Arriving in the city
When you connect you see the LSL loading screen, then the city loads your profile, the locations, the NPCs and any shift you still had open.
Job Center
You start at the Job Center in the centre of Los Santos.
$150 cash + $350 bank
Your starting money. Enough for your first licence.
5 minutes protection
Right after you log in you cannot get hurt.
Saved every minute
Log in again and you are back where you were.
Creating your character
The first time you join, you are taken to a private studio on top of the Maze Bank to build your character in peace. Step by step:
- Heritage: female or male, pick a mother and a father, then slide how much you look like each of them.
- Face: nose, brows, cheeks, eyes, lips, jaw, chin and neck, each with its own slider.
- Skin, Hair and Makeup & eyes: blemishes, ageing, freckles, hairstyle and colour, brows, beard, makeup, lipstick and eye colour.
- Clothing: tops, undershirts, trousers, shoes, hats, glasses, watches, bags and more, each with its own colours.
Drag to turn your character, scroll to zoom and right-drag to move the camera up or down. The camera buttons jump to your face, upper body, legs or feet. Made a mistake? Ctrl+Z undoes it. The 🎲 dice give you a random face, hairstyle or outfit, and ★ marks clothes you like. In photo mode (P) the menus disappear and you can pick a pose and an expression for a nice screenshot.
Want a different look later? See the doctor.
The eye (Left Alt)
This is the most important key in the city. Hold Left Alt, look at an NPC, a vehicle or a marked spot, scroll to the action you want and click. Starting a shift, taking an exam, buying a bike, getting in a taxi: it all goes through the eye.
NPCs can have these roles:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open Job Center | See all jobs |
| Start / end shift | Start a shift or hand it in |
| Training & exams | Theory and practical exams |
| Talk | Information only |
| Doctor | Treatment & medical supplies |
| Bike shop | Buy, take out & store bikes |
| Car dealer | Buy, take out & store cars |
| Free bike rental | Take out & return a free bike |
Some NPCs really talk: the camera zooms in, they speak and gesture. You stand still for a moment while they do.
Keys and commands
These are the default keys. You can change them in GTA: Settings › Key Bindings › FiveM.
| Key / command | What it does |
|---|---|
| F5 | Player menu: profile, money, career, jobs, vehicles, licences, settings |
| Left Alt (hold) | The eye: look at an NPC, vehicle or spot, scroll to pick an action and click. Everything in the city works through the eye. |
| T | Open the chat |
| N (hold) | Talk: players near you hear you, softer the further away they are |
| F11 | Voice range: whisper (3 m), talk (8 m), shout (20 m). A coloured circle shows it for 10 seconds |
| B | Seatbelt on/off. On a motorcycle or scooter: helmet on/off |
| Y | Cruise control on/off. Numpad + / − (or = / −): 5 km/h or 5 mph faster or slower |
| U | Speed limiter on/off: you drive yourself but never faster than the limit |
| ← / → | Indicator left / right |
| ↑ | Hazard lights |
| Q, L, O | Lights and siren menu, lights on/off, siren on/off (emergency vehicles only) |
/report <text> | Send a report to the crew, with an automatic screenshot |
/all /close /help | Chat channels: everyone, nearby, a question to the crew |
/passive | Passive mode on/off |
/taxi · /taxi cancel | Call a free NPC taxi, or cancel it |
/tank | Fill up your tank (until fuel stations arrive) |
The player menu (F5)
| Group | Tab | What you find there |
|---|---|---|
| Support | Reports / help | Your reports to the crew, with the whole conversation |
| Support | Notifications | Inbox of all messages. Star the ones you want to keep |
| You | Profile | Name, money, your main job |
| You | Finance | Cash, bank and every transaction |
| You | Career & XP | XP and level per skill group |
| Work | Job Center | All jobs with requirements, pay, earnings per hour and your rating; GPS to the start; set your main job |
| Work | Active Job | Your current shift: step, goal, earnings so far, cancel |
| Work | Vehicles | Your own vehicles and where they are |
| Work | Inventory | What you carry (the papers of your shift) |
| Work | Licences & Certificates | Which licences you have and which you still need |
| Plan | Career & Investment Advice | Personal advice: which job, licence or purchase is smart right now |
| Other | Settings | mph or km/h, HUD, hints, sounds, siren volume |
In every popup Enter presses the confirm button. Buttons have fixed colours: blue can be pressed, grey not active (yet), green yes, red no.
Notifications: new ones have a NEW label. Click to read; you can go Previous / Next, Star it (starred messages are never cleaned up) or Mark as unread. Delete read removes only messages you have read.
HUD and messages
- Your money, location and health; in a vehicle also fuel, damage and BELT (red = off, green = on). On a motorcycle or scooter it says HELMET.
- During a shift or exam: your current task, with a blip, GPS route and marker to the next goal.
- Toasts: short messages on the right. Important ones are kept in Notifications.
- You can turn the HUD off in F5 › Settings.
Your first shift, step by step
- Open F5 › Job Center (or use the eye on the Job Center NPC). Pick Newspaper Carrier and set the GPS.
- No bike? Take a free bike at the Free Bike Rental right next to the Job Center.
- Ride to the Newspaper Depot in Mirror Park. Eye on the dispatcher › Start / end shift.
- Choose your vehicle. A company bike costs a 10% deposit that you get back when you hand in.
- Follow the GPS and deliver at each house on your address list.
- Ride back and hand in your address list. Pay, deposit and XP come in at once. Check F5 › Finance.