Rockstar Games basically changed everything in 2013. When you look back at all missions of GTA 5, you aren't just looking at a checklist of objectives or a series of waypoints on a map. You're looking at a massive, interconnected web of crime that somehow managed to juggle three distinct protagonists without falling flat on its face. It was ambitious. Maybe too ambitious for the hardware at the time, but they pulled it off.
Grand Theft Auto V contains exactly 69 main story missions. That number isn't an accident—Rockstar loves their crude humor. But if you count the Strangers and Freaks encounters, the random events, and the various heist setups, the number of things to actually do in Los Santos explodes into the hundreds. It’s a lot. Honestly, it’s overwhelming if you’re trying to 100% the game today.
The Chaos of the Three-Man Weave
The core of the experience is the character switching. One minute you're Franklin, repo-ing a car in Vespucci Beach; the next, you're Michael, having a mid-life crisis in a Vinewood mansion. Then Trevor shows up. Trevor Philips changed the DNA of the game. Before him, GTA protagonists usually had some kind of moral compass, however broken. Trevor? He’s the physical manifestation of how players actually behave when they’re bored in an open world.
Most of the early missions serve as a slow-burn introduction to these dynamics. "Complications" is a great example. It starts as a simple break-in for Franklin but ends with Michael De Santa rising from the backseat of a car with a pistol to Franklin’s head. This is where the game establishes its tone. It’s cynical. It’s loud. It’s deeply American.
As you progress through all missions of GTA 5, the complexity ramps up. You aren't just shooting guys in alleys anymore. You're planning. The heist system was the "big new thing" for this entry. "The Jewel Store Job" acts as the tutorial for this. You get to choose your approach: Loud or Smart. You pick your crew. You see their stats. If you pick a cheap gunman, they might crash their bike in the tunnels. If you pick an expensive one, the job goes smooth but your cut is smaller. It’s a genuine trade-off that makes the world feel lived-in.
The Mid-Game Slump and the Rise of the FIB
Around the middle of the story, things get a bit messy. The federal agencies—the FIB and the IAA—start using our trio as their personal hit squad. Missions like "By the Book" are still controversial today. You know the one. It’s the torture mission. Rockstar was trying to make a point about government overreach and the "War on Terror," but for many players, it was just uncomfortable.
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Then there’s "Three's Company." This is the first time you use all three characters simultaneously in a high-stakes scenario. Michael rappels down a skyscraper, Franklin provides sniper cover from across the street, and Trevor pilots the getaway chopper. Swapping between them in real-time while the music (composed by Tangerine Dream and Woody Jackson) swells is peak gaming. It felt like playing a Michael Mann movie.
Breaking Down the Heists
The heists are the structural pillars of the narrative. Without them, the game would just be a series of errands for corrupt feds.
- The Merryweather Heist: This one is a bit of a letdown for the characters because they don't actually get paid, but it introduces the private military company that serves as a late-game antagonist.
- The Blitz Play: Pure Heat (1995) vibes. You block a narrow street with a garbage truck and ram an armored car. It’s fast, violent, and chaotic.
- The Paleto Score: This is where the game goes full "action movie." The trio dons heavy ballistic armor and carries miniguns through a small coastal town. It’s ridiculous. It shouldn't work in a game that tries to be grounded, but because it’s GTA, you just roll with it.
- The Bureau Raid: You either skydive onto the roof or go in disguised as janitors. The "Fire Crew" approach is arguably more fun because of the sheer tension of navigating a burning building while stealing data.
- The Big Score: The finale. You’re hitting the Union Depository. This mission can net each character roughly $30 million if you played your cards right throughout the game.
Managing the "Gold Medal" requirements for these is a nightmare, though. Rockstar loves to throw in "Headshot 20 enemies" or "Finish in 10 minutes" requirements that you can't see until after you finish the mission. It’s a weird design choice that forces replayability.
Why Some Missions Aged Poorly
Let’s be real: not every mission in the 69-count list is a winner. " Scouting the Port" is widely hated. You spend twenty minutes driving a freight handler and operating a crane. It’s slow. It’s tedious. It’s meant to build tension for the upcoming heist, but it mostly just builds boredom.
Then you have the "Yoga" mission—"Did Somebody Say Yoga?" It’s a psychedelic trip that serves the story by showing Michael’s life falling apart, but the actual gameplay is just holding trigger buttons in a specific sequence. It’s a vibe, sure, but is it a good "mission"? Probably not.
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However, the "Strangers and Freaks" missions often make up for the main story's occasional slog. Meeting Mary-Ann for extreme triathlons or helping Nigel hunt for celebrity souvenirs in Vinewood adds a layer of "Los Angeles Weird" that the main plot sometimes misses. These side stories are essential to understanding the full scope of all missions of GTA 5. They provide the texture.
The Choice: Ending A, B, or C
The game culminates in a choice. Franklin is pressured by the antagonists to either kill Michael, kill Trevor, or go on a suicide mission to save both (Deathwish).
Ending C is the "canon" ending for most of the community. It’s the only one that feels right. Seeing the three of them unite to take out every single person who screwed them over throughout the game—Steve Haines, Wei Cheng, Stretch, and Devin Weston—is incredibly satisfying. The final shot of the three of them standing by the ocean as the sun sets is iconic. It wrapped up a decade-long wait for a sequel perfectly.
Practical Advice for Modern Playthroughs
If you’re diving back into Los Santos in 2026, maybe on a modern console or a high-end PC, there are a few things you should do to get the most out of the experience.
First, don't rush the story. It’s tempting to hop from one "M" or "T" on the map to the next, but the world evolves based on your progress. Listen to the radio news reports after big missions. They actually describe your crimes. Check the in-game internet (the Eyefind browser). The stock market, specifically the LCN and BAWSAQ, reacts to your actions.
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The Stock Market Trick
This is the most important piece of advice for anyone looking to "finish" the game properly. Do not finish Lester's Assassination missions (for Franklin) until after you have completed "The Big Score."
- Complete the first assassination (it’s required for the story).
- Finish the entire main campaign.
- You will have a massive hoard of cash.
- Invest all money from all three characters into the specific stocks Lester mentions before each remaining assassination.
- Sell at the peak.
- You’ll end up with over $2 billion per character. You can literally buy the entire map.
Also, pay attention to the random encounters. If you see a blue dot on your mini-map, stop. Some of these NPCs, like Taliana Martinez or Rickie Lukens, can be recruited as heist crew members. They start with low stats but become elite if you use them early, and they take a much smaller cut than the "pros."
The legacy of all missions of GTA 5 isn't just the explosive set pieces. It's the way Rockstar managed to make a satirical version of California feel more "real" than most actual cities. Even years later, the mission design stands up, mostly because it never takes itself too serious. It’s a playground of cynicism, and it’s still the gold standard for open-world storytelling.
To truly master the game, focus on the "Gold Medals" in the Replay Mission menu. It forces you to use different tactics, like stealth or specific weapon types, that you probably ignored during your first frantic run-through. Start by replaying "The Paleto Score" and try to beat it without taking any damage—it’s a completely different game when you play it with surgical precision.