What to do when you arrive in GTA 5 Online

Watch for white dots

They’re the other players you’re sharing your server with. If you see one approaching you at speed, get ready. They might just be fleeing for cops, or simply passing through on their way to a job. But they might also be a griefer out for blood, so find cover, pull out your gun and stay frosty until you know what’s up. One thing to remember: most stores and businesses are PvP-free zones, where players can do little else than insult you. So seek refuge if you need to, and sit it out until the person moves on.

Find some friends. Or frenemies. Either will do

The best way to play GTA Online is to invite people to join you as a group – or simply wait for someone to initiate a group invite. If the people you’re playing with are a bit crap, you might want to go off and do some of the solo activities outlined below. But if it turns out they’re quite handy, you can keep on playing with them by using the post-job voting menu to replay the prior job (highly recommended if it’s easy and/or lucrative), or start a new one.

Group activities generate 20% more rep than solo runs. Also, it’s always worth playing a mission again to get a perfect score, as it’s always easier the second time around, and if you do get it all right, the Rep bonus is sweet.

Remember that if you are an aggressive player and kill a lot of other players, you’ll become a bounty target and will likely be hunted down for money. Also, if you’re a dick and yell at people, you’ll very likely get negatively ranked. Although it’s early days, it seems that Bad Sports are thrown into servers with like-minded players – which might be fun if you like that sort of thing, but should be avoided if you don’t want to fend for yourself against 15 other people who just love being jerks.

Don't grab the first car you see (unless it's a nice one). Find one that you can live with, as the first car you get is the one you're stuck with until you buy another.