GTA 6 Beginner's Guide: Getting Started in Leonida

Landing in Leonida

GTA VI puts you in Leonida, Rockstar’s Florida-inspired state built around Vice City and a string of rural regions — the Keys, the Everglades-like Grassrivers, the company town of Ambrosia, and more. New to the series or coming back after GTA V, the first few hours are about orientation, not optimization.

Two protagonists, one dynamic

Lucia Caminos and Jason Duval carry the story together — official material frames them as a couple pulled into escalating crime, not a lone-wolf lead. Lucia is confirmed as the first fully-voiced, non-optional woman protagonist in the mainline series. Jason grew up around con artists and small-time criminals, spent time in the Army, and now lives in the Leonida Keys.

What to prioritize early

A sensible early checklist, based on how open-world GTA has always structured its opening hours:

• Get through the introductory missions before wandering — they exist to teach the core loop
• Once you have freedom to explore, get a foothold: a place to change clothes, save, and store a vehicle
• Learn wanted-level basics before you attract police attention you can’t shake (see below)
• Explore Leonida’s regions at your own pace — Vice City is the hub, but the rural areas hold their own content

Early money, without overcomplicating it

Story missions are historically the best payout-to-time ratio in early GTA — that’s unlikely to change here. Beyond that, expect side activities and opportunistic robberies to fill the gaps. For a full breakdown of money strategies once you’re past the opening hours, see our money-making guide.

Handling the police early on

Heat starts with a witness: a crime has to be seen, or an alarm tripped, before anyone is dispatched. From there, what the police know about you sits as icons under the stars — your face, your outfit, your car — and each one can be shaken off on its own. That is where the early habits come from:

• Keep a spare outfit in the trunk. A hat and sunglasses won’t clear the clothing icon; you need a full change, and the trunk is where it lives.
• Put the mask on before the crime, not after. On before, off during the escape, and no description reaches the police at all — cameras included.
• Drop a car they’ve recognised. Abandon or burn it and the vehicle icon goes with it; staying in the same car keeps you findable.

Beyond that, the old advice still holds: break contact, and don’t push your luck at higher stars until you understand escalation. At one star slipping away is easy; from three up the city itself works against you — narrow streets, thick traffic — so leave the car and take the alleys. Full breakdown in our police & wanted system guide.

FAQ

Do I need to have played GTA V first?
No. GTA VI is a self-contained story with a new setting, cast, and timeline.

Is GTA VI beginner-friendly?
Nothing confirmed suggests otherwise — Rockstar’s mainline titles have always paired an open world with a guided opening, and a dual-protagonist structure gives new players two different play styles to lean into.

What’s the single most useful habit for a new player?
Save often and don’t skip the introductory missions — they’re doing more teaching than they look like they are.

Everything here comes from official Rockstar materials. Analysis is labeled. We don’t publish leaks.