Grand Theft Auto V is a massive open-world game, but the core mission structure offers just as much replayability. You might spend hours hunting down spaceship parts or cleaning up nuclear waste, but with Game Replay, you can reexperience any of the campaign's explosive missions to better your score on each.
Typically obtaining the Gold Medal on any mission requires specific attention to detail, shooting accuracy, and a steady hand at the wheel. Here are some typical hang-ups you'll run into on your path to Gold and how to handle them:
1. Don't damage the getaway car
Some missions will require you to deliver a vehicle unscathed, either for a follow-up mission or simply because it's not your car. Obviously, driving as Franklin will allow you to utilize his slow-motion driving special ability to avoid accidents, but safe driving is a skill you'll need to learn early if you're going to succeed in Los Santos.
Learning how to drive fast but safe will come naturally as you learn the traffic behavior and patterns of citizens in Los Santos. Stoplights like to take a long time and no one wants to wait behind an LS soccer mom when the clock is ticking. Consider slowing down as you near an intersection and then accelerating through once you see an opening. Whether or not you have to keep your vehicle unmarked, it'll ultimately improve your mission time if you can learn to navigate the streets wisely. Not every situation calls for a lead foot.
2. Headshots, headshots, headshots
Shooting accuracy is measured in a handful of different ways throughout Grand Theft Auto V's campaign. You either need to score a certain number of headshots, or you need a certain percentage of shooting accuracy, or you just need to grind your way through the opposition to obtain a fast mission time.
Bottom line, take a weapon you're comfortable with and change your controls. You can switch your aiming style at anytime in the start menu, so if headshots are required for the mission you're on, switch to the soft-lock system in order to quickly target and finely tune your aim for a headshot. Sometimes a shotgun is more helpful for high accuracy requirements. Soft-lock aiming will help in this regard too, but switch your aim back to expert when you're done. Soft-lock online lobbies are for pansies.
3. Evade the cops clean
Playing through the whole game will help you become more accustomed to GTA V's police search system, where breaking the line of sight and then evading the cops is key, so for that reason it's doubly true that finishing the game naturally is best. Get a lot of experience evading heat under your belt because the speedy escape requirements on some missions can be really tough to meet.
The most important thing in losing heat is breaking the line of sight and finding places that the cop AI simply won't look for you. Cops hate to go off-road, or cut across highways, or follow you through back alleys. More often than not, debris that's easily evaded by a human player will trip the AI up, so look for opportunities to put seemingly arbitrary roadblocks in between you and your pursuers. Double back, take two lefts and a right, and eventually you'll have dropped the tails.
4. Situational character switching
Knowing how and when to use a character's special ability is key, and many missions will require you to make smart switches in order to fulfill Gold Medal stipulations. If a crowd of enemies has just flooded your personal space, it's time to use Michael's slow-motion shooting to score several headshots as fast as possible. If you know you're about to take a bunch of damage, switch characters so the AI gets everyone into cover without punishing you.
If you need to blow up a bunch of vehicles, Trevor's rampage mode will do more damage to them faster than any other character. If you're stealing cars or racing through crowded streets, Franklin is your best bet. Know what you need to accomplish and tailor your character switching to take advantage of every situation.
5. Set goals and replay for those you missed
Getting a 100% Gold Medal on every mission is increasingly difficult to do in one shot. Some requirements are actually antithetical to the other mission parameters, so setting out to clear only one objective will ensure you take dedicated steps to 100% without wasting your time on successively frustrating mission playthroughs.
Say you need accuracy, but you also need a certain number of headshots to clear a level. If you're struggling to clear both requirements in one shot, focus on accuracy by using a shotgun to grind through baddies first. Then go for headshots when you can take more time or when you don't have to worry about whiffing thanks to nervous aim. Replay, replay, replay… and eventually you'll cross everything off your list.
Of course, if you really can't hang with Trevor, Franklin, or even Michael maybe it's time to look into a few GTA V Cheats to make everything quiet in the city of LS.
