GTA 5 opens its gates to a sprawling expanse where criminals, cops, and everyday myths collide, and every street corner hides a choice that could redefine a life of crime or a quest for redemption.
This unofficial game guide to Grand Theft Auto 5 presents all of the key relationships in the game and helps learning its basics. The first chapter with hints presents, in detail, all of the most important elements of the game, like fighting, driving cars, boats and planes, acquisition of new equipment or escaping police chases.
ON of the most important chapters of this guide is the one devoted to the three playable characters, i.e. Franklin, Michael and Trevor. The descriptions of individual characters include, predominantly, the information on their special skills. Apart from that, it also includes hints on effective improvement on the skills of the protagonists.
Just as important a part of this guide, are the descriptions of all the activities and hobbies and these are, among others, playing golf, practicing yoga, participating in car races, visiting strip clubs, participating in triathlons, cab driving, game hunting, stock trading or acquiring new estates.
Another interesting part of this guide concerns the topic of unlocking friendships, as well as love affairs, and caring for them. This guide describes, in detail, who a given character can interact with and to which extent.
The whole is supplemented with verydetailed maps marked with places to start available activities, a list of Easter Eggs and interesting sites in the county of Blaine, as well as a full list of achievements and trophies
Grand Theft Auto 5 – Strategy Guide is the first part of our enormous guide for Grand Theft Auto V. The other two are Grand Theft Auto 5 – Missions and Grand Theft Auto 5 – Maps & Secrets. Check them out!
Contents of the Grand Theft Auto 5 game guide:
- A detailed description of all the key elements of the game (fighting, vehicles, equipment, car chases, etc.);
- A description of all the main characters and their special skills;
- Hints concerning the development of the playable characters;
- Detailed description of all the activities and hobbies available in the game;
- Information on starting relationships and love affairs;
- List of Easter Eggs and interesting sites;
- Trophy guide with the list of all achievements/trophies.
Best starting missions to earn money fast in story mode
Early in GTA 5 story mode, the best money-makers are certain story and side missions that unlock key systems (like car selling and heists) and give solid early payouts. Focus first on Franklin’s early jobs, then rush toward the first heist and money-related side content.
Early Franklin missions
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Franklin’s repo missions (“Franklin and Lamar”, “Repossession”, “Complications”, etc.) are important because completing them unlocks Los Santos Customs so you can start selling stolen cars for extra income after missions.
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Tonya’s towing missions near Franklin’s house are also worth doing early, since finishing these eventually unlocks the LSPD Auto Impound property, which pays for every car towed and gives cheap vehicle recovery later.
First big payout: Jewel Store Job
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Progress the main story with Michael until you unlock “The Jewel Store Job”, which is the first proper heist and your earliest large lump sum of money in story mode.
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Choosing a competent but still relatively cheap crew and completing this heist gives Franklin roughly $300,000, providing enough capital to buy weapons and start thinking about property or early investments.
Money-focused side opportunities
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While advancing to the first heist, take time to rob convenience stores and complete blue “random event” encounters on the map; some events like “Deal Gone Wrong” give quick cash drops up to around $25,000 early on.
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Watch for armored trucks that spawn randomly in the city, as each one can yield between $5,000 and $10,000 when you stop and rob them, helping bridge the gap before heist payouts arrive.
When to do Lester assassinations
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For pure long-term profit, most guides recommend saving Lester’s stock-based assassination missions (except the mandatory Hotel Assassination) until after finishing the late-game heist “The Big Score”, when each character has tens of millions to invest.
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Doing them too early technically earns money, but you lose out on the potential to turn $40 million per character into hundreds of millions through stock market returns.
Simple early game plan
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Use Franklin’s early missions plus store robberies and vehicle sales to build a base of about $50,000-$100,000 across characters in the first several in-game hours.
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Push the main story to The Jewel Store Job as soon as practical, then use that heist payout to gear up and keep advancing toward later heists while postponing optional assassinations for the big late-game stock play.
Best starting missions to earn money fast in story mode
To earn money fast at the very start of GTA 5 story mode, focus on a small group of early missions that unlock money systems and give strong payouts, then use robberies and car sales as backup income. The key is to rush Franklin’s early work and the first heist, while deliberately delaying most assassination missions for later in the story.
Best early money missions
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Franklin’s repo missions (Franklin and Lamar, Repossession, Complications, etc.) are essential because finishing this early chain unlocks Los Santos Customs, which then lets you start selling stolen vehicles regularly for fast cash.
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Tonya’s towing missions by Franklin’s house should be completed early as they lead to unlocking the LSPD Auto Impound property, which pays per towed car and gives cheap vehicle recovery once purchased.
First major payout: Jewel Store Job
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Progress Michael’s story until The Jewel Store Job, which is your first big heist and the earliest large lump sum of money, with Franklin receiving around $300,000 if you choose a sensible crew.
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This payout becomes your main seed money for weapons, armor, and early properties, making subsequent missions easier and safer while you keep building your income.
Supporting activities around missions
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Between these missions, rob convenience stores in quick routes and sell mid-high value SUVs and sedans (like Ballers and Oracles) at Los Santos Customs to stack $8,000-$9,000 per car once selling is unlocked.
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Look out for random events and armored trucks on the map; hidden packages and armored vans can drop from $5,000 up to about $25,000 early on, which adds up quickly while moving between story jobs.
Handling Lester’s assassination missions
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Do the mandatory Hotel Assassination when the story forces it, but save the remaining assassination missions until after the final big heist The Big Score, when each character has tens of millions to invest.
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Running those assassinations with maximum capital later can turn roughly $40 million per character into hundreds of millions through stock market swings, far outperforming any early-game grinding.
Simple early-game money route
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Complete Franklin’s early repo and towing missions, then mix in store robberies, car sales, and random events until you have roughly $50,000-$100,000 total across characters.
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Push the story to The Jewel Store Job for the first big score, then keep advancing toward later heists while postponing non-required assassination missions for your late-game stock market windfall.
