How do you play GTA Online solo?

GTA Online is built around playing with others. You do not do that to have but it’s the default assumption for how you play. But it’s not always the most convenient way to play. Sometimes you just want that play GTA Online solo and don’t worry about the rest.

Much of what we’ll talk about below focuses on things you can do to make money playing solo. That is because GTA Online it’s all about making money. Money is how you buy new cars, new weapons, and new properties – properties that often open up new ways to make even more money.

Us GTA Online guide explains your options for playing solo, including starting a private session and the types of activities you can do, all to clarify how to play GTA Online solo.

Matchmaking works for solo players

GTA Online has a matchmaking system for any event that requires more than one player. And that means you don’t have to play with a fixed group of eight players to handle most events, heists or races.

You’ll be placed in a group of players, but you can simply turn off chat and audio and treat them as if they were AI controlled. Your party’s, shall we say, effectiveness will be mixed, but your team of randos will get the job done (for the most part).

But you’ll also often have to wait in lobbies for others to join and, honestly, you’ll have to rely on a random player to complete your tasks.

How to start a closed session in GTA Online

There are many reasons to want a solo session GTA Online. However, the sadness is great. Being attacked by a stranger while looking at the map is an incredibly frustrating experience, and it’s painful to have other players actively working against you when you’re just trying to complete a quick mission to make some money.

More pragmatically, there are a fixed number of organizations – corporations and motorcycle gangs – of which each instance is a part GTA Online can have. If you try to start your own business when that limit has been reached, you won’t succeed. The quickest way to get around this is to go to Online > Find a new session. You have a number of options here. Public Session will find another copy of the game – probably one with at least a few open slots for new organizations.

For pure solo play, however, there is a better option. Start one Closed friends session. Whether you actually invite friends is up to you. Now you have the freedom to start organizing, take on missions, and even just show up on your doorstep without getting killed. There simply won’t be any other players in your copy of Los Santos.

How to solo heists in GTA Online

You won’t be able to play most of them raids solo inside GTA Online. Trying to start one will throw you into matchmaking, and most won’t even start without at least two players. However, there are two exceptions: the Cayo Perico robbery and the Cluckin’ Bell Farms raid.

Image: Rockstar Games

The Cayo Perico heist begins when you meet Miguel Madrazo bee The Music Vault nightclub. This will start an international heist where you buy a submarine. You’ll have to get off GTA$2,000,000 on the sub, but the heist has the best payout in the game.

Image: Rockstar Games

When robbing Cluckin’ Bell Farms you must tackle a conspiracy of corrupt cops (redundant) and a drug gang. There is no buy-in for the raid(s), so it is a much better investment of your time for a decent payout.

What can you do solo in GTA Online?

So if you’re not doing heists, the main story-based events are for GTA Online – what are you going to do? There is actually a lot to choose from. Let’s break it down.

• Contact Missions. If you choose one of your contacts on your phone, you can start contact missions. Some of them (but not all) can be played by one person. Gerald, LamarAnd Martin Madrazo‘s Contact Missions are good for this. Look for contact missions to appear as 2x GTA$ and RP in the weekly updates.
• Simeon’s export requests. Each week, Simeon (from Simeon’s Premium Deluxe Motorsports) has a list of vehicles he wants you to steal. If you happen to see one and steal it, you can get it for around GTA$20,000.
• Salvage yard. There are a lot of Criminal Enterprise-related things to do – more on that later – but the simplest of them is a Salvage Yard operation. You’ll have to buy a store first – the cheapest starts at GTA$1,620,000 – but it offers plenty of solo options. You can make some quick money towing cars, or you can pull off three-part mini-heists called Salvage Yard Robberies for a lot more money.
• Arms trade. Likewise, if you can afford to have one bunker, you can set up a Gunrunning Business. The management is a bit more involved, but you will have a side job that will involve supplying the bunker and delivering weapons shipments.
• Criminal enterprises. As the boss of a criminal organization (a CEO of SecuroServ or a chairman of a motorcycle club) you have the opportunity to do things yourself. However, most of these require you to buy companies, but if you can afford it, they will keep you busy. But there is a warning.

Should you play solo as CEO or Biker?

Your criminal enterprise – a CEO of SecuroServe or a motorcycle club president – ​​has enough to buy you while you play alone. As MC President, you can do things like stock your clubhouse’s bar, grow room, and mock factories without any help.

Image: Rockstar Games via Polygon

However, the delivery missions are a problem for a solo player. Multiple vehicles are almost always involved in the delivery of drugs and counterfeits. In very rare cases you can have the deliveries carried out yourself within the time limit (especially for air flights). But more often than not, unless you have multiple people in your MC helping you, you’ll run out of time.

Image: Rockstar Games via Polygon

The other Criminal Enterprise track, CEO of SecureoServ, is a much better option for solo players. Once you have purchased an office and a warehouse, you can get started Special And Vehicle load missions. With a little patience, these can be extremely lucrative for a solo player, without the time commitment and hassle of MC missions. And the deliveries can almost always be made with a team of one person.

And if you’re playing the main game, don’t miss our list of GTA 5 deception.