When I first started playing GTA: Online, having gotten through all the server issues that plagued the release, I joined a crew. We spent our time in free-roam sessions annoying other players, driving or messing about but really, there was no need to actually have a crew in free-roam. You had your friends list for that.
Now, Rockstar has brought a new level of gameplay to GTA: Online, by giving us the ability to start and run our own "organizations." Players can become a VIPs and hire up to 4 other players as their bodyguards. This is a novel idea as not only do the players get RP and cash payments just for being in the area of their VIP, but when they complete special challenges and tasks the whole crew gets a cut. Playing as the VIP will grant you access to several special abilities such as the ability to turn your organisation into a "Ghost Organisation," allowing your whole team to go off the radar for two minutes or the ability to "Bribe Authorities," where a payment is made on your behalf to the local authorities to ensure that your crew walks free from its current wanted level and remains above the law for one and a half minutes. VIPs can also drop ammo, bull-shark testosterone, spawn certain vehicles and control the outfits of their whole crew on the go using the new SecuroServ app and corresponding interaction menu entry.
- Hostile Takeover, an unknown package is held within a restricted area, and organizations compete to collect the package and deliver it to a set location. Sounds deceptively simple, but when the ‘package’ is a tank held inside Fort Zancudo, things get tricky fast.
- Asset Recovery sends your organization to LSPD stations around the city to recover impounded vehicles. It’s up to your outfit to free up those assets and return them to a designated location, while the cops and other players in the session will be looking to destroy your vehicles.
- Piracy Prevention is attack and defense on the decks of a luxurious Super Yacht. Defending players spawn on the yacht while attacking players spawn on shore with access to boats, helis and Seasharks ready to head out and capture the upper deck
- Executive Deathmatch puts rival organizations in a Deathmatch-style battle inside of Freemode, with each VIP allotted just 10 lives.
- Most Wanted: The heat is right around the corner, with all players in the organization hit with a 5-star wanted level. With a countdown of 10 minutes, the last player alive wins the challenge.
- Market Manipulation: All open convenience stores are blipped on the map. Players have to race from store to store in a hold-up spree to collect as much money as possible. When time counts down, the player with the most money wins.
- Auto Buyout: Players must steal and deliver as many vehicles as they can. Every vehicle has a specific value displayed when you enter the vehicle, so choose your acquisitions carefully. The player with the highest total value of vehicles delivered at the end of the timer wins.
The Yacht itself cannot be sailed by the player however it can be moved to one of twelve locations for a cost of $25,000. Up to three Yachts can be moored at each of these locations at one time. The prices for each yacht is listed below, though if you want all the bells and whistles, you could pay up to another two million dollars on top of these prices.- The Orion- $6m
- The Pisces (which includes a Hot Tub)- $7m
- The Aquarius (which also includes a Hot Tub)- -$8m
- Bravado Verlierer (2 door, sports) - $695,000
- Declasse Mamba (2 door, sports classic) - $995,000
- Imponte Nightshade (2 door, muscle) - $585,000
- Enus Cognoscenti 55 (4 door, sedan) - $154,000 - $396,000 Armoured
- Enus Cognoscenti (4 door, sedan) - $255,000 - $558,000 Armoured
- Baller LE (4 door, SUV) $149,000 - $374,000 Armoured
- Baller LE LWB (4 door, SUV) - $247,000 - $513,000 Armoured
- Schafter V12 4 door, SUV) - $116,000 - $325,000 Armoured
- Schafter V12 LWB (4 door, SUV) - $208,000 - $438,000 Armoured
- Turreted Limo (4 door, Pegasus) - $1,650,000
Eclipse towers penthouse sweets are now for sale. These top floor apartments are the ultimate in lavish bachelor living. Including a heist planning room, why not make this the hub for your next bank job? You can pick from several different styles for your new apartment. This will change everything from the furniture style and wall coverings to your bed and bathroom. Mansions are not available. Available in their place are several new stilt houses on the hills. These homes are ultra modern on the inside with some boasting water fountains or ponds, but one issue that needs to be addressed is that you cannot enter your garage directly from inside the property. You would need to go outside and then enter your garage. Not so handy when you are the VIP and everyone wants your blood.
All in all, this update has been one of the best yet. It gives us reason to have and operate within a crew in free-roam and gives us yet more space to store vehicles with the ability to purchase a fifth property, potentially owning 50 vehicles but it is, as always, rather over priced. The options are as always friends, grind missions, heists or cheat but if you want it, you can have it in the criminal streets of Los Santos.