VIP Work

VIP exclusive jobs may require your pockets to be at least a million bucks heavy to even be accessible, but they pay accordingly. VIP work offers a new alternative for GTA Online players looking to amass a fortune, but who are bored of grinding heists over and over.

However, the upper echelons of white-collar crime groups are in constant rivalry, muddying the waters around the reward system. VIP work features one of the more complicated payout methods in GTA Online. As we've covered previously, any $GTA Bodyguards win while in service go to their employer.

Starting a VIP job isn't a guaranteed payout either - if another organisation completes the objective before you succeed, they'll take the cash as well as the credit. But before you think of letting other organisations do the leg work and swiping the rewards at the last moment, keep in mind you'll only get 70% of the goods this way.

VIP work adopts the wonderfully toothless philosophy applied to children's competitions - if you participate, you win. This means that merely "contributing" to the job will net you 100 RP and 500 GTA$ for each minute you spend on the clock. This little bonus is one of the few kinds of cash that stays with the Bodyguard and isn't billed to the VIP instead.

There are 6 distinct flavors of VIP work on the menu, each served in different locations, seasoned with various opponents and hindrances for your criminal pleasure. Discerning executives may peruse the following tips, broken down on a job-by-job basis. There are also a total of 17 VIP jobs that have been added over the course of Executives and Other Criminals, Further Adventures In Finance and Felony and Import/Export.

Piracy Prevention

Piracy Prevention - Hoist the sails, man the cannons and prepare to be boarded. Taking place on the magnificent yacht introduced in the update, this job involves one Organisation defending their floating status symbol from another. In this game mode, proximity mines are the defending team's best friends. The VIP would also do well to call in a Buzzard to provide overwatch. Attackers will make use of the Ghost Organisation ability to ensure they're not tracked as they fight their way to the upper deck.

Sightseer

Sightseer - In this mode, the VIP is declawed, but is the only one with the knowledge that will win you the job. While the VIP is busy hacking the Sightseer app and placing custom waypoints on the map for the bodyguards to follow, they will need constant protection. Getting in a vehicle is a good tactic here, but you'll need to weigh speed and vulnerability when picking your ride.

Hostile Takeover

Hostile Takeover - While in other modes, it's only rival organisations you need to worry about, this time the game itself is out to get you. Possessing the package means you're telegraphing your location to every soul in the session, so hiding isn't an option. You need several routes in case one is overrun, as well a multiple vehicles to provide security for your valuable cargo. You might think that NPCs are a pushover, but when you have to pay attention to so many attackers, every hostile is a failure waiting to happen.

Executive Search

Executive Search - If you're taking on this job as a VIP, you're putting your skin up for sale. As the million-dollar man, you'll need to keep moving at all times, as staying in one place will mark you on the map. Even so, the general area you're in will be shown. While your enemies arrive in force to cover more ground, hiding in plain sights is the best option. Acting like an NPC is the best cover. No one will assume that a GTA Online player actually follows traffic rules.

Asset Recovery

Asset Recovery - Yet another mode where the cops add to your troubles, Asset Recovery has you steal marked vehicles from the police. The best tactic is to get everyone into position before nicking the first ride, as the moment that happens, all members of your organisation will immediately become wanted. Stealing all the rides simultaneously will improve your chances of escape. When driving to the drop-off zone, look at the road and not the mini-map - the GPS may lead you astray.

Executive Deathmatch

Executive Deathmatch - This one is the most straight forward. Stay close, use your abilities, stock up on ammo, keep the VIP alive and kill anything that moves. Bodyguards may want to sacrifice themselves if it means saving the VIP - it's his life that counts. This job pays all participants equally, allowing bodyguards to make a little extra alongside their regular pay.

BodyGuard Work

Continuing Rockstar's series of gameplay tips and guides for the latest major DLC that GTA Online got, Executives and Other Criminals, we now focus on the Bodyguards.

White collar crime may be one of the most lucrative ways to spend time playing GTA Online, however it isn't the only way to turn the dynamic VIP/Bodyguard system into your source of serious income.

VIP challenges are smaller events where Bodyguards compete with one another for fame and glory - and the paycheck of a VIP. These jobs are too dirty for an executive to get involved in, so it's up to you to persevere.

These challenges are kicked off by the boss of a criminal organisation for the member bodyguards to try each other out, so to say. In order to gauge their protectors' skills - maybe to spot the weak link - executives can spectate these matches. Strangely enough, when doing so in the Most Wanted challenge, the spectating VIP also needs to be... "dealt with" for the mode to be completed.

Competition in challenges will be tough, as only the winner walks away with the riches, but participating isn't a complete waste, as the increased cash and RP rate bonus is still active for all bodyguards. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?

Auto Buyout

We'll be looking at Auto Buyout first. This challenge feels most faithful to the GTA name, since that's exactly what you will be doing. To win this challenge, you'll need to steal and deliver - in one piece - the most valuable total of vehicles to the set drop-off point in the allotted time.

The different regions of GTA V's map have different kinds of vehicle spawn rates. It's worth going for a longer trip to greener plains than to stack up cheap rides close by. Don't go too far though - there are only a limited amount of slots and it doesn't matter how expensive your bounty is if you can't drop it off.

You should also keep an eye out for flashier rides en-route. If you come across something more valuable, feel free to leave you current ride behind. If you have a particularly valuable personal vehicle, you can deliver that too for a quick advantage - or just steal someone else's. Don't waste time trying to destroy or damage your opponent's drop-offs though. This might seem like a sound tactic, but you'll just be wasting time.

Most Wanted

Moving on to the next challenge, Most Wanted is what happens when the LSPD uncover your criminal organisation. Every bodyguard is hit with 5 wanted stars and it's last man standing from there on.

Police in GTA V are more harrowing than they were in previous games, so you'll need to be quick on your feet and wits to survive this one. You won't be able to decrease your wanted level in any way while the challenge is on. You'll also be automatically disqualified if you take to the skies or the underground.

Fight might serve you better than flight. If you get into a fortified position, chances are you can hold out longer than the others. If more than one of you weather the storm for longer than 10 minutes, all survivors will share the riches.

Due Diligence

Due Diligence, the next challenge on the list, is the most violent version of a scavenger hunt we've seen. The race is on to collect as many of the packages marked with a flare within the time limit. It's pretty simple, whoever finishes with the most collected wins.

Make sure to keep the Trackify app open during this challenge, as it will guide you to the packages. If one package is un-collected for long, more flares will light up to help - but if you know someone else will get there first, don't bother.

A large, heavy vehicle may not be the best choice for this challenge, as you'll need to be nimble and quick. Your opponents will likely have the same idea, but this also means they will be vulnerable. What better way to win than to eliminate the competition, right?

Courier Service

In Courier Service, you bleed money. The mode revolves around a previous money drop which needs to reach its destination quickly. Other bodyguards and the LSPD are all eager to grab the green, so you'll need to be quick - but also heavily armored.

Taking damage and flying all gradually decrease the value of the drop-off, which also happens to be the winner's payout when the challenge is over - provided it is delivered. If not, it doesn't count towards the pool.

Market Manipulation

While not a three-for-three like Auto Buyout was, Market Manipulation hits two of the words in GTA. When the challenge begins, every shop will be marked on the participating bodyguards' maps. The task is to go out and rob together as much cash as possible.

This is a strategic challenge - you'll need to balance routes, wanted levels, cash, speed, health and efficiency. In a hurry? Kill the cashier for a quicker but smaller payout. Are the cops on you, but far out? Rob a few more stores before they arrive. See an opponent? Get rid of their getaway ride and the blues will take care of them.

You'll do well to opt for an armored but swift ride for this challenge, as you'll lose quite a bit of your winnings whenever you bite the dust. Stores will also be locked up after being robbed, so there is no point in tailing your rivals.

Point to Point

Bringing up the rear end of the list is the simplest of the challenges, Point to Point. A run of the mill checkpoint race, the VIP in charge of the organisation picks a starting point, a destination and a few checkpoints in between.

The VIP might initiate the race before all the checkpoints are in place, so you'll need to keep an eye on them en-route. You should also hop into the nearest thing with wheels as quickly as you can, as feet won't do you much good here.

Like with any other race, the rule of thumb is that the GPS isn't always right. Look at the road, not the mini-map and don't be afraid to leave the trodden path if you have a better route. Inventive bodyguards often persevere.

While bodyguard challenges may not seem like the best way to grind cash on first glance, dominating these events will quickly fill your pockets and ensure employment by executives, which is a steady source of solid cash. If nothing else, this will help you collect the capital to become an executive yourself, opening up a wide variety of new challenging - and appropriately lucrative - jobs throughout the world of GTA Online.

Keep an eye out on further posts in this guide series, as well as any DLC announcements - leaks suggest there will be new VIP challenges coming to GTA Online in the coming weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions