Grand Theft Auto V was one of the most anticipated games of 2013, but when it finally launched on PC in 2015, everything changed. Aside from improved visuals, one of the main advantages of playing GTA V on a gaming PC is the ability to mod the game. In fact, since the PC release, GTA V has been filled with thousands of user-made modifications used to spice up the game.
So, if you want a hilarious and generally improved gaming experience, why not download some of the best GTA V mods for PC? Here are the top 20 Grand Theft Auto V mods to install in 2019.
Caution: Back in 2015, Grand Theft Auto V developers confirmed that users won’t get banned for modding the single-player game. With that said, unless you want to get banned temporarily or even permanently, do not use mods in GTA Online.
How Do I Install GTA V Mods?
Before we list the top 20 GTA V mods, you should probably know how to install them first. Thankfully, installing mods in GTA V is a very quick and simple process. All you have to do is copy the mod files you have downloaded into the main Grand Theft Auto V folder (GTAV.exe). Even your grandparents could probably do that! If you purchased GTA V via Steam, the main GTA V folder can be found under the SteamApps file.
Many GTA V mods will require you to use Script Hook V for them to work. In order to do this, simply download Script Hook V and follow the installation instructions under the description on GTA5-mods.com. Note that Script Hook V won’t work in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online.
#1 R☆hancer Photorealism
When I first saw the trailer for Grand Theft Auto V a whopping 7 years ago, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Everything from the cinematography to the lighting and textures looked absolutely stunning. But when I finally got my hands on the game back in September 2013, I was amazed. The attention to detail in GTA V is simply phenomenal, not to mention how well it runs.
Today, GTA V remains a very visually pleasing game. The thing is, in 2019, it’s not the most realistic game on the market, which is why we adore the R*enhancer Photorealism mod. Once installed, this mod adjusts the effects of the atmosphere, weather and lighting for realistic visuals.
#2 Natural Realism: Gameplay
On the topic of realism, if you want a more realistic gaming experience, we think you’ll really enjoy the Natural Realism: Gameplay mod. The best thing about this modification is that once you do something illegal, police won’t immediately appear right in front of you.
Instead, they take time to dispatch once your crimes have been reported. If you’re quick enough, you’ll even be able to get away with committing small crimes around Los Santos. But let’s be real here, nobody in GTA V commits only a small crime. Even if you’re in deep trouble, it’ll take twice as long for police helicopters to fly to your location thanks to this GTA V mod.
#3 Realistic Damage System
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been shot at and left with a body full of holes after robbing a store in GTA V. Yet, somehow, I always manage to walk away from the scene perfectly fine. At times, it makes robbing a store for cash a quick and simple process. But sometimes, I crave realism.
And with the GunShot Wound mod, that’s exactly what you get. This script adds a wounding and bleeding system for more realistic damage. In the final version of the mod, there are five states of wooding and bleeding: None, Light, Medium, Heavy and Deadly. The heavier the wound, the less you’ll be able to see and the more you’ll slow down.
#4 Euphoria Ragdoll Overhaul
Another fantastic GTA V modification that will completely change the way you play is the Euphoria Ragdoll Overhaul mod. Once installed, the ragdoll physics in Grand Theft Auto V will improve remarkably and therefore characters will behave more realistically when harmed.
Shoot someone in the chest and they will enter a shock-state. Shoot them in the gut and their body will tense up in order to deal with the massive amount of pain you’ve just caused them. This modification truly makes damaging civilians in GTA V a bunch of fun—as if it wasn’t fun already.
#5 Pedestrian Riot
On the topic of pedestrians, if you enjoy shooting them as much as I do, you may enjoy the Ped Riot/Chaos Mode mod. This GTA V modification essentially makes pedestrians go insane, causing chaos all around Los Santos.
From the second you activate the mod, pedestrians will be handed weapons used to kill anything that gets in their way. Come too close and they will shoot at you too, so keep your eyes peeled as you roam around the chaotic city. The best part about it? There are no cops, so go crazy and stupid.
#6 Field-of-View
Switching between first- and third-person in GTA V is a very simple process that requires you to press only a single key (V). Unfortunately, first-person in Grand Theft Auto V kind of sucks, especially when playing on a high-end gaming laptop.
If you’ve ever played GTA V, you’ll know that the default field-of-view is fairly narrow and can’t be adjusted. As someone who can’t even take a car ride without feeling nauseous, default first-person makes myself and other gamers motion sick. But with the GTA V FoV mod, you’ll be able to set the field-of-view value to suit your personal preferences.
#7 Explore Locked Buildings
If there’s one thing you should know about GTA V, it’s that it’s a massive open world game. Los Santos is an extremely detailed map with 49 square miles of playable space, but there are many areas that are off-limits.
By using this Open All Interiors mod, you’ll be able to unlock almost every interior in Grand Theft Auto V, including Tequi-la-la and The O’Neil farmhouse. One of the best things about this modification is that it adds a marker at the locations of every open interior on the map. This way, you’ll know exactly where to go and explore in GTA V.
#8 Working Restaurants Script
Now that you can access locked buildings using the open all interiors mod, why not add some restaurants to the game? This GTA V Working Restaurants mod essentially adds nine working restaurants to the game, such as all Taco Bombs, Lucky Pluckers, Up-N-Atoms and Burger Shots.
As seen in the previous mod on our list, a marker will pop up on the map so that you can find each restaurant with ease. To use this mod, simply find the yellow arrow near the building, press E to buy food for $5 and your health will be restored in no time.
#9 Liberty City
Why not take a trip down memory lane by downloading the GTA 5: Liberty City (Portland) mod? Fittingly, this map modification released in 2015 turns Los Santos into Portland, a location found in GTA 3, GTA Auto Advance, GTA: Liberty City Stories and briefly in GTA: San Andreas.
Based on the Big Apple, Portland is a brilliant location that resembles areas like Brooklyn and Queens. Since this mod is based on an old game, everything looks as you’d expect: dated. Still, it’s a sweet GTA V mod that you should totally download.
#10 Clear View Underwater
One of my favourite things to do aside from killing civilians in GTA V is swimming under da sea like Sebastian. To improve your underwater experience in Grand Theft Auto V, we highly recommend the New Underwater Experience mod.
This modification basically removes strange vignette effects and blurs while swimming in the ocean. Depending on how deep you go, some blur and other distortions may remain, though this is to be expected when swimming.
#11 Grand Theft Space
Do you know what’s better than going under the sea? Shooting into space like Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster. Appropriately named Grand Theft Space, this 2017 GTA V expansion allows you to travel beyond planet earth.
You can float throat space, land on the moon’s surface and drive around as you would on land. One of the most remarkable features of this mod is the handy Scenes menu with a list of different locations including Mars surface and Earth orbit. This way, you won’t have to spend hours flying through space to find the next planet you wish to explore.
#12 Map Editor
Don’t get me wrong, the map in GTA V is absolutely gorgeous. But after four years, it’s nice to change things up a little using this GTA V Map Editor mod. By using the convenient free-roaming cam, you can spawn and preview objects, move them around and place them where you please.
Once you’ve finished building your own paradise, you can save and load your maps as you please. It’s truly one of the most interesting Grand Theft Auto V tools we’ve ever come across, which is why we can’t recommend it enough.
#13 Gang and Turf
One thing that made GTA: San Andreas one of the best games in the series is the gang warfare system used to keep things entertaining. It seemed as though I couldn’t cycle down the street without trouble, but with the help of The Grove Street Families, I could take gangs down in no time.
First uploaded in 2016, the Gang and Turf Mod puts that same gang and turf system found in GTA: SA in GTA: V. This enables you to control, create and name a gang used to fight other gangs for their territories—it really doesn’t get any better than that.
#14 Complex Control
In the past few years, Battle Royale games have become increasingly popular, so why not add a Battle Royale-Esque game mode to GTA V? Complex Control is a gameplay mod that allows you to play as an avatar with a unique set of abilities, one of which is Teleportation.
After you’ve spawned in a random location, you then have to try to win by standing in the last zone for 4 seconds. Since you play against AI, the Royal-Lite gameplay feature isn’t comparable to the best Battle Royale games on the market, though it’s one of the closest things we have to it in GTA V.
#15 GTA V RPG
Even though Grand Theft Auto V is a very entertaining game, the missions throughout are fairly linear. If you dislike linear gameplay, the GTA RPG mod adds RPG features to GTA V. This includes non-linear dialogue in missions, a progressive experience system, levelling, looting and questing.
As you play using GTA RPGs quest system, you’ll use skill trees to upgrade things such as your weapons, characters and cars. Additionally, there are some very fun minigames for you to try out if you get bored while completing missions.
#16 Become Iron Man
Sure, realistic visuals and gameplay are great and all, but sometimes, it’s fun to let loose by playing as your favourite fictional superhero. Based on the breathtaking wingsuit as seen in Avengers: Infinity War, the Iron Man Mark 50 mod appropriately transforms you into pre-April 2019 Iron Man.
Using these huge wings, you can zoom through Los Santos without the need for a plane or chopper. The best part about it? Thanks to Iron Man’s Repulsors, you can blast missiles at cars, enemies and everything else in GTA V.
#17 Dragon Ball Z Goku
You know what’s better than flying through Los Santos as Iron Man? Flying through Los Santos as Super Saiyan Goku. By using this remarkable Dragon Ball Z Goku mod in Grand Theft Auto V, you can do just that. Once downloaded, you can use this mod to lift, thrown, punch and smash every car and civilian in the game.
Which is why it’s one of our favourite GTA V modifications. What’s more, you no longer have to be a Patreon Supporter to download the mod. Nevertheless, it’s always nice to support modders and creators in general.
#18 Super Mario Plumbers
Surely nothing beats Iron Man and Goku? Wait, what’s that? Mario and his friends coming to steal your car, your money and the chicks you just picked up at the corner? With the Super Mario Plumbers mod, you can play as Mario and his pals as you cause trouble around Los Santos.
Alongside Mario, you can play as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. Sure, adding the baby versions of Mario and Luigi to GTA V may not seem like the most appropriate thing. But gosh is it hilarious walking into a strip club before killing half the town as Baby Mario.
#19 Psychokinetic
Back in 2017, NModds released the Psychokinetic mod for GTA V with a goal to create a god-like character. Once you install the mod, your chosen character will turn into a powerful being with telekinetic abilities alongside some other crazy powers.
Just like the Iron Man and Goku mods, this modification will allow you to fly through Los Santos, pick up and throw hundreds of cars, trucks or anything else for that matter. I mean, what’s better than destroying a city as a super-being with powers? What about flying around as a dragon?
#20 Game of Thrones-Esque Dragons
We can probably all agree that seagulls are one of the most annoying birds out there. They just fly around, squawk and crap on everything and anything. So, why not replace the Seagull in GTA V with the Large Dragon mod?
This allows you to fly through the city as a Game of Thrones-esque fire breathing dragon. As today’s generation would say, it’s a lit mod. You can even pick up police cars after burning the whole police squad to a crisp. How fun does that sound? Or, maybe I’m just a little sadistic.
Conclusion
There you have it, the top 20 best GTA V mods for PC. Of course, since the game is over 6 years old, we may have missed out one of your favourite Grand Theft Auto V mods. If that’s the case, feel free to let us know in the comments below.
Interested in knowing a little more about what Rockstar has planned next? Why not head on over to our GTA 6 release date, news and rumors article? We’re constantly updating it, so you’ll never miss out on a thing. Prefer to battle it out with dragons? We think you’ll enjoy our guide to the best Skyrim mods.