GTA V Online Multiplayer Tips and Tricks: Money, 100% Ranking, Free Weapons and Tank Heists

Grand Theft Auto V’s online multiplayer serving has generated a great deal of controversy throughout the gaming community. Although both single-layer experience and multiplayer mode were both being developed simultaneously by Rockstar Games, the online multiplayer component was conceived as a separate experience, with its release delayed until two weeks after GTA V’s single player campaign.

A total of 16 players are given license to traverse a recreation of the single-player campaign’s environment, taking place two months prior to the adventures of Trevor, Franklin and Michael. Around Los Santos, players join lobbies to complete a series of cooperative and competitive objectives on a story-driven basis.

Alas, when Grand Theft Auto Online made its much anticipated arrival, players were beset by technical difficulties; many complained they were unable to successfully connect to servers, and others suffered from persistent crashes, load screen freezing and cycling, character erasure and loss of progress. With around 15 million gamers attempting to pile into GTA V’s online universe, it comes as little surprise that many encountered some of the previous ailments.

Rockstar, quite rightly, issued a public apology and promptly released a patch for the game. In an act of contrition, Rockstar rewarded their loyal fans with $500,000 of virtual, in-game money.

Nonetheless, with some of these teething issues starting to subside, we thought we would take a look at some of the common tips and tricks for GTA V’s online multiplayer mode.

WARNING: The following videos contain material that some viewers may find offensive. Viewer discretion is advised. Also, with Rockstar amending and patching the game regularly, some “glitches” and tricks are not guaranteed to remain in place indefinitely.

Boosting and Selling Vehicles & Getting Insurance

A quick means of generating cash involves locating nice looking vehicles and then selling them at the closest mod shop. Alas, there are certain limitations to this clever tactic. Firstly, there is an upper limit set on the price that a vehicle can go for; plush cars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris are not sellable.

The following vehicles fall just below the upper limit, and can be sold for large sums of money:

• Lampadeti Felon – $9,000+
• Gallivanter Baller – $9,000
• Ubermacht Oracle – $8,000
• Albany Cavalcade – $7,000
• Benefactor Dubsta – $7,000

Meanwhile, if you really want to be “that guy,” then you could mow other players down to rake in the cash. You should be prepared to face the scorn of your fellow man.

Once players have found their car of choice, it is highly prudent to get car insurance. In the event that the car is misplaced or pilfered, the insurance company can be contacted and a replacement can be requested.

For each request submitted, the player needs to pay ten percent of the initial insurance premium. In addition, players need to ensure LS Customs fits these cars with trackers to enable an insurance claim to be enacted.

Robbing Convenience Stores

Another easy means of acquiring cash involves robbing liquor stores and gas stations. There are several means of making this process go smoother, however.

Enter the store, point your weapon at the clerk, and he will begin bagging up money from the cash register. Shooting anybody whilst performing the robbery is not recommended, as this increases the number of police units baying for your blood.

If you’re outfitted with a microphone, demanding the proprietor speeds up will actually make him package the cash much quicker.

Another interesting tip involves the use of disguises. Heading over to Vespucci Beach, a variety of masks are sold by one of the vendors. Robbing a particular convenience store with a mask allows you to return unrecognized later on, and permits players to repeatedly fleece the same stores.

In addition, James Heaney, a member of the GameFront crew, recommends using helicopters to make a quick getaway during a theft. This way, players can shake the cops relatively quickly and move from store to store, snaffling up large sums of money.

Invest in a Garage

It’s an obvious one, but it’s certainly worthy of a mention. Buying a garage is one of the best purchases a player can make. Garages allow the player to stowaway their favorite vehicles, as well as a place to cower from other online players.

Once players gain enough cash to afford a house or an apartment, some of the money put towards the garage’s initial purchase can be recouped.

Stay Away From “Griefers”

GTA Online is a great way to have some fun with a group of friends. Unfortunately, you’re always likely to encounter the odd delinquent gamer, hell-bent on causing untold trouble. To avoid being endlessly killed by these gaming trolls, some players may find it less frustrating to simply join your regular group of friends and begin instanced sessions immediately.

Ultimately, Rockstar claims there are measures in place to dissuade players from perpetually killing others, but it’s unlikely to be a bulletproof system. The best thing to do is be on the lookout for unusually placed vehicles, as trolls love to booby-trap them with explosives. If you spot a white dot (representing a fellow gamer) hurtling towards you at speed, be aware that they may be trying to mow you down in a frenzied fit of rage.

Another great tactic is to find a helicopter. Walking or driving around the villainous, crime-riddled streets of Los Santos can be an incredibly perilous activity, with a gun around every corner waiting to take you down. Airborne helicopters represent a more challenging target to take down, and provides players with height advantage.

Helicopters can be found at the helipads near Vespucci Beach, Trevor’s airfield at Sandy Shores, and the roof of Central Los Santos Medical Center.

Call in the Artillery

If you have bundles of cash at your disposal, you can annihilate your nemeses with air strikes (Rockstar’s generous half a million dollar apology should help). This option is available to players that have reached level 50, but does tend to eat away at the contents of your wallet, costing $12,500 a pop.

This Merryweather capability also permits you to call in ammunition airdrops, if you happen to be low on ammunition.

Invest your Money Wisely

Naturally, the online world of Los Santos is a violent one. Gormlessly running around with your pockets stuffed full of bundles of cash is a quick path to bankruptcy. To ensure you are not repeatedly, and mercilessly, stripped of all your money, players should ensure they invest their money at one of the banks.

Your cell phone can be used to locate the nearest ATM. In addition, if you are in an isolated region of the world, a spot of online banking can come in handy.

Passive Mode

Passive mode is a blessing for those gamers who are new to GTA V’s online universe, and for those who wish to explore the world in relative peace. This setting provides the user with invincibility, preventing fellow players from being able to kill you, whilst it is implemented.

Naturally, the caveat to this mode is that anyone who has activated passive mode is unable to inflict any damage to other people.

This is a fantastic tool to ensure that maligned players, who are perpetually trying to launch attacks against vulnerable players, are effectively neutered. Be aware, however, passive mode players are not invincible from being run over with vehicles, or from being blown up or shot whilst driving.

The mode requires a nominal fee of $100, but can be well worth the money.

Fast Travel

A simple, but effective, means of fast travel involves starting a race event near the place where you need to travel. Select “Launch Job” and then click the “Play” button to reach the lobby screen, and then simply quit out. Momentarily, you will find yourself placed at the race location.

Blowing Up Vehicles

Conflict is oftentimes unavoidable during GTA Online. Therefore, it pays to know where the weak spots are on your enemy’s vehicle. Simple aiming for the hood, trunk or gas tank will be ineffective and slow.

On the other hand, the following video, uploaded by Prodigy, shows the sweet spot that gamers should ideally target. The footage also showcases a novel means of using a vehicle’s gas tank to the wreak havoc on your foes.

Acquire Free Weapons

Weapons in GTA V are rather costly. When attempting to squirrel away money to invest in property and cars, the last thing a player wants to do is splash their cash on extra weapons.

To avoid paying for highly expensive weaponry from Ammu-nation stores, just find NPCs that have the weapons that you desire, kill them and steal their weapons. Neighboring NPCs will likely retaliate, in unfavorable fashion, and will kill you. Nonetheless, assuming you have sufficient ammunition for the weapon that you have just picked up, you will be revived with that gun still in your inventory.

Grab a Mic and Sing in the Shower

A somewhat unusual one now. Rockstar has included a relatively straightforward means of gaining reputation points (RP), simply by singing in the shower.

Assuming your microphone is switched on, and you possess your own apartment, try singing in the shower; the game should be able to decipher your enigmatic warbling and reward you with a boost to your RP. However, if you’re vocally challenged (or shy), talking normally will also do the trick.

In the ensuing footage, MrJughead97 does a touching rendition of A Whole New World from a Walt Disney classic, Aladdin.

Bounty Cheating

Rockstar Games has introduced a relatively novel bounty hunting system, in an attempt to deliberately pit players against one another and generate a bit of healthy rivalry. Once a player hits the level 10 mark and meets Lester, the ability to place bounties on other players’ heads is unlocked.

If you are unfortunate enough to have one of these bounties placed upon your own head, you can ally with another player or friend to capitalize on the situation. Assuming you are able to make a pact with a trustworthy friend, that individual can kill you, claim the prize money and then share some of the proceeds.

Ranking up Skills to 100%

There are a number of skills that can be honed throughout GTA V, each of which are critical to providing that competitive edge in GTA Online multiplayer. The primary skills include the following:

• Driving
• Flying
• Lung Capacity
• Shooting
• Stamina
• Stealth
• Strength

These different skills can be leveled up to 100%, much faster, by performing a series of quick and easy steps. Shooting, for example, can be ranked up by playing survival, after the player reaches level 15, and eliminating waves of enemy units; if you have not ranked to this level yet, a friend can host the survival match on your behalf.

Meanwhile, stamina can be improved by cycling, running and swimming long distances, strength can be mastered by bashing up cars, with an online buddy inside, and the flying skill can be boosted by flying at high altitudes and underneath Los Santos’ many bridges.

UnitedGamerz produced a nice video explaining exactly how the player can rank up to 100%, for most of the afore-mentioned skills.

Escaping the Cops

A very basic tip is to simply expand the map to see where the cops are located, and which direction they are heading. Knowing exactly where each police unit is located, over a greater proximity, is essential to planning a viable route to ensure you quickly shake your wanted level.

Simply double tapping down on the D-pad provides this essential, and often neglected, feature. This is applicable to both GTA V Online and the single player campaign.

Stealing a Tank

This one is definitely not a solo effort, and typically requires at least three players to join forces. To get the tank you will need a cargobob, a vehicle and stacks of weapons, ammunition and body armor.

One individual sneaks into the military base, using a vehicle and awaits the subversive deeds of his companions.

Another two or three players then approach the entrance to the base and attract the attention of the army by shooting some of the military personnel, stirring the wrath of the army and causing the tank to roll down the hill in the direction of the anarchy, right towards the player that had previously infiltrated the base.

The awaiting player enters the tank, ready to be airlifted from the base by the player with the airbob. The following video nicely demonstrates the intricate logistics involved in mastering the “tank heist”:

That concludes our GTA V online multiplayer tips and tricks guide. We hope you have enjoyed reading. Viewers may also be interested in some of the other articles produced by the Las Vegas Guardian Express team, including pieces on easter eggs, cheats codes and multiplayer fixes (see the related articles section, below).

By: James Fenner

Related Articles:

GTA V Hidden Easter Eggs Part Two: Halo Spoofs, Dancing Hillbillies and Playboy Mansions – James Fenner

GTA V Hidden Easter Eggs: Aliens, Zombies, Creepy Ghosts and Bigfoot – James Fenner

GTA V Cheat Codes and Tips – Angelina Bouc

GTA V Online Issues Addressed in New Title Patch – Michael Smith

GTA V Online Multiplayer Lost Characters Could be Player’s Fault – Michael Smith

Infinite Wealth of Pros and Cons of GTA V Easter Eggs – Dianna Coudriet

Sources:

Grand Theft Auto Online Website

GTA 5 Multiplayer Website

VentureBeat

USGamer

IGN Community Link