Like most titles in the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto Online features a host of different modes and mini-games. In-between heists and mayhem, players can spend time enjoying some rounds of tennis, golf, and arm wrestling.
It's not all recreational downtime, however. Grand Theft Auto Online offers players several ways to kill and be killed, and one of the bloodiest is survival mode, pitting a team of players against an endless wave of NPC enemies. It takes a bit to unlock it, though.
Unlocking Survival Mode
Like GTA Online's heath stat upgrades, survival mode is hidden behind a rank level threshold. Players need to be at least rank 15 to access it.
This makes sense as a means to ensure that players enter it with a good grasp of the combat mechanics, but it still might be frustrating for newer players. Thankfully, rank increases quickly in the early game, so they shouldn't have to wait too long.
Finding The First Survival Job
The second pre-condition is that the player needs to have met Ron and Trevor in GTA Online's main story. Players shouldn't have to worry too hard about this -- they'll likely run into them before hitting rank 15, but they can also find them by setting a way-point for the "T" symbol on the world map.
Once these two conditions are met, players will get a call from Rob informing them about a new job. This is the industrial plant tutorial survival mission. Players will find it in Harmony, at the Stoner Cement Works.
Hints for Survival
Rank 15 is still pretty low in Grand Theft Auto Online's progression. The player likely hasn't even gotten their first health upgrade at that point, so their first attempt at a survival job probably won't last long. However, there are a few things they can do to improve their chances.
Every survival game starts with health packs and body armor available. Armor respawns between waves up to wave 10, and health respawns up to wave 15. Players should try to memorize the spawn points and frequently revisit them.
GTA Online's strength stat is tied to a character's defense and melee strength, and it's quicker to level up than health. Players can spend some time throwing hands against whatever can take damage to make future survival attempts easier.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.