Reference

GTA VI side missions: strangers, random events and odd jobs

Of what lies outside GTA VI's story, Rockstar has confirmed two side jobs, both in the Ultimate Edition description. No count, no contacts, no rewards. What is documented is how the series has built them: strangers with their obsessions, encounters on the street and the classic odd jobs.

The Codex list

Fills up on November 19

We'll list every side mission once the game is out. Any spotted earlier, in an official video or a leak, are added with their source.

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In this guide (7)
  1. What Rockstar has confirmed: two side jobs
  2. GTA V: strangers and freaks behind a question mark
  3. Random events: what happens when you're not looking
  4. The classic odd jobs: taxi, ambulance, firefighter and vigilante
  5. How to reach 100% without getting bored
  6. What's reasonable to expect in Leonida (an expectation, not a fact)
  7. Frequently asked questions

Confirmed

What Rockstar has confirmed: two side jobs

The Ultimate Edition description previews two missions outside the main line. The first comes from Wyman, an eccentric collector who wants abandoned classic cars tracked down and restored to their former glory. The second is an assault on the compound of the PTT Youngin$, a gang from south Vice City. Rockstar hasn't said how long they are or what they pay, and it hasn't published any other side job, any secondary character with missions of their own or any street event.

In the series

GTA V: strangers and freaks behind a question mark

GTA V called its character-driven side missions Strangers and Freaks: a question mark on the map, someone with an obsession and a chain of short missions with its own ending. There are around sixty, split between Michael, Franklin and Trevor, and 20 of them count toward 100%. Some of the game's best-remembered stories live there, from Beverly's paparazzi jobs to Omega, the alien obsessive who takes the spaceship parts. The whole block is worth 10% of the total percentage.

In the series

Random events: what happens when you're not looking

Random events are the other half: a store holdup, a hitchhiker, a purse snatching or an armored truck rolling past. They appear with no fixed marker and vanish if you don't stop. GTA V has around sixty and 14 count toward 100%, 5% of the total. GTA IV did something similar with its random characters around Liberty City, who gave small stories over several encounters. The design idea is the same in both: reward whoever strays from the route.

In the series

The classic odd jobs: taxi, ambulance, firefighter and vigilante

Since GTA III, getting into certain vehicles opened a job: taxi driver, paramedic, firefighter or vigilante in a police car. Vice City and San Andreas put them into the 100% and gave concrete rewards for finishing levels; in Vice City, for example, completing the firefighter job made you fireproof. GTA IV kept the vigilante through the patrol car computer, and GTA V moved the weight to strangers and freaks. They're the most repetitive part of any side mission list and the easiest to chip away at.

In the series

How to reach 100% without getting bored

Three habits that work in any GTA. First: character side missions get done as they open, because many depend on one protagonist or a point in the story. Second: random events are left for free roam, because they depend on passing the spot at the right time, and once the story is over nothing pulls you off course. Third: the repetitive jobs get split into short sessions, one level at a time, instead of grinding them in one go.

Expectation

What's reasonable to expect in Leonida (an expectation, not a fact)

With two protagonists, it would make sense for each to have their own contacts, as Michael, Franklin and Trevor did; that's a reading of the track record, not an announcement. The confirmed map has plenty of settings for odd characters, from the Grassrivers swamps to the Leonida Keys, and the RydeMe taxi app invites thoughts of driver jobs, although IGN's preview only presented it as fast travel. How many there will be, whether they'll count toward 100% and what they'll pay won't be known until November 19.

Frequently asked questions

  • Which GTA VI side missions are confirmed?

    Two, from the Ultimate Edition: Wyman's job, which asks you to recover abandoned classic cars, and the assault on the PTT Youngin$ compound in south Vice City. Rockstar hasn't confirmed any others.

  • Will GTA VI have strangers and freaks?

    Not confirmed. It's the name GTA V gave its character side missions, and there's no announcement of a set like that in GTA VI. Given the series' track record something similar is likely, but it's an expectation.

  • How many strangers and freaks does GTA V have?

    Around sixty missions split between Michael, Franklin and Trevor, 20 of which count toward 100%. The block weighs 10% of the total percentage, and random events another 5%.

  • Do side missions count toward 100%?

    In GTA V, yes: strangers and freaks, random events and hobbies add up to 25% of the percentage. In Vice City and San Andreas the taxi, ambulance, firefighter and vigilante jobs counted too. Nothing about GTA VI is confirmed.

  • What is a random event in GTA?

    A situation that shows up on the street with no fixed marker, like a store holdup, a hitchhiker or a purse snatching, and vanishes if you don't stop. GTA V has around sixty and 14 count toward 100%.

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