Explore GTA 6’s game systems and basic features, including gameplay actions, on-screen information, Wanted Levels, the Crime Profile, and the relationship between its two protagonists.
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Basic Actions & Choices
Beyond movement, combat, and driving, playing GTA 6 also involves inviting your partner to join a job, talking to other people, and observing your surroundings before acting. You can approach the same goal in different ways, whether you use a gun, make a demand, or back away when the situation becomes dangerous.
When taking a car, for example, telling the owner to get out may be enough. In another encounter, they may pull a weapon and resist. Choosing your next action based on how people respond also ties into your Crime Profile and police pursuit.
HUD & Interface
The HUD, or heads-up display, is information overlaid on the screen while you play. The UI, or user interface, also includes maps, menus, and selection screens used to interact with the game.
It helps to group on-screen information by its purpose: your character’s condition, police searches, your relationship with your partner, money, and inventory. Pursuit-related icons can also offer clues about what the police know about the suspect.
On the map, areas you have not visited are hidden and become visible as you explore them. Traveling around Leonida is also a way to gradually fill in the map.
Wanted Levels & Police
GTA 6 has six Wanted Levels. Police responses depend on the crime and whether it has been witnessed or reported. Information such as the suspect’s clothing, appearance, and getaway vehicle also helps guide the search.
Understanding what the police know about you is key to reading the situation while you are wanted.
Heat describes a police search based on the information officers have about the suspect. Even without your exact location, they remain alert for people and vehicles matching reported details. Switching getaway vehicles or changing clothes can help you evade the search by changing the clues the police are using to find you.
Crime Profile
The Crime Profile assesses the kind of criminal you are through your actions. Whether you carry out a job efficiently or use violence that draws in the people around you affects how civilians and the police respond.
The key is not simply whether you commit a crime, but how you act. The more aggressively you treat others, the more aggressively they respond.
Your Crime Profile serves a different purpose from the Wanted Level associated with a police pursuit. It helps to distinguish how your approach to crime is assessed from how the police are pursuing you right now.
Switching & Relationships
In GTA 6, you can switch the character you control between Jason and Lucia. The partner you are not controlling follows their own routine, and you can bring the two together when they have been spending time apart.
During missions, they may divide responsibilities, with one driving while the other shoots at pursuers. Some situations let you switch freely, while others keep you with a particular character or change who you control as the mission unfolds.
Their relationship changes through the time they spend together and your actions. You can deepen their romantic bond or progress through the story with them as partners in crime.
Building the relationship allows actions such as holding hands and kissing. If their relationship deteriorates, you can bring them closer again. For their backgrounds and connections, see the character list.
Gear, Appearance & Safehouses
Weapons and clothing matter beyond combat and appearance: they can also be clues the police use to identify a suspect. Changing clothes or discarding a weapon used in a crime can play a part in responding to a police search.
Safehouses are the places where Jason and Lucia live. The story progresses through chapters, and their home changes as the story advances. Time spent with their partner and their individual daily routines also shape their life together.
Vehicles & Theft
The tools and steps needed to steal a car depend on its type and security systems. Some cars can be opened with lock-picking tools, while certain high-end vehicles require a key cloner, a device that copies electronic key data.
Even after you gain entry, an alarm or tracker can reveal the car’s location to the police. Scanning a car reveals information such as its model, value, and the cost of registering it as your own. This helps you decide whether to use it for transport, make it your own, or sell it to a buyer of stolen vehicles.
Money & Banking
GTA 6 gives you a bank account separate from the cash you carry. Death or arrest brings a risk of losing that cash.
Rather than carrying all the money you earn from crime or vehicle sales, depositing it in your account is another way to protect your funds.
Smartphone & Apps
Your smartphone is useful for more than communication. You can also investigate vehicles and arrange transport. Each app serves a different purpose.
- WAiNK: Scans cars to check their security systems and value, including the cost of registering a vehicle as your own and its estimated resale price.
- RydeMe: A ride-hailing app for calling a car. Shared rides also let you enjoy conversations with other passengers.
- Social media: Browse posts to get a glimpse of Leonida’s people and places. The protagonists do not create posts themselves.