Heists are perhaps the most impressive feature of GTA Online and function as a cornerstone for the game, both on account of the in-depth gameplay and sizeable rewards they bring and because they give players the thrill of carrying out a crime movie-level job. It took Rockstar almost two years to add this essential feature to GTA Online, though, and Red Dead Online players have had to wait even longer. But almost three years after its launch, Red Dead Online: Blood Money is finally bringing in GTA Heist-style missions - at least in a sense.
Rockstar's handling of Red Dead Online has been hit-and-miss since launch. One of the most requested features has been something akin to GTA Online's impressive Heists, and the new Crimes system in RDO: Blood Money should at least give a sampling of just that. With continual progression towards one final mission, Crimes could breathe new life into the frontier.
Rockstar is still rolling out more news about next week's update, but what it has revealed thus far showcases what will hopefully be an expansive new mission system gets players' hands dirty in jobs for Saint Denis' elite crime syndicate. Similar to how Heists in GTA Online slowly expand, completing Crimes eventually opens up Opportunities in Red Dead Online: Blood Money, introducing new missions with each step. Crimes give players the chance commit complex robberies, hold up stagecoaches, shakedown debtors, and more, potentially making the game feel even more like the Wild West.
New Crimes & Opportunities In Red Dead Online: Blood Money
The new content update will center around working for Guido Montelli, underboss to notorious crime lord Angelo Bronte, and helping him retrieve valuable assets known as Capitale. Players will be able to start these jobs without paying anything upfront, a noticeable change from Roles in Red Dead Online and all of the Heists in GTA Online. Importantly, they will also be available to do entirely alone or with friends. The ability to these missions regardless of group size is a huge step in the right direction. While RDO players had to wait some time to get missions of this scale, it does seem like Rockstar is taking what it's learned from GTA Online's Heists to develop content for RDO.
As players acquire enough Capitale, they'll unlock the extensive Opportunities missions that revolve around Bronte's battle with a local politician. Only one of the Opportunities will be available at launch, with two more coming later, but they will likely give players a bit of the GTA Online Heist setup experience. Rockstar describes them like so:
"Each Opportunity can reveal various approaches to the task at hand - listen into nearby conversations or look out for important targets to uncover new paths to completion and weaken this politician’s position by bringing each of the three Jewels of the West to Martelli."
Although vague, working through various Crimes - including "multi-stage robberies" - to build up to an Opportunity with multiple approaches sounds a lot like a Heist. Regardless of how Rockstar rolls out the additional two Opportunities, these new missions already promise potential fun for Red Dead Online players. RDO could certainly use GTA-level heists the likes Diamond Casino or Cayo Perico. While Blood Money does not appear to be anything quite that scale, it will hopefully still yield major progress. Fans will know if Red Dead Online is headed in the GTA Online direction when the update launches on July 13.