Following an announcement, a leak, a tell-tale shortened event, server downtime and finally a revealing tweet, the latest GTA Online DLC, Import/Export is now live globally on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Rockstar decided to take the game back to its roots by expanding a larger game mechanic around the concept of steal cars. Theft and Auto have returned to Grand Theft Auto.
Import/Export's primary gameplay mechanic is the stealing of high-end vehicles to be later sold at a premium. Joining Executives and Other Criminals and Further Adventures in Finance and Felony (as evidenced by the same dude on the artwork with that iconic scar and typical mafioso face), Import/Export is expanding VIP and CEO opportunities in GTA Online.
While it's too early to properly gauge this, being part of the CEO metaseries, chances are high-end vehicle selling will be a solid source of high-income, being profitable enough to compete with heists and crate missions. To gain access to these vehicle stealing and selling missions, you'll need to pick up a new vehicle warehouse. These work in the same way as regular warehouses, however instead of contraband, you'll be storing stolen vehicles in these locations.
One helpful Reddit user, o0Narako0o, posted an image with all of the warehouse locations marked in Los Santos, as well as their prices. As we predicted, jumping into the vehicular black market will be no cheap affair, and you'll need quite a bit of starting capital to make the necessary investments. Vehicle warehouses start at one and a half million and range all the way to 2,850,000.
There is a total of 9 vehicle warehouses to choose from, all with the same capacity. Location matters the most when dealing with these jobs, so the most expensive warehouse up in Murrieta Heights might not actually be the best. These warehouses come outfitted with a repair shop, should your stolen rides get damaged on the way there.
As suggested by the announcement post, the missions to acquire these high-value vehicles won't be your typical low-effort Simeon assignments. You can just grab some random stock ride of the street and make millions, after all. No, the money in Import/Export comes in from unique vehicles that are sought after by sellers with some deep pockets.
Since you can't just get to that crispy green without any effort put into it, the missions to steal vehicles in Import/Export have been built to be fairly complex and challenging, in order to warrant a reward that rivals the income gained from crate missions and heists. While the exact nature of these missions haven't been revealed yet, we know one involves stealing a police helicopter, while the other requires you to boost the keys while at a party.
It's clear that Import/Export is closely entwined with Further Adventures in Finance and Felony. Many of the systems used by the newest GTA Online DLC are the same ones introduced earlier this year, and it's clear that the vehicles CEOs have been relying on up until now will still come in handy. Players have already pointed out that using the Cargobob to steal the designated vehicles makes things easier.
The repair shop in your new vehicle warehouses will be used for more than simply repairing those pesky bullet-holes. While we said that simply boosting any crap on wheels from the street isn't the point of this DLC, technically you can do that — and sell it for pocket change. The real cash, however, comes from Specialist and Show Room deals, which required the acquisition of only the highest grade vehicles, which you'll need to modify in exchange for a greater reward and appetizing up-front payment.
As with crates, you can increase your efficiency by delivering multiple — up to four — vehicles at a time, however, you also run a bigger risk as other players and NPC enemies will likely try to put a dent in your operation. It's advisable to always undertake delivery missions with your associates backing you up with ample firepower.
Those spiffy special vehicles hinted at in the announcement also have a unique way of being unlocked. As you deliver and sell more and more stolen vehicles, unique missions for the special vehicles will be unlocked. Completing these missions successfully will knock a whole million off the price of said specials, which otherwise cost exorbitant sums. The first vehicle, a buggy with a ramp, is unlocked after selling 4 stolen cars, and sells for 3 million without the mission discount.
As it turns out, the maximum number of vehicles we can own has been increased to a larger ceiling than we thought. While the all new 60 slot executive garages that can be added to your offices were thought to boost personal vehicle storage to 120 plus 10 bikes in the clubhouse, it now turns out that special vehicles will get their own garages in the vehicle warehouses. With 8 special vehicles, that means that with the launch of this DLC, the maximum number of vehicles one can store in GTA Online has been increased to 138, compared to that 70 yesterday.
Speaking of vehicles, four new non-special cars have also been added to GTA Online. Considering the vehicle hauls we got used to after Cunning Stunts and Bikers, that number seems awfully lacking, however, based on the leak, there is a whole lot more coming in the next few weeks via smaller DLC expansions.
The new vehicles are two supers, the Pegassi Tempesta and the Ocelot Penetrator (yeah, we get it, Rockstar, ha ha), a bike, the Principe Diablous and the Annis Elegy Retro. The second two are also eligible for customization at Benny's Original Motorworks, marking the first two-wheeler to get this treatment. You can also purchase an add-on auto shop for your executive garages, meaning you don't even need to leave the comfort of your showroom to upgrade or customize your vehicles with Benny's services.
A new Adversary Mode, Turf Wars, has also been added to GTA Online. Up to four teams may compete in the vehicle-based arena mode, where you'll need to expand your territory by painting tiles your team's color. This can be done by driving over them, while protecting your turf from opponents using powerups and missiles.
Another long-requested addition to GTA Online is the option to change the appearance of your character. We don't mean clothes or tattoos here — we mean the actual face of the avatar. Using the service costs 100,000 in-game cash, and there is no limit to how many times you may use the feature.
Rockstar has also begun bringing their large selection of stunt props to different walks of the game. Recently, they added said stunt props to the other versions of the content creator, meaning you can make your deathmatches all the deadlier. Now, the props have been added to Director Mode, making your dream of circus videos a reality.
Matchmaking has also seen a surprising improvement on PlayStation 4. With many modern online games lacking the option to party up with friends and join sessions together, Sony rolled out the "Play Together" feature, which ensured that groups wouldn't be split up while playing. As of today, GTA Online supports this feature on PS4.
Another cool but unexpected bonus is an update to the Deadline Outfit we've all come to love. In the interaction menu, you can now select a preference for the state of the illumnation on the outfit. The options include "off", "on", "flash" and "pulse". Flash periodically turns the lighting on and off, while pulse sees it fade in and out.
The new DLC release has also brought with it a new event, adding discounts and promotions to GTA Online alongside the new content. In order to get your organization prepared for stealing those high-value rides, bullet-proof tires, vehicle armor, body armor and all ammo is discounted through the 19th of December, while both versions of the Volito helicopter are also 25% off.
The new DLC also kicked off two neat competitions for those of you who want to engage in some PvP in the real world. The Rockstar Editor contest tasks fans with putting together the best edited, shot, cut and stylized video they can that showcases the havoc that may be wreaked with all the new special vehicles added to the game in Import/Export.
The grand prize for this competition is, like always, a Rockstar Editor trophy, a replica director's chair, a rare GTA 5 varsity jacket, a $100 Rockstar Warehouse gift card as well as a unique in-game loot pack. The competition doesn't have many rules, but keep in mind that the video has to be between 2 and 5 minutes, and must only use the Rockstar Editor. No mods or other editing software is allowed.
A snapmatic contest has also been announced in honor of the DLC. Instead of exclusively focusing on the special vehicles, this competition rather tasks entrants with capturing what defines Import/Export best in a single image. As always, five winners will be selected and rewarded with 1 million GTA $.
Last but not least, fans looking to grab some physical merch should keep an eye out for the Social Club Events Page, where they can enter the Import/Export sweepstakes. Rockstar will be giving away some rare GTA 5 apparel and accessories. And stickers. Never forget the stickers.
Have you already dove into GTA Online's newest DLC?
