GTA Online is at times a fight against unbeatable odds - especially when you encounter a hacker or cheater.
Even players who don't use exploits, however, can bring vehicles that an average player simply can't fight. And these tools are often used to harass weaker players.
Looking ahead at Rockstar's massive upcoming GTA Online Summer Update coming, the company is looking to try and fix these issues while adding plenty of new content as well.
So what can be done?
The Problems with GTA Online
Power in GTA Online is massively stacked to the very top of the line equipment across weapons and vehicles. So much so that many other players can't compete in any way.
HEAVY ARTILLERY: The Buzzard is one of the many incredibly powerful vehicles in GTA Online players can use to grief weaker players
In a game where players fight random others to achieve goals, this means a lack of balance between newer, weaker players, and players who bring unbeatable equipment to the table.
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Some of this equipment includes the following:
- Ruiner 2000 - A car which is armored so heavily it takes 20+ explosives to destroy it, and has homing missiles on each side.
- TM-O2 Khanjali - An armored tank with an upgradable railgun cannon, tank cannon, grenade launchers.
- P-996 LAZER - A fighter jet with enough firepower to destroy heavily armored vehicles with ease, homing missles that go for 10 seconds, extremely easy to use and responsive motion controls, and speed matching the top 3 vehicles in the game.
- FH-1 Hunter - A military attack helicopter with homing missiles that can be continuously fired without reloading, barrage rocket pods with infinite ammo, a base mounted machine gun controlled by the co-pilot, and 4 different attachable bomb options.
While these vehicles are price-gated, at the top level of the community, money is no issue. And even worse, many cheaters have already broken the in-game economy from day 1, artificially creating cash with glitches.
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This means you have no way of knowing if the player griefing you even earned the vehicle to begin with.
Can Rockstar fix these problems?
While Rockstar has fought back against these problems by taking action against "hundreds of thousands of players caught violating community rules" both in GTA Online and Red Dead Redemption Online, some of these issues simply aren't solvable.
DANGER AROUND EVERY CORNER: Sometimes driving the streets of Los Santos can be as dangerous as entering an airbase
Player griefing will always be a part of the game with such powerful tools available to the top players. As a side effect, this can ruin the experiences of new players before they begin.
And ask any PC player - hackers aren't going anywhere.
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Rockstar may be looking to combat these problems with its massive Summer Update, but only so much can be done.
GEAR UP: If you want to fight back against the strongest players in GTA Online, you'll need the cash to do it
Lowering prices could be a start, enabling newer players to be able to catch up faster. But this would also take from the allure of "making it big" in the game's economy for players not abusing exploits.
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Initiating another major ban wave on cheating accounts would also be beneficial. But these players will usually find their way back. And Rockstar can only spot more of these accounts if players commit to reporting them more often.
What's to come in the Summer Update?
At the end of the day, GTA V is approaching its seventh year anniversary. No matter how major the Summer Update is, there will still be core problems in GTA Online.
THE WAY OF THE FUTURE: What will the Summer Update bring to GTA Online?
The good news though is that while the Summer Update may not be able to end exploits and griefing, it may leave a dent. And there will be plenty of new and exciting content added.
This content will also be a huge look into how Rockstar will approach the future of the series. Especially for the standalone versions of GTA Online, and next-gen release.