How to Play Grand Theft Auto 5 (Story Mode)

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Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA V) is back and its Story Mode is more massive than ever. Know the ways of Los Santos and complete this epic open-world adventure with Franklin, Trevor, and Michael. This wikiHow teaches you the basics of playing the Grand Theft Auto V story mode.

How to Do Story Missions in GTA V

Open the mini-map and look for missions marked with letters. Blue letters are missions for Michael, green are missions for Franklin, and orange are missions for Trevor. Drive or walk over the yellow circle on the ground at a location to start the mission.

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:

Learning the Basics

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  1. GTA V literally takes you straight to a heated situation when the game begins. The first mission acts as tutorial that walks you through a series of instructions on how to control your character. This includes the usual movements such as walking, running, aiming, shooting, driving and other basic stuff you’d probably know already if you have played previous GTA titles.
  2. Use the following steps to move your character when on foot.
    • Walking: Use the left stick on game consoles or WSAD keys on PC to move your character. Use the right stick or mouse to steer your character and change your mouse view.
    • Sprint: Tap "X" (Playstation), "A" (Xbox), or Left Shift (PC) to sprint.
    • Jump: Press "Square" (Playstation), "X" {Xbox), or Spacebar (PC) to jump will walking forward.
    • Light melee attack: Press "Square" (Playstation), "B" (Xbox), or "R" (PC) to perform a light melee attack
    • Heavy melee attack: Press "X" (Playstation), "A" (Xbox) or "O" (PC) to perform a heavy melee attack while fighting.
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  3. Shooting is one of the key mechanics of Grand Theft Auto. Use the following steps to select and shoot your weapons.
    • Open Weapon Wheel : Press and hold "L1" (Playstation), "LB" (Xbox), or "Tab" key to open the weapon wheel. Use the left stick or mouse to select a weapon. Select the fist to go unarmed.
    • Aim your weapon: Press and hold "L2" (Playstation), "LT" (Xbox), or the right mouse button (PC) to aim your weapon.
    • Fire your weapon: Press "R2" (Playstation), "RT" (Xbox), or the left mouse button (PC) to fire your weapon.
    • Reload your weapon: Press "Circle" (Playstation), "B" (Xbox), or "R" (PC) to reload your weapon.
  4. The mini-map is in the lower-left corner of the screen. A blue marker marks where you are supposed to go. When you are driving, the mini-map shows lines that indicate the route to take.
  5. Switch characters . One of the most unique additions to GTA V is the Character Switch feature. This feature enables you to switch from one active character to another in real-time. Since GTA V has 3 protagonists (Franklin, Trevor, and Michael), this feature makes a lot of sense. It surely adds a new flavor on how you handle missions especially those that include coordination with all 3 characters.
    • On game consoles, press and hold the down button on the directional pad to display the character switch menu. Use the left stick to select your character.
    • On PC, press and hold the left "Alt" key to display the character select screen. Use the mouse to select your character.
  6. Driving has always been a key mechanic of the Grand Theft Auto games. You can enter any vehicle in the game. Use the following controls to drive.
    • Enter and exit vehicles: Stand next to a vehicle and press "Triangle" (PlayStation), "Y" (Xbox), or "F" (PC) to enter and exit a vehicle.
    • Accelerate: Press "R2" (Playstation), RT (Xbox) or "W" (PC)to go apply gas in a vehicle.
    • Break/Reverse: Press "L2" (Playstation), "LT" (Xbox) or "S" (PC) to break and reverse while driving.
    • Steer: Tap the left stick left and right on game consoles or the "A" and "D" buttons (PC) to steer while driving.
    • Aim while driving: Press "L1" (Playstation), "LB" (Xbox), or "Y" (PC) to aim while driving.
    • Fire weapons while driving: Press "R1" (Playstation), "RB" (Xbox) or the left mouse button (PC) to fire while driving.
  7. Grand Theft Auto V is a huge open-world with tones of side activities and side missions. When starting a new activity or mission, pay attention to the instructions in the upper-left corner to know what you are supposed to do.
  8. The 3 protagonists in GTA V have all unique personalities. Not only that, but they also have different abilities that you can use in different cases. Press both sticks at the same time, or CAPS on PC to activate a characters special ability.
    • Michael is good with guns. His special ability is activating a “bullet time” effect that slows down everything around you but your shooting speed stays the same.
    • Franklin has the steadiest hands when it comes to driving. His special ability is somewhat similar to Michael but only while he is driving. This makes him the best driver in the game.
    • Trevor is the pilot in the group. He can maneuver aircraft with super ease. His special ability is going into “rage” mode. While in rage mode, he inflicts more melee damage and takes less damage from enemies.
  9. You can visit shops to buy your characters clothes, pants, or shoes. You can even buy them accessories so they can have the look you want them to have. You can also go to barber shops to change their hairdo, or get tattoos from a tattoo parlor.
    • You can change clothes in the changing area of your character's safe house. The safe house is marked with an icon that resembles a house on the map.
    • Just like your characters, you can also customize all your owned vehicles such as cars and motorcycles.
  10. Los Santos is a huge place. It is even bigger than GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption map combined! That being said, familiarizing yourself with the map is very crucial to your in-game survival.
    • To open the map, press "Options" (Playstation), the menu button (Xbox), or "P" (PC) to pause your game in display the map. Click (PC), press "X" (Playstation) or "A" to set a custom marker on the map.
    • Take note of map icons. There are several map icons that will be available on the map. There are icons for missions, special events, shops, and even where your other characters are while you’re playing. Take note of these icons so you’d know where to go when you need to reach a certain location.
    • You can also pin a location anywhere in the map and the game will produce the shortest path from your location to your pinned destination. Really comes in handy.
  11. GTA V has now increased the penalty for road kills or destroying anything while you are in your vehicle. That means that with just a slight mistake of running over a pedestrian – the police will immediately be on you! You will instantly earn a one star wanted level so be careful.
    • You should also take precautions even outside a vehicle. If a pedestrian sees you doing something inappropriate – police will be contacted immediately. Same as if you do something stupid in front of a police officer.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 3:

Taking Missions

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  1. The first two missions are tutorial missions. The first mission is with Michael and Trevor, and the second mission is with Franklin. After successfully finishing the mission, you are now free to roam Los Santos and take missions at your own pace.
  2. Missions are marked with the initial of the mission giver on the map. Open the map and select a letter to get mini-map directions to the start of the mission. Walk or drive over the yellow circle on the ground to start a mission. You must be a certain character to start a mission. Micheals missions are marked with blue letters, Franklin's missions are marked with green letters, and Trevor's missions are marked with orange letters.
  3. The mobile phone feature is back. This feature is important in progressing through the game for it connects you to all the contacts that sometimes give you jobs. The mobile phone also allows you to access the internet which even broadens the scope of what you can do in GTA V.
  4. As you take on more missions, you will then earn lots of cash . You should learn to spend it wisely if you want to finish missions with a higher success rate.
    • Most of the missions are usually dangerous and involves shooting and car chases. That being said, you will need to upgrade your weapon once in a while. You can buy weapons and other combat-related stuff from Ammu-Nation.
    • You should also need to upgrade your vehicles, or at least the one you always use as a getaway vehicle. I can’t stress enough how many police chases you will encounter in GTA V so it is in your best interest that you get yourself a dependable vehicle.
  5. Since you have 3 characters, missions are well distributed among these 3 characters. There’ll be times that you will run out of event missions. If that happens, that is the time to switch on to another character. By doing this, you will never run out of things to do.
  6. To get the most of GTA V, it is advisable for you to take all the missions available before you take on the main story missions. These side missions will not only improve your characters’ stats, but they are also rich in story and full of deep personalities. If you are planning to finish the game in 100%, this is the way to go.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 3:

Finishing Story Mode

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  1. After you have taken all the small jobs and finished the side missions – you are now ready to complete the game once and for all. You can do this by taking main story missions only if you are sure that no other missions are present on all 3 characters.
  2. On the last few story missions, you will notice that the tasks are getting harder and harder. This is the time that you unleash all the experience you have learned throughout the game.
  3. All good things must come to an end. The same thing applies with GTA V as you finish your last mission. It will not be a walk in the park and it will even test your decision-making. Well, without spiking anything, let’s just say that after you complete the final mission – you will surely agree that GTA V is one of the best games out there.
    • After officially finishing the game, you can still roam around and look for easter eggs that are scattered in GTA V. The most popular ones are locating UFO’s and hunting down Bigfoot, or you can even explore the FIB Building! Go ahead, grab some heat, and have fun!
    • Once you complete the game, you're ready for GTA Online. You'll be playing with other GTA players in GTA Online, so you'll need everything you've learned from the Story Mode.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How can I roam rather than do missions and story mode on Xbox One?
    Community Answer
    Go to your phone (upon the touchpad), go to profile, click sleep mode and now this will prevent any incoming calls that have to do with missions.
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  • Question
    Where can I find the UFO in "Grand Theft Auto 5"?
    Community Answer
    If you do the marijuana missions (Grass Roots), you will kill aliens as Michael; if they kill you, you fall from a UFO.
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  • Question
    How do I get past the door in the tutorial?
    Community Answer
    You have to push the button assigned to Take Cover on your controller.
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      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Follow the on-screen instructions to learn the controls of the game.
      2. Use the mini-map to know where you are supposed to go.
      3. Go to the color-coded markers on the map to start a new mission.
      4. Do side-missions and side activities to improve your character's stats.
      5. Purchase weapons upgrades at Ammu-nation.
      6. Purchase car updates at Los Santos Customs.
      7. Switch to another character when low on missions.
      8. Complete all the main missions to complete the game.
      To learn more about side missions, read on!

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