How to Get the Most Out of Grand Theft Auto V on Xbox One

Come to Los Santos! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide, and the shopping malls stretch far as the eye can see! Every working man can have a house – and inside every house, there’s a beautiful car that can be stolen at any moment. You can have all this and more. And who knows? You could be discovered, become a movie star, or at least see one. Life is good in Los Santos. It’s paradise on earth. That’s what they tell you, anyway.

The truth is that Los Santos is a dangerous place filled with more slippery characters than a Wagner opera staged in a butter factory. You’ll need to have your wits about you, and some serious street smarts to get through your life there. That’s why we’ve prepared this helpful guide for newbies to Grand Theft Auto V, set in the lovely Los Santos, and now available for an entire new generation of players on Xbox One.

Tip #1: Be a Good Samaritan. You never know when helping your fellow Los Santos citizens will yield big rewards for you. Sure, you might just ignore that stolen car as you chow down on your tacos; it’s none of your business, anyway. But, maybe you’re feeling like doing a good deed today. Maybe you chase the guy down in your own (possibly stolen, but let’s ignore that) car. Maybe you haul him out and bring the car back to its rightful owner. Maybe you get a thank you. Or maybe you get a huge cash reward that will make the game much easier for you. You never know. Sometimes it pays to be human.

Tip #2: Employ Your Animal Friends. Los Santos features a huge number of collectible items that you can seek out and find. But you may not know that your canine companion (which you’ll get at a certain point into the game) is a lot better at finding this stuff than you are. You don’t need to just wander about aimlessly, looking in random alleys (although you can do that if it’s your thing). Instead, download the iFruit app for your phone or tablet – yes, in real life, and no, it doesn’t cost anything – and use the integration to select “Make [Your Dog’s Name] Hunt for Pickups.” Boom! Your life just got so much easier.

Tip #3: Do Yoga. Yeah, it’s kinda hippie-dippie, and it might seem like it’s not getting you anywhere, but yoga (and other side activities) actually help improve your skills and attributes. Sure, the minigames may seem like an unnecessary distraction when you just want to do criminal stuff, but Grand Theft Auto V has built a complex system of energy recuperation, skill improvement, and secret benefits into these hobbies. Try out different ones with different characters, and you’ll notice vastly improved performance during the main missions.

Tip #4: Be a Savvy Stock Trader. You may not know this, but you can buy and sell stocks with each separate character in Grand Theft Auto V, all of whom have their own, individual bank accounts and money supply. Throughout the game, you’ll hear snippets of dialogue (on the radio or on the street) or just one-off lines that will give you hints as to which stocks are hot, and which aren’t. And this isn’t just some scripted marketplace thing; the BAWSAQ stock exchange (one of two you can trade on) is heavily influenced by the actual goings-on in the Grand Theft Auto V multiplayer world. If a certain car manufacturer gets a lot of its cars stolen or destroyed, its stock will actually decline. Additionally, certain characters will tell you if an assassination mission you carry out may affect a company’s stock – make sure you invest before you pull the trigger!

Tip #5: Buy an Airplane Hangar. Sure, this one is expensive… but a true Los Santos master of the universe has his own airplane hangar! Why? Well, going into a commercial airport can be dangerous for a wanted criminal, and they take away all your guns, even when you’re not wanted. That sucks! If you need to fly somewhere, or park a plane you’ve, er, “borrowed,” then why not have your own private hangar? No muss, no fuss. You can park that fighter jet or that 747 in there, and then just walk right off to do your business about the city.

All right, friends, those should be enough to get you started on the right path. Don’t forget to improve your characters’ stats, and – we can’t stress this enough – seek out those “blue dot” side missions on the mini-map as you drive. They can yield fantastic rewards and are generally worth it. Have fun in Grand Theft Auto V’s sunny Los Santos!