This path is for any new player entering Southland for the first time. By the end, you should have entered a character, found the live help available to you, chosen a small in-character goal, and left the session knowing what will be there when you return.
1. Finish account and character entry
Connect using your account username, not a character name. If the account is new, follow the registration dialog and use the username-bound code issued through the Southland Discord. A returning account may proceed through its trusted device or be asked for a Discord login code.
After authentication, select an existing character or create one through the in-game dialogs. Character creation asks for a Firstname_Lastname, sex, and skin. There is no character application or approval wait: confirming the new character enters the game.
Do not plan the session until character entry is complete. Commands become available only after you are in character.
2. Decide who your character is
Choose a concept you can play immediately rather than a long biography. Answer three questions:
- What brought the character to Los Santos?
- How do they usually behave around strangers?
- What modest thing do they want to accomplish today?
Keep information learned as a player separate from information learned by the character. Ordinary text is local in-character speech. Use the appropriate OOC channel when you need to speak as a player, and use actions or scene descriptions for things the game cannot show. Roleplay and chat explains those boundaries and writing tools.
3. Get oriented at Unity Station
A newly created character arrives at Unity Station in the overworld. Treat Unity as the start of your character’s scene, not as a promise that every nearby vehicle or service is available to them. Read labels and responses before interacting, then use the live help to choose your next step.
Southland uses one shared accelerated clock and a predictable weather cycle. Use /time for the exact current 12-hour and 24-hour time, current weather, and the real minutes until the next normal weather change. A temporary staff override is labelled there with its own remaining duration; it does not change financial deadlines or other real-time systems. The native corner clock stays hidden because its speed is not synchronized with the server clock.
Returning characters normally re-enter at their last saved safe position instead of Unity. An entrance-backed interior can also be restored; if its entrance no longer exists, the character falls back to the overworld rather than an orphaned instance.
4. Open the live help
Use /help after entering your character. Browse a category, search by task, or open a command’s current detail. The live reference owns syntax, aliases, permissions, and action choices, so prefer it over remembered command lists. /guide repeats the short orientation sequence when you need it.
For your first 180 confirmed active account minutes, /newb lets you ask eligible newcomers and on-duty helpers a short OOC question. This allowance follows the account rather than the character and does not advance while you are AFK. /tognewb persistently hides or shows the channel while you remain eligible. After that window, or whenever newcomer eligibility is temporarily unavailable, continue with /help or submit the current support route through /helpme.
Seeing an entry in help does not remove its gameplay requirements. A command can still require the right job, item, location, nearby target, vehicle, or ownership. If an attempt fails, read the response, check its help detail, correct the missing condition, and retry. See Commands, prompts, and getting help for help navigation and prompt handling.
Southland may also announce optional newcomer hours in Discord. These are ordinary roleplay meetups at Unity Station, not tutorials, queues, or special game instances. A Vouched member with at least three confirmed active account hours can use Discord /newcomer-hour volunteer to opt in as a greeter or withdraw; the private response never reveals active minutes or other volunteers’ account information. Reminders go only to people who opted in. There is no attendance requirement, teleport, reward, special authority, or permanent greeter role, and help and transport remain available outside an event.
5. Pick one modest first-session goal
Choose one outcome that creates room for interaction. For example:
- introduce yourself to another character and learn why they are nearby;
- explore one public entrance and return outside;
- inspect your starting resources and decide what your character needs;
- investigate one established job without committing to a long shift.
Avoid trying to sample every system. A clear, small goal gives other players something understandable to respond to and keeps your first session grounded in the character concept.
6. Look for work at the established level
The established job core supports trucker deliveries, mechanic repairs, and taxi work. A character can hold one job at a time, and joining requires reaching that job’s signup point. Their work shapes differ: trucking is a delivery loop, mechanic work depends on a nearby player’s damaged vehicle, and taxi work depends on passengers and fares.
Use the directions and prerequisites in Finding work, then use the live help for the current job action. It is fine for a first session to learn about a job and leave the actual shift for later.
7. Check what the character has
Open /help balance and /help inventory, then use the current commands shown there to view your balance and inventory.
- The balance view separates carried cash from bank funds. Money movement is server-authoritative and persists through the ledger; the GTA money display is only a display.
- The inventory view lists the items currently in your character’s custody, including their displayed quantity where relevant. Read its current item references before trying to give, drop, or otherwise use an item.
Starting resources are not a reason to spend immediately. Let the character’s first goal determine what matters, and rely on the displayed balance and inventory rather than assumptions from another character or an earlier session.
8. Enter and interact with the world deliberately
World entrances are command-driven. Stand at a marked outside point, use its entry action, and use the corresponding inside point to leave. During ordinary use, a locked entrance refuses entry; where a doorbell interaction is available, it alerts characters inside rather than bypassing the lock. Entrances can be nested, so leaving returns you through the exact doorway used by that space.
Read the label before acting and wait for the move to finish streaming. Do not treat every decorative door as usable. Doors and interiors covers the established entrance interactions and locked-door behaviour.
9. Roleplay before reaching for mechanics
When another character is present, begin with observation, local speech, or a simple action that gives them time to respond. Use a mechanic only when it represents something your character is actually doing. Do not make a payment, hand over an item, start work, or enter a private-looking space merely because the command exists.
Many exchanges are proximity-sensitive or ask the other player to confirm. Stay nearby, read the prompt, and allow a decline or timeout to remain part of the scene. If nothing mechanical is needed, continue the roleplay without forcing one.
10. Finish cleanly and know what persists
Before disconnecting, finish or end any active job shift, fare, offer, or other temporary interaction through its normal flow. Employment persists, but active job vehicles, routes, and fare state are session-only.
Characters save on a staggered autosave and when an in-character player disconnects. A returning character restores the last safe exterior or entrance-backed position, facing, health, armour, and skin. Positions in temporary non-entrance instances are not saved as login locations. Cash, bank funds, employment, and item custody are durable system state rather than client-only state.
If login, a stale prompt, a blocked interaction, or an unexpected location prevents you from continuing, keep the exact message and note what you were doing. Reopen the relevant help or guide first; then follow Common troubleshooting before using /help to choose the current player-support route.