How Health Works
Your character has HP (hit points). That's your health bar. When you take damage — from getting shot, falling off a building, getting hit by a car, getting stabbed, whatever — your HP goes down. If it hits 0, you go down. Simple as that.
But there's more to it than just a number. The health system also tracks injuries, bleeding, and illness on top of your basic HP. You can be walking around with 80 HP but still bleeding out from a gunshot wound to the leg. You can have full health and catch the flu. These all layer on top of each other.
Think of HP as your overall condition. Injuries, bleeding, and illness are separate problems that drain your HP over time if you don't deal with them. Getting healed at a hospital fixes the root cause — bandages and painkillers just buy you time.
Injuries
When you take damage, you don't just lose HP — you get an actual injury logged on your character. Each injury has a type, a body zone, and a severity.
Injury Types
There are four types of injury:
- Gunshot Wound — from getting shot
- Blunt Force Trauma — from punches, bats, vehicle impacts, falls
- Stab Wound — from knives and bladed weapons
- Burn Injury — from fire and explosions
Body Zones
There are 8 body zones where injuries can land:
- Head
- Neck
- Chest
- Abdomen
- Left Arm
- Right Arm
- Left Leg
- Right Leg
Where the injury lands matters. Leg injuries cause limping — your character will move slower until the injury is treated.
Severity Levels
Every injury is rated on a 4-tier severity scale:
- Minor — not a big deal, but still bleeds
- Moderate — noticeable, bleeds faster
- Severe — serious, you need a hospital soon
- Critical — life-threatening, get help immediately
Some body zones have a chance of killing you instantly on impact, regardless of your current HP. Head wounds have a 40% chance of instant death. Neck wounds have a 30% chance. Chest wounds have a 5% chance. Every other zone is safe from instant death.
Bleeding
Every untreated injury causes bleeding. Every 5 seconds, your injuries drain a bit of your HP. How much depends on two things: where the injury is and how bad it is.
Base Bleed Rate by Zone
Each body zone bleeds at a different base rate per tick (every 5 seconds):
| Body Zone | Base Bleed Rate |
|---|---|
| Head | 3.0 HP per tick |
| Neck | 2.5 HP per tick |
| Chest | 2.0 HP per tick |
| Abdomen | 1.5 HP per tick |
| Left Leg / Right Leg | 1.0 HP per tick |
| Left Arm / Right Arm | 0.8 HP per tick |
Severity Multipliers
The base bleed rate gets multiplied by the injury's severity:
| Severity | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Minor | x0.5 |
| Moderate | x1.0 |
| Severe | x1.5 |
| Critical | x2.5 |
So for example, a moderate chest wound would drain 2.0 x 1.0 = 2.0 HP every 5 seconds. A critical head wound would drain 3.0 x 2.5 = 7.5 HP every 5 seconds. That's brutal — you'd be dead in under a minute.
If you have multiple injuries, the bleeding stacks. Two injuries means double the drain. Three injuries means triple. You get the idea.
Bleeding will never kill you on its own — it won't drop your HP below 5. But at 5 HP, any additional damage source (a punch, a fall, another shot) will put you down. Don't rely on this safety net.
Bandages & Painkillers
These are your field first-aid options. They don't cure anything, but they keep you alive long enough to get to a hospital.
Bandages
Use a bandage item from your inventory. When you apply it, it covers all of your current bleeding injuries at once — not just one. The bandage halves your bleed rate for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the bandage wears off and your full bleed rate resumes.
Painkillers
There are two ways to get pain relief:
- Painkiller item (from your inventory) — lasts 10 minutes
- IV Pain Relief (hospital treatment) — lasts 20 minutes
Painkillers reduce the pain effects but, like bandages, they don't actually fix the underlying injury. You still need proper hospital treatment to clear the injury from your record.
Always carry a couple of bandages and painkillers in your inventory. If you get shot during a robbery or a car crash out in the desert, a bandage can be the difference between making it to a hospital or bleeding out on the side of the road.
Illness
Every 10 minutes, there's a 2% chance your character gets sick. It's random — you can't avoid it. If you do get sick, one of four illnesses is picked:
| Illness | Chance | Severity | HP Drain / Tick | Auto-Resolves? | Cure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold | 40% | Mild | 0.3 HP | Yes (30 min) | Cold medicine item |
| Flu | 30% | Moderate | 0.5 HP | Yes (30 min) | Cold medicine item |
| Food Poisoning | 20% | Moderate | 0.8 HP | Yes (20 min) | Antacids item |
| Infection | 10% | Severe | 0.6 HP | No | Hospital only |
The HP drain from illness stacks with injury bleeding. So if you're sick and injured at the same time, you're losing HP from both sources every tick. Not a fun combo.
Infection is the dangerous one. It doesn't go away on its own and there's no item that cures it. You have to get to a hospital for Infection Treatment. If you ignore it, you'll just keep losing 0.6 HP every tick until you go down.
Colds and flu can both be cured with the same cold medicine item. Food poisoning uses antacids. Keep one of each in your inventory and you'll only ever need the hospital for infections.
Hospital Locations
There are 4 hospitals across the map. You need to be within 50 metres of one to access treatments.
Pillbox Hill Medical Center
Downtown Los Santos. The most central hospital — this is the one you'll use most of the time. Easy to reach from almost anywhere in the city.
Mount Zonah Medical Center
West Los Santos. The second city hospital, near the coast. Handy if you're on the west side of town.
Sandy Shores Medical Center
Out in the desert. If you're up in Blaine County, this is your closest option. Don't bleed out on the drive up there.
Paleto Bay Medical Center
Far north. The most remote hospital. If you're up in Paleto, this saves you a very long drive back to the city.
Set a GPS waypoint to the nearest hospital as soon as you get injured. Every second counts when you're bleeding, especially with a critical wound.
Hospital Treatments
Once you're within 50 metres of a hospital, you can access the treatment menu. The treatments available depend on your current condition — you'll only see options that are relevant to whatever injuries or illnesses you actually have.
Here's the full list of treatments:
| Treatment | Cost | Duration | HP Restored | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnosis | $50 | Instant | 0 | Assessment only |
| X-Ray Scan | $150 | 30s | 0 | Diagnostic test |
| Blood Test | $200 | 30s | 0 | Diagnostic test |
| Blood Typing | $100 | 20s | 0 | Reveals your blood type |
| MRI Scan | $300 | 45s | 0 | Diagnostic test |
| Minor GSW Treatment | $500 | 60s | 40 | Minor gunshot wounds |
| GSW Treatment | $1,000 | 90s | 40 | Moderate gunshot wounds |
| Major GSW Treatment | $1,500 | 120s | 40 | Severe gunshot wounds |
| Emergency GSW Surgery | $2,000 | 120s | 40 | Critical gunshot wounds |
| Major Surgery | $4,000 | 180s | 60 | All critical injuries |
| Trauma Treatment | $300 | 45s | 40 | Blunt force injuries |
| Laceration Repair | $600 | 60s | 40 | Stab wounds |
| Burn Treatment | $400 | 60s | 40 | Burns |
| Cold & Flu Treatment | $100 | 15s | 20 | Cures cold or flu |
| Food Poisoning Treatment | $150 | 15s | 20 | Cures food poisoning |
| Infection Treatment | $300 | 30s | 20 | Cures infection |
| IV Saline Drip | $150 | 60s | 30 | Rehydration |
| IV Pain Relief | $200 | 45s | 0 | 20-minute painkiller effect |
| Blood Transfusion | $500 | 90s | 50 | Requires blood type to be known |
| Physical Therapy | $300 | 120s | 20 | Leg injuries |
| Stitches | $150 | 20s | 20 | Stab wounds |
| Tetanus Shot | $75 | 5s | 5 | Stab wounds |
| Heal All Injuries | Sum of all | Sum of all | 100 | Full heal — fixes everything at once |
If you have multiple injuries and just want to get back on your feet quickly, the Heal All Injuries option treats everything in one go. The cost and duration are the combined total of all the individual treatments you'd need, but it saves you from clicking through each one separately.
Blood Transfusion won't show up as an option unless the hospital already knows your blood type. You'll need to get a Blood Typing test ($100) first. Once done, your blood type is saved permanently — you only need to do it once ever.
Payment & Invoices
When you get treatment at a hospital, you need to pay. There are 4 payment methods:
- Cash — pay from the money in your pocket
- ATM Card — pay from your bank account (you need an ATM card item in your inventory)
- Credit Card — pay from your bank account (you need a credit card item in your inventory)
- Installment Plan — split the bill into 3 payments over 30-day intervals. This adds a 5% surcharge to the total cost
If you can't pay at all — no cash, no cards, no nothing — a medical invoice is created automatically. It's basically a bill that follows you around until you pay it. You can check your outstanding invoices any time with /invoices.
The installment plan is great if you've just been hit with a $4,000 major surgery bill and you're low on funds. Yes, you pay 5% extra, but spreading it over three payments is a lot easier on your wallet than one lump sum.
Going Down & Death
When your HP reaches 0, you go down. This is called the "downed state." You can't move, you can't use items, you can't do anything. You're lying on the ground waiting for help.
From here, you have a few options: wait for another player to help you up, pick yourself up, or wait for EMS. If none of that happens, you can choose to respawn.
When you respawn, two things happen:
- A body clone is left behind at the exact spot you died, wearing the clothes you had on at the time. Other players can examine this body.
- You're charged $500 from your bank account. If you don't have $500 in your bank, a medical invoice is created for the amount.
The body clone left behind can be examined by anyone using /examine. It shows your name, cause of death, injuries, blood type, who killed you, and how long ago you died. Keep that in mind for roleplay — your death leaves evidence.
Getting Revived
There are three ways to get back on your feet after going down:
/helpup
Any player within 5 metres can type /helpup to pull you back up. Your health is set to 30 HP. Your injuries are still there — you're alive, but not fixed. Get to a hospital.
/getup
You pick yourself up off the ground. Same result: health set to 30 HP, injuries persist. This is your option if nobody's around to help.
/revive (EMS Only)
Only EMS members (faction 3, on-duty, rank 2 or higher) can use this. They need to be within 3 metres. There's a 5-second CPR animation. Your health is set to 50 HP — higher than the other two methods. Injuries still persist, but no body clone is spawned. This is the best outcome.
No matter which method gets you back up, your injuries are still there. You're still bleeding. You're still hurt. Being revived just means you can move again — it doesn't heal anything. Get to a hospital as fast as you can.
Body Examination
There are two commands for dealing with bodies and checking on players:
/examine (or /ex)
Stand within 5 metres of a dead body or a living player and type /examine (or just /ex for short).
- On a dead body: shows the person's name, cause of death, blood type, all their injuries, who killed them, and how long ago they died.
- On a living player: shows their current health, any active injuries, any illnesses, and any medications they're on.
/collectbody (EMS Only)
EMS members can use /collectbody within 5 metres of a dead body to collect and remove it from the scene. Once collected, the body is gone. This is used to clean up after incidents have been dealt with.
/examine is useful for more than just dead bodies. If you're roleplaying as a doctor or paramedic, you can examine living patients to see exactly what's wrong with them before deciding on treatment.
Prescriptions
The server has a full prescription system for ongoing medical conditions. This isn't about patching up a gunshot wound — this is for things like depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and other conditions that require regular medication.
The process works like this:
- Book an appointment at a hospital (more on this below)
- See a doctor — they diagnose you with a condition
- Receive a prescription — the doctor writes you a script for medication
- Fill the prescription — go to the hospital pharmacy (within 50 metres of any hospital) and pick up your meds
Each prescription has a limited number of refills. Once you've used them all, you'll need to book a Prescription Refill appointment to get a new script.
Booking Appointments
Here's how the appointment system works:
- Booking fee: $50 per appointment
- Max scheduled: you can only have 2 appointments booked at the same time
- Cancellation: cancel more than 1 hour before your appointment and you get a full refund. Cancel within 1 hour of the appointment and you get nothing back.
- No-shows: if you're more than 10 minutes late, you're marked as a no-show and charged a $50 fee
- Check-in: you must be at a hospital and check in within 5 minutes of your scheduled time
Appointment Types
There are 4 types of appointments you can book:
- General — for new diagnoses and general health concerns
- Psychiatric — for mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc.)
- Follow Up — for checking in on an existing condition
- Prescription Refill — for getting a new prescription when your refills run out
Don't forget about your appointments. A no-show costs you $50 and wastes the booking fee too. Set a reminder for yourself if you need to.
Medications
Available Conditions
Here are all the conditions that can be diagnosed and treated with prescriptions:
| Condition | First Medication | Follow-up Interval |
|---|---|---|
| ADHD | Adderall XR | 30 days |
| Depression | Prozac | 21 days |
| Anxiety | Xanax | 21 days |
| PTSD | Prazosin | 14 days |
| Bipolar | Lithium | 14 days |
| Insomnia | Ambien | 30 days |
| Chronic Pain | Tramadol | 14 days |
| Panic Disorder | Klonopin | 21 days |
| OCD | Fluvoxamine | 21 days |
| Social Anxiety | Propranolol | 30 days |
The "follow-up interval" is how often you need to come back for a follow-up appointment to keep your prescription active.
Medication Details
Here's what each medication costs and how the prescriptions work:
| Medication | Cost | Dosage | Refills | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adderall XR | $85 | 20mg daily | 1 | 30 days |
| Prozac | $40 | 20mg daily | 5 | 90 days |
| Xanax | $70 | 0.5mg as needed | 2 | 30 days |
| Prazosin | $30 | 2mg at bedtime | 5 | 90 days |
| Lithium | $25 | 300mg twice daily | 3 | 60 days |
| Ambien | $80 | 10mg at bedtime | 1 | 30 days |
| Tramadol | $50 | 50mg every 6hrs | 1 | 30 days |
| Klonopin | $60 | 0.5mg twice daily | 2 | 30 days |
| Fluvoxamine | $50 | 50mg at bedtime | 5 | 90 days |
| Propranolol | $25 | 20mg as needed | 5 | 90 days |
To fill a prescription, you need to be within 50 metres of a hospital. The cost is paid in cash. When your refills run out, you'll need to book a Prescription Refill appointment to get a fresh prescription.
Pay attention to the refill count. Medications like Prozac and Prazosin come with 5 refills and a 90-day expiry, so you won't need to see a doctor again for a while. But Adderall XR, Ambien, and Tramadol only have 1 refill each — you'll be back at the doctor's office a lot more often for those.
Commands Reference
Here's a quick reference of all the health and medical commands:
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
| /helpup | Help up a downed player within 5 metres of you |
| /getup | Pick yourself up when you're downed |
| /revive | Revive a downed player with CPR (EMS only, on-duty, rank 2+) |
| /examine or /ex | Examine a dead body or a living player within 5 metres |
| /collectbody | Collect and remove a dead body (EMS only) |
| /invoices | View your unpaid medical invoices |