It’s early doors, in that we’ve done two heists. One is the 2-man intro to the concept of heists online, the second is the first full-fledged heist, “Prison Break”.
Heists are the GTA Online equivalent of end-game raids and honestly, so far these are exceptional.
Gotta make that money
I’ve noted once or twice that making money in GTA Online is a little bit of a grind. Even owning businesses isn’t the quick-win you’d expect after making such a substantial investment.
So people run through heists frequently as a means to get some cash. Based on the current experiences there’s more money to be made in later heists, and each one ups the ante.
The heist leader has to pay up-front for the cost of setup which is fine, albeit increasingly expensive! Worse still, the other guys in your crew get a payment at the end of each setup mission. So they’re earning and I’m thousands of dollars short, not even gaining any back during the setups……
It works out though, the heist leader ultimately chooses everyone’s cut in the final take, and with the right crew, you can get your money back and still make sure everyone gets a decent payout.
Set it up
The beauty of the heists is that you truly feel like you’re a part a criminal “job”. You get cutscenes with NPCs like Lester and others characters that give you the context of the job, the steps you need to take and to set the tone.
Your crew are all in the scenes, too, taking part in the conversations, albeit silently. Very cool stuff.
Next, you have the required steps laid out on your whiteboard.
Each heist requires preparation. Maybe you need certain vehicles, or disguises? Perhaps you need to assassinate people that might get in the way when it comes to the final stages of a job.
Several preparation missions are initially required before you can actually do the job. Just like you’d do in real life (I assume….)
Approach each set up mission as they come, then select which roles or tasks different crew members are going to undertake. Everyone has a part to play, and that is something that really makes these missions shine.
There’s no room for dead weight. If someone can’t do their assigned role, then the mission can’t complete and you can’t move onto the next step.
The reverse of that, though is that everyone has the satisfaction of fulfilling their role and moving the team forward.
It’s all very clever indeed.
The culmination
Get those set-up missions done, and then see it all fall into place. That plane you stole? You need it for a getaway, with one of your guys collecting it, flying across the map and waiting for you to show up.
That bus you stole? Yep, you need that to be able to drive into the prison unsuspected.
You get the picture.
Everything ties together and there’s a 4-man crew of you out there doing what needs to be done to complete the heist and get some money. So far the money hasn’t been great, but with greater set-up costs and higher stakes, I’m expecting higher payouts as we learn them all.
Right now, these are a super-satisfying co-op experience and if anything else, they’re great for keeping the clan together and working as a unit, ready for the next Destiny Raid or PUBG session.
GTA Online heists are (so far) bloody excellent. Very well thought out, really nicely put together and a joy to be a part of.
All being well, we’ll play through them all over the coming weeks and see what else Rockstar have to offer.
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