The Doomsday Heist is the latest free update for GTA Online and one of the biggest the game has ever received. The update adds new toys, including missile launching trucks, stealth helicopters, orbital lasers and the long awaited jetpack. .The Doomsday Heist update also includes three new heists about saving the world, which eventually lead to a larger mystery about Mt. Chiliad itself.
As with most big GTA Online updates, players will first need to spend some virtual cash before they can partake in the fun. To start playing the new heists and missions, players have to buy a facility. These underground structures are similar to the bunkers added in the Gunrunning update, in that players can use them to store weapons and vehicles, among other things. The cheapest facility is $1.25 million, though they can all be upgraded to include features like orbital lasers (~$900k.)
I haven’t had a chance to play much of the new heists yet, but early impressions are good. Apparently the whole thing will take players around 12 hours to complete according to IGN. Missions involve stealing ambulances, flying jetpacks, sneaking into a secret server farm and more.
After years of hunting for the elusive flying backpack, fans will finally be able to purchase one and hover around Los Santos. The jetpack costs just over $3 million, though by completing the new heists players can lower that price.
There’s also a newly-added massive aircraft, The Avenger, which is like the Mobile Operations Center truck and semi from Gunnrunning. For $3.4 million dollars, The Avenger can fly and can hold up to 30 players at once. Wild. Other new vehicles include multiple new trucks, supercars and combat vehicles. You can even purchase a giant missile launching military truck that looks straight out of the Cold War.
But wait, there’s more!
This latest update also adds more weapon upgrades. Like in Gunnrunning, players can upgrade certain weapons to have better stats. As a bonus, many of these weapons have added details and improved sound desigh. The pump shotgun and special carbine, as well as a few others, are now upgradeable assuming you own either a Mobile Ops Center or the new Avenger. If you want more details, the GTA Online subreddit has a detailed post listing every new upgrade, facility and vehicle and how much they cost.
The Doomsday Heist also adds a brand new radio station, Blonded Los Santos 97.8 FM. This new station is hosted by Frank Ocean, who first teased the station on his Tumblr. The tracklist is surprisingly big and contains a good mix. You can listen to this station online or in singleplayer.
For fashionistas, the update adds new clothing options for your virtual closet. These include: Tactical jackets, combat shoes, riot masks and even colorful scuba gear. There are also new tattoos and fancy facepaint options. And you can now store 20 outfits in your inventory instead of 10.
The number changes and additions to GTA Online are huge, so make sure to take a look at the full patch notes.
If you haven’t been playing GTA Online lately, this new update is a great reason to return. The new heists are enormous and there are a ton of new weapons, vehicles and upgrades to buy. The only issue for returning players might be the cost. If you don’t have a lot of in-game cash I recommend buying the underground facility up north, as it is cheap. Of course, you might upset some of the locals up there. You can also find a friend who has a facility and play with them to save up some money. Whatever works.
This is easily one of the biggest updates GTA Online has ever received and it’s a great way to close out the year. With Red Dead Redemption II coming next year, it will be interesting to see how many more updates GTA Online will get in 2018. Rockstar assured Kotaku that this isn’t the last major update for GTA Online.
Zach Zwiezen is a a writer living in Kansas City, Missouri. He has written for Gamecritics, Killscreen and Entertainment Fuse.