Heists, also known as the Heists Update, is a major content update exclusive to Grand Theft Auto Online which was released on March 10, 2015.
Description[]
The Heists Update allows players to plan, prepare and execute multi-tiered Heists across Los Santos and Blaine County through a series of new missions organized by Lester Crest, Ron Jakowski and an unnamed character, later known only as Agent 14. These require tight communication and coordination, with players taking on specified roles at each point to accomplish multiple objectives on the way to complete the Heists.
The update features many new vehicles, weapons, and clothing items.
Minor graphical changes to the entrance of selected high-end apartment buildings were made, in addition to a wide array of new animations when entering and exiting your apartment. The Garage interior has also been updated to include a brand new exiting animation when on foot.
Unlike any prior title updates except for Holiday Gifts, no content was added to Grand Theft Auto V in this update, as the Heists Update is exclusive to Grand Theft Auto Online. The exception being the interior of the Pacific Standard Public Deposit Bank in Vinewood, which was also made accessible in Grand Theft Auto V, making it one of the only GTA Online updated locations to also be accessible in Director Mode.
Content[]
Weapons[]
A flare gun is given to the player straight after the update is installed, and is used during The Humane Labs Raid. The thermite bomb also appears as special weapon used only in The Pacific Standard Job, which cannot be purchased.
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
Flare Gun | A weapon based on the Orion Brand Flare Gun, albeit with a longer barrel. |
Vehicles[]
This is the first update to add vehicles exclusively to GTA Online: none of the new vehicles added in this update are available in GTA V.
The majority of vehicles added in the update require mission completion to unlock for purchase. After the Cunning Stunts: Special Vehicle Circuit update, all vehicles are available to players who have not completed the heist requirements but they must pay a 33% premium over the heists "trade" prices.
11 existing vehicles have been added to the in-game websites for purchase, in some cases (e.g. Nemesis) removing their "rare" status. The existing Prison Bus is also made available for purchase after it has been unlocked by a heist mission. The Dinghy is also unlocked for purchase after another heist.
- Nemesis ($12,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Gresley ($29,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Landstalker ($58,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Surge ($38,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Schafter ($65,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Jackal ($60,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Oracle XS ($82,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Seminole ($30,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Rumpo ($13,000 Southernsanandreassuperautos.com)
- Mesa (off-road) ($87,000 Warstock Cache & Carry)
- Prison Bus ($550,000 Warstock Cache & Carry)
- Dinghy ($125,000 DockTease)
Players can now save up to 30 personalised licence plates ($100,000 cost per plate) for their stored GTA Online vehicles via the updated iFruit App.
| Image | Name | Description | Unlocked after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available to purchase immediately | ||||
 |
Dinka Enduro |
An off-road endurance motorcycle. | Installing the Heist Update | |
 |
Vapid Guardian |
A civilian truck based on a Ford F650. | Installing the Heist Update | |
| Unlocked after heist completion | ||||
 |
Karin Kuruma |
A returning sports saloon car based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and 2015 Subaru Impreza. | The Fleeca Job | |
 |
Karin Kuruma (Armored) |
Armored variant of the Kuruma. | The Fleeca Job | |
 |
Lampadati Casco |
A classic grand tourer based on the 1957 Maserati 3500 GT. | Prison Break - Station | |
 |
Jobuilt Velum 5-Seater |
A new 5-seater version of the Velum. | The Prison Break | |
 |
Mammoth Hydra |
A returning fighter jet based on the Harrier VTOL jet, with a rear fuselage and twin stabilizers based on those of the F-35 Lightning II. | Humane Raid - EMP | |
 |
HVY Insurgent |
An armored vehicle based on the Gurkha LAPV. | The Humane Labs Raid | |
 |
HVY Insurgent Pick-Up |
Armed version of the Insurgent. It features a mounted M2HexB .50 cal machine gun and allows passengers on the truck bed. It is based on the Gurkha RPV. | The Humane Labs Raid | |
 |
Buckingham Valkyrie |
A new transport helicopter based on the military Bell UH-1Y Venom helicopter, featuring three mounted miniguns. | The Humane Labs Raid | |
 |
Maibatsu Mule |
A new version of the Mule featuring bullbars and side guards and lacking a livery. | Series A Funding | |
 |
Karin Technical |
An armed variant of the Rebel. | Series A Funding | |
 |
Brute Boxville |
A new version of the Boxville with a Post OP livery. | Pacific Standard - Vans | |
 |
Declasse Gang Burrito |
A pre-modified version of the Burrito without The Lost MC logos. | Pacific Standard - Hack | |
 |
Savage | A new gunship helicopter based on the Russian Mi-24 "Hind" attack helicopter. | Pacific Standard - Convoy | |
 |
Principe Lectro |
A streetfighter based on the Ducati Streetfighter S, featuring a KERS boost. | The Pacific Standard Job | |
| Mission only | ||||
 |
Jobuilt Trashmaster |
A new version of the Trashmaster with a rusted rear and trash bags inside the trash compartment. | Series A - Trash Truck | |
 |
Vapid Lost Slamvan |
A van version of the Slamvan. | Series A - Bikers Series A Funding | |
 |
Tanker trailer | A new tow-able version of the tanker trailer with no livery. | Series A - Steal Meth | |
 |
HVY Barracks |
A new version of the Barracks with a shorter canvas. | Pacific Standard - Convoy | |
New Characters[]
In order of appearance:
- Paige Harris
- Eddie Toh
- Agent 14 Note
- Gavin Van Der Loop
- Josh Sherman
- Gusset
- Unnamed Navy Officer
- Dima Popov
- Maxim Rashkovsky
- Phil
- Karen Daniels
- Avi Schwartzman
Character Customization[]
Main article: Heists Update/Character Customization
- Over 100 clothing items, 68 outfits, and 42 masks have been added
- Some of these require unlocking through heist mission completion before becoming available to purchase.
- New Heist Gear is made available to purchase in Ammu-Nation stores:
- Earpieces
- Night Vision Goggles
- Rebreather
- Players are now able to save up to 10 Outfits that can be equipped immediately through the Interaction Menu anywhere in free roam or during missions.
Gameplay[]
Five Heists were added, each requiring numerous preliminary set-up jobs.
Main article: Heists in GTA Online#Heists Update
- Fleeca Job: An introductory heist for 2 players involving stealing bonds from a safety deposit box from the Fleeca Bank on Great Ocean Highway for Lester Crest and using an armored Kuruma to escape before a Cargobob airlifts the car to evade the police. Setup missions are:
- Prison Break: The second heist, and the first to require a full crew of four players, involves a complicated plan to spring Maxim Rashkovsky from Bolingbroke Penitentiary. Setup missions are:
- Plane - Steal a Velum 5-Seater from the Vagos at McKenzie Field Hangar.
- Bus - Hijack a Prison Bus headed to Bolingbroke Penitentiary and deliver it.
- Station - One team steals the inmate transfer schedule from the Mission Row Police Station, while the other team obtains Rashkovshy's Casco from the docks.
- Wet Work - One team kills Rashkovsky's former business partner and the other team kills two lawyers and recovers a briefcase.
- Humane Labs Raid: A heist involving a raid on Humane Labs and Research to obtain classified files for Agent Karen, similar to the single player mission Monkey Business. Setup missions are:
- Key Codes - Obtain access codes to the lab from IAA Agent Karen while holding off the FIB.
- Insurgents - Steal Insurgents from a Merryweather test site in Davis Quartz.
- EMP - Steal a Hydra from an Aircraft Carrier, fitted with an EMP device.
- Valkyrie - Steal a Valkyrie from Merryweather at the Los Santos Naval Port.
- Deliver EMP - Deliver the EMP to the research lab in an unarmed Insurgent.
- Series A Funding: A heist involving collecting various drug packages for Trevor Phillips and then helping him deliver them to a drug deal at the El Gordo Lighthouse. Setup missions are:
- Coke - Steal coke from drug dealers on a yacht near Del Perro.
- Trash Truck - Steal a Trashmaster and collect molly pills in trash bags from the Vagos.
- Bikers - Infiltrate The Lost MC camp at night and steal their vans.
- Weed - Steal two Bensons filled with shipments of weed and protect them by using a Technical stolen from the Ballas at the Paleto Forest Sawmill.
- Steal Meth - Steal ingredients from the O'Neil Brothers at their farm.
- Pacific Standard Job: The final heist involving robbing the Pacific Standard Bank for Lester Crest. Setup missions are:
- Vans - Take pictures of Post OP trucks, then steal the right one.
- Signal - Bring a transponder to Avi Schwartzman, so he can tune it to the right frequency for the Pacific Standard dye packs.
- Hack - Steal data from a black Declasse Gang Burrito.
- Convoy - Hijack a Merryweather convoy to get thermal charges.
- Bikes - Steal four Lectros from the Lost MC at their East Los Santos camp to use as your getaway vehicles after the heist.
Planning Room[]
Updated planning room in each high-end apartment. The following changes have been made:
- Planning Board (used interactively for planning heists)
- Equipment Area (used interactively during each stage of heists)
- Improved Light Detail (new lights have been added to the planning room across all platforms and new minor changes to the interior where applicable)
Minigames[]
There are three new interactive minigames originally featured exclusively in the heists:[Note 1]
Drilling[]
Drilling is a minigame seen in the Fleeca Bank Heist. The player assigned to the task uses a drill to drill through a keyhole in order to open a safety deposit box. On the lower right hand corner the hud is replaced with a top side of a 2d lock with 4 pins. The player's goal is to drill through all of them. But if the drill is pushed too hard it overheats turning the bit red and it takes a few seconds to cool down the bit. The player controls the speed the bit turns and how hard the bit is pushed into lock.
Circuit Breaker 2.0[]
Main article: Circuit Breaker 2.0
Circuit Breaker 2.0 is a hacking minigame written by Lester Crest and is used in the Fleeca Bank Heist. It is a smartphone app which pops up taking most of the screen. The game consists of 2D top-down maze that looks like a circutboard. The player must guide a constantly moving line from a start point to an end point. If it touches anything but the exit it fails and has to be restarted. There are 3 levels with each one increasing the difficulty of the maze. Continued failure slows down the speed of the point but reduces the achievement level. It is recommended to use the D-Pad rather than the analog stick.
Data Crack[]
Main article: Data Crack
A data cracker in GTA Online, used to hack a garage door in order to park an Insurgent loaded with an EMP. It consists of 8 white blocks moving vertically over a horizontal red line in the center. To hack it, the player has to align a gap in the blocks when they are placed exactly over the red line. Each block moves progressively faster and any mistake will displace the previous one, and require these to be placed again. This minigame is now also featured in certain Freemode missions such as Sightseer.
Adversary Modes[]
Main article: Adversary Modes
Adversary Modes are a new type of player vs. player game mode for Grand Theft Auto Online. They are structured similarly to Captures and Last Team Standing game modes. Over time, new Adversary Modes are released.
Free-roam Activities[]
Three new Free-roam activities have been added:
- Destroy Vehicle Target (for Gerald) - A target vehicle can be randomly highlighted on players' maps, which can be destroyed for a small cash reward.
- Distract Cops (for Lester Crest) - A zone requiring players to gain high wanted levels for 5 consecutive minutes for Lester to distract police attention.
- Aircraft Takedown (for Trevor Philips) - A smuggler aircraft smuggling people into Los Santos, highlighted on the map in which Trevor wants to be destroyed for a large cash reward.
These are unlocked at Rank 15 and introduced by phone calls or text messages from their sponsor.
As of the Freemode Events Update, these activities were removed from the enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto Online, and are no longer playable in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game with the shutdown of its servers on December 16, 2021.
Daily Objectives[]
Main article: Challenges in GTA Online
Daily Objectives have been added to GTA Online free-roam, unlocking at Rank 15. Players will receive Cash and RP rewards for completing all 3 given objectives each real-life day. An additional large cash and RP bonus can be earned for completing all daily objectives for 7 days straight, and then an even bigger award for completing them 28 days straight. Objectives are found on the player's Interaction Menu.
Achievements/Trophies[]
Main article: Achievements and Trophies in GTA V
9 new achievements, in a total of 250
, and 9 new trophies, 7 bronze and 2 silver, were added for all platforms.
Notable Quotes[]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Soundtrack[]
Main article: Missions in GTA Online/Soundtracks
Cut Content[]
- Multiple audio bank files suggest beta missions were in development but cut from the final update:[1]
- A heist setup mission for Prison Break was cut from the Heists Update, named Prison Break - Riot Vans. It involved stealing the Police Riot van used for breaking out of the prison in the final heist. The van simply "appears" in the final heist, however audios for stealing the van in a setup mission are found in the files, named "pbrv" (Prison Break Riot Vans).[2]. It can be noted that these audio files are a different heist leader, as opposed to Agent 14, heavily suggesting this heist was one of the earliest planned heists, and was eventually scrapped when the initial heist was redone with Agent 14 as the voice.
- Audio files suggest the Tug was meant to be added in this update, as various engine sounds are found in audio clips. This would support one of the heists cut from the final release, which involved raiding the Port of LS for drugs, where players enter by both sea and air. This was soon added in the Executives and Other Criminals update for the enhanced version only.
- 2 setup missions were cut from the Pacific Standard heist:
- A setup mission involved locating and capturing a character named Melvin Andrews. These clips suggest the player had to track him down by avoiding "phantom signals" and following the correct one Lester gives them. [3]. His role in the heist suggests he was replaced by Avi Schwartzman, who uses the same voice as Melvin.
- Another setup mission involved tracking down a bank manager, under the name of Joseph Whites, aka "Casanova", and tailing him back to his apartment. Here, the players steal his bank pass/card in order to clone it, which will allow them to gain access to the vault in the final heist. To distract Joseph, the players seduce him, performing sex acts, such as "spooning". It is likely his role in the heist was deemed unnecessary, but also sexually inappropriate, and as such the final heist involves simply hacking into the vault.[4]
- Other parts of the audio files include Lester hosting another heist/heist setup which involves stealing a chopper from the LS Naval Port[5]
- A huge number of audio files suggest major changes were made to the Fleeca Job, wherein the final heist consisted of raiding 3 banks[6] [7]. Interior models of the smaller, inaccessible, franchises of Fleeca banks exist in the files. These audio files show that the Fleeca branch on Vespucci Boulevard was one of the three banks to be hit.
- One of two setup missions are also referenced in audio files, including one involving stealing Seasharks and dropping them off in the LS River.
- Another setup mission involves planting explosives on substations around the city, ready to be triggered during the final heist, in order to bring power down during the bank robberies.
- Another set of audio clips suggest another heist was scrapped before the release, this time involving stealing drug shipments in the Port of Los Santos using the Cargobob[8], multiple missions involving ambushing moving targets using a sniper team and other vehicles[9][10], and raiding the Clucking Bell Farms chicken factory and loading drug shipments onto trucks[11]. These audio instructions are hosted by an unknown character, the same character voicing the beta Prison Break - Riot Vans mission. Static files found in the heist DLC folder contain areas where heists take place. The inclusion of Elysian Island in these files suggest this was one of the possible areas of the port to be hit during this heist.[12]
Trivia[]
- This is the first GTA Online update to add new Achievements/Trophies in the game.
- It is also the second content update to only include content for GTA Online, the first being the Holiday Gifts.
- Some of the vehicles in the update may be influenced by the Rambo film franchise. Examples include a technical-based vehicle with a large turret on the rear, and two helicopters resembling the Savage and Valkyrie.
- The four suits added into this update under the "Heist: Sloppy" outfits resemble the outfits worn by the Ex-Presidents robbery gang in the 1991 movie Point Break.
- Although it cannot be robbed and plays no part in any storyline mission, those playing the single-player version of GTA V, including Director Mode, are able to enter and fully explore the bank (with the exception of the vault). The ATMs within the bank can be used.
Oversights[]
- The Los Santos Customs sale price of pre-modified vehicles found on the streets in standard and enhanced versions was increased significantly.
- A bug patch was released 4 days after the update which reduced these values back to pre-update levels.
- A money bug was present with chrome wheel values, whereby a specific SUV chrome wheel could be unlocked for free and the vehicle could then be sold for an inflated price, as if the full value of the wheel was spent.
- This bug was fixed by reducing the value/price of the entire set of SUV chrome wheels which can now be purchased for around 10% of the cost of the other chrome wheel classes.
- The player can save edit all the new vehicles into Story Mode without any flaws. However, the KERS system on the Lectro won't work and would remove the special ability bar for the duration of the session.
- The player can also use all the Machine Guns available on the new vehicles.
- Daily Objectives can sometimes carry over from the previous day's objectives, disabling the player from earning the consecutive bonus rewards.
Notes[]
- ↑ Data Crack is now featured in certain Freemode missions as of the Executives and Other Criminals update.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MffsJE2Y3Q0
- ↑ Files: update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\pbrv.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\mpsci.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\obhsm.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\blhph.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\fsp.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\fhfse.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\cb.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\cc.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\ce.awc
- ↑ update\x64\dlcpacks\mpheist\dlc.rpf\x64\audio\sfx\dlc_mpheist\cf.awc
- ↑ update\update.rpf\dlc_patch\mpheist\x64\levels\gta5\_cityw\santamon_01\sm_13.rpf\hei_sm_13_0.ybn