DLC #129 - Grand Theft Auto V - Online Heists

Just to caveat this straight off the bat, the review of this DLC is for the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto V, and although I will go ahead and assume that this is exactly the same as it's PS4 counterpart, it's probably still a safer bet to mention which console I completed this on, just incase there are any discrepancies that exist between both versions.

This Heists update adds a series of additional co-operative missions, specifically to be completed in groups of 2-4 players, along with an extra 9 trophies.

Each Heist will contain a small collection of preliminary, build up missions, which you'll have to complete before carrying out the final set-piece of the Heist itself, all of which require tight communication and proper co-ordination. Each player takes on a specific role within each mission, which they must fulfill with objectives unique to that role, which are critical to the bigger picture, and must be adhered to strictly in order to reach the conclusion, making Heists a very true co-op experience.

There are 5 Heists in total. The first one you'll beat is purely introductory, and gives you a feel for the new mode. It's the only one of the 5 Heists that only requires 2 players, rather than 4, and only has 2 set-up missions before the finale. The other 4 Heists that follow contain between 4-5 set-up missions before the finale, and must require 4 players to be completed. Out of the 9 trophies on offer, you'll obtain 4 of these by just beating all Heists in their entirety, but the trophy list will encourage a fair amount of replay value too, so you won't see the back of these missions once you beat them for the first time.

The trophies are also not difficulty sensitive, and you can play them on either normal or hard difficulty modes, the latter of which will grant additional monetary rewards which could prove useful for certain trophies within this package, but the real challenge from this list comes from being able to get through these missions with a solid team, and as a general note before discussing a couple of specific trophies, Heists is best played with like-minded individuals, and whilst you don't quite require Destiny levels of co-operation here, you'll be better off with people you can trust. If anyone dies more than once, or quits halfway through a Heist activity, you'll fail the mission and be forced to start over, so I would recommend getting yourself a strong team of 4 together for maximum efficiency.

That's not to say you can't beat these missions in random groups, and that's exactly how I had to do it, but you do certainly feel like you're fumbling through it at times, and due to the fact every mission has bespoke, individual roles, you'll be heavily reliant on other people to fulfill their obligations to the mission, which puts your progress at the mercy of others. There is also a large reliability factor too, where random players can suddenly quit halfway through a mission, and due to the fact it is a mandatory requirement to have 4 players for this, the mission will prematurely end and you'll have to start over from scratch.

These general things to note are certainly the bigger challenges within this DLC, but there are a few other trophies that deserve specific mentions;

Live a Little - GTA Online: Spend a total of $8,000,000 purchasing vehicles included as part of The Heists Update.
Mastermind - GTA Online: Earn 25 platinum medals across Heist Setups and Finales.

The "Live a Little" trophy, awarded for spending a total of $8,000,000 purchasing vehicles included as part of The Heists Update, is where the largest portion of your time spent with this package will come from. Where I previously mentioned above that this list encourages a fair amount of replay value, this is exactly where it comes from, and if $8,000,000 sounds like alot of money, then it does so because it is.

The Heists Update makes money much more accessible to players compared to what was available prior within GTA Online. There are ways you can obtain large masses of money illegally within the PS3 community these days, but if you're playing through this experience above board, it is tough to amass alot of money quickly, and Heists is very profitable.

However, earning as much as you'll need for this trophy is still a big slog, and once you've given every Heist mission the once over, of which there are 26, you still won't have enough to be able reach the total required. There are also tons of mitigating factors within Heists that offset the potential payout and earnings you'll acquire from them, including;

• Only Heist Finales, of which there are 5, pay-out substantially well and the set-up missions prior, of which there are 21, pay out very minimal monetary rewards.
• Within Heist Finales, the host of the Heist has to accrue an expense called a "set-up" cost, which is deducted from the final payment.
• Heist Finale payments are also cut between all 4 players with pre-agreed splits based on percentages, and all players have to confirm their agreement to these splits before the Heist can commence, creating tough negotiation spots where you may have to settle for a lower cut of earnings upon completion.
• Heist missions come with difficulty levels up to "hard", which will influence higher pay-outs for higher difficulties, but will also present greater challenges. The "hard" difficulty gives the entire team just 1 respawn for any death, making it much more challenging than lower difficulty levels which provide multiple lives.
• Performance within Heist missions will also determine final pay-outs, with Heist teams punished for sloppy performance. This will include damage caused to getaway vehicles, failing additional objectives and deaths, all of which are inevitable along the way.

All of the above are relevant points to be aware of, but there is also a golden trick that I would strongly recommend which allows you to fulfill the requirements of this trophy after having amassed just $3,045,000. It's firstly important to note that, this is still alot of money to acquire, and the methodology of just replaying Heist Finales over and over again is still the best way to pursue these totals, but the trick is as follows;

The Armoured Kuruma, worth $525,000, is by far the most expensive Heists exclusive vehicle in the catalogue. You can purchase this vehicle, and immediately sell it back to the game for a total of $315,000, making a loss of $210,000 each time. The concept behind this is that, each time you sell the Kuruma back to the game, you're getting a portion of your money back, which can then be used to fund another Kuruma purchase later down the line. Buying and selling back $3,045,000 worth of Kuruma's will ultimately amount to spending $8,000,000, due to the fact you can regain $315,000 for every $525,000 purchase.

I used this method because $8,000,000 is simply just way too excessive, in my opinion. It was challenging enough to accumulate $3,045,000 for the above method, and Heists can be quite the frustrating experience when you're playing with random players, who have a tendency to either perform badly or quit Heists half-way through when they either can't perform the role they've chosen or don't want to restart from checkpoints when things aren't going so smoothly. I just wasn't sure I had the stomach to reach such a lofty total, and was hugely grateful there was a shortcut available.

It is also important to point out that you need to spend the money on vehicles added as part of the Heists update. The last thing you want to do is start spending your money on vehicles that were either already part of the base game or part of a different DLC package, as these won't count towards your progress for this trophy.

The "Mastermind" trophy, awarded for Earning 25 platinum medals across Heist Setups and Finales, will test your ability to outperform the rest of your team within the Heist. 

Each mission you successfully complete will distribute, in order from bottom to top, a Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum medal based on individual performances of all Heist members. The requirements and determination of what you get aren't clearly defined anywhere, so it makes it hard to gauge on whether you've done enough within a particular mission to be the outstanding player and grab yourself a Platinum medal, but combat roles are probably the best option.

Given the fact there are 26 missions, and you need 25 Platinum medals, you'll more than likely not achieve 25 within 26, so it's just aswell you have some extra replay value courtesy of the "Live a Little" trophy and you should make some relatively strong progress towards this trophy during your quest of gathering $8,000,000. 

If you struggle, the Fleeca Job, which is the introductory Heist, only requires 2 people for the 2 set-up missions and Heist Finale, so it's much easier to get Platinum medals within these circumstances where you're only competing against 1 other person, where only a Gold and Platinum medal is awarded at the end. You can just keep grinding this series, and the set-up costs aren't anywhere near as dear as some of the latter Heists, so it's nice easy alternative if you don't manage to grab 25 Platinum medals during your money accumulation journey.

Just like most things that require co-operation in groups of people, the main challenges from this package come from having to rely hugely on others. I do like the concept behind Heists, and there is a lot of effort and attention to detail in how they're created which deserves much praise, and whilst Rockstar can't be blamed for player behavior within these missions, which did cause huge frustration at times, they definitely overcooked the requirements of the "Live a Little" trophy. The Heists are fun and contain great novelty value, and the missions are built in the classic GTA way, but did I want to keep grinding them over and over again with the same unreliable groups of people? Not at all, but I had to.

The biggest irony of it all it is the fact there may not even be a write up for the main GTA V list, due to some difficulties around one of the trophies I have not yet obtained, with chances of me being able to obtain it seemingly very slim, but that one remains to be seen.

Follow my recommended method which means you'll only need less than half of the accumulated monetary total, and this is just about bearable. It'll still take you a while to reach the revised amount, with the whole package clocking in at around 30-40 hours for full completion, and grab yourself a reliable squad of like-minded individuals if you can, otherwise prepare to face up to the reality of playing with others who might not necessarily be in it for the same reasons.

NOTE : This was the only DLC content released with additional trophies for the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto V. The PS4 version included 2 further DLC packs inclusive of trophies, which were not released for the PS3 version of the game, and will therefore not be reviewed at a later date.