GTA 5 Character skills

While playing GTA 5 you can level up 8 character skills or attributes – Stamina, Shooting, Strength, Stealth, Flying, Driving, Lung Capacity and Special. In this guide you’ll discover the main role of each attribute and the easiest way to upgrade it.

Stamina

Improving stamina will allow your character to run, swim, and bicycle for longer without getting tired. The fastest way to level up your stamina bar is by riding a bicycle, but you’ll max this attribute by practicing any of these disciplines. This skill is increased by 1% for every 17 meters ran and every minute swam or bicycled.
Levels: 0-19%: Lethargic, 20-39%: Out of Shape, 40-59%: Healthy, 60-79%: Athlete, 80-100%: Tri-Athlete.

Shooting

This is one of the most important skills in GTA 5 since it increases ammo capacity and character accuracy, while reduces recoil on guns and reload time. In order to level up your shooting skill, you should successfully complete Shooting Range challenges. This skill is increased by 3% for Gold challenge completed, 2% for Silver and 1% for Bronze. Another good way to do it is to hunker down in an easily defended area and keep killing cops.
Levels: 0-19%: Untrained, 20-39%: Spray-and-Pray, 40-59%: Police Training, 60-79%: Military Training, 80-100%: Dead-Eye.

Strength

Strength lets your character throw further, increases your punching power, resilience to fall damage and the speed you climb ladders. The easiest way to upgrade this skill is to take a mission from Gerald and then head down to Vespucci beach and punch every pedestrian until he dies. Tennis, golf, and arm wrestling also increase your strength. Kicking a car with someone inside doesn’t work any more. For every 20 punches you land, the strength skill will raise by 1%.

Stealth

Stealth will make it easier to kill people without alerting enemies or the police, but only while using stealth mode. To level up your stealth, just use stealth mode. Note that just standing won’t increase your stat. Walking around in stealth mode should take you off the radar in the free roam. When you maximize stealth stat you can run without being revealed on the map in deathmatch.
Level: 0-19%: Clumsy, 20-39%: Loud, 40-59%: Sneaky, 60-79%: Hunter, 80-100%: Ninja.

Flying

Increasing your flying skill will help you pilot a plane or helicopter easier, with less turbulence. The best ways to achieve this is by visiting the San Andreas Flight School, where you’ll learn many useful skills for flying and get stat bonuses for completing challenges. The second way is to complete successful takeoffs and landings at each of the three airports. The third and final way to increase your flying skill is simply by flying around the map.

Driving

As one of the major GTA 5 skills, driving affects your vehicle handling performance. Maximizing your driving stat is easy, just drive your car, or complete the races. While driving try to avoid other cars or obstacles and your bar will fill up fast. Reaching high levels of this skill allows you to have a full control of your car while in the air.
Levels: 0-19%: Unlicensed, 20-39%: Sunday Driver, 40-59%: Commuter, 60-79%: Street Racer, 80-100%: Pro-Racer.

Lung Capacity

Increasing Lung capacity skill will let you explore underwater and even hide from the police much easier. Every minute spent swimming underwater increases the Lung Capacity skill by 1%. In order to maximize it, go to a store and buy some snacks, not drinks. Once you get near a lake jump in and swim down as far as you can. Stay underwater for as long as possible. When you almost deplete all your health take snacks to keep yourself from dying. Once you eat all snacks, head back to the store and repeat the process.

Special

Trevor’s Special Skill: Invulnerability
When his special skill is active, Trevor deals double damage to enemies, and also can take more damage. Things that make Trevor angry increase his Special skill, like, failing a mission, taking damage, headshoting.

Michael’s Special Skill: Area Kill
When this skill is active Michael can slow down the time, which gives him a huge advantage during shootouts. Special combat maneuvers like Headshot, Stealth kill, knock out, maintaining high speed in vehicles increase Michael’s Special.

Franklin’s Special Skill: Improved Driving Handling
Activating Franklin’s special skill, will let him slow down the time while driving any 4-wheeled vehicle or motorcycle. It allows him to improve his handling performances. Extreme driving situations like driving through oncoming traffic, drifting or driving above 90% of vehicle’s top speed increase Franklin’s Special.