Sometimes all you need is an ice-cold can of Sprunk.
Depending on how you like to play GTA 5, you could either go for a quiet and peaceful stroll around the map onboard some of the fastest cars in-game or stir up trouble with the military at Fort Zancudo.
Whatever you are doing around Los Santos and Blaine County, it is important to know how to manage your health, so you don’t get “Wasted” and throw your hard-earned cash away at the hospital.
Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to heal back to full health in GTA 5. We have listed some of the most useful ones in this guide.
Health in GTA 5
Previous games in the franchise, such as Grand Theft Auto Vice City and Grand Theft Auto IV, featured a numbered health meter that indicated exactly how much HP the player currently has. Players had to run around town looking for floating med kits or heart-looking pickups to heal back up to full health.
For GTA 5, Rockstar Games has done away with the numerical HP meter and traditional health packs found in the previous games in favor of a health-bar-based system.
New for GTA 5 is a new auto-regeneration system that automatically restores the player’s health by up to 50%. Beyond that, players must know alternative ways to heal themselves back to full health.
Ways to Restore Health in GTA 5
Returning Grand Theft Auto players will miss the straightforward nature of running over health packs and med kits to heal up like in the previous games in the franchise.
However, many will argue that GTA 5’s auto-regeneration is a godsend, which removes the need to waste time running around the map looking for that next health pack or med kit.
Nevertheless, here are some quick and easy ways to heal back up to full health in GTA 5.
Stand Completely Still
The auto-regeneration mechanic gives players the ability to continue playing without having to ever worry about health packs in-game. All the player has to do to activate automatic regeneration is stand completely still and watch as the health bar refills back up. Do note, however, that you need to have less than 50% HP to activate auto-regeneration.
Since auto regeneration requires players to stand completely still, it is not very useful in situations where the player is under continuous fire, such as in two-star Wanted Levels and beyond. Just make sure that the coast is clear before you attempt to heal back up.
Have a Soda
Sodas are one of the few ways to heal back up to full health in GTA 5. Fortunately, it barely costs anything in-game (just $1 a pop). The real challenge is finding these vending machines and figuring out which ones you can buy a soda from.
There are a couple of Sprunk and eCola vending machines scattered around the map just waiting to be discovered. If you have no idea where these vending machines can be found in-game, refer to our guide on Vending Machine Locations in GTA 5.
Unfortunately, you can only buy and consume the soda on the spot to restore your health in GTA 5, whereas GTA Online offers a player inventory where players can store snacks and soda cans so they can restore their health to full at any time.
Get Behind Cover
Pressing the Cover button in GTA 5 will regenerate HP back to 50%, which can be very useful if you’re ever caught in a firefight against the police or other players in-game.
The default cover button for GTA 5 are as follows:
- PC – Press the “Q” button on the keyboard.
- PS3/PS4/PS5 – Tap on the R1 button.
- Xbox 360/Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S – Tap on the Rb button.
You can take cover behind corners, trees, cars, and many other in-game objects. Pressing any of the buttons above will cause Franklin, Trevor, or Michael to find the nearest cover available. Pressing the cover button again will deactivate the cover.
You can still shoot while in cover by pressing right-click on PC, L2 on Playstation, or LT on Xbox. This can be useful for taking down a few enemies while you regenerate some HP.
Ride an Ambulance
Entering an Ambulance in GTA 5 will regenerate Franklin, Trevor, or Michael’s back to full health. The challenge is knowing where to find these Ambulances around Los Santos and Blaine County. Fortunately, there is a way to call the ambulance anywhere on the map.
If you bring up the in-game cellphone, you can contact 911 and wait for an ambulance to arrive at your location. Once they arrive, get inside the ambulance to regenerate some health back.
Don’t forget to wave them goodbye and thank them for their services after you have healed back up.
Go to Sleep
Sleeping improves a person’s mental capacity, mood, and overall health. So it is no wonder Franklin, Trevor, and Michael can heal back to full health after getting a good night’s rest on their fluffy beds.
Going to sleep is one of the most straightforward ways to regenerate health in GTA 5. If you’re running low on HP, go back to your safehouse and snooze off to restore health.
You can also save the game while you’re at it.
Health is Wealth
GTA 5’s auto health regeneration gives players a lot more leeway with how they manage and use their HP. Whereas in previous Grand Theft Auto games, you’d be lucky if you survived another five minutes in a three-star pursuit.
Despite requiring less effort and management to maintain HP in GTA 5, players still need to know about the other ways to restore health in-game, as auto regeneration does not heal the player back to full health in most instances.
With that said, we hope that you’ll find these health restoration options useful for GTA 5.
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