Grand Theft Auto Online’s latest DLC San Andreas Mercenaries released on Tuesday, June 13 for all versions. There is now an auto sprint feature and Mors Mutual Insurance’s phone contact added a “reclaim all” option. The amazing new F-160 Raiju jet is here too. With it comes another notable change to the explosive cannon weapon on all jets, which are now nerfed. This makes these vehicles less devastating in the hands of griefers, but still fun to dogfight with. Among some positive changes comes one of the worst decisions Rockstar has ever made though. 188 cars are no longer available on in-game websites as purchasable options. For this reason alone, San Andreas Mercenaries is one of the worst GTA Online updates the game has ever received.
The day-one content for this update is decent outside of so many cars getting the axe. But not good enough to distract the community from having to part with their favorite vehicles for the foreseeable future. On top of this, players have a list of four underwhelming drip-feed vehicles planned for the coming months.
The Entity, Infernus, and GP1 were all removed in GTA Online’s last update
“Lesser-Used Vehicles Will Be Removed From In-Game Websites to Streamline The Browsing Experience.”
On June 8, Rockstar posted an announcement to the GTA Online Newswire detailing a plethora of “Experience Improvements”. This was a page of vague patch notes giving outlines of the features to come. The YouTube community was excited to gain access to new positive gameplay features. Like the implementation of a career progress feature and an easier way to become a CEO or MC Club President. Body armor now has a “buy all” feature at Ammunation, and the Avenger has new upgrades.
Aside from these things, the change shrouded in the most speculation was a bullet point from the “Vehicle Changes” tab. It reads, “Lesser-used vehicles will be removed from in-game websites to streamline the browsing experience.” This ended up being the thing that ruined the update. Because there is a strong chance that any of the 188 “lesser-used vehicles” removed may be one of your favorites in GTA Online. This is a list of vehicles that are no longer available for purchase after San Andreas Mercenaries.
The Benefactor Streiter is another car that has been removed in this update
How to Get Removed Cars Post Update
The cars are no longer available to buy but have not been completely taken out of the game. And there are plenty of options for obtaining the cars on the list after the release of San Andreas Mercenaries. Though most of these methods are much more work than buying them from a website. Players can win these vehicles from the LS Car Meet or off of the podium in the GTA Diamond Casino. Purchase them from vehicle bays in the auto shop or from friends in the LS Car Meet for current-gen players. Simeon and the Premium Deluxe Motorsports dealership will sell these removed cars weekly. As will the newly added Vinewood Car Club. A location that is only functional if the player is a GTA+ subscriber. This seems like Rockstar using scarcity tactics to increase demand for their subscription service which costs six USD monthly.
Project Overthrow/ Avenger Upgrades
San Andreas Mercenaries is headlined by a new set of missions accessible through a $1,450,000 upgrade to the Avenger aircraft. The six new unlocked missions play like auto shop contracts and their payouts are abismal.
$250,000 is what you earn from completing all six missions. And after spending $3,450,000 on the Avenger just to own it, it is necessary to spend another $1,450,000 on the upgrade to do the missions. And if the player chooses to buy the new armor, weapons, and thruster upgrades for this aircraft the cost will get well into $7,000,000. All six jobs take a little over an hour to complete and with their laughable payout, it doesn’t seem to be worth it.
The Avenger has new Upgrades on Warstock Cash and Carry and in the Hangar
A good reason to buy the upgrade is if you already have the Avenger and plan on purchasing the Raiju. Because completing all six new missions results in the player unlocking the trade price for the jet. ($5,141,250)
San Andreas Mercenaries Drip-feed Vehicles
It’s also worth mentioning the drip-feed list for this DLC is weak when compared to GTA Online’s 2022 Summer update, The Criminal Enterprises. Criminal Enterprises had its fair share of drip-feed cars no one asked for like the Bf Weevil Custom and Dinka Postlude. But also gave us awesome vehicles like the Obey 10F, Declasse Draugr, and Vigero ZX. This time around we have a cast of very random and uninteresting vehicles. And there are only six, four cars, and two bicycles. Well, E-bikes.
As of Sept. 12, the newest car added to GTA online is the Buffalo EVX, a clean rendition of the new Dodge Charger Hellcat EV concept. This car has an HSW Upgrade and is an Imani Tech vehicle, but still is not competitive with the Vigero ZX for racing in the muscle class.
This is one of the four cars. The second is the Bravado Hotring Hellfire, a third Hotring stock car designed after the Bravado Gauntlet Hellfire. Not in the game yet. The Penaud La Coureuse is a rally car from a new manufacturer. Which has been released. This car looks like the 2022 Renault R5 Turbo 3E Performance which is rather nice looking. But it is an electric car that suffers a low top speed. And is expensive because it is an HSW and Imani Tech vehicle like the EVX. In October players can expect to gain access to the Albany Brigham. A wagon modeled after the Ghostbusters car from the original 1984 film. Which is a pretty cool addition for the Halloween GTA event week.
Two electric bikes are also in the game which came with new cycle time trials. The new Cycle time trials are daily like the RC Bandito Time trial and pay $50,000 for passing.
The Future of GTA Online After San Andreas Mercenaries
Yeezy-inspired sneakers are now available for purchase in clothing stores
Outside of gaining access to the new Tactical SMG, the Raiju and Grotti Itali GTO Stinger TT, plus shoes that look like Yeezy 350s on day one. No positive change from the San Andreas Mercenaries update takes precedence over the removal of 188 Vehicles.
It is a shame to see how Rockstar is choosing to incentivize GTA+. Even after the decision that was made to raise the prices of certain vehicles and give GTA+ members extra money through Shark Card purchases earlier this year. It is understandable that Rockstar is probably hard at work developing GTAVI. Fans also give extra leeway to Rockstar due to the caliber of their development. This company created games like RDR2, GTA: SA, and GTA Online which is still fun to play. But it makes no sense for a game about cars to remove over 20 percent of its cars. Hopefully, a new DLC comes earlier than planned to bring highly requested content like the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk or Lamborghini Aventador. Or a patch to put some vehicles on the list of 188 back on their respective websites.
