GTA 5 Online pro guide: How to become a crime lord

GTA 5 Online pro guide
A guide to become a pro player in GTA 5 Online (Image via Rockstar Games)

Becoming a crime lord in Los Santos is a long journey, but this GTA 5 Online pro guide will help you with the process. The Grand Theft Auto player base has been grinding the popular multiplayer game since 2013. While many have emerged as kingpins of Los Santos, some are still stuck in the loop.

This GTA 5 Online pro guide will primarily teach experienced players how they can conquer the multiplayer title by utilizing every opportunity offered by Rockstar Games. It goes without saying that the process will take both time and effort. Nonetheless, the journey is a fruitful one.

Note: Some parts of this GTA 5 Online pro guide are subjective and only reflect the writer’s opinions.


GTA 5 Online pro guide: An overview of the journey to become a crime lord in Los Santos

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must prepare themselves for an epic and long journey (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must prepare themselves for an epic and long journey (Image via Rockstar Games)

The main goal of Grand Theft Auto 5 Online is to commit crimes, make money, and climb the ladder as you increase your criminal ranking. Rockstar Games offers various major and minor methods to make money that cater to both new and experienced players. If you are an inexperienced player in the multiplayer game, we suggest you check out the GTA Online beginner's guide to learn more about the basics.

Nonetheless, to become a true crime lord and conquer Los Santos, the GTA 5 Online pro guide advises you to do the following things at least once:

  • Own the best businesses
  • Own the best vehicles
  • Own the best weapons
  • Complete the apartment heists
  • Loot the Diamond Casino & Resort
  • Complete the Doomsday Heist
  • Conquer the remote island of Cayo Perico

In the meantime, players should also aim to reach level 120 in GTA 5 Online as soon as possible. Reaching this level unlocks most of (if not all) the features and services offered by Rockstar Games.

It is worth noting that while the multiplayer game was initially intended to be played with friends, a significant portion of the community now prefers playing solo. Rockstar Games has catered to this change by ensuring that recent gameplay elements are solo-friendly. However, the GTA 5 Online pro guide advises you to make at least one in-game friend as you will need help for some jobs.

With that being said, let us now dive into the aforementioned to-do list. The guide will briefly discuss them and offer important suggestions wherever necessary.

Also read: GTA Online strategy guide


List of some of the best businesses to own in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must utilize the best businesses to make money (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must utilize the best businesses to make money (Image via Rockstar Games)

Rockstar Games offers 15 businesses in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online. While there are some other properties that can make you money as well, they do not fall into the traditional business lineup. The GTA 5 Online pro guide will discuss the ones that offer the best money for the time and effort you put in.

The best business and their primary functions are as follows:

  • Los Santos Airbase Bunker: Manufacture illegal weapons and sell them to various buyers across the State of San Andreas.
  • Auto Shop: Modify and deliver NPC customers’ vehicles to their doorstep. Steal and export high-end cars to Bruce Motivation "Brucie" Kibbutz. Operate and execute various minor heists.
  • Bail Enforcement Office: Work as a Bail Enforcement Officer and apprehend various bail jumpers from time to time.
  • Executive Office: Become a CEO and operate illegal cargo warehouse businesses as well as vehicle cargo businesses.
  • Hangar: Primarily an aircraft storage unit. Also works as a base for illegal air freight cargo business.
  • Salvage Yard: Tow and salvage NPC cars across Los Santos. Also works as a base to execute various car robberies across the map.
  • Counterfeit Cash Factory: Generate counterfeit cash bundles and sell them to various customers.
  • Cocaine Lockup: Produce cocaine and sell it to various customers across the map.
  • Methamphetamine Lab: Cook meth and sell it to various customers in the State of San Andreas.
  • Nightclub: Works as a disco bar. You can also trade various illegal drugs and supplies from its basement.
  • Acid Lab: Produce various acid drugs and sell them to various customers across the map.

If you are a solo player, the Acid Lab is undoubtedly the best business to operate. It is a mobile business that you can take anywhere on the map. Moreover, Rockstar Games offers you the business free of cost. To know more about how to acquire the Acid Lab and properly operate it, we suggest you check out the GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide.

Also read: GTA Online buying guide


List of some of the best vehicles to own in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must keep their vehicle inventory up to date (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must keep their vehicle inventory up to date (Image via Rockstar Games)

The vehicle catalog in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online is massive, with over 750 vehicles to choose from. The list has kept growing over the years, and Rockstar Games typically adds new vehicles with new DLC updates. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that not all vehicles are worth spending money on. Therefore, the GTA 5 Online pro guide will list some of the best vehicles that every player should own:

  • Grotti Turismo Omaggio - $2,845,000
  • Ocelot Virtue - $2,980,000
  • Pegassi Oppressor Mk II - $8,000,000
  • Shitzu Hakuchou Drag Bike - $976,000
  • Mammoth F-160 Raiju - $6,855,000
  • Mammoth Avenger - $3,450,000
  • Sparrow - $1,815,000
  • Nagasaki Buzzard Attack Chopper - $2,000,000
  • Grotti Itali GTO Stinger TT - $2,380,000.
  • BF Weevil Custom - $870,000 + $980,000
  • Bravado Buffalo STX - $2,150,000
  • Declasse Draugur - $1,870,000
  • Maibatsu MonstroCiti - $1,485,000
  • Bravado Police Gauntlet Interceptor - $5,420,000
  • Bravado Dorado Cruiser - $5,005,000
  • Pegassi Toros - $498,000
  • Benefactor Dubsta 6x6 - $249,000
  • Dinka Jester RR - $1,970,000
  • Karin Sultan RS Classic - $1,789,000
  • Grotti Vigilante - $3,750,000
  • Fathom FR36 - $1,610,000
  • HVY Insurgent Pick-up - $1,795,500
  • Pegassi Toreador - $4,250,000

For more details about the best vehicles, we suggest you check out the GTA Online vehicles guide. The list mentioned above includes both land and air-based vehicles, and they will help you to travel across the map efficiently.

Also read: GTA Online car locations guide


List of some of the best weapons to own in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must invest in some good guns (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must invest in some good guns (Image via Rockstar Games)

To become a pro crime lord in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online, you must acquire the best weapons the game has to offer. Gunfights are very common in the game, whether it is with other players, cops, or enemy NPCs. Therefore, you must own top-quality guns to keep others in line.

Rockstar Games offers 104 weapons in the multiplayer game. However, the GTA 5 Online pro guide readers should try to acquire the following as soon as possible:

  • Tactical SMG - $325,000
  • Service Carbine - $370,000
  • Up-n-Atomizer - $399,000
  • Stone Hatchet - Complete the Bounty Hunter freemode mission
  • Double-Action Revolver - Complete the Treasure Hunt Challenge
  • Bullpup Rifle Mk II - $14,500 + $105,750
  • Special Carbine Mk II - $14,750 + $135,000
  • Heavy Sniper Mk II - $38,150 + $165,375
  • Combat MG Mk II - $14,800 + $119,000
  • SMG Mk II - $7,500 + $85,500
  • Pistol Mk II - $2,500 + $73,750
  • Compact Grenade Launcher - $45,000
  • Flashlight - $5,750
  • Knuckle Dusters - $7,500
  • Homing Launcher - $75,000
  • Baseball Bat - Can be stolen from NPCs
  • Knife - $400
  • Minigun - $47,000
  • RPG (Rocket Launcher) - $26,250
  • Grenade Launcher - $32,400
  • Stun Gun - $375,000
  • Assault Shotgun - $10,000
  • Proximity Mine - $1,000 per unit
  • Molotov Cocktail - $200 per unit
  • Sticky Bomb - $600 per unit
  • Grenade - $250 per unit

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must note that to get the Mk II weapons, they must acquire the base weapon first and convert it to the Mk II variant in a Special Weapon Workshop.

Also read: GTA 5 weapons guide


A brief overview of the apartment heists in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must team up with other players to complete these heists (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must team up with other players to complete these heists (Image via Rockstar Games)

Completing the apartment heist is among the must-do things in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online as the missions give you enough experience to work in a team and do other heists. Rockstar Games offers five heists that you can unlock after purchasing a high-end apartment.

The following are all the heists that the GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must fo in chronological order:

  1. The Fleeca Job
  2. The Prison Break
  3. The Humane Labs Raid
  4. Series A Funding
  5. The Pacific Standard

Each heist has multiple setup missions before the finale. However, the most important thing about them is that you will need multiple players to start them. The Fleeca Job requires you to have one more player, and the rest requires three more players to start the missions.

If you have a reliable group of friends/teammates, you can also aim for the GTA Online Criminal Mastermind reward.


A brief overview of the Diamond Casino Heist in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must not leave the Diamond Casino loot behind (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must not leave the Diamond Casino loot behind (Image via Rockstar Games)

In the Diamond Casino Heist, you must infiltrate the underground vault of the casino and loot whatever spawns there. It is an elaborate mission that requires you to have at least one other player. The following are the targets that you can loot from the Diamond Casino:

  • Cash - $2.1 million
  • Art - $2.3 million
  • Gold - $2.5 million
  • Diamonds - $3.2 million (very rare)

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must loot the Diamond Casino every now and then to become a true crime lord. For more details about the mission, you can check out the GTA Online Diamond Casino Heist guide.


A brief overview of the Doomsday Heist in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must prevent a global catastrophe in this mission (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must prevent a global catastrophe in this mission (Image via Rockstar Games)

The Doomsday Heist is a tough job where you will have to fight with an artificial intelligence program and a militia created by it. This heist also requires you to hire at least one more player, and has the following plots:

  1. The Doomsday Heist - Act 1: The Data Breaches
  2. The Doomsday Heist - Act 2: The Bogdan Problem
  3. The Doomsday Heist - Act 3: The Doomsday Scenario

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers must know that each act consists of multiple prep and setup missions. It is going to be a long journey, where you will have to save the entire world from nuclear destruction at the end. For more details, we suggest you go through the GTA Online Doomsday Scenario guide.


A brief overview of the Cayo Perico Heist in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online

The GTA 5 Online pro guide should be a regular visitor at the Cayo Perico Island (Image via Rockstar Games)
The GTA 5 Online pro guide should be a regular visitor at the Cayo Perico Island (Image via Rockstar Games)

So far, you should have gained sufficient experience conquering Los Santos. It is now time to expand your scope and visit the remote island of Cayo Perico, owned and controlled by Juan Strickler, popularly known as El Rubio. The character stores his valuable items in the vault under his house and you must steal them.

You can find out the following primary loot items in the Cayo Perico Heist:

  • Madrazo Files: $1,100,000 (first time only)
  • Sinsimito Tequila: $630,000
  • Ruby Necklace: $700,000
  • Bearer Bonds: $770,000
  • Pink Diamond: $1,300,000
  • Panther Statue: $1,900,000 (very rare)

The GTA 5 Online pro guide readers should note that is the only heist that you can do completely solo. The player base loves to loot El Rubio’s house frequently as it offers great reward money. Since your goal is to become a crime lord, you must be able to sneak through El Rubio’s tight security and loot the house and the island efficiently.

For more details on this mission, you can check out the GTA 5 Online Cayo Perico heist guide.


Getting past the aforementioned hurdles will make you a top crime lord in Los Santos. After that, you will be able to acquire anything and everything offered by the game.


Also read: GTA Online money making guide (2024-2025)

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Edited by Siddharth Satish
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