The computer version of Grand Theft Auto V has a community behind it that has created mods to improve the graphics, add multiplayer options and expand the missions of the title. We review the best.
It has been more than six years since Grand Theft Auto V and its multiplayer Grand Theft Auto Online reached bought and played, with more than 150 million units sold worldwide . That huge community that supports the open world of Rockstar Games is not only made up of passive players, but there are hundreds of mod creators who improve, modifyand they even pervert the original experience. There are programs created by users that add even more detail to the city of Los Santos, others that add new missions, some that allow you to play role-playing online, and even one that allows you to enjoy the entire original campaign in virtual reality.
The only limit to creativity, according to Rockstar Games, is to misuse (a somewhat ambiguous term, really) of the studio’s intellectual property, damage the company’s finances or apply modifications to GTA Online , as that could affect to the experience of other players and to discourage the purchase of micropayments in the online universe of Grand Theft Auto ; Bypassing these restrictions may lead to permanent ban from the game. But outside of this, freedom is absolute. Before listing what we consider the best GTA 5 mods , we must answer a question that many of you will be asking …
Index
- How do I install mods in GTA 5?
- Mods to improve graphics
- Mods with playable improvements
- Funny and crazy mods
- Multiplayer mods
- Map mods
- Role mods and missions
- Character mods
How do I install mods in GTA 5?
The vast majority of mods use one of these two programs for their use: Script Hook V and GTAV LUA Plugin . Any changes made by these applications can be reversed by checking the integrity of the game cache from the Steam options. Script Hook V is a package that allows you to write and apply scripts , the code used by modders to modify the title. To install it, download it from here , unzip the folder and copy the files “ScriptHookV.dll”, “dsound.dll” and “NativeTrainer.asi” where “GTA5.exe” is located (if the game path has not been changed must be on SteamAppscommonGrand Theft Auto V).
To install GTAV LUA Plugin , which allows you to install mods easily, the process is the same. You have to download it from this link , unzip the folder and copy the “LUA.asi” file and the “scripts” folder where “GTA5.exe” is located. Inside “scripts” you will see another folder called “addins”, which is where you will copy the files of the mods that you will download later.
Mods to improve graphics
CryingLightning’s FX 2.0
This mod incorporates different presets to modify the color palette of the game, adding more cinematic and / or realistic tones depending on the option chosen. It can be downloaded from this link . To install it you have to copy the content of “GTA V Folder – SWEETFX” in your game folder, choose a preset and copy the chosen .txt file to the Sweetfx folder.
Zyko’s Realistic Visuals
As the name suggests, the goal of this mod is to make the game look more realistic . To do this, it improves depth of field, lighting, vehicle detail, rain (and the effects caused by it), motion blur, and other options; In addition, it adds further improvements to the first-person camera and reduces image “noise”. The creator recommends setting the post-processing and reflections quality to the maximum and turning on the depth of field. It can be downloaded from here .
Photorealistic San Andreas
A mod that uses different shaders to show the city of GTA 5 in the most realistic way possible . It includes a tool to change camera angles in many different ways and the ability to use color gradations and post-processing filters to replicate the style of cinematic cameras. The creator recommends not using other mods that have the same functionality at the same time and setting the game’s post-processing effects to ‘Very High’.
To install it, download this file , extract the files ‘d3d11.dll’ and ‘d3dcompiler_46e’ and place them where ‘GTA5.exe’ is. After that, you have to download the mod from this link and copy it to the game folder. To open the mod menu, press the END or END key.
Enhanced Night Sky
The title is quite descriptive of its functionality: improve the night sky by increasing the resolution of both the clouds and the Moon . It is not a big change, but it does not consume resources and it is an improvement. To install it you have to go to the “textures” folder inside “GTAV / x64a.rpf”, allow the edition of said folder. Once this is done, in “textures” you have to replace “skydome.ytd” with the mod file that can be downloaded from here .
Pinnacle Reality ENB
A mod that considerably improves the graphics thanks to filters and other changes . It is compatible with other mods except for those ENB, such as Photorealistic San Andreas . The creator claims that performance is barely affected at 3 frames per second. To install it, download this file , extract the files “d3d11.dll” and “d3dcompiler_46e” and place them where “GTA5.exe” is. After that, you have to download the mod , which can be customized from the graphical user interface.
Insane Rain
As we can understand from its name, this mod improves the rain of the game so that it is much more powerful than the original, which gives it a more realistic touch . There are several types of rain, from the lightest to the strongest storms. It is a fairly simple mod but with an effect that brings realism and aesthetics to the game, and also does not affect performance . It can be downloaded here .
Ray tracing
Before going into details, clarify that this mod is still in an alpha phase of development and that to access it you have to make a single payment on the Patreon of its creator, “OreoShaman” , of a minimum of 14.50 euros more taxation. That said, this Reshade RTGI Presets Not Used RTGI Shader mod applies software-level ray tracing to Rockstar’s open world. You can see the results in the video below these lines, and since ray tracing is not hardware- based , you don’t need an RTX graphics card to use it.
NaturalVision
NaturalVision is one of the mods most ambitious graphics GTA V . The goal is to make the Rockstar title “visually resemble real-life Southern California . ” This involves making changes to the weather, lighting system, ambient colors , texture color, weapon system, and much more. The free version dates from 2018 and can be downloaded from 5Mods . But the creator of the mod is working on an improved version, NaturalVision Evolved , which will be available for free in summer 2021., but for now it can be accessed by subscribing to his Patreon .
Comictoon Reshade
Tired of the graphic style of the original GTA 5 and want to change it for something but get bored by photorealism? Comictoon Reshade is the ideal mod for you, because it applies a series of changes to the game that make it look like a game from the Borderlands saga , more or less: vivid colors, black borders, cartoon appearance … In general, everything you need to make GTA 5 look like a comic or animated series. You can download it from here and to make it work you will need this program .
Virtual reality
Owners of an Oculus or SteamVR VR headset (not compatible with Windows Mixed Reality) are in luck. This mod allows you to play the GTA V campaign in virtual reality ; even movie scenes are adapted to this technology. The mod , created by “LukeRoss00” , can be downloaded from Github , from where the same user explains the installation process.
Mods with playable improvements
World of variety
Are you one of those who thinks that the situations, people and vehicles of the world of GTA 5 are a bit repetitive? Have you been playing for so many hours that you know by heart everything that happens in every corner of Los Santos? With World of Variety you will be able to solve that: it is an ambitious mod that reuses original assets and scripts to give more life to the city with more varied situations and characters without altering the lore of the game. You can download it here .
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Field of View Changer
Although it has a very good first-person camera , GTA 5 does not allow you to modify the field of view ( field of view or FOV , as it is popularly known). The community has worked on a mod that gives us that option so that we can choose between various degrees of FOV, changing the depth and range of vision of our character, without also affecting the third-person camera. You can download it here .
Total Real Driving Simulator
This mod transforms GTA 5 arcade driving into a simulator by applying realistic physics and damage to cars, motorcycles, bicycles, planes and other vehicles in the game. Each car has its own physics and the creator recommends using it by playing with a steering wheel. You can download it from this link , where the details of the installation are also explained.
Complete Driving Overhaul V
Another mod that improves driving , but in this case replicating the maximum speed and acceleration of the cars on which the vehicles in the game are based and making other changes, such as reducing the durability of the vehicles and their attachment to the road. You can download it from here .
Better Deformation
And if what you want is to have a complete driving experience, we recommend this mod that basically adds better destruction effects to vehicles, giving a more realistic feeling when we are hit or hit another car on the road. It also allows modifying the durability of the motor so that it is not so easy to damage. You can download it here .
Open All Interiors
This modification allows to enter all the rooms and houses of the game that are closed , adding pedestrians in some of those areas. Elevators have also been added in the larger buildings and indicators in the stores that can be robbed. To install the game you just have to download the file from this link (https://es.gta5-mods.com/scripts/open-all-interiors) and copy “OpenInteriors.asi” and “OpenInteriors.ini” in the GTA5 directory with ScriptHookV installed.
Single Player Apartment
As the title indicates, this mod allows players to have an apartment of their own in the game just like in GTA Online . The files include most of the houses that users of the online mode can buy, but for the single player mode. A large number of floors, garages, vehicles, and numerous items are added to those locations and actions to be taken in them. The mod is downloaded from here and you can see how to install it in the following video.
Premium Deluxe Motorsport Car Dealership
Thanks to the files of this mod, users will find in GTA 5 a store called Premium Deluxe Motorsport where they can get all the vehicles added to GTA Online , customize them with an almost unlimited palette of colors, put the license plate of their choice, test them and see them in detail . It is downloaded from 5Mods and you just have to drag the content of the mod into the “scripts” folder.
Realism Dispatch Enhanced
The objective of this content is to bring more realism to multiple aspects of the world of GTA 5 , adding new behaviors for artificial intelligence, modifying the jurisdiction of the police, the types of response of the NPCs, etc. New models are also added and the search system has been modified: reaching the six stars will make survival a challenge. It is downloaded from this link .
Sitting Mod
A mod to be able to sit on a bench, on a chair, on a stool … and simply look at the horizon, thinking about life and all the chaos that you have brought to Los Santos. Relax by downloading it from here .
Simple Parkour
We could say that this mod is the complete opposite of the previous one, because what it does is add new parkour movements that allow us to reach high points and do magic in the air. You can download it here . There is another similar mod, ParcourScript , which allows us to take a super jump.
Hook Gun and Wingsuit
If you want to improve the movement possibilities of GTA 5 , as with the previous mod, there is one that allows you to introduce some of the most iconic tools of Just Cause 2 : his hook pistol and his air suit , as well as explosive missiles. This allows us to jump from one building to another and move quickly throughout the city of Los Santos. You can download it here .
Funny and crazy mods
Telekinesis
As its name suggests, this mod allows us to move things with our mind in GTA 5. We can lift vehicles and pedestrians and then launch them in any direction, even make them crash into the ground. Without a doubt, the only thing this game lacked were superpowers. You can download it here .
Ped Riot / Chaos Mode
The GTA 5 NPCs have seen time and again how the players have ended their lives, with their friends and family … Now they have decided to take revenge. With this mod , all non-player characters in Los Santos will be armed to the teeth and will shoot without rhyme or reason at everyone they see, including the player. Also, the police have stayed in bed, so there is no one to control all this mayhem except you. The mod is downloaded at this link .
Raider’s Blood, Violence, Melee & Destruction
But if sitting quietly is not your thing, and you are more of raw violence, this mod offers just that: raising the tons of blood that can be taken from GTA 5 NPCs quite a bit shows more realistic bullet wounds , scars, explosions, footprints on the bodies of the enemies and all kinds of things to make everything more gore . It is downloaded here .
Ambient Weapons
To cause bloody chaos on the beaches, streets, shopping malls and other places of Los Santos sometimes fists and weapons are not enough. This mod saves the situation by allowing you to take garbage containers, surfboards and many other things to throw them at the passers-by who walk quietly through the city as if we were a maddened Hulk. It can be downloaded from this link .
Simple Zombies
With this mod GTA 5 transforms into something more like State of Decay . Los Santos has been filled with zombies , and players have to survive, build camps, and recruit survivors to help them on their mission. It will be necessary to distribute the weapons among the comrades, build barricades and how could it be otherwise, look for resources, eat and sleep to live another day. It can be downloaded from here .
No Water + Tsunami + Atlantis Mod
With this impressive mod you can turn the city of Los Santos into a desert wasteland without a drop of water , or quite the opposite and flood the city until it is completely submerged. If you want, you can also drop him off somewhere in the middle and navigate through the skyscrapers. In the latest versions, big waves have also been added , to experience a colossal tsunami in the first person. It can be downloaded here .
Coffin Dance Meme
Surely you know the famous meme in which several people dance while carrying a coffin on their shoulders , would you like to have it in GTA 5 ? This mod is your solution, because it changes the game over screen so that every time you die in the game a series of characters appear dancing while carrying your coffin on their shoulders. You can download it for free here .
Hot coffee
If you are familiar with the controversy of the Hot Coffee mod from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , which allowed us to have sex , that is just what you are going to find here, although this time with more options and many animations. It is downloaded here .
Multiplayer mods
FiveM
FiveM is a mod that turns GTA 5 into a kind of self-managed GTA Online by the community . Players must find which servers to connect to, each with a game style and rules set by their moderators. The mod is essential to participate in the games of GTA Roleplay , servers where players play a role, something that has become popular on Twitch in recent years. You can download the installer from here , and the program will guide you through the installation process.
Multiplayer Co-op
With this mod you can complete missions, drive and do all kinds of tasks with a friend . Players can create their own servers. To install it, you just have to download the files , enter it in the “scripts” folder, and once in the game, press “F9” to open the menu to connect to a server.
TwoPlayerMod
Playing GTA 5 in local multiplayer mode is a reality thanks to this mod, which allows up to three avatars to appear on the screen and can be controlled with any USB-connected controller. Installation is simple, as you just have to download the files of 5Mods and introduce all in the “scripts” folder.
Map mods
Vice Cry: Remastered
As the name of the mod suggests, this ambitious collaborative work recreates the city of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the Grand Theft Auto V graphics engine . Once installed, Vice Cry: Remastered runs as add-on content. Both the files and the installation manual can be found on this web page .
Grand Theft Auto V: San Andreas
Although Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas share the same city, the one in the new game is somewhat different from the one in the title starring CJ; not only because each one takes place in a different time, one today and the other in the 90s , but because they do not represent the same areas. Thanks to this mod, available here , we will be able to travel to a remastered version of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas map , including San Fierro and Las Venturas, as well as Los Santos .
Grand theft space
This awesome mod allows you to travel into space . Yes, how you hear it. It’s a content pack that includes new areas to the map, new outfits, and even a rocket ship. In addition, if you enter the planets of our Solar System, you will still meet the odd strange visitor . The mod can be downloaded here , but be careful because the creators advise that it is not compatible with the latest version of the game.
North Yankton DLC
Do you remember the city where the GTA 5 story mode begins? For the rest of the game, after the prologue, we cannot return to that small snowy town where Michael is left for dead, but thanks to this mod it is possible to travel back to North Yankton and even enter its buildings. Installing it unlocks a new area of the map completely surrounded by mountains and in it we can find this town with 50 buildings modeled inside and out. You can download it here .
Real California Architecture
Although one of the main attractions of all the games in the Grand Theft Auto saga is to see how they parody the corners of the United States, sometimes you want to take advantage of the realism of your graphics engine to take a walk through the real city. This is what this mod does, as it incorporates signs, posters, and buildings from the real California into the game , replacing them with its Los Santos cartoons. It can be downloaded here . If you want even more realism, here is another one that implements more posters and real graffiti from Los Angeles to the city of the game.
Army Base Expansion
With this mod you will be able to visit a new military base in Los Santos, although obviously the marines will not make it easy for you. It includes a series of army buildings, soldiers and, most importantly, tanks that we can enter to rob. It is a mod that only uses scripts , so it is not necessary to have a map editor. You can download it here .
Nurburgring-Nordschleife Circuit
Are you a racing racing lover? Then you will know that Grand Theft Auto V includes professional vehicles of various modalities such as Formula 1 . What if I told you that you can drive with them through some of the most famous circuits in the world? Thanks to this mod you can do it on the Nurburgring-Nordschleife track . It is a job that has been in progress for four years and is now available here .
The Dead Among Us Project – Zombie Maps
If before we showed you a mod to add zombies to the game, now we present one that creates the perfect setting to escape the apocalypse of the undead. This new map turns the city into a post-apocalyptic environment with abandoned buildings and houses , roads crowded with cars trying to flee during the outbreak, bumpy areas and crashed trucks … Everything you need to recreate a complete end of the world . It can be downloaded here .
Role mods and missions
LSPDFR
With this mod we can become part of the other side of the law: while in the original game we put ourselves in the shoes of criminals, with this we become policemen . Although that does not mean that we are going to be less corrupt, since we have at our disposal the laws of Los Santos to apply them as we want, being able to set murderers and thieves free while we arrest innocents who have simply looked down on us. We can also customize our agent and our police vehicle . Its latest version can be downloaded from its official website , where there are other police mods available.
MBS Rob Mod
Unlike the previous one, this mod allows us to rob all the stores that cannot be robbed in the official version of the game: this includes tattoo studios, hairdressers and clothing stores . It also allows us to target pedestrians and kindly ask them to lend us their money. Depending on the store or the person we rob, they will give us more or less money, but also more or less search stars. Because robbing a small clothing store is not the same as a luxury boutique. It can be downloaded here .
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Railroad Engineer
But for some tourists in Los Santos, violence is unnecessary. They prefer to calmly get on a train, adjust the speed and use a wide number of commands to drive trams and other vehicles on rails … although you can always derail and cause more chaos than you wanted to avoid. To become a machinist you just have to install this mod .
Bomb Mod
This mod allows us to imagine what it would be like to star in the famous movie Speed : every time we press F9 it will generate a vehicle with explosives installed that will explode if we reduce our speed to less than 20 miles per hour. We will have to go as fast as we can, without crashing, stopping the car or getting out of it, because otherwise it will explode taking us ahead. It includes a table of scores so that we can check what our survival record has been. You can download it here .
alebal3 missions pack
If you are already tired of all the missions that the base game offers you in an original way, this mod adds 100 new missions so that you can continue playing without having to repeat content. In addition to that, it also allows you to control other characters such as Lamar, Lester, Ron, Wade, Amanda, Jimmy and Tracy , among others, and perform new actions such as hacking computers, riding in cars as a passenger and more. You can download it here .
Collection Missions
GTA 5 has a good number of collectibles , but no quests or menu options that help you easily check the progress or location of these items. Thanks to the Collection Mission mod, the task of completing the game 100% will be somewhat less torturous, because it turns the collection of collectibles into common missions , marking things like acrobatic jumps or hidden packages. You can download it here , although if you want to do these tasks the old-fashioned way, you can follow our GTA 5 guide .
Trucking Missions
If you like transport missions this is your mod. Thanks to this modification you can implement new objectives to the game , all related to driving trucks and transporting goods, something that cannot be done in the base game. Each available contract has a difficulty that alters the reward that we will receive. You can download it here
Character Mods
King Kong and Godzilla
This mod for GTA 5 allows you to become King Kong , the most famous giant monkey in pop culture. Not only is it an aesthetic transformation, but it includes certain abilities that we usually associate with this primate, such as climbing buildings, catching and throwing vehicles and pedestrians, and basically being able to destroy almost the entire city. You can download it here . There is also one that allows us to become Godzilla and shoot bolts of fire through our mouths; is available here .
Maneater script mod
If instead of in King Kong or Godzilla you want to become a smaller but equally devastating creature, this mod allows you to put yourself in the shoes of a Maneater- style shark : you will be able to swim, jump to the surface and, above all, bite into anyone who gets ahead of you. You can download it here .
CharacterMenu
But if what you are really looking for is the possibility of becoming any of the more than 500 characters in GTA V , this is your mod: once you download it here and install it, you will have a menu that will allow you to change the appearance of the protagonist for that of any NPC in the game, and you can also change the clothes of almost everyone (there are around 150 non-customizable characters, but they can still be chosen in the menu and played with them).
Protagonists of other installments of Grand Theft Auto
The Grand Theft Auto saga is one of the most popular and beloved in the video game industry, and its latest installment honors some characters from previous games by introducing them into its crude tale. Some characters are missing though, have you ever wondered where Niko Bellic or CJ is during the events of Grand Theft Auto V ? If the answer is yes, thanks to these mods you can answer it by taking both wherever you want, because they allow you to play as Niko Bellic ( here ) and as CJ ( here ) in versions adapted to the aesthetics of Grand Theft Auto V , or in this modwhich adds the same model to the original game. There is also an HD version of Tommy Vercetti here .
Superheroes (and supervillains)
On the net there are a large number of mods that allow you to change the original main characters for superheroes known in popular culture, some even have other mods available so that the change is not only aesthetic, but also that you can replicate their powers. For example, the Iron Man Mark V suit ( here ), the Hulk suit ( here ) or the Superman suit ( here ) is available. There are also several Spider-Man suits available in the same mod ( here ) or several characters from The Flash series ( here ). If you are more than villains you can put yourself in the shoes ofThanos ( here ) or Harley Quinn ( here ), and if you prefer Japanese anime you have Goku from Dragon Ball Z ( here ) or Naruto ( here ).
Characters from other video games
If you are one of those who imagine what other video games would be like with the freedom of action of Grand Theft Auto, you are in luck, because these mods allow you to replace the main characters of the original game with other protagonists of other titles , such as the one you lets play with Joel from The Last of Us . You can also introduce Lara Croft from Tomb Raider , Faith from Mirror Edge , Ada Wong from Resident Evil 2 Remake or Michelle Chang from Tekken.. If you want to go for a less realistic style, you can try Steve from Minecraft or even Mario himself , with Bomb-omb included.
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