# Your First Connection

> What happens when you join, what you see, and what you can do in the first 5 minutes.

![Screenshot: the gangwars loading screen with LT taglines visible](../screenshots/01-start/loading-screen.png)
*Screenshot needed: the loading screen showing the LT brand and tagline.*

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## Joining the server

1. Open FiveM, direct connect to the gangwars address (your admin / Discord shares this)
2. The **loading screen** plays a slideshow of Kaunas-themed backdrops and rotating LT/EN taglines
3. Your client downloads resources (~200MB first time, mostly cached on later joins)
4. The **character select** screen appears — pick an existing character or create new

![Screenshot: the multicharacter / spawn screen with character slots](../screenshots/01-start/character-select.png)
*Screenshot needed: the QBox multicharacter UI.*

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## Spawning in

After picking a character, you spawn at the default location (usually downtown). The HUD appears:

- **Bottom-right:** speedometer + health/armor
- **Top-left:** money on hand (cash) + bank balance
- **Top-right:** minimap with street names (Lithuanian — Laisvės al., Karaliaus Mindaugo pr., etc.)

**You start with:**

- A small amount of cash (~$500)
- A bank balance (~$2,000 — varies)
- An empty inventory
- Your character's basic clothes

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## The first keys you need

| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| **M** or `/phone` | Phone (NPWD) — messages, contacts, bank, camera, marketplace |
| **N** | Push-to-talk for proximity voice (pma-voice) |
| **F2** | Inventory |
| **T** | Chat |
| **M** | Big map (FiveM handles the M conflict with phone) |
| **TAB** | Player list |

For the full list, see [key-bindings reference inside this folder](first-hour.md#keybindings).

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## What you can do right away

Without a *banda* and without buying anything, you can:

- **Walk around** and learn the streets. Districts have Lithuanian names — Šilainiai, Senamiestis, Centras, Vilijampolė
- **Talk** to other players via voice (proximity) and text (T)
- **Take a vehicle** — vanilla GTA cars spawn around the city. Don't expect to keep them long.
- **Mug an NPC** if you find a gun — aim, hold for 6.5 seconds. See [mugging guide](../05-crime-loops/mugging.md).

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## What you'll want soon

These are the next-30-minute milestones:

1. **Get to a Bank** if you need to withdraw cash for the *planšetė* (gang tablet) — that costs $3,500
2. **Find work** — either join a gang, sell drugs, mug NPCs, or do legal odd jobs
3. **Get a phone** if not auto-issued — opens the SMS, contacts, and bug-report UI

See [first-hour.md](first-hour.md) for a concrete checklist of things to do.

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## Related

- [first-hour.md](first-hour.md) — what to do in your first 60 minutes
- [../02-gangs/overview.md](../02-gangs/overview.md) — should I join a gang?
- [../07-glossary-faq/faq.md](../07-glossary-faq/faq.md) — common new-player questions