Rockstar Games
How to install mods in GTA 5: can they be used online?
Rockstar Games’ GTA 5 has been around for a long time, so plenty of mods have been made for the game. But can you use them while playing online?
If you release a game on PC, it’s almost inevitable that players will unleash their creativity with a sea of mods that alter the game, sometimes beyond recognition. From model swaps and UI alterations, to entirely new game modes, cheats, and scripts to let you have perfect aim at all times. And Grand Theft Auto V is no exception.
Having released back in 2013, GTA V (and its online component, later released as a free-to-play standalone title) has a healthy modding community that has worked on the title for a decade now. It’s birthed new life to many games before, and for a long time has allowed players to go crazy and refresh their experience with the title. So how do you mod GTAV yourself?
How to mod GTA V?
Installing mods really depend on where your getting your mods from, as there are several communities for this. One of the most popular is, of course, Nexus Mods, where you’ll find a constant stream of alterations for the game which you can install yourself. There you will also find different auto-installers that help you mod the game, but there are other ways to do so.
If you want to install them from other sites, here’s what you need to do:
- Download Script Hook V (the basic tool that allows for modding of the game)
- From where you downloaded, uncompress the .zip file
- Copy the “ScriptHookV.dll” file to GTAV’s main folder. This is the same folder where GTA5.exe is found. (If you’re playing on Steam, right-click on the game in your library, go to “Manage”, and click “Browse local files”).
- Do the same for the “dsound.dll” file for Asi Loader
- Download the GTAV LUA Plugin
- Uncompress the .zip file
- Copy both the folder called “Scripts” and the “LUA.asi” file
- Paste them in the game’s main folder, same as before
Once you do this, inside the Scripts folder you’ll find another folder titled “addins”. When you download a mod for the game, you simply need to copy it into this last folder, and that’s all. The game has been modded. Of course, each specific mod will come with its own instructions, so make sure to read them.
Can you use mods when playing GTA Online?
The answer to this question is quite important: ABSOLUTELY NOT.
If you try to connect to the game’s servers with a modded version of GTA V, you’ll receive a warning telling you that you are trying to connect with “an altered version of the game”, prompting you to return to the single-player mode. You won’t be able to proceed online. On the off-chance that you actually manage to connect to the game with mods installed, your account will be permanently banned.
You’ll have to directly contact Rockstar Games Customer Support to begin an investigation on the matter, and try to convince them to lift the ban. As the game’s online version has real money transactions, any mods are seen as attempts to cheat.