Greetings, rookie. I’m Librarian Husky — your slightly grumpy but shockingly efficient guide to surviving this chaotic sandbox of crime, cash, and chaos. You’ve just landed in a city where everyone’s either broke, armed, or both — and usually aiming a rocket launcher at your rusty ride.

Understanding the Basics

So, you’ve just entered the chaotic world of Los Santos as a novice player. The city is filled with challenges, and you’re overwhelmed with decisions on which businesses to invest in and which cars to use for heists. The lack of guidance from the game adds to your confusion. Meanwhile, other players are wreaking havoc with advanced vehicles while you’re stuck with a basic car. Your bank account is empty, and numerous NPCs are reaching out to you for visits.

Guide to Smart Purchases in GTA Online

Who do you listen to? What do you buy? Well, if you clicked on this article, you’re probably looking for answers to those questions. And I’m about to reveal which items a beginner should buy in GTA Online. And I’ll also give you a rough idea of the order in which you should buy them.

Understanding Your Options

When starting out in GTA Online, it’s essential to make informed decisions about your purchases. Knowing what items to prioritize can significantly impact your gameplay experience. By focusing on key essentials, you can efficiently progress through the game and enhance your overall enjoyment.

Effective Purchases for Starting Players

Because telling a newbie to own a $2.2 million submarine so that they can do Kaio means absolutely nothing when that person has $10,000 in their bank account. Not only is it important to know which items are worth purchasing, but also the order in which you get them.

Commencing Mission with Dax

The very first thing you need to do is head on over to Dax so you can begin the first dose missions. These are unlocked once you get a phone call from Ron asking you to visit Ace Liquicker in Sandy Shores where you walk in on the Fooligans who are having a fun little wrestling match with Ron getting the absolute crap kicked out of him. The leader, Dax, is about to give you some work when a bunch of lost MC guys show up and steal his RV.

Setting Up the Freak Shop

Once you bring it back, you guys set up shop in an abandoned warehouse near the Mirror Park Railard, and from there on, it will be called the Freak Shop. It also comes with a free Mark 2 weapons workshop, which is a great upgrade to your weapons early on if you don’t have the cash for a proper Mark 2 armory.

Unlocking the Acid Lab

But the real reason you want to do the first dose missions, of which there are six, is so you can unlock one of the best sources of passive income in the entire game, the acid lab. This is basically the Walter White meth RV, but bigger with a lot more armor and a really mean wedge up front. That’s basically a giant block of steel that flips NPC vehicles out of your way as you drive through traffic at 60 mph like a drugged up lunatic.

Maximizing Profit with Acid Lab Equipment in GTA Online

It’s really fun to drive, and once you install the acid lab equipment in the back for $750,000, it’s also going to start making you money. You get your own assistant and cook who goes by the name of Mut, and he’ll resupply your business with a simple phone call. So, you don’t even have to visit it physically like you have to do with a lot of other businesses in the game. But before you do any acid production, you need the upgrades, without which your output isn’t really going to be worth it or very time efficient. Before the upgrades, you make about $40,000 an hour.

Efficiency Through Upgrades

Upgrading your equipment is essential to maximizing your profit. With the acid lab upgrades, your business becomes more efficient, increasing your hourly income significantly. Mut, your assistant, plays a crucial role in maintaining a smooth supply chain. By investing in these upgrades, you ensure that your time is utilized effectively, making the business venture truly lucrative.

Maximizing Profit in Product Upgrades

But with the upgrades, your product capacity increases while your production time simultaneously decreases with it, bringing your profit per hour up to $87,000. And that’s before the boost, which further speeds up production time even further, allowing you to make over $100,000 an hour.

Additional Bonuses for Enhanced Sales

If you name your product, you’ll get another 5% on top of that. And if you sell in a fully packed public lobby, it’s another 50% on top of that for the high demand bonus. You always get one cell vehicle, which is a dirt bike, which makes cell missions very solo friendly.

Acid Lab Business Guide

And you can summon your bricade 6×6 like a personal vehicle from the interaction menu so your business comes to you instead of the other way around. Overall, the acid lab is an S tier business, so definitely grab it first. Just make sure you do all the first and last dose missions as you get around $800,000 total for doing all 11, which will be enough to install the acid lab equipment and then do 10 foolans missions for DAX. These pay up $50,000 each on a 48-minute cool down. And you unlock the acid lab equipment upgrade once you complete at least 10 of them.

Summoning Your Vehicle

And you can summon your bricade 6×6 like a personal vehicle from the interaction menu so your business comes to you instead of the other way around.

Maximizing Earnings

Just make sure you do all the first and last dose missions as you get around $800,000 total for doing all 11, which will be enough to install the acid lab equipment and then do 10 foolans missions for DAX. These pay up $50,000 each on a 48-minute cool down.

Exploring Drug Wars DLC in GTA Online

The best part about the whole Drug Wars DLC is that you don’t actually have to pay for anything out of your own pocket. The missions that you do will generate more than enough money for all the acid lab equipment. You get that briade 6×6 for free. Plus, you also get a free $3 million electric hypercar, the Ocelot Virtue, at the end of the last do storyline. So, there is absolutely no reason not to do this whole quest line as soon as you start your criminal career in GTA Online.

Benefits of Drug Wars DLC

The Drug Wars DLC offers players the opportunity to acquire valuable assets without spending their own money. By completing missions, players can earn sufficient funds to purchase essential equipment for their acid lab. Additionally, players receive a complimentary briade 6×6 and a $3 million electric hypercar, the Ocelot Virtue, upon completing the DLC storyline. This makes it a lucrative venture for players embarking on their criminal journey in GTA Online.

Managing Finances in GTA Online

Once you have your acid lab, you’re going to need some money to maintain resupplies. You’ll also need some money for guns. I recommend doing the cluck and bell farm raid. It’s free and takes about an hour for a $500,000 payout, but you can get that time down to 45 minutes easily. And once you have your cash, head on over to the local ammunition and grab yourself these five weapons.

Maximizing Profit with Strategic Raids

If you want to make the most out of your acid lab in GTA Online, ensuring a steady flow of supplies is crucial. The cluck and bell farm raid stands out as a lucrative option, offering a substantial $500,000 payout. By optimizing your approach, you can complete the raid in just 45 minutes, boosting your earnings efficiently.

Equipping Yourself for Success

To enhance your combat capabilities in GTA Online, investing in the right weapons is essential. Visit the local ammunition store to acquire five key weapons that will serve you well in various scenarios. Prioritize arming yourself efficiently to navigate the virtual world with confidence.

Best Weapons in GTA Online

An AP pistol, a special carbine, a combat MG, an assault shotgun, as well as a heavy sniper. An AP pistol for shooting out of cars, special carbine for mid-range engagements, combat MG for general havoc against large groups of enemies, assault shotgun for when you need to get up close and personal, as well as the heavy sniper for taking out targets from a distance. Of course, some of these unlock later through the ranks, but still overall, I’d say anytime before level 120 is a perfect time to purchase any of these weapons.

Weapon Modifications and Upgrades

And with your Mark 2 weapons bench at the freak shop, you can also attach all sorts of modifications like foregrips, scopes, suppressors, muzzle brakes, extended mags, lights, etc. But don’t go too crazy because you’re still new and you probably don’t have that much cash anyways.

Weapon Upgrades Guide

So, I’d recommend of course sticking with the Mark weapons for a while. Also, one because you need the bunker to access the research for some Mark 2 weapon upgrades. And the only real mod that you need is the extended mags and suppressors on certain weapons. And that’s it.

Additional Weapon Choices

You should also definitely look into a homing launcher as well as the RPG, but those won’t unlock until after rank 100.

Preparing for Action in GTA Online

And grab yourself a few sticky bombs, too, because you never know when you need to blow up some vehicles. And while you’re at the ammunition, don’t forget to buy some heavy armor. You’re definitely going to need it in firefights.

Choosing the Right Vehicle

Next, you need an armored vehicle. You could spend $700,000 on that old faithful armored Karuma, or you could head to Warstock Cash and Carry and grab yourself a Duke of Death for absolutely free.

Optimizing Duke of Death in GTA V

One of the front windows on the Duke of Death can be penetrated from the side angles, but you don’t have to worry about that because it’s a really, really small hitbox. Plus, you’ll be moving most of the time, so enemies can’t really lock onto you through that window, especially the NPCs.

Comparing Duke of Death and Karuma

The Duke also has more explosive resistance compared to the Karuma that everyone raves about. It’s faster in a straight line and it can equip Ammanitech upgrades now like the missile lock on jammer. So if you have a crew of three to four players, then the Karuma is probably going to be better because it can seat four.

The Duke of Death Vehicle in GTA V

But in almost every other situation or especially if you’re a solo player the Duke of Death wins out 100% of the time. It costs nothing and that’s why it’s ideal for absolute brand new players.

Getting Started in GTA Online

After you have your acid lab, starter weapons, as well as an armored vehicle, it’s time to get an agency. If you don’t already have a CEO office or apartment, you should buy one of these first because you need parking space as well as a really nice centrally located spawn point. Plus, you can’t really do jobs unless you register as a CEO or MC president anyway.

Setting up Your Agency in Little Soul

The agency costs just over $2 million, and the best one a beginner can buy is in Little Soul. It doesn’t come with an armory, the Ammani Tech Workshop, or personal quarters, but you can install all of those options later once you have the cash. For now, just use the agency as a way to generate money through security contracts, paid phone hits, as well as the Dr. D VIP contract, which pays out $1.1 million for just about 1 and a half to two hours work. Once you install a personal quarters and the armory in your agency, though, set it as your spawn point so you can always load up on snacks and armor before you begin any kind of heist or contact mission.

Maximizing Passive Income in GTA Online

With the agency now secured, you’re going to need to invest in a few more sources of passive income for your character. I definitely recommend the nightclub as well as the bunker. The nightclub has a higher payout and easier sell missions, while the bunker offers additional perks like unlocking upgrades for your small arms and weaponized vehicles.

Optimizing Nightclub Earnings

With the nightclub, you can make over $100,000 an hour very reliably as long as you maintain 90 to 100% popularity and have all five warehouse technicians assigned in that warehouse section. This may take a while if you’re a beginner and don’t have five businesses to assign text to.

Setting Up Your Business in GTA Online

And in that case, you should probably put the nightclub on hold until later, until after you have a bunker, as well as a few MC businesses, maybe a hangar or large cargo warehouses as well. But as for the bunker, there are no prerequisites here. Just make sure you get one that’s in a solid location, not too far up north in the Paleto Forest, because that’s just a pain to travel back and forth to every time you want to do a sell mission or resupply. Instead, just save up some extra cash and get the Chumash or even the farmhouse location. I prefer the farmhouse location.

Optimizing Bunker Business Strategy

With your bunker purchased, grab the equipment as well as the staff upgrades. Then at the start, assign all personnel to manufacturing. You don’t need to care about research right now. Just make as much money as you can through manufacturing. You could sell a quarter bar of stock, half a bar, or even a full bunker worth of product, but I recommend just resupplying your business once for $75,000.

Maximizing Profit with Strategic Sales

Selling products from your bunker is a key aspect of maximizing your profits in the game. By focusing on manufacturing and selling your products efficiently, you can generate substantial income to expand your virtual empire. Ensuring a steady flow of supplies and managing sales strategically will help you grow your business and increase your wealth.

Maximizing Profits in Grand Theft Auto Online

And then when that’s done, you could sell that product for $210,000 as long as you’re selling long distance. And that will ensure you’ll only get one delivery vehicle for that sale. Once you’ve generated a few hundred grand with your bunker, grab yourself a motorcycle clubhouse.

Establishing an MC Business

Now, this is the first step to becoming an MC president and owning MC businesses. Unfortunately, you simply cannot do any of it without a clubhouse.

Choosing the Right Location for Your Clubhouse and Apartment

Again, location matters, so get the one in downtown Vinewood or Hawwick if you want a centrally placed clubhouse that will also make it easier to travel to between your biker businesses, agency, or even the nightclub. If you get the great Chapra clubhouse out in Sandy Shores, it is going to be a lot cheaper, but traveling will take you longer until you buy your first flying vehicle. So, I don’t really recommend it. A high-end apartment is also worth considering at this point because it’s going to unlock the five OG heist while also giving you a nice spawn location and enough garage space for up to 10 vehicles of your own. The agency can hold up to 19 vehicles across three different floors, so you shouldn’t be hurting for garage space at this stage, but it’s still a nice change of pace from the regular content to play the OG heist every once in a while, even though you don’t really find a lot of people queuing up for those setups anymore.

Benefits of Central Clubhouse Locations

Having a clubhouse in downtown Vinewood or Hawwick offers the convenience of easy travel between your various businesses and the nightclub. On the other hand, opting for the cheaper Chapra clubhouse in Sandy Shores may result in longer travel times until you acquire a flying vehicle. Additionally, investing in a high-end apartment can unlock the five OG heist and provide ample garage space for up to 10 vehicles, enhancing your overall gaming experience. While the agency offers extensive garage space, exploring the OG heist can offer a refreshing break from routine gameplay.

Unlocking the Kaio Heist in Casatka

And now it’s time to finally purchase the Casatka and unlock the most profitable money-making method in the entire game, the legendary Kaio Heist that you’ve probably heard of. You’ll need to pay the $2.2 million up front, as well as a setup fee for $100,000 every time you want to do the Kaio heist, but you make about $1 million on average for only 1 hour of gameplay, so it’s more than worth it.

Maximizing Profit with Kaio Heist

Within just two heists, you’ll have already made back your initial investment on the sub. And with two more, you’ll have enough cash to purchase the Sparrow helicopter for your Kasaka’s moon. With the Sparrow, heist prep becomes a lot faster as it’s one of the fastest helicopters in the entire game, beaten only by the Canada as well as by fast jets.

Using the Sparrow for Travel

You can even summon the Sparrow as a personal vehicle of your own right next to you, turning it into a general-purpose vehicle for traveling around the map and resupplying your businesses. If I’m not using the Oppressor Mark II to get around, I’m using the Sparrow.

Salvage Art: A Simple and Efficient Option

The Salvage Art is going to be the 10th and final item on my list. And while it’s not the most spectacular in terms of money-making, it’s very easy to maintain, and the jobs are quite simple. You have your basic tow truck missions to make you anywhere from 40 to $60,000 depending on the type of vehicle you bring in.

Maximizing Profits in Vehicle Salvage Business

And with staff upgrades and a second lift, you can take two vehicles apart in 48 minutes for 80 to $120,000 in profits, which is not that bad at all. And it’s also one of the few businesses in the game that will even work while you’re offline.

Continuous Revenue Generation

Not the whole salvage yard, but basically the tow truck section, so your mechanics will continue to take apart the vehicles that you brought in, even if you’ve logged out and exited the game. You also have an office safe that accumulates daily cash depending on how many tow truck missions you do, similar to the one in the agency or the nightclub. And then finally, there are vehicle robberies that are essentially mini vehicle heists.

Weekly Options and Payouts

You get three options each week, and the payout for these is anywhere between 250 to $400,000. And the missions take about 25 to 40 minutes each.

Cash Rewards and Stolen Vehicles

In the end, you get your cash reward by selling the stolen vehicle. And occasionally, you also get the option to keep one of these stolen vehicles for yourself. And this can be really nice for new players since some of the vehicles are quite expensive at over a million dollars purchase price.

Top 10 Purchases for Beginners in GTA Online

And so occasionally you might get a really nice supercar through your salvage yard missions practically for free. But honestly, Rockstar doesn’t offer them all that much. But it is a nice benefit and perk right there. And there you have it, guys. My top 10 purchases for beginners in GTA Online.

Customizing Your List for Different Preferences

Remember, this is my list and these are my thoughts. So swap out any items that you don’t like with something that you want if you prefer. And maybe you like tinkering around with vehicles and racing. And so with that case, you could swap out the salvage yard for an auto shop, maybe get the garment factory to do the FIB files, whatever you want. I think for beginners, there are plenty of ways to take it from here.

Exploring Alternative Options

Remember, this is my list and these are my thoughts. So swap out any items that you don’t like with something that you want if you prefer. And maybe you like tinkering around with vehicles and racing. And so with that case, you could swap out the salvage yard for an auto shop, maybe get the garment factory to do the FIB files, whatever you want. I think for beginners, there are plenty of ways to take it from here.

Thank you for diving into our guide! Discover our exceptional GTA V boosting services and elevate your gaming experience with our top-tier boosts.