Best Criminal Career in GTA 5 Online, Ranked

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Human Made

Penned by Gibson Vasela

My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.

Reviewed by Austin Carroll

With the next-gen version of Grand Theft Auto 5, fans of GTA V can not only play the game with better graphics but with a host of new features added to GTA Online, such as picking up a Criminal Career! This is a new way to start off your criminal enterprise in Los Santos.

But just what are Criminal Careers exactly? How do you select one? And most importantly, out of all the Criminal Careers, which is the best one to pick and why? We will be explaining all of this and more in this article!

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What is a Criminal Career?

Before we get into the ranking, let’s briefly go over what exactly they are, to begin with. When you first start up a new character in the next-gen version of GTA Online, you will be sent to the Career Builder menu. From here, your character will be given $4,000,000 dollars and the choice of four different career paths, which are called Criminal Careers. The four options that are available to new players are as follows:

• Executive: Become the CEO of your own criminal enterprise, smuggling illegal goods throughout San Andreas.
• Gunrunner: Purchase a hidden underground bunker and become an arms-dealing warlord.
• Nightclub Owner: Run your very own nightclub and sell highly profitable illegal goods on the side.
• Biker: Be the president of your very own motorcycle club and start a ruthless drug empire.

When you select one of these four career paths, you will be able to use your $4,000,000 to purchase certain properties, vehicles, and weapons to help get you started in the criminal world of Los Santos. Some properties and vehicles are only available to certain career paths. For example, if you choose the Nightclub Owner path, you can purchase a nightclub but won’t be able to buy a CEO Office like an Executive would.

Do keep in mind that choosing a specific Criminal Career does NOT lock you out of purchasing the other options later on. For example, if you pick the Gunrunner career path, you won’t be able to buy a MC Clubhouse right away. But once you get to free roam, you’ll be able to purchase an MC Clubhouse whenever you’d like, as long as you have enough money for one.

You’ll be forced to spend at minimum $3,000,000 of the starting cash you’re given in order to begin the game. Players are able to keep any leftover money they have, which can be used to buy other things in GTA Online. Once you have made all your purchases, you’ll be able to make your character and start the tutorial.

Every Criminal Career in GTA 5 Online | Ranked From Worst to Best

So with all of that information covered and out of the way… Why don’t we get right into our ranking for the best Criminal Careers in GTA Online?

4/4

Nightclub Owner

Let’s kick off our guide with the Nightclub Owner option. This is definitely the worst option to pick. Not because the Nightclub isn’t a profitable business… quite the opposite. In fact, it’s one of the best money-making properties that you can get in the game. But in order for it to become highly profitable, you will need to have purchased several other businesses in the game first. This means that the nightclub is an end-game business, not an early-game one.

Because of this, if you want to make the most money long-term, you will need to select one of the other options. Even if the business side of this choice isn’t that great for new players, there are still some good vehicles that you can get with this option. For starters, you can choose the Terrabyte as one of your starting vehicles with this career path. This is one of the best vehicles in the game, as it allows you to manage your other businesses from anywhere on the map.

Of course, this suffers from the same problem that the Nightclub has – without any other businesses, it becomes much less useful. But, later on, you can purchase and store your Oppressor Mk II here, which is the best vehicle in the game. It’s a flying motorcycle that makes grinding much less of a hassle in GTA Online. In terms of other vehicles, there is also the Karin Kuruma (Armored) which is a great armored car for doing PvE. This option, however, is also available with the other career paths.

As for weapons, there is only one that you can purchase from this Criminal Career… and that is the Compact Grenade Launcher. This is a pretty decent explosives weapon that allows you to shoot grenades from your motorcycle. It’s good, but not worth picking this career over. So then, what are some options that are better than being a Nightclub Owner? Well, I’m glad you asked…

3/4

Gunrunner

Up next at spot number three on our list of every Criminal Career in GTA 5 Online, we have the Gunrunner! This path allows users to purchase their very own doomsday bunker. From this secret underground facility, you can begin to manufacture illegal weapons that will be distributed all throughout Los Santos. This was the first business I ever owned in the game! But don’t worry, I won’t let my nostalgia get in the way of my judgment.

This is a pretty okay option to go with. The bunker is a good way to start producing products that can be later sold for a good amount of money. Even though the money is good, it’s not really a solo-friendly business. Selling a full batch of product will spawn 4 vehicles, meaning if you want to sell all your product fast, you will need at least three people helping you. So you can either sell your bunker when it’s only partially full or find some friends to help you.

In addition to being able to make and sell products, you can also do research on things such as special weapons and vehicle mods. The explosive rounds–the best ammo type in the game–can only be unlocked by doing bunker research. However, if you are new to the game and low on cash, you should generally not be doing bunker research. So a bunker is really not the best option either for new players, either.

There are some pretty decent vehicles that you can acquire, however. The HVY Nightshark is great for safely getting around the map without being blown up. And like all the other options, you can also purchase a Karin Kuruma (Armored) with this career path. Strangely, there are no weapons available to buy if you pick this career option. So overall, I do not recommend that you select the Gunrunner Criminal Career.

2/4

Executive

Now at spot number 2 on our list, we finally have an option I can safely recommend. The Executive Career Path puts players on a road to becoming the CEO of their very own company that specializes in smuggling illegal goods. Becoming a CEO is one of the best goals to have in GTA Online, it gives players access to special options that non-CEOs do not have. As a CEO, you can spawn certain vehicles close to you. You can also hire other players to protect you. And of course, you have access to several money-making methods.

Speaking of which, if you pick this career option you will be able to purchase a crate warehouse. From here, you can pay an NPC to source crates for you, or you can go out and gather the crates yourself by launching a mission from the laptop inside the warehouse. Crates are illegal goods that can be sold later at a very high price. This is a great way to make money, especially since you can pay an NPC to source crates for you while you do a mission to get some yourself. I should warn you, however, that selling crates in a public lobby is very risky. I recommend you get friends to help you if you do.

And once you’ve made enough money from selling crates, later on, you can purchase a vehicle warehouse! This allows you to source and steal high-end cars that can be customized and sold to clients for a big paycheck. Being a CEO also lets you purchase the Agency. This is another business from which you can launch missions to bring you in even more money. So overall, there are a lot of great money-making methods for CEOs.

And I haven’t even gotten started on the vehicles and weapons. Just like the Gunrunning option, you can also purchase a HVY Nightshark for getting around the map safely. You can also purchase a Homing Launcher with this Criminal Career. This is a great weapon for anti-air defense, especially for new players as it will lock onto targets automatically. So if all of this sounds great, then you’d be wise to pick the Executive option. However, there’s still one more Career Path we haven’t discussed yet…

1/4

Biker

Last but most certainly not least on this ranking, we have the Biker Criminal Career! When a player selects this career path, they will be able to become the president of their very own motorcycle club! When you are registered as a president, you will have access to special perks, similar to being a CEO. For starters, you can spawn any motorcycle you own instantly right next to you. And you can also hire and promote other players to be your guards. Being an MC President has more benefits than being a CEO, in my opinion. Being able to spawn a bike right next to you is INCREDIBLY useful.

With this career path, you can purchase your own MC clubhouse (which is one of the cheapest properties in the game, allowing you to spend your money on other things). This clubhouse lets you store up to 10 motorcycles. It can also be used to launch clubhouse work, which are missions that can be completed to earn some money. But most importantly, as an MC president, you can purchase one of several MC businesses!

These MC businesses are great ways to make money. They are not the MOST profitable businesses in the game, but they are still great money-making methods, especially for solo players. You can choose one of three MC businesses from the Career Builder (I highly recommend the Cocaine Lockup as it’s the most profitable option). Once you buy this business and start producing product, you can sell that product to various drug dealers scattered around the map. This means you can make good money entirely solo, which is really great for beginners!

As for vehicles, I recommend you buy the Hakucou Drag. It’s a very fast motorbike under $1,000,000. Since you are an MC President, that means you can spawn it right next to you immediately. This makes getting around the map much less of a headache. You should also buy the HVY Nightshark and the Karin Karuma (Armored) for doing missions. The Biker career path also has the most weapons out of any other Criminal Career. You can buy the Special Carbine, which is without a doubt one of the BEST assault rifles in the game.

So my final verdict is that you should select the Biker option. Being an MC President is incredibly useful and has a lot of perks. This career path also allows new players to make money entirely solo, and they can gain access to some great businesses early on in the game. And lastly, the weapons and vehicles you have access to make it a great pick as well.

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