You want to start with GTA 5 Online again in 2021 but are unsure if it’s worth it? We will show you what has changed and for whom it is definitely worth starting.
What can you expect? There are a ton of content to explore for new players. This ranges from group activities with friends, to duo content and solo play with unknown players or alone.
But GTA 5 Online is turning eight years old this year. Is it still worth starting now? And what can returning players expect?
Is GTA 5 Online worth it for new players?
This attracts new players: New players start in the online world with hardly anything for a big adventure. At first, you secure a cheap or even free car for your trips in Los Santos. Then you dive into one of the countless game modes and earn your first money. And here comes the first advantage. Grand Theft Auto has always been about mixing racing with violence.
In the game modes, you can choose between various races with bicycles, boats, airplanes, cars, monster trucks, or motorcycles.
If you are not in the mood for races, you can jump into one of the many modes that revolve around gun violence. There are deathmatches, capture series, team games, and series where everyone fights against everyone.
Additionally, new content comes regularly to keep the online world alive. The casino opened with a handful of missions, plenty of mini-games, and a rewarding wheel of fortune. Even newcomers can win expensive supercars without spending money.
For all players, there are various contents right from the start catering to different player types. Even complete beginners can quickly earn important money with content like the casino or time trials.
This deters new players: Like in every other online game, not everything is great in GTA 5 Online. Foremost are the high prices.
If you want to buy a fancy supercar, you first have to invest several hours into grinding. As a newbie, that can be discouraging, because to efficiently earn money in GTA Online, you should acquire a few things that make future grinding easier. So first invest in real estate before you build your supercar collection.
Additionally, depending on the lobby, there are toxic players. This manifests itself through insulting messages in chat and also through griefing players in the lobbies. Yes, online lobbies are PvP areas in GTA Online, and you have to expect to be attacked. However, it can be annoying when someone arrives with their tricked-out flying motorcycle and mows you down when you are just trying to earn money.
The way out is the passive mode, which protects you from such situations. But it also restricts you. Many actions that earn you money are not possible in passive mode or in solo lobbies.
Another phenomenon is, at least in PC sessions, hackers. Although they appear much less frequently, they can easily ruin your fun and make you seek a new lobby. They can use hacks to make your character constantly explode or spawn ridiculously large transformers in the world to run you over.
I once got into a modder’s sex limo and flew over the online world of GTA 5.
Bonus: The story is something everyone should experience
What is it about? The Grand Theft Auto series is known for its twisted stories with unmistakable protagonists. The single-player mode of GTA 5 also manages to tell a wonderful story while offering plenty of WTF moments.
In GTA 5, you control three protagonists, switching between them throughout the story. The family man and former bank robber Michael meets Franklin, who wants to take his boring life to the next level. The two encounter Trevor, whom Michael knows from a failed bank heist.
The three guys have great chemistry that runs throughout the various story missions. During the campaign, all your skills with weapons, vehicles, in water, and in the air are put to the test. You can even expect different endings, triggered by your decisions.
Conclusion: Is it worth it for new beginners? Pros and Cons
Is GTA 5 Online worth it for returning players?
What has changed? Since the release of GTA Online, the developers have regularly released new DLCs. The good part: They are all free. The content can all be earned with in-game currency.
We provide you with an overview of the content that has been released in GTA Online. Just check when you roughly stopped playing to see what has improved since then.
- Since 2014, there’s the flight school in GTA Online, where you can improve your skills as a pilot.
- Since 2015, there’s the heist update, which players consider one of the most important updates for GTA Online. It introduced the challenging heists that reward you with millions of dollars if you are successful.
- The new mechanic Benny is in town, who converts your cars into lowriders.
- 2015 also brought the “Executives and Other Criminals” DLC. You can establish organizations and hire other players as bodyguards.
- The huge DLC “Further Adventures in Finance and Felony” finally introduced an alternative money-making method through collecting crates on the map in 2016.
- 2016 also saw the release of the Cunning Stunts Update, which players celebrated for the many new racing and building options as well as cars.
- The Biker DLC started in 2016 – Now you can form gangs and build a biker business to earn passive income. You gather resources, your employees process the stuff, and you sell cocaine or similar goods on a large scale.
- In the same year as the Biker DLC, the Import/Export DLC started, which still offers one of the most lucrative ways to earn money.
- Through the Gunrunning DLC came bunkers in 2017 as a new way to earn money and a method for weapon upgrades.
- Smugglers Run introduced access to hangars and cool planes in 2017 along with a new method of earning money through collecting deliveries.
- At the end of 2017, the new Doomsday Heist made waves, which also introduced a flying car.
- Nightclubs opened in GTA Online in 2018 – Here, you have an overview of all passive income properties in one building.
- With the Arena War DLC , new game modes and car variations were introduced to the online world of GTA 5 in 2018.
- In the summer of 2019, the Diamond Casino & Resort opened with many mini-games, missions, and cars.
- The grand finale for 2019 was the Casino Heist, which brings players a ton of money.
- The big highlight in 2020 was the massive Cayo Perico update. This introduced new cars and the first heist that can even be played solo.
As you can see, quite a lot has happened in GTA Online over the past few years. Many new vehicles and content are now available. Players who left the game due to lack of content should definitely give it another try.
Players who left due to too much grinding: You still don’t earn money in GTA Online in the blink of an eye. Grinding continues to be part of the routine if you want to belong to the rich. However, there are now many different ways to earn money. So there’s variety. If you stopped before 2018, you’ll now see many new ways to get rich.
If you are generally against grinding to unlock new content, then GTA is not for you unless you want to spend real money.
Players who left due to a lack of group content: When thinking about group content in GTA Online, you can’t overlook heists. These are cooperative robberies carried out with up to 4 players against NPCs. The brand new Cayo Perico Heist rewards you with a few million dollars and offers you much freedom in execution. Also, the Casino Heist is another approach to a robbery. There are three ways to complete it: “loud,” “quiet,” or “stealthy.” Grab your squad and try out the new heists.
Players who left due to a lack of roleplay: Since 2017, roleplay on GTA servers has grown significantly. On Twitch, it has increasingly come to the forefront and has given the “old” GTA Online top ratings on the streaming platform. A look into this community is worthwhile if you enjoy roleplay in the world of GTA 5.
Find out in the interview on MeinMMO why you should try roleplay in GTA Online.
What has changed recently in GTA Online?
What’s new: In December 2020, Rockstar Games released one of the most important updates for the community: the Cayo Perico Heist, which takes place in a completely new location in GTA Online.
For this, they built a new island on the map where the heist takes place. That’s where the drug lord El Rubio has set up his empire and throws wild techno parties.
For you as a player, this means there’s now a new way to earn money. Your task is clear: El Rubio has a lot of valuable stuff lying around, drugs, money, and art pieces. These need to be stolen.
You can take three more players with you to complete the heist in cooperative mode. So you can all fill your pockets with loot and determine who gets how much of it.
What makes the heist even more special is the number of players. Because for the first time, you can also complete a heist in GTA Online completely solo. A feature that the community often requested. Because when friends are not online, you otherwise have to rely on randoms. And as it often goes in multiplayer games, that can lead to chaos and frustration. Perhaps the players are unmotivated, or communication fails.
When your friends are not online, you can clear Cayo Perico alone. And you have to prove all your skill. That’s difficult when the weight lies solely on your shoulders. Also, you carry fewer bags of loot. Overall, there is not as much loot as with a group. But in the end, you also don’t have to share earnings with teammates.
With the heist on Cayo Perico, you earn the most money compared to all heists in GTA Online.
What can we expect for the future?
Rockstar Games can hardly complain about the performance of the online world of GTA 5. At the end of 2019, GTA Online saw its strongest month in two years.
As evident by the many DLCs and good performance, the game is not going to be shut down anytime soon. We expect that the developers will continue to supply the online mode of GTA 5 with content until the release of GTA 6 and beyond.
There’s therefore no reason to worry that this content will soon cease.
We can recommend GTA 5 Online for most players even in 2021.
Who do I recommend GTA Online to?
According to my game time clock, I have spent about 800 hours in GTA Online. I regularly log into the online world and play the new content like the crazy Cayo Perico heist. Tactical robberies are a lot of fun, especially with friends. The solo content is also worth it for earning money.
However, I do not recommend GTA Online for “everyone.”
Be prepared for a lot of grinding in GTA Online if you do not want to invest additional money. This is the only way to get the latest cars, tuning, and properties. Those playing on PC must also prepare for lobbies with modders. These can be “friendly” and just show off their crazy cars, or they can be very annoying and ruin your session.
If everything goes smoothly, GTA Online provides a nice gaming experience for solo players and especially for group players. Together, you drive in a convoy through the cities and speed down the highways, participate in tuner meetings with other players, or shoot each other in PvP modes. The variety in game modes is a significant strength of GTA Online. They range from classic circuits to rallies in car races. Armed modes include deathmatches, king of the hill matches, and battle royale-style matches.
If you enjoy trying out all content and are not averse to grinding, you should definitely check out GTA Online. Grab some friends and try out the many cooperative options.
Patrick Freese
Editor at MeinMMO
