How can I work up the courage to play on public online?

[fw3]

I'm mostly scared of getting killed / losing money / having my personal vehicle destroyed. Any suggestions?

I am not a licensed professional, but here's some ideas you can practice in real life to help build some courage:

 

1. go for a walk down the street carrying a baseball bat, golf club, or a machete and watch how others react to you.

2. go to a coffee shop and order something that's not on the menu, observing the chaos and confusion you'll create.

3. go to school, work, or the local library wearing an unusual animal mask and note how folks respond.

4. find an idling car that someone parked outside a convenience store, and drive it two blocks away. then, go back to see how the owner deals with it.

5. buy 30 candy bars and go hide inside a dumpster, crouching against the inner wall. when people walk by, taunt them with crude action-gestures.

6. go for a run, but continually pound your fist into your other hand. every time you stop pounding your fist, you have to walk. to run, just pound your fist again, over and over.

7. find a tall building, climb the fire escape ladder to the top, look at the beautiful landscape (note: don't jump, because in real life, it will hurt).

8. hire someone you don't know to mug someone you don't know who has no cash.

9. go to your local military base, jump the fence, and run toward one of their aircraft. see what happens.

10. seek the sage counsel of a licensed professional, as I am not one.

 

I hope this was helpful! cheers!

[dino722]

Im scared of this sh*t...

[ciel]

Put on your big boy pants and just do it, OP.

[fw3]

Im scared of this sh*t...

omg, funniest post of the day! thanks for the laugh!

 

oh, and yes, sometimes you do actually run into stuff that can give you a jolt, like the ghost girl, the Infinity Killer, and this, which we found at the construction site one night:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by fw3

[FrugalDangerMan]

You're not asking the most popular girl to the prom dude. Just play.

 

If it angers you or raises your anxiety levels too high, stop.

 

Online freeroam isn't for everyone (and some should never have been allowd access to begin with).

[BlackMilk]

I limit myself to private games, invite only, but there seems to be so many more benefits to public games. I'm mostly scared of getting killed / losing money / having my personal vehicle destroyed. Any suggestions? Should I just try not to care? I'm still relatively new (only rank 36), so I'm not really sure what to expect.

Find yourself someone you can add to your friends list who has a decent amount of experience in GTA:O. Seems like you've got plenty of questions while all of those can be answered by people here, it's easier and better if you just start playing the game with said friend in your session who can quickly guide you through all the basics.

 

If you are on "last gen" (PS3 or Xbox 360) then yes, passive mode is useless. Also, none of the things that have been added since about a year will be available to you since those are only for the enhanced version of the game. If you ARE on PS4, Xbox One or PC then somebody could talk you through that as well.

 

Obviously nothing horrible happens if you get killed by another player, if they destroy your car or stuff like that. But I completely understand you being perhaps nervous about joining a public session. Dying isn't fun, having your stuff destroyed isn't fun, at least not for many players.

[Jammsbro]

You will get killed.

 

You will lose money.

 

You will have your personal vehicle destryoed.

 

Get over it.

 

But...

 

You will

 

make money, rarely have your PV destroyed, rarely be killed, rarely lose money, get far more ways to play, see hilarious stuff, get better at the game.

 

And finally, you will grow a set.

[seven50iL]

I'm just gonna be real with you OP, if you're truly intimidated by other people you're not going to see again maybe free-roam isn't for you. But I suggest you roll with a crew or start making more friends because some stuff online is way easier if you have someone that has your back. They way I look at it is that there is always going to be someone better...dont sweat it tbh. The more you fight the better you will become. Just fight smarter not harder...

[Furry_Monkey]

It's simple.

 

1. Start free roam session.

2. Put rubber band around right analog stick so the camera is spinning.

3. Turn off TV and go to bed.

4. Go back the next day and see that it literally doesn't matter what happened.

5. Play the game without fear.

 

To defeat fat, you must become fat.

 

 

Edit: If I remember then I'm gonna do this tonight and check my stats before and after. I'm curious as to what will change. I'll also stick a million in my pockets for any fans of muggers so feel free to come at me bro.

Edited February 4, 2017 by Furry_Monkey

[.Vooodu.]

50% of GTA is Attitude..

 

 

Do 3 Shots of Jack... Hit join Public.. Watch this....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lol

[SmokesWithCigs]

You're scared... of entering a virtual world filled with nobodies?

 

 

Ok.

lol do you think any celebs are or were playing this?

[lll-H-I-M-lll]

Go in and kick some ass be brutal

[FaultyDroid]

If you roll regularly with friends 99% of the time you need not even encounter another player if you choose not to.

[Geisterfaust]

OP, as a day one player I can rank top 3 threats in public lobbies from worst to best:

1. Unknown network error. You can't do anything, literally. I have changed 3 countries, 3 platforms, 4 routers and sh*tload of ISPs. It's better now than in 2013-14, but UNE is still a thing and that's the main threat;

2. Lag. Due to the P2P nature of the game and according to the law of large numbers, you will land in laggy lobbies because a lot of players are sitting on the rubbish ISP over outdated (2.4 GHz) wifi using router purchased on lunch money;

3. Griefers, trolls, f*ck-upers, etc. Nothing "Find a new session" won't fix;

 

TL;DR: Lag and disconnects are the real threat. I've been importing-exporting quite a time, always public. 100% success rate.

[Blasterman4EVER]

I limit myself to private games, invite only, but there seems to be so many more benefits to public games. I'm mostly scared of getting killed / losing money / having my personal vehicle destroyed. Any suggestions? Should I just try not to care? I'm still relatively new (only rank 36), so I'm not really sure what to expect.

What?

 

You can't really experience GTAO if you only play private sessions, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Get out and get it!

[Con9mm]

OP,

Wait till you get a load of the real world.

Nothing is scarier than real life.

[afriendlyreddot]

You're at a low enough level where you shouldn't be worried about throwing yourself into as many dangerous situations as you possibly can. Honestly just watch and pay attention to what the better players are doing and presto, you've got a recipe for becoming better yourself.

 

Some tips or goals to try for,

1) Cheapest CEO office

2) Aquire enough money to spend on things like Ghost/Off radar, BST, and ammo as you will be needing these things often to survive.

3) Get used to rolling don't just stand around spraying bullets

4) Throw on a bulletproof helmet and some shady face paint and you'll be just fine

 

Point of the game is to have fun, dodging rockets and lobbies full of psychos is very fun just embrace it!

Edited February 4, 2017 by AbeePoo89

[CaptSpalding]

Put your head in a metal bin and ask a friend to continually smack said bin with a hammer, you'll soon get the idea, happy gaming .

[zoso80]

OP, just go into passive mode in public lobbies. No mess, no fuss. No chance of getting trolled by tryhards.

 

Depending on platform, trainers might be an issue (mods) - but that's part of the subversive element this game has always had.

 

I tend to keep to myself in public lobbies, to be found mostly in Paleto Bay. Rarely does anyone bother me up there. GTA:O is going through another lull, so a lot of players are off with other games. Stereotypically, when that happens it's the PVP types that stick around and what's good about that, they remain mostly in the city. They have to be extremely motivated to come across the map just to try to kill lil 'ol me.

 

Only public lobbies I really play in are the ones I've lag switched out so I can move cargo if I'm REALLY bored.

Edited February 5, 2017 by zoso80

[Halal Cyborg]

What console are you on?

[elfoam]

Yeah we can get a protection force setup to follow you into the public lobby. I'd almost pay to see a few insurgent pickuops a ruiner and a Hydra in convoy with a begginer.

[size_m]

I limit myself to private games, invite only, but there seems to be so many more benefits to public games. I'm mostly scared of getting killed / losing money / having my personal vehicle destroyed. Any suggestions? Should I just try not to care? I'm still relatively new (only rank 36), so I'm not really sure what to expect.

don't be scared, there is no reason for it!

 

the only thing that could happen of those things you've mentioned would be that you occasionally could get killed by other players.

but that's not really a problem.

if you really care that much about it you can easily prevent that by using the passive mode.

with passive mode on you can basically run around in the heart of a war zone and between players shooting and killing eachother without getting any harm.

you'll be totally safe.

 

the other things are not really a problem either.

you don't lose any money if you put it into the bank.

if you have banked your money you cannot be robbed and you don't drop any money when will die.

even if you have not deposit some of your money you will only drop a tiny amount of it.

your money is absolutely safe in the bank.

 

your personal vehicle might get destroyed but that's not really a problem because you get it back easily and without any costs.

you don't even have to repair it.

if your vehicle gets destroyed, just call mors mutual and after that just call your mechanic to get it delivered right to you clean and repaired for free.

 

for all these "problems" there are good and easy methods to avoid/prevent them.

so actually there is no problem for you.

just try it out.

 

for the beginning i would recommend that you use passive mode to see how it is like in public free roam.

then you will see that i'm right on this.

Edited February 5, 2017 by size_m

[DangerZ0neX]

Don't listen to the tryhards in this thread who act tough and insult you for not liking the abusive nature of other players in this game, some of them love to brag about griefing innocent players who didn't anything to them out of pettiness, but get very defensive when you call out their sh*t and scramble for excuses to be assholes.

 

Anyway, don't think of populated Public sessions as good moneymaking arenas, think of them as place to witness things varying from people doing fun stuff and being silly all the way to an all-out war.

 

If your vehicle gets blown up, that's alright, you can always call Mors Mutual since cars are always retrievable for free as long as they're insured and not destroyed by you. If you don't want to be harassed by wanna-be bastards, be sure to rely on Passive Mode, you're not a coward if you use it when you don't feel like fighting.

Edited February 5, 2017 by DangerZ0neX

[dead goon]

Go visit the great and powerful Oz......the lion did.

[UKPortista]

I remember briefly feeling a little apprehensive and slightly nervous when online was launched in 2013. I was mortified the first time I had my Fusilade stolen...thought I'd never see it again, lol. I was also paranoid about getting all my money stolen by other players. But that was before I understood the game mechanics etc.

[_47_]

Here I thought I had problems in life... I think the OP beat me to it.

[pptz84]

I limit myself to private games, invite only, but there seems to be so many more benefits to public games. I'm mostly scared of getting killed / losing money / having my personal vehicle destroyed. Any suggestions? Should I just try not to care? I'm still relatively new (only rank 36), so I'm not really sure what to expect.

 

 

You shouldn't worry about getting killed, it's part of the game and only costs you 500. You hardly loose any money if you bank your money every now and then.

As for weaponry I'd recommend the special carbine, get's most the work done. And an AP-pistol for shooting from cars.

 

Later in game the homing missile, sticky bombs, sniper rifle are useful as well.

 

Many public sessions are not that aggressive at all, so don't worry about that. If it happens to be that one person or a few persons are constantly annoying you, just find a new session, there's nothing wrong in doing just that.

 

If you don't care getting killed that much anymore, you could consider to set your status as "looking for work" in a session with multiple CEO's, to get to know the CEO work. If you have the money, get your own office and (vehicle) warehouse.

 

 

It's just a natural thing that your Kill/Death ratio is very low when you're a low level play with not much experience... it improves when you level up and get better at the game. Just ignore those statistics ;-)

[wizooord]

You don't sound like someone who enjoys confrontation anyways so i'd suggest to avoid it all together, people harassing you? go passive mode for a bit, switch session if they keep at it, ignore morons on chat and just do your thing, also there are several ways to end up solo in a public session and invite your friends

[Guest]

I limit myself to private games, invite only, but there seems to be so many more benefits to public games. I'm mostly scared of getting killed / losing money / having my personal vehicle destroyed. Any suggestions? Should I just try not to care? I'm still relatively new (only rank 36), so I'm not really sure what to expect.

Yes dont care. Getting killed is part of the game. Just respawn and return to playing like it didnt happen. When you run into a troll who wants to kill you over and over just go into passive and they'll move on. Keep in mind you cant do freemode events, CEO or MC work in passive tho. As for ppl destroying your vehicle, same as being killed. Call the insurance and get it back and carry on. After a while of being killed you will develop thick skin and no longer care. If you have friends who play then invite them to the same session with you to have your back. If this isnt good enough then the perfect solution for your situation is this...

 

* Create a playlist and add one "short" race to it (I chose "Bahama West Mama Mia" bcuz its close to my office)

* Join a public lobby

* Start the playlist

* Set the race to 1 lap and complete the race

* Choose "Restart" after the vote screen (X on XB1)

* Once on the race lobby screen just quit out

* You will then spawn in a "public" lobby by yourself

 

Invite your friends and enjoy the benefits of a public lobby without interference. Keep in mind that its still a public lobby so ppl might join at some point but most of the time you remain alone.

Edited February 7, 2017 by BumpyJohnson

[DentureDynamite]

My ridiculous opinion on public sessions vs. invite-only sessions:

 

Public sessions

 

* "Toughens" you to PvP combat, slowly honing your skills (albeit painfully)
* You will encounter griefers and cheaters
* All VIP/CEO work can be done, in the right circumstances
* Weapon pickups spawn
* Free mode events available with enough players
* Can be easier to find matches for Jobs/Quick Jobs (adds current players from session)
* Get interrupted frequently from what you are trying to do

* Spend more GTA$, lose more time in general on PvP

 

Invite-only sessions

 

* Limited VIP/CEO work
* Free of griefers and cheaters
* Weapon pickups do not spawn
* Free mode events unavailable
* Harder to find matches for Jobs/Quick Jobs
* Easier to focus on a specific task

* Saves GTA$ by limiting money spent to LSPD-only encounters

Edited February 7, 2017 by DentureDynamite