What to Do First in GTA Online (Beginner’s Guide)

GTA Online has been around for 13 years, and with such an expansive history behind it, new players to Los Santos might inevitably be overwhelmed by the flying rocket bikes, the abundance of missions, and the absurd price of everything the city has to offer. Luckily, this beginner-friendly GTA Online guide will offer you the best help to get you started.

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We’ve gone through the best content in GTA Online to ensure that you can rank up fast, earn millions of dollars, and become an ultimate player in GTA Online within hours of playing. Below is our step-by-step process on what you should do first if you’re joining GTA Online in 2026.

Complete Dax’s First Dose Missions for The Freakshop

The Freakshop has a Free Weapon Upgrade Bench to Get Locked Weapons Before The Rank Requirements

The most important thing you can do as a new player is to drive out to Sandy Shores, where at the general store, you can meet up with Ron Jakowski and start a cutscene involving Dax and the Fooligans. This will begin the First Dose missions, and by completing all 6 of them, you will gain over $600,000 and the Freakshop.

The Freakshop has the Weapons Workshop, completely for free. With the Weapons Workshop, you can purchase weapons that should have a Rank requirement, like the Heavy Sniper and the Combat MG, along with upgraded Mk2 variants. This means you won’t have to wait for Rank 90 and above for the best weapons in GTA Online, and you can grab them as early as Rank 1.

Complete Dax’s Last Dose Missions for the Acid Lab

The Acid Lab Provides $500K Every 4.5 Hours, Passively While You Do Other Activities

After you’ve completed the First Dose missions for Dax and the Fooligans, you will be able to head to the Freakshop to start the Last Dose missions. There are 5 Last Dose missions, and completing them will reward you with $500,000. In the last mission, you will also get the Brickade 6×6, which can be converted into the Acid Lab for $250,000, and is a must-have. The Acid Lab can turn supplies into Acid, which can be sold for $500,000+ in a public lobby with 20+ players every 4 hours.

To get the Acid Lab upgraded to this state, simply call Dax and complete 10 Fooligan Jobs. Each job rewards you with $50,000, and completing 10 allows you to upgrade the Acid Lab for $750,000, which speeds up the amount of Acid produced and its worth. This will be the first passive income that you’ll only have to watch when it comes to resupplying (purchasing supplies from Mutt for $60K, but it is more effective than sourcing them), and checking when your stock is full and ready to sell.

Start the Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid

Each Completion of the Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid Grants $500K

If you check the map in GTA Online, you’ll find a golden V outside the Vespucci Police Station in the Vespucci Canals district of Los Santos. By heading here, you’ll start the first contact mission with Officer Vincent Effenburger, which will allow you to complete 5 setups and then a finale for the Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid.

The setups for the Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid are extremely easy, and the finale is even easier, especially with a stealth playthrough that stops guards from spawning. Once you complete the Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid, you’ll earn an easy $500,000, and this can be repeated every 48 minutes to grab easy gains for the low-level players out there.

Finish Avi Schwartzman’s KnoWay Out Missions

Each Completion of the KnoWay Out Finale Grants $500K

Another fun aspect of the grind involves the KnoWay Out missions. These missions come from Avi Schwartzman and can be started by heading to the A on the map, with the first being outside the gas station in Little Seoul / Calais Avenue.

There are just 5 KnoWay Out missions, and each of them can be completed with relative ease. Upon completing the finale, you’ll receive $500,000. KnoWay Out is a great way for new players to get money, as while you’re waiting for the Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid, you can complete KnoWay Out, and vice versa.

Claim a Free HSW Upgrade for a Faster Vehicle

Help Hao to Upgrade Your Vehicle to Max Speed for $250K Each Week

HSWs provide you with a performance upgrade to your vehicle that can make it far faster than any other vehicle in the game. HSW upgrades can cost anywhere between $500K to $2M, which is why you’re going to want to get a free HSW Voucher that allows you to upgrade a vehicle for free. A faster car means you can get from Point A to Point B far quicker, and here’s how.

To start, head to Downtown Vinewood and locate Hao’s Garage, where you can then take his vehicle and complete a time trial with relative ease thanks to the generous time limit. After completion, you’ll be rewarded with the Hao’s Special Works Upgrade Discount Voucher for free, and you can use it at the LS Car Meet. With the HSW Upgrade, you can complete HSW Time Trials for $250K each week!

Finish the 3 Easy Treasure Hunts

Complete the Three Unique Treasure Hunts for Unique Weapons and $825K

Every player in GTA Online has access to a secret selection of treasure hunts that reward them with money, RP, and a unique weapon. These treasure hunts are not hard to start, nor do they require any skill to progress through. If you complete all 3, and their associated challenges, you can end up with an easy bout of around $825,000, including a selection of three weapons:

• Maude’s Bounties — Head to the white M icon in Grapeseed and complete the 5 bounty jobs for the Stone Hatchet. Kill 25 NPCs with the Stone Hatchet for $250,000.
• The Los Santos Slasher — Find 5 serial killer clues and then kill the Los Santos Slasher to get the Navy Revolver. Kill 50 NPCs with the Navy Revolver for $250,000.
• Treasure Hunt — Wait 48 real-time minutes in a session for an email from “vanderlinde@eyefind.com”, and collect the 5 pieces of hidden treasure for the Double-Action Revolver. Get 50 headshots on NPCs with the Double-Action Revolver for $250,000.

Purchase the Kosatka to Grind the Cayo Perico Heist

The Cayo Perico Heist is Perfect for Solo Players to Make $1M+ With Ease

Once you’ve saved up at least $2.5 million, it’s time to spend money to make money. You’re going to want to purchase the Kosatka submarine from the Warstock website, which will set you back $2,200,000. However, you’re going to quickly make this money back as the Kosatka allows you to grind the Cayo Perico heist.

The Cayo Perico heist can be completed solo every 2.5 hours, taking around 45 minutes to complete, and will earn you roughly $1.1 million every time. Paired with first-time bonuses, you’ll easily make your money back, and then some. Cayo Perico is even beginner-friendly, especially if you use our solo guide:

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Start Making Active Income With Nightclub, MC & Bunker Businesses

Acquire Supplies and Sell Stock for Millions of Dollars

With enough money, you’re finally going to want to speculate to accumilate, which basically means it’s time to invest that money in other businesses so that you can make even more money. A great starter business is the Bunker, which you can use to obtain supplies that can be exchanged for stock that can be sold at a high price, or exchanged for research for weapon upgrades. The stocks are generated passively while you do other activities, so long as you have supplies.

The same format applies to MC Businesses, and once you’ve managed to upgrade them all and have generated enough stock, you can sell them to easily make millions per day. To make even more money, you’re also going to want the Nightclub, as this not only passively genereates $50K every 48 minutes, but can be used in collaboration with other businesses to source crates that can be sold for even more profit.

Released

October 1, 2013

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

Developer(s)

Rockstar North

Engine

Rockstar Advanced Game Engine