Grand Theft Auto V Legacy: Story Mode & GTA Online Guide

A guide to the Legacy PC edition of GTA V: what Legacy is (and isn't), how to get the most from Story Mode, and how to make money and progress in GTA Online.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Title Update 1.73 (July 2026, The Kortz Center Heist era). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Legacy is the original PC build. When Rockstar released the free Enhanced upgrade on March 4, 2025, the old version was renamed "GTA V Legacy." Both come with the same Steam purchase.
• Legacy and Enhanced players can't play together. GTA Online sessions are separate, so pick the same version as your friends.
• Legacy still gets updates. Title updates, including 1.73 in July 2026, list fixes for both PC Legacy and Enhanced.
• Some features are Enhanced-only, including Hao's Special Works vehicles, GTA+, the Career Progress system, and ray tracing.
• Migration is one-way. You can move one Story Mode save and eligible GTA Online characters from Legacy to Enhanced, but progress made afterward doesn't sync back.
• In Story Mode, don't rush the assassinations. Lester's missions are tied to the stock market; timing them right makes you rich.
• In GTA Online, buy a money-making property early rather than cars or clothes.
• Don't mod GTA Online. Online uses anti-cheat and bans are account-wide.

Legacy vs Enhanced

Legacy | Enhanced

Hardware | Lower specs, DirectX 10/11 GPUs, works on HDD | Newer hardware, SSD required

Graphics | Original PC visuals | Ray tracing, upgraded textures, faster loading

Hao's Special Works | No | Yes

Wildlife encounters (Online) | No | Yes

GTA+ | No | Yes

Career Progress | No | Yes

Crossplay with the other PC version | No | No

Story save migration | Can send one save to Enhanced | Receives

Which should you play? If your PC meets Enhanced's requirements and your friends are there, Enhanced gets a few extras. Legacy is the right call for older hardware or if you want to keep your established setup.

Story Mode

The basics

GTA V follows three playable protagonists — Michael, Franklin, and Trevor — whom you switch between freely once all three are unlocked. Each has a special ability:

Character | Special ability | Best skill

Michael | Slows time during gunfights (bullet time) | Shooting

Franklin | Slows time while driving | Driving

Trevor | Takes less damage and deals more (rage mode) | Special

Skills (Stamina, Shooting, Strength, Stealth, Flying, Driving, Lung Capacity) improve by doing the activity. Flight School at Los Santos International and shooting ranges at Ammu-Nation are quick ways to raise Flying and Shooting.

The heists

These heists make up the spine of the story (Blitz Play, the armored-truck job done for the FIB, is a smaller heist that sits between them). Most let you choose an approach and a crew:

• The Jewel Store Job — the first heist; your choice of approach (loud or smart).
• The Merryweather Heist — offshore or freighter approach.
• The Paleto Score — a bank job in Paleto Bay.
• The Bureau Raid — infiltrate the FIB building.
• The Big Score — the finale heist, choose subtle or obvious approach.

Crew tips: Hire cheap crew members early (for example Packie McReary, who may be met through random events) — they level up with each heist and take a smaller cut for their skill later. Good early crew members increase heist payouts because they drop less loot and make fewer mistakes.

Heist | Commonly recommended setup (GTA BOOM) | Payout notes

The Jewel Store Job | Smart approach; Rickie Lukens (hacker), Packie McReary (gunman), Karim Denz (driver) | The first real payday; a cheap crew now levels up for later heists

The Merryweather Heist | Offshore or Freighter | No cash payout, whichever you pick

The Paleto Score | Packie McReary or Chef as gunman | Crew members who get shot lose part of the take

The Bureau Raid | Roof-entry approach; Rickie Lukens, Norm Richards, Taliana Martinez | Modest payout

The Big Score | Obvious approach with Taliana Martinez and Karim Denz as drivers, cheapest gunmen | By far the biggest payout: tens of millions per character

Packie McReary and Taliana Martinez are optional crew you only get by finding their random events, and they're among the best value hires, so keep an eye out for blue minimap dots early on.

The endings

At the end you choose one of three options (A, B, or C). Option C ("Deathwish") is widely considered the best ending as all three protagonists survive and remain playable. Make a manual save before the choice so you can see the others.

Stock market (Lester's assassinations)

Lester's assassination missions for Franklin let you invest in the stock market before the hit, then sell after the stock rises.

• Best general rule: do most assassinations after The Big Score, when all three characters have the most money to invest.
• The Hotel Assassination is the exception — it's required to progress the story, so you can't delay it. Invest in Betta Pharmaceuticals (BAWSAQ) before the hit, sell after the rise, then invest in Bilkington Research (LCN) for the rebound.
• Stock movements take in-game time. Sleeping in a safehouse bed (without saving) skips ahead about 8 hours, and each trading day starts at 8am.

Assassination | Stock play (per GTA BOOM) | Approx. return

The Hotel Assassination | Buy Betta Pharmaceuticals (BAWSAQ) before; sell after. Then buy Bilkington (LCN), wait about 3 in-game days, sell | ~80% on Betta

The Multi Target Assassination | Buy Debonaire (LCN) before; sell after. Then buy Redwood (LCN), wait about 2 days, sell | ~80% on Debonaire; ~300% on Redwood

The Vice Assassination | Buy Fruit (BAWSAQ) before; sell after | ~50%

The Bus Assassination | Buy Vapid (BAWSAQ) after the mission; wait about 2 days, sell | ~100%

The Construction Assassination | Buy GoldCoast (LCN) before; sell after | ~80%

Save before each buy so you can reload if a stock doesn't move the way the table says. Returns are approximate and vary with timing; the Redwood rebound after the Multi Target hit is the one to put every character's cash into.

Collectibles and 100% completion

Collectible | Count | Reward

Spaceship Parts | 50 | Unlocks the Space Docker vehicle

Letter Scraps | 50 | Reveals a murder mystery

Stunt Jumps | 50 | Completion credit

Under the Bridge flights | 50 | Completion credit

Knife Flights | 15 | Completion credit

Nuclear Waste | 30 | Cash reward from the related Strangers and Freaks mission

The Spaceship Parts are tied to Franklin's Strangers and Freaks missions with Omega; Nuclear Waste sits on the seabed and needs a submarine. Many land collectibles are easier with a helicopter. The PC version (Legacy included) also has 50 Monkey Mosaics, which become collectible after the mission "Chop," and the 100% list also asks for submarine parts.

What 100% completion requires

Category | Count

Story missions | 69

Strangers and Freaks | 58

Hobbies and Pastimes (races, Flight School, golf, tennis, hunting and more) | 61

Random Events | Any 14 of the 60

Miscellaneous (property purchases, collectibles, social activities) | 30

Counts are from GTA BOOM's completion checklist. The completion menu in the pause screen tracks each category, so check it rather than a list if something isn't registering.

Missables and tips

• Strangers and Freaks side missions appear as question marks on the map and can disappear if you advance the main story far enough — do them as they appear.
• Random events (blue dots on the minimap) can unlock heist crew members.
• Save often. Story Mode autosaves, but manual saves at safehouses let you restore after a bad choice.
• Cheats disable achievements — reload a clean save before going for achievements.

GTA Online (Legacy)

Getting started

• Complete the tutorial, then set up your character.
• Do Contact Missions and early jobs to earn starting money.
• Buy a property with income before cars. The classic starters are the Agency (Franklin's contract missions), Acid Lab (via The First Dose missions), or a Bunker.
• Set up the Nightclub once you have a couple of businesses; it generates passive income from your other businesses.
• Do heists — the Cayo Perico Heist (solo-able with a Kosatka submarine) remains one of the best-known earners, though Rockstar has adjusted payouts and cooldowns over the years.

Current content (as of September 2026)

Update | Release | What it adds

Bottom Dollar Bounties | June 25, 2024 | Bail enforcement office, bounty hunting and Dispatch Work missions

Agents of Sabotage | December 10, 2024 | Clandestine infiltration business

Money Fronts | June 17, 2025 | Money-laundering fronts (car wash, cannabis dispensary, helitours)

A Safehouse in the Hills | December 10, 2025 | Luxury mansions with customization, an AI assistant, pets, security, and new story missions featuring Michael De Santa

The Kortz Center Heist | July 14, 2026 | Art gallery heist with multiple approaches, plus an art studio in mansions for storing and selling stolen pieces

Most new content arrives on both PC versions, but a few features remain Enhanced-only. If an event or vehicle isn't appearing for you on Legacy, check the Rockstar Newswire or title update notes before assuming a bug.

What the newest content means for you: the art studio that stores and sells pieces stolen in the Kortz Center Heist lives in a mansion from A Safehouse in the Hills, so the full loop is a late-game investment. A new player on Legacy should still build income first (see below) and treat a mansion as a goal, not a starting point.

Money-making priorities

Priority | Why

Heists (Cayo Perico, recent heists) | Biggest lump-sum payouts

Agency / Acid Lab | Solo-friendly, reliable income

Bunker / Nightclub | Passive income while you play other content

Weekly bonuses | Rockstar boosts different activities each week (usually Thursday) — play the boosted content

What to avoid spending on early

• Supercars before a money-making property.
• Expensive apartments with no business.
• Shark Cards if you just want to "catch up" — a solid property does that better long term.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming Legacy and Enhanced are interchangeable. They aren't for online sessions or progress after migration.
• Migrating before deciding. Migration is one-way — make sure you want to move before you do.
• Doing Lester's assassinations too early in Story Mode.
• Buying cars first in Online. Income properties come first.
• Selling business stock in full public lobbies. Sell missions can be griefed; use invite-only sessions where allowed.
• Running mod menus online. It gets you banned.

Advanced Tips

• Story Mode money: max out assassination profits by investing all three characters' cash in the target stock.
• Online efficiency: stack passive businesses (Bunker, Nightclub) and run heists while they fill up.
• Use the Kosatka for travel — it makes Cayo Perico setups faster.
• Watch weekly bonuses on the Rockstar Newswire; double or triple money on the right activity changes your weekly earnings.
• Private or invite sessions reduce griefing, especially for sell missions.
• Choose your version for friends. If your crew is on Enhanced, you'll be on your own on Legacy.

FAQ

What is GTA V Legacy? The original PC version of GTA V and GTA Online, renamed when the Enhanced upgrade launched on March 4, 2025.

Can Legacy players play with Enhanced players? No. The two PC versions have separate online sessions.

Is GTA V Legacy still supported? Yes. Title Update 1.73 (July 2026) listed fixes for both Legacy and Enhanced.

What's missing on Legacy? Hao's Special Works, GTA+, the Career Progress system, and Enhanced's graphics upgrades, among others.

Can I move my save to Enhanced? Yes, one Story Mode save and eligible GTA Online characters. Progress after migration doesn't sync back to Legacy.

What's the best ending in GTA V? Option C ("Deathwish"), where all three protagonists survive.

What's the best early money-maker in GTA Online? An income property (Agency, Acid Lab, or Bunker) plus heists like Cayo Perico.

Which stocks do I buy for the Hotel Assassination? Betta Pharmaceuticals on BAWSAQ before the hit, then Bilkington on LCN afterward. Save first in case the price doesn't move as expected.

What does 100% completion need? 69 story missions, 58 Strangers and Freaks, 61 Hobbies and Pastimes, 14 of the 60 Random Events, and 30 miscellaneous tasks, per GTA BOOM's checklist.

Sources

• GTA BOOM — GTA 5 Legacy Game Wiki
• GTA BOOM — Lester's Assassination Missions Stocks Guide
• GTA BOOM — GTA 5 Heists Guide (Story Mode)
• GTA BOOM — GTA 5 100% Completion Checklist
• GTA BOOM — GTA 5 Stock Market Guide
• Rockstar Support — GTAV Title Update 1.73 Notes
• Wikipedia — Grand Theft Auto Online
• Wikipedia — Grand Theft Auto V