately — 50 parts scattered across the entire map take significant time to collect
Epsilon Program (Michael): Start as early as possible — timer-locked mission unlocks mean this can't be rushed regardless of how much time you invest at once
Maude's Bail Bonds (Franklin): Four bounty targets provide good income and entertaining combat scenarios
Beverly Paparazzo missions (Michael): Six missions providing insight into Los Santos's celebrity culture and media satire

Priority Nine: Save Regularly and Use Multiple Save Slots

GTA V autosaves frequently and reliably — but autosave alone is insufficient protection for new players who may make significant decisions they later regret. Developing a deliberate manual saving habit prevents scenarios that can waste hours of progress.

When to Create Manual Saves

Before any mission you haven't attempted before: First attempts at unfamiliar missions often end in failure — a save immediately before your attempt allows immediate retry without additional loading
Before making any significant financial decision: Spending large amounts on vehicles, properties, or upgrades without a save point to return to if the purchase proves misguided is a risk not worth taking
Before attempting collectible hunting sessions: Saves before dedicated exploration sessions let you verify that newly found collectibles are properly counted before continuing
At story milestone moments: Before triggering major story events, create a save capturing the world state before consequences of story choices take effect

Using Multiple Save Slots

GTA V provides multiple save slots — use at least three in rotation rather than always overwriting the same slot
Maintaining saves at different story points allows you to return to earlier moments if you want to experience alternative choices or if you realize you've missed time-sensitive content
Label saves mentally by story moment — knowing which save corresponds to which point in your playthrough makes navigation intuitive

Priority Ten: Build Character Attributes Consistently

GTA V's characters develop across eight attributes that improve through use — creating a progression system that many players don't notice until they realize their character has become significantly more capable over time. Actively developing these attributes from the beginning accelerates the character growth that makes later missions easier.

The Eight Character Attributes

Stamina: Improves through running, swimming, and cycling — affects how long your character can sprint or swim before tiring
Strength: Improves through melee combat and sports activities — affects melee damage and how well your character performs in physical activities
Shooting: Improves through firing weapons — affects accuracy and weapon handling. The shooting range at Ammu-Nation develops this attribute most efficiently.
Stealth: Improves by moving in stealth mode — affects how quietly and invisibly your character can move during appropriate missions
Flying: Improves by piloting aircraft — affects how steadily your character controls planes and helicopters. Flight school at Los Santos International Airport develops this most efficiently.
Driving: Improves through driving at high speeds — affects vehicle control and the precision of driving inputs
Lung Capacity: Improves through swimming underwater — affects how long your character can hold their breath during underwater sections
Mechanic: Improves by driving diverse vehicle types — affects your character's vehicle-calling capabilities

Efficient Attribute Building Habits

Run rather than drive for short distances early in the game — builds Stamina naturally during normal play
Spend five minutes at the Ammu-Nation shooting range after every major session — Shooting attribute development has immediate, noticeable impact on combat effectiveness
Complete at least one flight school lesson early — the Flying attribute starts very low and even basic improvement makes helicopter-heavy missions dramatically more manageable
Swim regularly when near water — Lung Capacity affects several story missions involving underwater sections and improves relatively slowly without deliberate practice

Bonus: Your First Ten Priorities in GTA Online

For players jumping directly into GTA Online, the priority structure differs significantly from Story Mode. Here's a condensed first-ten list for the online experience.

GTA Online Immediate Priorities

Complete the full tutorial: Don't skip it — the tutorial teaches online-specific mechanics and provides essential introductory income
Activate Passive Mode: Through the Interaction Menu — prevents other players from attacking you while you're learning
Complete Gerald's contact missions: Accessible, solo-friendly, and consistent early income
Complete all available treasure hunts: One-time large cash rewards requiring no ongoing investment — do these immediately
Purchase body armor through the Interaction Menu: Maximum armor before any session involving other players or missions
Set your target as the Kosatka submarine ($2.2 million): Every earning decision should serve this goal — it unlocks the Cayo Perico Heist, the game's best income source
Join heist lobbies as a crew member: No hosting cost, significant payout — build income while gaining heist experience
Check weekly bonus events: Every Thursday, specific activities offer double or triple money — align your activities accordingly
Find a reliable crew: A trusted group of players transforms GTA Online from frustrating to genuinely enjoyable
Use invite-only sessions for business: Until you understand the public lobby dynamic, safer sessions protect your learning process and early earnings

Putting It All Together: Your First Session Plan

Armed with these ten priorities, here's a practical plan for maximizing your very first GTA V session:

Complete all tutorial missions fully, watching every cutscene
Visit the nearest Ammu-Nation immediately after gaining freedom — purchase armor and a rifle
Spend twenty to thirty minutes exploring Los Santos by road, noting key location types
Deliberately trigger a one-star wanted level and practice the escape techniques covered above
Return to the story missions and complete the next available objective
Check the map for nearby Stranger question marks and accept any available encounter
Before finishing your session, create a manual save and check your attribute levels in the stats menu
Identify your next session's priority — typically the next story mission plus any available Stranger missions in that area

Final Thoughts: The Foundation Matters More Than You Think

The first hours of any GTA V playthrough establish patterns, habits, and knowledge foundations that shape the entire experience that follows. Players who complete these ten priorities in their early sessions build genuinely better GTA V experiences — not because the tips are complicated or require exceptional skill, but because each one develops something valuable that compounds over time.

Complete the tutorials thoroughly. Build your weapon loadout early. Explore before committing to missions. Learn the wanted system deliberately. Use your special abilities proactively. Manage money intelligently. Develop driving skills through dedicated practice. Start Stranger missions immediately. Save consistently and strategically. Develop character attributes through natural play habits.

These ten things seem simple individually. Together, they create a foundation that transforms the entire GTA V experience — making difficult missions manageable, keeping financial pressure minimal, and ensuring you never miss time-sensitive content that would otherwise be lost forever.

Los Santos is waiting. Now you know exactly how to make the most of your first steps into it.

What was the first thing you did when you started GTA V, and would you do it differently knowing what you know now? Share your experience in the comments below. And if this priority guide helped you start your GTA V journey on the right foot, share it with a friend who's about to take their first steps into Los Santos!