gtag how to be a tryhard

New Player Guide and FAQ

>>I just started playing GTA V, what do I do in GTA O?
  I recommend finishing the single player, or at least doing the first heist to get a feel for the controls, combat, and driving.

>>That didn't answer my question!
  Okay, so you just started playing Online, and you want to rank up / have money / play with friends?
  The Online portion is, at its core, a grindfest. Everything revolves around money, so be warned that it's not super accessible at first. Join the GTAG crew for your platform (PC, PS4, or dedgen), and try to play with GTAG. They should help you learn the ropes, more than this hastily made pastebin, and they can help you in missions and Freeroam as well.
  The easiest way to get money, or RP (rank points) is by playing the game. I don't mean Freeroam, I mean any of the game modes. There are Death Matches, Captures, Last Team Standing, Races, Parachuting, Contact Missions, and Heists. Most game modes are PVP, but Contact Missions and Heists are Co-op.

>>Who can I play with?
  If you want to play with other autistic manchildren, join GTAG for your platform. If you have friends who play this game, add them to your friends list to play with them more easily. If you have no friends, or crew members to play with, you must play with randoms.
  Crews are very important, and change the game dynamic. It can be "You versus the World" if you want, but a crew (like GTAG) can make it "Us versus Them". This is especially helpful in Freeroam, where GTAG can help you against shitters and other such undesirables.
  Not every Green Blip is friendly, however, most of them usually are, though.

>>What's so bad about Random people?
  Randoms are often called shitters, and for a reason. They can ruin things in the most spectacular of ways. Fucking up Objectives / Missions / Heists, Griefing you in Freeroam or even using the so called Menus to fuck with you.
  Remember that the target audience for this game includes children, Chineses, Russians and Huehues.

>>I keep hearing about this magical bulletproof hugbox, the Kuruma (Armoured). That sounds great!
  No it does not! That is playing the game on easy mode! A good number of people use it as a crutch to remove any element of skill (read: fun) from the game because it makes most Contact Missions or Heists impossible to fail. It also makes you a preferred Target for RPGs, Homing Launchers and Stickies in Freeroam and Missions alike. One Explosive and it's destroyed. That goes for their Kurumas too, so you better have good aim.
  While the Insurgent doesn't have Bulletproof windows, it can survive three direct hits from a tank, around four Buzzard rockets, three RPG shots or seven or more Sticky Bombs. It also has a tiny rear window that shitters like to abuse by driving backwards towards you.
  The Insurgent also has a special Map icon, showing everyone that you're driving one.

>>What is Insurance
  Blowing up a Personal Vehicle of another player does two things:
  1. You pay Insurance on the vehicle, roughly 5% or so of the car's total value. Every vehicle has a different Insurance amount, the most being the Progen T20 at around $27,000.
  2. You are one step closer to being a "Bad Sport", as will be explained later.
  Right now, Insurance is disabled because several Menus found a way to abuse it. It's going to stay disabled until they'll fix it (read: never).

>>Bad Sport?
  Many things give you "Bad Sport Points", an unlisted number that, upon reaching a certain threshold, dubs you a Bad Sport.
  All Bad Sport actions are displayed with a pop up box that tells you what you did was "wrong". Try not to be a prick (I know, it's hard to do), and you will likely have no issues.
  Once you are a Bad Sport, you get put in lobbies with other Bad Sports for a set period of time, from hours to months. You'll also get a sweet hat that says Bad Sport.

>>What are Passive Mode and Ghosting?
  At any time in Freeroam, you can Enable Passive Mode via the Interaction Menu (press M on keyboard, hold back or select on controller, PS4 press touchpad) to negate all incoming damage from other players. Use this when you go shopping, or when you are just cruising around. If you're outnumbered or getting demolished, it's better to admit defeat and enable Passive rather than dragging it out, don't let people say otherwise.
  Ghosting is when someone kills you three times, and you have not damaged them, and you become Passive just for them. Use it to leave the Area or to enable Passive Mode.

>>What guns should I use?
  Not the Homing Launcher / RPG, at least on people on foot. Only s use do that. Beyond that, it's up to you. Try the different guns and find your niche. I recommend NOT purchasing the Micro SMG, unless it is your preferred drive-by weapon. The reason is that you can NOT permanently drop weapons, and you will default to the Micro SMG as your drive-by weapon EVERY TIME you get in a vehicle. It's usually advised to buy the AP Pistol and Special Carbine as a Starter.

>>What is a good starting vehicle?
  That depends on what you want. The Sultan is a good four door car while the Ruffian is a very good bike, both can be stolen from the streets and outfitted with Trackers and Insurance. To be fair, though, almost any vehicle will do. Wait until you get your first garage or house to be picky on cars. Note that "high end" vehicles cannot be made your personal vehicle from the street. They must instead be purchased from the Legendary Motorsport or Southern San Andreas Super Autos sites in game.
  If you want the most bang for your buck, buy the Schafter V12 (Armoured), it may cost $325,000, but it can withstand one Tank Shell / RPG / Sticky Bomb, giving you enough time to get away while also outperforming most cars in the game.

>>How do I git gud at combat?
  Practice helps a lot. Your total health pool increases every 20 levels, and maxes out at level 100. Remember to equip armor and eat snacks through the interaction menu, and use soft cover (not snapping into cover, just standing near it, and walking out to fire). Figure out which weapons to use, based on your combat style and range.

>>How do I regenerate health?
  When you spawn in, you have 100% of your total health pool. After receiving damage to knock your pool below 50%, your health only regenerates to the 50% mark. Health regenerates more quickly in hard cover, and less quickly when moving.
  You can regenerate health manually by eating snacks, which can be purchased at the convenience stores around the map. Pisswasser (beer) and cigarettes do not increase health, so be sure to not use them in combat. Body Armor also helps in combat, and can be picked up like health packs in combat. You can also store body armor in your inventory, by purchasing some from Ammunation. They are stored under Interaction Menu, Inventory, Body Armor. The number stored caps at 10 at level 135.

>>Do all helmets stop bullets? How does Heist Armor work?
  Here's some background information. Bulletproof Helmets (BP Helmets) were added in the Last Team Standing update, BEFORE Heists came out. They work regardless of game mode, and work in Freeroam. BP Helmets allow you to survive around three headshots, regardless of weapon.
  Heist Armor works ONLY in Heists, IF you have armor on. It slows you down to a jog and removes sprinting, but increases durability of armor by an added 50%. Stealth Armor has no affect.
  The helmet you put on from a bike will deflect ONE bullet, then negate the bonus. Putting on a helmet at a store, or through the interaction menu will NOT have the same effect.

>>What is VIP or Bodyguard?
  If you have $1,000,000 in the bank, you can be a "VIP". There are a few things you can do as VIP, "hire" bodyguards (who are paid from the game, you do not pay their wages), do VIP jobs and challenges for money and RP, give you several abilties via Interaction Menu and increase health regeneration to 75% health maximum from the original 50%. Bodyguards have some similar options, and are paid $5,000 every 5 minutes or so. VIPs and Bodyguards cannot go into Passive Mode while in an Organization.
  Organizations are a good way to rank up and earn money in Freeroam. Be warned of Randoms and other Organizations hunting you down.

>>Properties. What are those?
  You can own up to five properties. Properties are houses, apartments, or garages. I would recommend purchasing a cheap, well located apartment (which comes with a 10 car garage) as your first property. The cheapest 10 car garage apartment is Del Perro Heights for about $200.000. After that, purchasing just 10 car garages around the city will work for storage; just call the Mechanic to have cars delivered (after he delivers a car, there is a five minute cooldown).
  The Stilt Houses don't add much, and are in a bad location to boot. Buy them if you want, but remember, apartments are cheaper, better located, and have all the same amenities.

>>How about Yachts? Those are cool, right?
  No. Don't buy one. They're a waste of money.

>>Any tidbits that don't belong in their own question thing?
 There sure are!

 Try all guns before you buy them. Have a high level friend or crew mate drop their guns so you can try them out.

 YOU CANNOT PERMANENTLY DROP YOUR GUNS. If you buy it, you own it forever. Try not to purchase guns you won't use, especially if the slot gets clogged easily (Pistols and SMGs / MGs are the worst offenders). You have to cycle through ALL one handed weapons to select the drive-by weapon of choice in a vehicle, EVERY TIME YOU GET IN.

 The Ingame Stats lie regarding Vehicles and Weapons. For example, the Acceleration Bar goes beyond the displayed Max Level and the displayed top speed of most of the cars is wrong. The same can be said for the guns, with Firerate or Damage being completely different than what the Ingame stats say.

 Some purchased vehicles do not go into a garage, they are instead held by Pegasus. pay $200 any time you bring it out, and it has no insurance when it is destroyed (don't worry, you don't have to pay $3,000,000 for that Hydra again, it can be called back after destroyed. Just pay $200 again). Don't purchase Pegasus vehicles you won't use.

 You can't meme arrow (>) in the text chat during gameplay. However, you can use this symbol (») which is the next best thing. Just Alt-175 to do it.

 Want Returning Player Content (access to some cars, a plane, a few SP missions, etc)? Post a message in the general, someone will more likely than not help you out.

 If you read through the whole thing, and have additions to make or a question that was unanswered, leave it in the general.

 Remember to destroy all Kurumas, Insurgents, bully all the shitters, and the number one rule of GTA Online:

 No Fun Allowed.