5 tips and tricks for beginners in GTA Online (August 2023)

GTA Online is a popular game that many new players still experience for the first time in August 2023. If you're one of them, here's a quick guide to help get you up to speed. All the tips and tricks discussed below should be helpful, especially to somebody who wants to get good as soon as possible. No purchasing Shark Cards or doing certain glitches will be referenced here.

Everything featured on the following list is possible for 100% F2P beginners to achieve. These tips and tricks should be evident to veteran players but may be easily missable for newbies starting GTA Online for the first time.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective.

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Five tips that beginners should know about GTA Online

1) Most content can be done in an Invite Only session

All Businesses can be soloed these days (Image via Rockstar Games)

Note that the following tips are for GTA 5 Online, not the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 or the old Grand Theft Auto 4 Online. Players aren't forced to be in Public Sessions to do content like Sell Missions anymore. Thus, any beginner with next to nothing in weaponry should consider playing alone to quickly get a ton of money. Here is what you must do:

1. Pause the game.
2. Go Online.
3. Select Find New Session.
4. Pick the Invite Only session.

This can be especially helpful if a solo player plans on farming The Cayo Perico Heist, as they won't have to worry about their Freemode prep missions getting interrupted. Of course, doing anything in Freemode alone is convenient as you don't have to worry about griefers, people acting weirdly with their microphones, etc.

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2) AFK trick

An example of the AFK trick in action (Image via Rockstar Games)

This tip benefits players who started GTA Online on the PS5 or Xbox Series X|S and took the Nightclub as their Career Builder option. You can idle on the Nightclub garage menu outside the club for as long as you'd like. This is helpful since the game normally kicks you out in 15 minutes.

Executing this AFK trick is incredibly easy, and it helps players earn Passive Income over time. Owning an Arcade and an Agency is also recommended for players who plan to AFK a lot to get free money delivered to their safes. Just note that the Nightclub Safe can only hold $250,000 at a time, and you should periodically replace the DJ to keep Nightclub Popularity up high.

Don't forget that the Nightclub Warehouse would accumulate products in the meantime, should you own some other businesses, too.

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3) Stockpile on Snacks and Armor

This is where Office Owners can get free snacks (Image via Rockstar Games)

GTA Online players who own an Office, Auto Shop, Kosatka, or Facility can get Snacks for free. Otherwise, gamers can purchase them cheaply at a local convenience store, always marked on the world map as "Store."

Ammu-Nation sells Armor, so buy as many Super Heavy Armors as possible. Beginners can access these items through the Interaction Menu or the Weapon Wheel's shortcuts. The latter is preferable in combat since it can be done much quicker than the Interaction Menu option.

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4) Try to max out your stats as soon as possible

Strength should be maxed out as soon as possible (Image via Rockstar Games)

Some GTA Online stats are vital, most notably Strength. For those unaware, Strength reduces incoming damage, which can be a lifesaver in this game. Other stats like Stamina and Shooting are also vital and likely to be raised just by running and using guns.

A quick tip to max out Strength in GTA Online is to start the Pier Pressure Contact Mission (which you can do from the pause menu under Jobs). From there, punch everybody. No cops will ever come, and you're unlikely to die since the NPCs usually run away.

Having maxed-out stats will give you an edge over somebody who has just started.

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5) Great free vehicles to get near the start of the game

The Ocelot Virtue is a great freebie (Image via Rockstar Games)

Beginners to GTA Online should consider doing the First Dose missions as soon as possible. Completing all of them will bestow players with a free Brickade 6x6 and plenty of money to use for installing an Acid Lab in that vehicle. The Acid Lab is one of the best businesses to own in this game from an hourly profit perspective.

Completing all the First Dose missions also allows you to unlock The Last Dose missions. If you beat all those jobs, you will get an Ocelot Virtue for free, an incredible Supercar with Imani Tech modifications.