Get yourself primed and ready for GTA Online Heists with these Rockstar tips

Hot damn, are we excited for Heists in GTA Online. With the long-awaited feature only three days away on consoles (and a little more for you PC aficionados), Rockstar has dropped a few tips and tricks to help you turn up the Heat and channel your inner De Niro.

Choosing a Heist Leader is the first biggie to consider: “...the Heist Leader is going to need to be at least rank 12 and own a high-end apartment with a planning board in order to co-ordinate the crime,” says the post on Rockstar’s official site. It turns out all Heist progress is saved to Heist Leader’s profile only, so make sure you pick someone you can trust with all that tasty loot.

Communication will play a vital role when on a job, says Rockstar, so be sure to dust off that headset before heading into action. Each member of the crew will be assigned two roles on each gig, so playing to your strengths (and your stats) will make all the difference. “It's important for all players to know their strengths and, in turn, for the Heist Leader to assign accordingly.”

Looking to score big? Better have the right toys for the job then! You’ll need to buy your own weapons, explosives, vehicles, etc for each Heist - just make sure you study the target and pick the right gear. “Silencers on guns and RPGs in general are especially useful for certain Heists while four-door vehicles with added armor can come in handy if you like to keep your friends close.”

GTA Online Heists will also include Elite Challenges that come with big, but risky, payoffs. These include a $1,000,000 bonus for completing all Heists, including Setups, in the correct order; another $1,000,000 for completing them all with the same team and a whopping $10,000,000 for completing all Heists and Setups in order, with the same team and without the loss of a single life. You game?

GTA Online Heists hit consoles on 10 March. The PC version will launch along with GTA 5 on 14 April.