GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide

The Los Santos Drug Wars was one of the most popular GTA DLC updates. In this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide, we provide an overview of the new features the developers added to the game. It was released on December 13, 2022, for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. The studio added various new missions, characters, and vehicles that we will discuss in this article.

The DLC was also unique, as Rockstar Games divided the update into two major parts and released them separately. That said, we will discuss all the major highlights in this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide.

Note: Some parts of this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide are subjective and only reflect the writer’s opinions.

GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide: An overview of the Winter 2022 DLC update

This GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide provides important details from the December 2022 DLC (Image via Rockstar Games)

The main highlights of the DLC update were the establishment of The Freakshop, new characters named Dax, Labrat, Luchadora, and Mutt, the Acid Lab business, and two sets of new missions titled the First Dose and Last Dose series. However, there are many other things that players should know, as discussed in this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide:

How to start the Los Santos Drug Wars DLC
Fooliganz and The Freakshop
Main DLC missions
Acid Lab business
New DLC vehicles
New Awards
Minor gameplay additions

How to start the Los Santos Drug Wars DLC in Grand Theft Auto Online

Based on this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide, play the introductory mission to unlock the DLC missions (Image via Rockstar Games)

If you have never played any of the missions from the Los Santos Drug Wars DLC, you can unlock them by following these steps:

Look for a yellow R marker on the map within the Sandy Shores area. It should be near the Ace Liquor store.
Visit the marker and start the 'First Dose 1 - Welcome to the Troupe' mission. You can play it solo or with up to three other players.
Complete the mission objectives and drive the Zirconium Journey II and Dax to The Freakshop.
After that, the remaining missions will be unlocked in chronological order.

Try to be fully prepared with weapons, armor, and snacks, as it is an action-packed mission.

Also read: Why playing GTA Online solo is better

A brief introduction to the Fooliganz and The Freakshop in Grand Theft Auto Online

This GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide explains why you should know about the Fooliganz before proceeding further (Image via Rockstar Games)

The Fooliganz are a crime gang filled with hipsters and hobos involved in drug trafficking and the production of Acid in Los Santos. They arrived in San Andreas in December 2022 and captured Ace Liquor and Trevor Philips Enterprises' warehouse. While the gang moved out of the liquor store, they converted the warehouse into their permanent base, renaming it as 'The Freakshop.'

You can go in and out of The Freakshop anytime and access various interactive elements inside. While Dax is the leader of the Fooliganz, the gang consists of many other members. Some of the prominent ones are as follows:

Dax
Labrat (Drug Chemist)
Luchadora (Wrestler)
Mutt (Labrat's assistant)
Wade Hebert (member)
The GTA Online character

Once you interact with the Fooliganz and unlock The Freakshop, you can access the following Fooligan Jobs:

Crop Dustin'
Heavy Metal
Liquid Assets
Working Remotely
Write-Off

While these are not the main missions in the DLC, in this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide, we advise you to play them and unlock an important one-time reward.

What are the main DLC missions in the Los Santos Drug Wars update?

Complete all main DLC missions (Image via Rockstar Games)

Rockstar Games divided the GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars DLC into two parts: First Dose and Last Dose. While the First Dose part was released in December 2022, the Last Dose part of the update was released on March 16, 2023. Nonetheless, you can now access the entire DLC at once in chronological order.

In this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide, we list all First Dose missions in GTA Online:

First Dose 1 - Welcome to the Troupe
First Dose 2 - Designated Driver
First Dose 3 - Fatal Incursion
First Dose 4 - Uncontrolled Substance
First Dose 5 - Make War not Love
First Dose 6 - Off the Rails

All Last Dose missions in GTA Online are as follows:

Last Dose 1 - This is an Intervention
Last Dose 2 - Unusual Suspects
Last Dose 3 - Friedmind
Last Dose 4 - Checking In
Last Dose 5 - BDKD

Note that if you are playing these missions for the first time, you will have to proceed in chronological order. Once the series is complete, you can play the Los Santos Drug Wars missions in any order.

Understanding the Acid Lab business in Grand Theft Auto Online

You must utilize the Acid Lab business properly (Image via Rockstar Games)

The popular Acid Lab is a mobile business that operates from behind the MTL Brickade 6x6 truck. By default, the Acid Lab (along with the truck) stays inside The Freakshop. You can call it anywhere on the map and use its functions. The MTL Brickade 6x6 truck also works as a great commuter vehicle.

Acid Lab is one of the best businesses in Grand Theft Auto Online, especially for solo players. You can produce Acid products and sell them to various customers in the State of San Andreas. You can earn around $340,000 from a full batch of Acid Lab products. However, as part of this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide, we advise you to upgrade the business to unlock its full potential.

You can acquire the Acid Lab business either for free or purchase it from Warstock Cache & Carry. To get it at no cost, complete all six missions from the First Dose series. During the 'Make War not Love' mission, Dax asks you to steal the Acid Lab fitted behind the MTL Brickade 6x6 from Merryweather.

If you don’t want to wait and start the Acid Lab business directly, you can buy the MTL Brickade 6x6 for $1,450,000.

Either way, we advise you to upgrade both the vehicle and the business as soon as possible. While you should always get regular upgrades, in this GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide, the following are the main upgrades you should focus on:

Acid Lab Equipment upgrade: $250,000
Armor Plating - Heavy Armor: $55,000
Proximity Mine (Any of five): $79,000 - $150,000
Ram Weapons (Any of four): $195,000 - $295,000

Note that to unlock the Acid Lab Equipment upgrade, you must complete 10 Fooligan Jobs.

List of all DLC vehicles from the GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide update

Try driving the DLC cars (Image via Rockstar Games)

Rockstar Games added a total of 16 new vehicles in the Los Santos Drug Wars DLC update. Some of these are also available for free. However, you must fulfill their unlock condition(s). The following are all vehicles that GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars players should try:

Ocelot Virtue: $2,980,000/$2,235,000/Free
Overflod Entity MT: $2,355,000
Toundra Panthere: $2,170,000
Annis 300R: $2,075,000
Weeny Issi Rally: $1,835,000
Karin Hotring Everon: $1,790,000/$1,342,500
Declasse Tulip M-100: $1,658,000
Western Powersurge: $1,605,000
Declasse Tahoma Coupe: $1,500,000
MTL Brickade 6x6: $1,450,000/Free
Karin Boor: $1,280,000
Willard Eudora: $1,250,000
Classique Broadway: $925,000
Zirconium Journey II: $790,000/$592,500
BF Surfer Custom: $590,000/$442,500
Maibatsu Manchez Scout C: Free

The following conditions must be met to acquire the free DLC vehicles:

MTL Brickade 6x6: Complete all six First Dose series missions.
Ocelot Virtue: Complete all five Last Dose series missions.
Maibatsu Manchez Scout C: Complementary with the MTL Brickade 6x6.

Also check out: GTA Online buying guide

List of all new Awards in the GTA Online Los Santos Drug Wars guide update

Look to unlock all the DLC rewards as soon as possible (Image via Rockstar Games)

Rockstar Games added 24 new Awards in the Los Santos Drug Wars guide update. They are related to various missions and activities. Here are all the Awards and their unlock conditions:

Welcome to the Troupe: Complete First Dose - Welcome to the Troupe as a leader to earn $50,000.
Designated Driver: Complete First Dose - Designated Driver as leader to earn $50,000.
Fatal Incursion: Complete First Dose - Fatal Incursion as leader to earn $50,000.
Uncontrolled Substance: Complete First Dose - Uncontrolled Substance as leader to earn $50,000.
Run Rabbit Run: Reach the gateway as the rabbit in First Dose - Uncontrolled Substance.
Make War not Love: Complete First Dose - Make War not Love as a leader to earn $50,000.
Off The Rails: Complete First Dose - Off The Rails as a leader to earn $50,000.
Call Me: Complete 5/10/20/50 Fooligan Jobs for Dax.
Back It Up: Complete all First Dose missions as a member of an Organization or Motorcycle Club to earn $100,000.
Lick My Acid: Set up your own Acid Lab.
Chemical Attraction: Source Supplies for the Acid Lab 5/10/20/50 times.
Chemical Reaction: Boost the production speed inside your Acid Lab.
Stashes To Stashes: Raid and steal from 5/10/20/50 Stash Houses.
Here Comes The Drop: Collect 5/10/20/50G's Caches.
Good Samaritan: Return stolen cash to a shop 1/2/3/5/10/20/50 times.
This Is An Intervention: Complete Last Dose - This Is An Intervention as a leader to earn $100,000.
Unusual Suspects: Complete Last Dose - Unusual Suspects as a leader to earn $100,000.
Fried Mind: Complete Last Dose - Fried Mind as a leader to earn $100,000.
Checking In: Complete Last Dose - Checking In as leader to earn $100,000.
Your Own Worst Enemy: Take out the hostile version of yourself 5/15/30/60 times during Checking In.
BDKD: Complete Last Dose - BDKD as leader to earn $100,000.
Back It Up 2: Complete All of the missions in the Last Dose as a member of an Organization or Motorcycle Club to earn $100,000.
Taxi Driver: Complete 5/10/20/50 fares during Taxi Work.
5 Star Ride: Complete 10 fares in a row during Taxi Work.

Also read: GTA 5 Achievement guide

All minor gameplay additions in the Los Santos Drug Wars DLC

Look for minor missions and activities (Image via Rockstar Games)

While the First Dose, Last Dose, Fooligan Jobs, and Acid Lab business were the main DLC content from the winter 2022 DLC, Rockstar Games added other minor gameplay content that made the Los Santos Drug Wars update a major success. They are as follows:

Gun Van: A new weapon store.
Taxi Work: Players can pick up and drop off NPCs on taxis.
Street Dealers: Drug dealers who buy specific drugs for various rates.
G's Caches: Finding and collecting hidden caches for daily rewards.
Stash Houses: Raiding rival NPCs warehouses for business supplies.
Eclipse Boulevard Garage: Can store up to 50 vehicles inside one building.
Hotring Circuit Races
Random Event: Shop Robbery
Random Event: Weazel Plaza Shootout (Temporary)
Random Event: The Gooch (Temporary)
Snowmen Collectibles (Temporary)

You can still access most of these missions and activities in the game. That said, the December 2022 DLC is one of the best things to play before Rockstar Games releases the next winter DLC.

Also read: GTA Online beginners guide