Flag Wars in GTA Online (What It Is & How To Play)

By the end of this year, GTA Online will have released on three different console generations. In all the years it has sat on (and flown off of) shelves, the game has taken aim at satirizing so many different elements of American culture. Even capture the flag is not safe from parody!

With the Arena War update, Rockstar ushered in a wild version of capture the flag called Flag Wars (along with a few other insane new games to play). It’s a fun diversion from the usual game-modes and has also been featured as a Daily Objective in the past, netting players money and RP for participating. Joining a game is a little different than a usual job in GTA Online, though. This guide will explain how to join a match of Flag Wars and how to play.

Playing Flag Wars in GTA Online

Joining a match

Unlike many activities in GTA Online, the player cannot access Flag Wars through their phone, or by going to a specific location on the map. To play Flag Wars, the player will have to navigate through the pause menu to the Online tab. Once in the Online tab, the player will have to select Jobs and then Rockstar Created. Here they will find a page for all the game-modes in the Arena War update, including Flag Wars. The player can then choose between one of three different Flag Wars maps.

Playing Flag Wars

Flag Wars is essentially capture-the-flag but in vehicles (and with more mayhem). At the start of every match, the players will divide up into two teams and each player can choose which vehicle they’d like. These range from regular cars to big rigs. Granted, whatever vehicle is chosen will come equipped with destruction-ready modifications. Once everyone picks their vehicles and the match begins, each team will have to steal the others’ flag and return it to their home base. The match ends after the time elapses, and whichever team has more points wins. It’s pretty straightforward and moves quite fast, but there are some tips that are worth knowing before entering the arena.

Tips for Flag Wars in GTA Online

While the goal of any given match is to get the opponent’s flag back to home base, there are other ways to contribute to the team effort beyond camping out at the flag spawn point and waiting for a turn to take the flag away. Motorcycles are great for stealing the flag, but big vehicles should be used for defense. In addition, the player can use the gun towers that are placed on the sides of the middle of the map. By driving under the tower, the player can interact with the tower and then use the gun to shoot at any opponent.

If someone on the other team has nabbed the flag, the player can get them to drop the flag by destroying their vehicle. The flag-bearer can easily be identified by the long trail of colored exhaust fumes that will follow their vehicle. Flag Wars moves quickly since the maps are quite small. It can be hard to get one’s bearings when first dipping into the arena, but playing with a degree of strategy and identifying what roles your team needs to be filled can definitely make a difference. Regardless of wins or losses, Flag Wars is a fun GTA Online spin on the old CTF formula.

GTA Online is available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.

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