GTA Online: Here’s What Mental State Skill Is & How To Improve It

Grand Theft Auto players have plenty of challenges to get through, and GTA 5 skilling is an integral part of the process. With GTA Online receiving so many great updates and new content, many players are eager to find out what the Mental State skill is and how to improve it.

What is the Mental State Skill in GTA Online? Explained

The Mental State “skill” is not actually a skill at all – in fact, it’s a feature that is more comparable to a Mental State “meter.” The feature was initially introduced to GTA Online along with The High Life Update DLC, allowing players to note how other players act in-game.

It wouldn’t be the first time Rockstar Games included mental state elements in the game, as seen with the varying Psychiatric Reports in GTA 5 Story Mode. In a nutshell, the Mental State feature reflects a player character’s in-game mental condition (passive/ aggressive) based on recent behavior and play history.

There are a total of 5 different levels comprised within the Mental State feature, as seen below.

Mental State is indicated in the form of a varying color blip that’s shown on the map, with white being considered a low Mental State and red being considered a high Mental State signal. However, having a high mental State is not necessarily a good thing in GTA Online, as players gain more on the Mental State meter depending on how violent and aggressive they are.

How Do You Get a ‘Bad’ Mental State in GTA 5?

For players to get a “bad” Mental State in GTA Online (which is actually a stable and non-violent mental state as a whole), they will need to refrain from harming other players, pedestrians, or NPCs. Players can wait it out as it fades over time (in about 48 minutes).

Alternatively, players can perform a series of jobs in-game to make the Mental State gauge decrease faster, and it can be reset to 0% if it falls within the “Normal” range. Players can also try to space out aggressive acts to ensure they stay within the White dot range, such as only attacking a player or character once every 10 minutes.

Killing a player with a white blip will increase the player’s Mental State blip more than when players kill a player with a redder blip. But, oddly enough, killing a fully red player will not grant any Mental State gains, and players receive more RP when killing players with redder blips.

Why was the Mental State Feature Added in GTA Online?

Many fans believe that the Mental State feature was only added to GTA Online to control griefers. This is particularly believable because White dot players do not become red by killing Red dot players – and Rockstar Games also added icons for grief vehicles, such as tanks, around the same time.

The menu also states that players who are more violent and aggressive will be more likely to be taken out for having red blips. Fans argue that this new feature would make players more likely to hunt down griefers – which is also supported by the pop-up warning that appears when players start becoming red, as seen below.

Rockstar Games already partitions particularly offensive players into segmented servers, so the effort is certainly there on the developers’ end. The developers have also claimed that the new Mental State feature will be used in match-making processes to ensure that players are matched up with others of a similar aggression level and playstyle.

Many GTA Online players have found that the RP reward is not worth the effort. The feature possibly serves as a way for players to avoid griefers altogether. However, some have argued that players can still avoid being detected by starting a business and becoming a CEO, VIP, or MC President, after which they can hide their Mental State blip.

How to Improve the Mental State Skill in GTA Online

Players will gradually be marked by a redder blip after they kill or harm other players, pedestrians, or NPCs in-game. The more hostile, violent, and ruthless the action is, the faster the Mental State meter will go up.

For example, killing another player will make the blip red more quickly when compared to blowing up a car or harming a pedestrian. Players can also try some more unique approaches to gain a Mental State fast – such as flying an aircraft and using its weaponry to cause damage.

That’s everything there is to know about the Mental State skill in GTA Online, with images and stats thanks to the GTA Wiki. Some players may have struggled to get into the swing of this new feature at first, as it can be a game-changer for many fans, but this new addition can be surprisingly enjoyable and beneficial over time.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!

Liked this article? Join us on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!