One of the best aspects of Bikers, however, is that unlike CEO missions, Club contracts can be done in a private lobby. If you want to try out the new content without having to worry about griefers, go right ahead. Most new missions added to GTA Online in Bikers can be completed solo, and they pay pretty well. Solo grinding these missions in a private lobby is a guaranteed method of racking up cash without having to worry about a Hydra raining on your parade.
Bikers Businesses
One of the other features that arrived with Bikers was the inclusion of new clandestine businesses. These businesses offer new ways to acquire money in GTA Online, and can be bought via the Open Road website accessible from the clubhouse laptop. These businesses include weed, forgeries, counterfeit cash, meth and cocaine.
These businesses work a bit like more active versions of the warehouses tied to CEO work. These businesses can also be attacked by rival gangs, however they have a more proactive role in adding digits to your GTA Online bank account. The businesses can be upgraded with more security, making it less likely that you'll be attacked, as well as more staff and better equipment to make the business more efficient.
Like the black market ventures of Finance and Felony, these businesses also require an up-front investment to get them off the ground and profitable. The more you're willing to sink into the business, the quicker and more it will pay out. Being one of the best revenue streams, these businesses rival the profitability of Heists or Crate missions.
To run a business, you need to supply it with Stock, wait for the workers to produce the product, and then sell the product. Stock can be either bought or stolen, and selling the product takes place in a mission. For maximum efficiency, we suggest stealing stock instead of buying it, even though it takes more time. While the production timer is ticking, you're free to go off and complete other missions.
Bikers Vehicles
Of course, one of the main attractions of this DLC was always the prospect of new bikes, and damn, has it delivered. A grand total of 13 new bikes have been added to the game via Bikers, including vehicles of all kinds, ranging from modern sports bikes, through classic choppers all the way to trikes. The full list of new vehicles is as follows:
Bikers also adds a nice little feature which extenuates the special bond between bike and biker. Whenever you're using your most frequently ridden bike, you will get a damage and health regeneration buff, increasing both.
Bikers Weapons
The update has brought a whole lot more to GTA Online than just bikes in terms of items, though. Seven all new weapons have been added to the game, including three new melee weapons which you can use to devastating effect while riding your bike. That said, a number of long-range weapons have also been added which are also pretty destructive. The full list of new weapons is as follows:
Slipstream Adversary Mode
GTA Online: Bikers has also brought a new Adversary Mode to the game, however this is bound to be a pretty controversial one. In the past, we've touched upon the fact that the community pretty much unanimously despises the slipstream mechanic used in racing. Well, Rockstar decided to go ahead and build an all new Adversary Mode entirely upon that mechanic.
Named Slipstream — obviously — the new Mode focuses on teams of racers, riding bikes, to pass through checkpoints simultaneously while catching up with one another, and speed-boosting by their opponents using the much hated slipstream mechanic.
Slipstream is basically an over-exaggeration of an actual phenomenon in physics, where the air resistance in decreased when moving close behind another vehicle ahead of you. 7 Slipstream maps have been added with the update.
Bikers Bonuses & Contest
The release of the new DLC also, as per tradition, brings with it a new week of special bonuses in GTA Online. Simply logging in, which I don't doubt you'd do anyway, will net you a sweet shirt and hoodie, while buying a Western Nightblade will also unlock a limited edition promotional shirt.
There are also discounts on offer, including rebates on body armor, ammo and weapon tints. Ensure that you never run out of bullets when you're in a tight spot with your fellow bikers with a generous 25% discount on Drum and Box magazines while the event lasts.
With the new event, a new Premium Race has also been designated. In keeping with the theme of bikes, the race this time around is Trench 1 locked to bikes-only. This is a great way for the slickest of two-wheeled racers to take home a massive 100k as their prize for coming in at first place.
Instead of waiting it out like in the past, Rockstar has decided to speed things up and just announce the Snapmatic Contest associated with this DLC right off the bat. Almost all major GTA Online updates brought with them a Snapmatic competition with a GTA $ 1,000,000 grand prize some time after launch.
If you've got a thing for biker culture, but also have a keen sense for photography, your task is to showcase the features and content of Bikers in just one shot. Five winners will be selected, whose winning shots will be displayed on the Rockstar Newswire, earning their creators some fame.
Amid all of this Bikers-themed goodness, Rockstar has managed to sneak in some other neat changes and tweaks to the game with the DLC. Beyond the numerous bugfixes that make the world of GTA Online all the more enjoyable, they have added the option to make Stunt Races non-contact, thus answering a long-standing community plea. They've also made the Western Bagger purchasable, and you can now race with destroyed or impounded personal vehicles.
Overall, Bikers turned out to be everything and more than what any of us could have hoped for. Granted, the DLC didn't bring back a fan favorite GTA character as a contact, but it added more than enough other missions and content for that to be excusable. Between the motherload of missions, the 17 new bikes and the new businesses, there is plenty here to sink our teeth into.
