TOKI's GTA Online Guide
Here are some tips that should better your GTA play during heists, missions or freemode.
Skills
You should do what you can to improve your character’s skills, since this will help you in multiple areas.
Skills such as stamina, driving and shooting are usually the first skills to be maxed out with every player, because this is what you do most in the game - run, shoot and drive. If you’re looking for a quicker way to max these skills, do survivals, races and just sprint a lot.
Strength can save you from dying after falling down the flight of stairs. You can improve it with arm wrestling - which is most effective. Also you can play sports, or engage in fist fights (have your friend eat snacks while you’re bashing him, just for fun).
For stealth you can use a neat little trick. Go into passive mode and take your character to a secluded area in the map where you can minimize the risk of becoming a victim of gun violence or traffic. Put your guy in stealth mode with L3 and then lay your controller so it rests on the left analog stick in a specific angle, so that your guy keeps going in circles. After you’ve done that, leave you console, have dinner, take your dog out for a walk and when you come back. Your criminal should have his stealth maxed-out.
For flying, the best way to up your skills and additionally learn how to control your plane/heli better, is doing the flight school at LS Airport. Try getting the gold for every part. It’s quite challenging.
The stat that is not always shown, but exists, is lung capacity. This is not really necessary in everyday play, but it might come in handy to have this skill in some rare occasions. You can improve it by just diving.
Weapons
Don’t save money on weapons, get them all us soon they are available in Ammu-nation and get all the mods also (silencer optional). Work out which weapons work the best for you and use them appropriately. Use AP pistol for drive-by shooting and shooting people in vehicles in close range. Use shotguns to shoot people on foot, close range. Use assault rifles with a different varieties of range and fire rate, for different situations.
Vehicles
Buy an armored Karin Kuruma as soon as you unlock it by doing the Fleeca Job and have enough money. It will make a big difference for the upcoming heists and also in free-mode. Get bulletproof tires on every car. Winning races and progressing through ranks will unlock all the mods. Modify your cars. Buy an Insurgent (the regular one) also if you have money, it can also be very helpful in a couple of heist setups, as well as in free-roam.
Snacks and Armor
Make sure to buy snacks. Yes you can buy them in those convenient stores you robbed earlier. Get them before every mission/heist. Do this also in free-roam. Also buy armor in ammu-nation. You can stock-up with reserve armor, which you can later use via your interaction menu, just like snacks. If you are a low rank player, you will find snacks more valuable. As you progress through the ranks and unlock more spots for reserve armor, snacks will fall to the second plan.
Outfits
This is the biggest difference maker in Heists. Go to a clothes store, find the ‘outfit department’ (at the counter) and buy the ‘Heist Heavy Combat’ and ‘Heist Light combat’ outfits. You then save these outfits in your player saved outfits. You can do the saving in a store, or in your apartment.
You can also buy outfits in Ammu-nation.
Heist Heavy Combat outfit will give you significant protection during heists. You should also buy a bulletproof helmet, either in a clothes store or from a mask guy on the beach. The helmet will offer protection from headshots, in every mode. You can take it on/off via the interaction menu.
You can select the Heist Heavy outfit for most of the heists and setups, even if they’re not offered regularly, you can take them if the heist leader sets the outfit choice to ‘Player Saved Outfits’ and if you have it saved in your outfits, or currently on you. The Heist Light Combat you can use in some missions when you prefer speed to protection (such as Pacific finale).
Combat
The most important thing is to stay alive. You do this by either staying in cover, staying inside of an armored car, using snacks and armor, or combining all of the mentioned methods.
When you use the Kuruma, watch out for explosions, stay away from exploding objects and cars.
When you’re using cover, peak out to shoot the enemy one by one. Make sure your body parts are not sticking out.
When you’re using snacks/armor, have your interaction menu open at all time during the fight, and set on snacks/armor. Always monitor your health and armor leveles and boost up when needed. This will prevent you from using sprint, changing weapons and entering/exiting vehicles. However, you can still jump to make up for the lack of sprinting, as well enter/exit cover, roll, aim, zoom, shoot and even throw grenades (currently set explosives) by swiping the touch pad upwards. When you get a few seconds off, equip your reserve armor and go back to your snacks again.
The second most important thing is to aim for the headshot. Whether you’re in a car, in cover, or on foot, always try for headshots. This will reduce the number of threats in double the time. After locking the target on, move your aiming stick up a bit, so you get the headshot, especially on stationary enemies. Those that are moving sideways will be more difficult targets.
You can also zoom with R3 while aiming on foot, if you have your advanced scope mounted on your weapon.
Another very important thing, take your time (unless you’re aiming for the elite challenge in a heist).
Driving
The most common mistake is senseless ‘foot on the pedal’ kind of driving. You do not need to go full speed most of the time. Use your brakes guys. Always be careful of civilian traffic, they tend to behave erratically. When you see a potential threat, slow down, evade, accelerate and repeat.
When in armored car, you do not have to bash into everything, take your time, aim for the headshots. Use snacks when driving or sitting in a vehicle.
Flying
Be safe. If you have AI planes after you, just stay behind them or on their sides, spin in circles, they can never get you.
If you’re flying the Valkyrie chopper, face your chopper towards threats, stay slightly above enemies’ altitude and steady the heli so your teammates can shoot. Take your time when landing.
Radar
Use your radar guys, all the time, look at it every other second. Whether you’re driving, flying or in combat, use it to spot threats before you ever see them. This is crucial. Use the pointed arrow of your character on the radar to determine in what direction to look for the enemy. Use it to evade cops. Use it to set routes. Expand it when needed, by pressing down on the D-pad a couple of times.
Free-roam (free-mode)
Free-mode/free-roam is just so much fun. Make it even more fun by learning how to compete with others. Watch, practice and learn. If you're a pacifist, use Passive Mode by enabling it in the interaction menu. You can also use it to 'outsmart' other players in combat, but this is almost guaranteed to draw some pure hatred aimed at you. Use your phone to call Lester for favors, Lamar to pickpocket someone, Merryweather etc. You can also use your phone for a quick teleport by clicking on your active heist to get to your apartment fast. Make money in free-roam by collecting bounties, selling cars, doing favors for Lester and Trevor, mugging other players or doing the daily objectives. Lose money by blowing up other player's cars, spending ammunition and armor, getting mugged (deposit your cash at the ATM regularly, to prevent this). All in all, just have fun.