This week's drip fed DLC has arrived alongside an Adversary Mode exactly on schedule, buffing GTA Online's list of vehicles even further. While the newest addition isn't the Hunter, it's still a mean military machine, and it looks like it flew right out of an aerospace museum.
The Mammoth Mogul, not to be confused with the rather similar Tula, is the unholy fictional cross between two real-world planes: the Beechcraft (not "beachcraft", as the Mogul is not amphibious) Model-18 and the world's cutest warplane, the FMA AeMB.2 Bombi. It inherited only the turret section from the latter and literally everything else from the former.
The result is a powerful if tad overpriced aircraft. The Mogul has three seats, for the pilot, the co-pilot and the gunner. The co-pilot operates countermeasures while the gunner, logically, operates the turret, neither of which can be operated by the pilot, even when flying solo. At least, in theory — some players have reported a glitch allowing them occasional control over all systems.
Picture the scene. You're cruising low at 500 feet with a bogey on your six. Your turret man wheels round the guns, the roar of twin propellers in his ears, and cuts a ribbon of .50 cal holes right across their flank. As they fall out of the sky you bring her round, swoop low enough to light a Redwood off the burning wreckage, and make for the sunset. If losing the cops after a spot of petty larceny can be more fun than in a Mogul, we'd sure like to hear about it.
Beyond the turret, the Mogul boasts fixed forward facing gun placements as well as a bomb bay, which can be added as an upgrade. The frontal gun position and the turret can both be upgraded to have dual guns as well. Additionally, the livery can be altered in the hangar.
Performance-wise the Mogul might be a small letdown considering it doesn't pack that much of a punch in spite of its looks. The frontal guns are peashooters even when upgraded and the turret can only be used with a gunner, and its range of motion is rather limited. While not made of paper, the plane cannot take too much punishment either, which coupled with the relatively low speed and maneuverability make it vulnerable to explosives.
The price of the plane is another drawback. It goes for GTA$ 3,125,000 at full price and GTA$ 2,350,000 when discounted, both of which are quite high for a plane of this performance. Had the trade price been the full price and the discount been lesser, we'd be more partial to it, but for this amount of cash, we'd expect a better plane.
A new Adversary Mode also comes to GTA Online, bringing a concept which is something we never before knew we needed. After a mainly plane-themed major update, it really does seem like a logical choice — capture the flag, but in the air.
Enter Stockpile. It takes the basic concept of the smuggling missions and alters it to fit a competitive setup. Teams need to capture cargo and deliver it to their drop-off point. Shooting down an enemy carrying cargo will result in their load being dropped for you to plunder, and you can always raid enemy drop-off points to steal their advantage.
Stockpile fits into the category of Adversary Modes which mash together existing game mechanics in atypical ways to achieve a new kind of mode. While on the one hand these modes might feel familiar, that isn't necessarily a drawback, and operating within given restrictions often brings out the creativity from Rockstar's designers. Something like Stockpile, which is CTF with planes, works better both on paper and in practice than some of their wilder concepts.
To boost the popularity of Stockpile, if only for a week, Rockstar has slapped a double RP and GTA$ promotion on the mode, so hop into any Stockpile map or start up the playlist to earn double rewards. If you have a thing for smuggling, Ron's contact missions are also dealing out twice as many rewards while the event lasts. Going out on a limb based on past events, this will likely be extended next week, but don't take that as a guarantee.
Rockstar also packed a lot of things into this week's discounts. Every single thing that got a markdown has been reduced by 25%, and these items include engine upgrades, armor upgrades, flight and air racing suits, aircraft handling upgrades, mobile operations center cabs, aircraft weapons upgrades, the APC and the Progen T20.
Next week we won't be getting an Adversary mode, provided Rockstar follows their pattern, and hopefully one of the more anticipated vehicles like the Vigilante or the Lazer will be released. Check back to see what the next DLC has in store for GTA Online.
