Gold Medals and 100% Completion
For players who like to clear every icon, the credits of Grand Theft Auto V are just a checkpoint. Each mission is graded with a medal, and a long completion list tracks the campaign, side jobs, hobbies and dozens of small chores scattered across San Andreas. Below you will find how the grading works, which items fill the list and what the game hands out when the counter finally reads 100%.
- Missions are graded Bronze, Silver or Gold depending on bonus goals
- “Solid Gold, Baby!” asks for 70 Golds
- The completion list counts 69 story missions
- Four groups feed the total: missions, hobbies, Strangers and Freaks, and odd jobs
Medal Grades Explained
On top of the main goal, every mission carries a few bonus conditions: beat a timer, land enough headshots, keep your hit rate up or bring a car back without a scratch. You see the full list on the results screen once the mission is over.
| Grade | What it takes |
|---|---|
| Bronze | Reach the end of the mission |
| Silver | Tick off one or more bonus conditions |
| Gold | Tick off all of them |
The conditions do not have to be cleared in one attempt. Progress is saved per condition, so on each replay you can target just one or two and ignore the rest.
Going Back to Old Missions
A replay option sits in the pause menu, which turns medal hunting into something closer to fun than grind, and it doubles as a way to relive the best set pieces. A replay is self-contained: it leaves your campaign progress and your characters’ bank balances exactly as they were.
Tip: read the bonus conditions before you start a replay. Some are trivial once you know about them, for example sticking to one specific gun or ending a pursuit with the car undamaged.
“Solid Gold, Baby!”
This achievement (a trophy on PlayStation) needs 70 Golds in total, counting both campaign missions and Strangers and Freaks. Since a perfect sweep is not required, you can skip the nastiest conditions altogether. The usual approach is to replay the missions you liked anyway and pick off the conditions that look doable.
What Counts Toward 100%
The game splits the completion list into a few groups. Here is a summary of each one.
The 69 campaign missions, Lester’s hits, the required Strangers and Freaks and 14 Random Events.
42 entries, from golf, tennis and darts to the gun range, triathlons, races, Flight School and skydiving.
16 entries covering real estate, collectibles, stunt jumps, bridge flying, knife flights and outings with friends.
The Hobbies Group
- At least Bronze in each shooting range category
- A nine-hole round of golf at par or under, and a victory in both tennis and darts
- A top-three finish in every triathlon and every street, off-road and sea race
- At least Bronze in each Flight School lesson
- Every parachute jump
The Miscellaneous Group
- Own five properties and order one vehicle through an in-game website
- Find every Spaceship Part and every Letter Scrap
- Fly Under the Bridge 25 times, finish 8 Knife Flights and land 25 Stunt Jumps
- Throw a ball for Chop, hold up a store and catch a movie
- Take a friend to a bar or strip club, and play a round of darts with a friend
Which Strangers and Freaks Matter
Only part of the Strangers and Freaks content is mandatory. The required chains include Barry, Beverly, Dom, Peter Dreyfuss, Hao, Mary-Ann, Omega and Tonya. Two are tied to collectibles: Dreyfuss will not appear until every Letter Scrap is found, and Dom’s final mission needs all parachute jumps done. Start on those early rather than leaving a scavenger hunt for the last hours.
What 100% Unlocks
Hitting the full total gives you the “Career Criminal” achievement (or trophy), puts an orange “100%” T-shirt in Franklin’s closet and opens one more Strangers and Freaks mission, “The Last One.” Players also describe UFOs hovering over Mount Chiliad, Fort Zancudo and Sandy Shores after completion, a strange and fitting payoff for one of the longest to-do lists the series has ever had.
How to Save Time
- Take the third ending With Michael, Franklin and Trevor all alive, their side content stays open after the campaign.
- Pick things up on the way If a Spaceship Part or Letter Scrap is close to your route, grab it then and there.
- Practice early Flight School and the gun range feel easier once your stats have grown.
- Stop for blue markers Just 14 Random Events count, so help anyone flagged on the map when you pass.
- Use several slots Keep separate saves before difficult tasks so one slip never wipes out hours of progress.
Nowhere does the finale decision matter more than here. If a full completion is the plan, read Which Ending to Choose before the last mission.
Your road to 100% begins with the first mission. Launch it from our home page and keep an eye on those medals from the start.