GTA 5 Online: Mercenaries update what's new and is it worth it?

The GTA Online Mercenaries Update has just been released and in this guide, we’ll show you all of the new content added in this update some good some bad.  

Let's begin with a bad one. Currently, there is a Nerf to the Payphone hit. Payphone hits now have a 48-minute Cooldown period rather than a 20-minute, and most players are not happy with this update because one of the easiest ways to earn money in the game is through payphone hits. 

Inside the Avenger, a new operations terminal has been added with a price of $1.45 million. There you can start up six new missions including 3 new free mode missions that will pay you between $45, 000 and $65, 000. 

The Avenger has also received a number of improvements. The biggest one is that you don't have to own a facility to own it, which is fantastic.

You can now keep the Avenger in your hangar, which is maybe the best option given that it's the only location where you can equip it with the new weaponry. So in the hanger Workshop you can now add machine guns, missiles, a stealth mode when you're in autopilot, a missile lock-on Jammer as well as upgrade with an Avenger Thruster, which is a jet pack that's stored inside the Avenger and functions almost just like the Thruster that is already in the game, with the exception that it lacks any weaponry.

Regarding the hangar itself, it has been given a little bit of a buff. When you go to Source Cargo for your Hangar you can actually select an air or land mission. So the land missions are completely new set of source missions. I think those are obviously geared for players who aren't very good at flying or who just don't enjoy air missions. Rockstar has also added an entirely new set of land cell missions too. So the hangar will appear slightly different, much like Lupe and the Cargo Warehouse.

Now, there’s a Rooster in your hangar. You can go ahead and pay him $25,000, and he will source cargo for you. There's a 75% probability that he'll only return with one crate and a 25% chance that he'll bring back two crates, similar to how the existing crate warehouse operates.

The Source Cargo missions for your Hangar can now be started by dialing Ron on your phone. As a result of this, the hangar is now more in line with many other businesses in the game. This all began specifically with the Acid Lab when you could call mutt into Source Cargo from there.

A Mark II weapon workshop has also been added to the hangar, bringing it in line with many other businesses and vehicles that already have this.

The developer has introduced a new career progress feature to PS5 and Xbox X and S. This takes almost all of the content that's currently in the game and it gives you things to work towards. For almost every set of contact missions every business and a lot of other activities. 

There will be four levels of difficulties in the game, and by beating them, you can earn money and livery outfits as rewards.

Additionally, five new outfits have been added based on Michael Franklin, Trevor Claude, and Nico from Grand Theft Auto III and GTA IV. You can unlock these by completing a 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 tier 4 in the career progress.

You can unlock these by completing a 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 tier 4 in the career progress and if you want to get the Nico outfit, it'll probably take you months to do so.

At launch there have been seven new vehicles: Grotti Itali GTO Stinger TT, Maibatsu MonstroCiti, Declasse Walton L35, Vapid Ratel, Vapid Clique Wagon, F-160 Raiju and Mammoth Streamer 216.

The Tactical SMG is a new addition to the arsenal. This weapon, which you can obtain from the gun van, has a lot in common with the AP pistol in terms of stats. The primary distinction is that this one has 60 bullets in a MAG if you get the extended Mag as opposed to only 36 with the AP pistol.

There are more than 380 new clothing items in addition to two new hairstyles for men and one new hairstyle for women. The traditional Tick Tock haircut and Curtains are finally included in the game.

RC Bandito Time Trials have moved from weekly to daily and you can now choose a name for your actual product in the Acid business, and if you do so, you'll receive a 5% selling bonus.

It's good that you can finally delete Yung Ancestor from your contacts. 

You may now fully Sprint with the new hold to Sprint feature in the settings. Previously, you could jog through the casino, but now you can sprint, and this option isn't available in any other indoor areas. It is only the casino.

The payouts for a wide range of random activities and artifacts, including treasure hunts, hidden caches, drug vehicles, shipwrecks, and crime scenes, have been slightly boosted.

In the past, when you ask your personnel to deliver a car to your auto shop there were glitches that would always wreck the car - like, every single time and now it's no longer bugged. There is now a chance that they will deliver the car without damage and that you will receive full payment.

You can now claim all destroyed vehicles at once by calling Mors Mutual insurance. This option was formerly available but was disabled due to people exploiting the system to make money. It is now available again, and it only takes one click to claim all of your vehicles.

You can now utilize the Willard Eudora or the vintage Broadway taxi livery for cab service.

Any vehicles destroyed in contact missions will now be free to claim.

A new button that combines Securoserv and the Motorcycle Club is available as a Boss Option. Having Securoserv and Motorcycle Club right at the top instead of midway down the interaction menu makes things much simpler and actually minimizes the number of buttons you need to click.

You can now re-request the MOC, the Avenger or the Terrorbyte instead of having to do deliver it back to storage and then call it out again.

The range and the rate of fire in the laser and Hydra Jets, have been nerfed. 

Dispatch missions can now be started with one player now. 

Now, you may fast travel straight to flight school from your Hangar. This is really handy because you don't actually have to go into flight school, you can just basically fast travel down to the airport whenever you want. 

Now, when you're skydiving Tom Connors or English Dave will no longer call you. So those annoying deaths should no longer happen.

The Orbital Cannon no longer can be instantaneously reset or refunded. Grievers can't simply keep on targeting you again and over again. 

The payout has been increased for selected contact missions by 25%. These are the Gerald's Last Play and Super Yacht ones, and the payout for the treasure hunt and the collectibles has also been raised.

Rockstar remove 186 vehicles from the stores in GTA Online. They made this apparently favorable tweak to improve browsing efficiency. Fans are outraged because some of these vehicles are now restricted to GTA Plus subscribers.

The last change is the Vinewood car club, which has moved to the terminal. This is for GTA Plus members and they can use the interaction menu at any time to request any of the available vehicles; they are not even need to purchase them.