On this page you find a detailed overview of the core gameplay systems and features of Grand Theft Auto V’s single-player mode, including the three-protagonist mechanics, open-world exploration, financial activities, combat systems, interface elements, and game-saving options.
GTA V: Gameplay Basics Guide
Three-Protagonist System
Unlike many previous entries in the series, GTA V allows players to control three distinct protagonists, each with their own personality, abilities, and storylines. This includes the ability to switch between three main characters at any time:
- Michael De Santa: A retired bank robber living a luxurious but dysfunctional life in Los Santos. He excels in precision shooting thanks to his “Bullet Time” ability, which slows down time during gunfights.
- Franklin Clinton: A young hustler and skilled driver trying to escape street life. His special ability slows down time while driving, making tight maneuvers and chases easier.
- Trevor Philips: A violent and unpredictable career criminal living in Blaine County. His rage mode increases damage dealt and decreases damage taken for a short period.
Many missions are tackled by two or three of them together, with the ability to switch between the characters mid-action as they work as a team to get the job done.
Switching between Michael, Franklin, and Trevor outside of missions gives a sense of a living world: each character has a personal life and may be found in unique situations when you swap to them.
Each protagonist also has seven other skills that improve through use. Check out our detailed guide on the GTA V Special Abilities and Player Stats.
Note: Your fourth character slot is reserved for your custom GTA Online player character.
Open World Exploration
GTA V's world, consisting of Los Santos and Blaine County, is an enormous, detailed map inspired by Southern California. The world is completely open from the start, filled with urban centers, rural areas, deserts, mountains, and the ocean.
Exploration and experimentation are central to the GTA experience - the player is free to choose whether to pursue the Storyline Missions or simply enjoy the chaos of the sandbox world:
- Drive, fly, or sail using hundreds of vehicles, from supercars to fighter jets.
- Use a wide variety of weapons - such as handguns, shotguns, rifles, explosives, and melee weapons.
- Engage in Hobbies & Activities such as golfing, tennis, races, stock trading, hunting, and scuba diving.
- Interact with Strangers & Freaks, as well as Random Events scattered around the map, offering spontaneous challenges or moral decisions.
- Customize vehicles and weapons, enhancing performance or aesthetics through in-game shops.
Making Money, Properties, and Investments
In Los Santos, money doesn’t just talk, it never shuts up. In these confusing financial times, and with so many things to spend your hard-earned money on – ranging in price from a few dollars to tens of millions – you have to be creative to get what you want.
Whether it’s helping out a stranger in need, playing the stock markets, or taking over local businesses, there are lots of ways for Michael, Franklin, and Trevor to supplement their illicit income with some borderline legitimate cash.
Heists
During the story of Grand Theft Auto V, Michael, Franklin and Trevor work together to pull off a series of daring and exciting Heists and, in most cases, they will need to select a skilled crew to help them.
Often a number of different crew members are available for the job, each with different abilities and a different percentage cut of the proceeds. Choose carefully depending on the particulars of each heist; always selecting the best people will leave less money to share out between Michael, Franklin and Trevor. Skimping too much on hiring costs may mean that the heist doesn’t go as smoothly and the overall take is less.
Robberies
You can always make some quick cash by robbing a store or an armored security van.
To rob a store, approach the counter, pull a gun and aim it at the store clerk. The gun must be kept trained on the store clerk to complete the robbery – once the clerk has emptied the cash register, he will hand the cash over. The store clerk can be encouraged to move quicker if a few rounds are fired nearby, but a dead clerk cannot hand over anything (although you could just help yourself).
You’ll often see armored security vans driving around the streets of Los Santos, transporting large amounts of money. There are two ways to rob a security van, either by shooting out the lock on the back door until it opens or by blowing the back doors off entirely using plastic explosives. Vans can either be robbed on the street or hijacked and driven to a remote location to be opened. Either way, a heavy police response should be expected.
Stock Trading
You can monitor the stock markets online at BAWSAQ and LCN Exchange on the in-game Internet, or get involved yourself and gamble your retirement away. It’s a fast way to lose everything, but also to get rich fast, especially once you get to grips with the factors that drive share prices up and down.
You will also receive monetary rewards for participating in side missions, random events or collecting items. However, the way to make the most money in GTA V is using the stock market with Lester's Assassination missions.
Commercial Real Estate
With America’s real estate market in the toilet, there’s never been a better time to invest in property. Each of the many businesses that are up for sale throughout Los Santos and Blaine County will generate a weekly profit, to be paid into the owner’s bank account every seven days.
Available commercial property is marked on the map and can be purchased on site by simply approaching the For Sale sign outside. The owner may occasionally be contacted by the management for assistance in the running of the business. Failure to help may result in reduced weekly profits from that business.
Note that property is specific to each player character – only the owner of a property will be able to access its facilities.
GTA V HUD: Health, Armor & Map
Your character's Health, Armor, and Special ability meter appear in the bar just below the radar in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Mini-Map: The mini-map shows the immediate vicinity. Press the DOWN button to zoom out the mini-map and see a larger local area. The map will rotate so that the direction the character is facing will always be at the top center of the mini-map. “N” on the mini-map represents north. Note that while the character is in a flying vehicle or parachuting, an altimeter will display over the mini-map.
- Health Bar: Shows how much health the character has left. When fully lit green, you have full Health. Every time your Health dips below 50%, it slowly regenerates back up to the 50% mark. When the bar is empty, the character is “wasted” and you will be revived in the nearest hospital for a small fee.
- Armor Bar: The smaller blue bar (in the middle) represents your Armor status. You can buy a range of armor weights at Ammu-Nation. If you are shot while wearing armor, the armor will be damaged before the character’s body starts to take damage. As the armor gets damaged, the armor bar will decrease.
- Special Ability Bar: Each character has a unique Special Ability that they can use if this bar has been built up enough. Special Abilities are activated by pressing L3 + R3 simultaneously.
- Target Reticule: When aiming with a gun, the targeting reticule will be shown here.
- Instructional Text: Tutorial text, gameplay hints, and prompts will be displayed here.
- Money: The individual character’s current bank balance will be shown here in white. Recent expenditure debits will be shown below in red.
GTA V Weapon Wheel & Wanted Level
- You can bring up the weapon wheel by holding L1 / LB. Navigate to the weapon class you want by using the right stick R. Change weapons within each class by tapping right or left on the Directional Buttons. Release L1 / LB to change to the new weapon.
- When firing a weapon, the current total ammunition will be shown on the top right in white. The number of bullets in the current magazine will be shown to the right in grey.
- When you have a Wanted Level, stars will be displayed on the top right. Between one and five stars will be shown, depending on the level of police interest:
- 1 star: Cops give chase for minor offenses.
- 2–3 stars: Police become more aggressive, using roadblocks and helicopters.
- 4–5 stars: SWAT teams and military forces join in.
Losing your wanted level involves escaping police vision and laying low, such as hiding in alleys and switching vehicles.
Third-Person & First-Person Views
GTA V allows players to experience the game world through two distinct perspectives - third-person and first-person- each offering a unique way to play.
- Third-Person View: This is the default perspective and the traditional GTA experience. The camera sits behind and slightly above the character, giving a wide view of the surroundings. It’s ideal for driving, exploring the open world, and engaging in combat, as it provides better situational awareness. Players can adjust camera distance and angles for comfort.
- First-Person View: Introduced with the enhanced editions of GTA V (PS4, Xbox One, and PC), this mode puts you directly in the character’s eyes, offering a more immersive, realistic feel. You’ll see interiors, weapon details, and the world from a ground-level perspective. It’s especially effective during gunfights or when exploring detailed environments.
- Switching Between Views: Players can toggle perspectives at any time with a simple button press. You can even choose different default views for specific situations - first-person for on foot, third-person for driving, for example - via the camera settings menu.
GTA V Interaction Menu
The Interaction Menu has been added to Story Mode to help navigate the world.
Hold the Touch Pad on the PlayStation 4 system controller while on foot or in a vehicle to bring up the Interactions Menu, and use it to quickly set GPS points, equip items from your inventory, view your current Objective, interact with characters around you, and more.
Saving the Game
Players can save progress by sleeping in safe houses or using the quick save via the in-game phone:
- Safe Houses: Each protagonist has one or more safe houses with a bed where you can manually save by sleeping. This also advances in-game time slightly. Safe houses act as reliable save points and restore some health when used.
- Quick Save (Phone): Using the in-game smartphone, you can open the Quick Save option to instantly save anywhere, anytime. This method is ideal for saving before missions or risky activities without needing to return home.
- Auto Save: Enabled by default, the game automatically saves after missions or significant events. You can toggle this feature on or off in the Settings.
GTA V supports multiple save slots, allowing players to keep separate saves for different decisions or stages of the story.