Essential First — Install These
Script Hook V + Native Trainer
Required for almost every mod. Install this first or nothing else works. Free at Alexander Blade's site. Update it whenever GTA V updates or your game will crash on launch.
OpenIV
The mod manager for GTA V. Lets you install, manage and remove mods safely. Also required by most graphics and vehicle mods. Free and essential fr fr.
Graphics Mods — Make It Look Next-Gen
NaturalVision Evolved
The GOAT of GTA V graphics mods. Completely rebuilds lighting, weather, textures and atmosphere. Makes GTA V look genuinely better than most 2025 releases. Some screenshots are literally indistinguishable from real life. The best graphics mod period.
VisualV
Free alternative to NaturalVision. Great lighting overhaul, improved weather, enhanced color grading. Easier to install and less performance-heavy. Solid if your PC can't handle NaturalVision.
Redux
All-in-one overhaul — graphics, weather, traffic, peds, police AI. One install that upgrades basically everything. Great starting point if you don't want to mix and match mods.
Gameplay Mods — Change How It Plays
Realistic Driving V
Replaces the arcade handling with simulation physics. Cars actually feel heavy, tires grip realistically, crashes matter. If you're used to GTA V's floaty driving this will hit different — in a good way.
Menyoo PC
The best trainer/sandbox mod. Spawn anything, change weather, freeze wanted level, teleport, edit your character. Essential for messing around and content creation. Free.
LSPD First Response (LSPDFR)
Play as a cop. Pull over traffic, respond to crimes, chase suspects. Completely changes the game loop. Massive modding community on top of it. If you've seen GTA V cop roleplay on YouTube, this is what they're using.
Map & World Mods
FiveM
Custom multiplayer servers. Roleplay servers, racing servers, death match servers — thousands of custom servers with custom maps and rules. This is where GTA V RP content comes from. Free to download, connects to community servers.
GTA V Liberty City
The entire GTA IV map ported into GTA V. Drive, fly, and explore Liberty City in GTA V's engine. Absolutely wild as a crossover experience and one of the most ambitious fan projects in gaming history.
Mods = Story Mode only
Never use mods in GTA Online — Rockstar will ban your account. Keep a separate GTA V installation for mods if you want to play Online too. OpenIV has a built-in "mods" folder system to keep them separate.
The stack 💀
Install in this order: Script Hook V → OpenIV → NaturalVision Evolved → Realistic Driving V → Menyoo. That five-mod stack makes GTA V feel like a completely different (better) game. You will not go back to vanilla after this fr fr.