Consequences of Using Cheats in GTA 5 Story Mode

As a long-time Grand Theft Auto fan, I just couldn‘t resist entering a few cheat codes when I started a new GTA 5 story playthrough last year – and quickly found out I couldn‘t handle the power I‘d unleashed! My characters were soon flung into walls by out of control sports cars, blocking story progression. After a couple of frustrating hours losing unsaved progress, I learned just how chaotic cheat effects can be.

While cheats can definitely enhance enjoyment, its critical to understand their temporary nature and gameplay limitations before jumping into the madness. Used strategically though, they offer plenty of laughs and experiments without breaking game progression.

Cheat Effects Expire After Time or Death

Most cheat abilities last either until your character dies, or the effects expire after a set duration:

So that precious invisibility usually wears off at the worst possible moment in a 5 star cop shootout! Similarly spawning a fighter jet is only temporary – exiting the vehicle makes it vanish. Of course some cheats like Super Jump persist permanently until switching them off again.

According to Rockstar Support, re-entering a cheat code before effects wear off usually extends the duration again. Though a handful of cheats do immediately disable themselves when used twice, so tread carefully!

Achievements and Trophy Progress Halted

Enabling those glorious cheats stops you earning any new PlayStation Trophies or Xbox Achievements in GTA 5 until disabled again. Your existing achievement progress carries over, but effectively taints that save file as long as cheats are active.

Frustratingly I missed out on several new trophies through overuse of cheat abilities rather than normal gameplay! Once I switched them off again, achievements began unlocking as usual.

Automatic Disabling in Story Missions

Here‘s a major downer for chaos lovers − cheats get automatically disabled when entering any GTA 5 story mission, stopping you rampaging through them. Rockstar wisely understood that allowing cheats would undermine mission challenge and breaks progression.

Their time limits mean you can reactivate abilities after completing the mission without issue. But if you‘re hoping to explode story NPCs with invincibility, prepare for disappointment!

Saving Still Functions with Cheats Enabled

Unlike my memories of GTA 3 where cheats disabled saving entirely, GTA 5 thankfully lets you save game progress even with cheat codes active. I did however notice occasional stability glitches after reloading certain cheats according to Rockstar forums, mainly invincibility.

So if you‘re blasting through the countryside with god mode activated, still tap that save button often! Just pray it doesn‘t corrupt or disable your cheat unintentionally on next load.

Beware the Chaos Factor

Besides limitations around achievements and missions, I noticed chaotic and unexpected behavior after excessive cheat use. Sudden frame rate drops, NPCs glitching through buildings, and even game crashes occasionally spoiled my fun.

Reddit users widely report that enabling multiple cheat abilities, especially invincibility modes lead to more glitches. My theory is excessive cheating probably overloads system memory and strains the graphics engine. Remember GTA 5 was never designed for having a dozen vehicles dropped onto a blimp thousands of feet overseas!

So for stability, use cheats selectively rather than all simultaneously unless you enjoy Skyrim level glitchy insanity.

Strategic Cheat Usage is Key

With all their unpredictable behavior, I had to adopt a more strategic approach to maximize enjoyment and minimize disruption from using GTA 5 cheats.

Moderation is crucial – occasional cheat abilities enhanced my gameplay as a change of pace, but left enabled permanently led to boredom or breaking story progression from glitches.

A 2019 survey indicated 87% of players reported using cheats, though only 23% used them for over 20% of play time. This aligns with my experience – cheats augment and complement traditional gameplay rather than outright replace it for most players values.

My advice is to enable cheats selectively for short periods, whether goofing off in free roam, or when stuck on a story mission. Allow yourself some constrained chaos, then disable cheats again before getting carried away – saving consistency. With this approach I could indulge my inner anarchist without spoiling long term game progression.

For me cheats are best used experimentally – I loved tactically combining random abilities for unexpected results rather than purely chasing total invincibility. Emergent moments like spawning a cargo plane on my friend‘s in-game apartment beats outright cheating any day.

One warning however − avoid temptation to cheat in GTA Online sessions. Besides banning risks, you ruin multiplayer enjoyment cheating rather than taking the challenge. Keep cheat abilities exclusively to solo story mode instead.

In summary – approach GTA 5‘s cheat offerings knowing their liberating powers are fleeting. Use them strategically and selectively to enhance free roams and difficult missions without permanently breaking gameplay.

Getting carried away can disrupt achievements, stability, and long term enjoyment if used as an outright gameplay replacement. But sprinkled thoughtfully as constrained chaos rather than unlimited anarchy, cheats offer plenty of laugh out loud emergent madness.

So by all means reign falling vehicles down on Los Santos citizens, but just remember to disable the magic before it gets you banned or stuck in mission purgus!