It’s a testimony to the innate appeal of Grand Theft Auto Online that, despite being faced with an extensive delay, there’s still a tremendous amount of excitement surrounding the release of the game’s co-operative Heist missions.
Now, players will be able to gauge whether the wait was worth it as the feature is now available across all console platforms via today’s update. And though Heists are doubt the headlining new addition, there’s ample new content arriving alongside the cinematic skirmishes. Last week, we brought you the news that GTA Online is poised to get a trio of new-fangled multiplayer modes in the form of Come Out to Play, Siege Mentality and Hasta La Vista, which infuse risky objectives with the typically over-the-top gameplay one would associate with Rockstar’s best-selling title.
To gain an understanding of those new additions, you can check out the comprehensive patch notes below. As for Heists, Grand Theft Auto Online can expect regular updates over the coming months as the studio strives to turn the mode into a robust, ongoing multiplayer feature.
Overview
- Heists are a new type of gameplay experience inside GTA Online – massive, multi-layered, 4-player co-operative missions that encourage players to work together and make the most of their individual strengths, and a team’s level of communication and coordination can make or break each mission.
- Heists unlock at Rank 12 for players with a high-end apartment. They are started by a call from Lester and a visit to his garment factory.
- Please note there is a short delay between each Heist, but Lester will be in touch when the next Heist is ready. You can replay Heist strands by calling Lester using the “Request Heist” option.
Triggering a Heist
- Players who are rank 12 or above and own a high-end apartment will receive a phone call from Lester.
- When a player accepts Lester’s call and begins the Heist, they become the Heist leader and can choose to invite other players from the lobby, their friends list, or players from the previous Heist. Players of any rank who have already completed the GTA Online tutorial up to and including Gerald’s first LTS job can play Heists by accepting an invitation from a Heist leader.
- The Heist leader has the responsibility of fronting the setup costs to acquire whatever equipment and additional NPC personnel needed to pull off the job – which amounts to a percentage of the final pay-out.
Setup Missions
- Members earn money for completing each setup mission.
- Heist leaders do not earn any money for completing a setup mission, though they do earn 10% more RP than other members. Leaders can assign themselves a larger portion of the take once the entire Heist is complete.
- Successfully completing a setup missions drops players back into Freemode. The Heist leader can then use their phone to return to the
- Heist planning board and start the next job in the strand.
Awards
- Large cash and RP awards are earned for completing one-off and repeatable Heist Bonus Challenges. Challenge criteria are:
- Completing each Heist Finale for the first time.
- Completing all the Heists as a member.
- Completing all 5 Heists in order.
- Completing all the Heists back to back with the same team.
- Completing all Heists on Hard difficulty, with the same team, in order, and without anyone dying.
- On PS4 and Xbox One only: completing all Heists in first person view. Note: The Heist leader must lock the game to first person in the lobby to unlock this.
Replaying a Heist
- Heists are available for replay after completing each full strand as Heist leader. Players can do this by calling Lester and requesting a Heist. There is a short delay before you can replay the same Heist again as Leader. Heists are available for players to join as crew members without delay as long as there is a Leader with an active lobby to join. The Heist replay board becomes available at your high end apartment once you have completed all 5 Heist finales as Leader or crew member (but you must also have reached rank 12 and visited Lester to access it).
Adversary Modes
- There is a cooldown period between the completion of each Heist and when the next one becomes available. At the same time, new Adversary modes will unlock as you complete each Heist. Adversary modes are fun new asymmetrical gameplay types within GTA Online. There are 16 new versus missions spread across 3 new modes.