There's no telling what’s in the water over at Rockstar North, but science definitely needs to put some money into researching it. It could probably be distilled into a magical elixir, one that instantly makes even the laziest of us perform at 1000% in our jobs.
What other explanation could there be for Grand Theft Auto V? At the time of its original release in 2013, the Hype Train had been barrelling along for some time (it was a new Grand Theft Auto game, after all), and it arrived on shelves with Earth-shattering force. Sales records were crushed into sad, defeated hunks of Spam.
In fact, they still are being crushed into sad, defeated hunks of Spam. Did you know that it was the 11th best-selling game of 2018, despite being over five years old?
What’s the secret to the game’s success, then? Really, it all boils down to one thing: there’s an absurd amount of things to do. Rockstar has been fantastic with rolling out regular free content for Grand Theft Auto Online, and it’s a far cry from the mess it was when it first launched (because the whole galaxy tried to at once as soon as possible and the system buckled under the pressure).
Even if you’re playing, solo, though, Los Santos is one humongous playground to explore. But how meticulously have you searched it since 2013? Do you own prized pieces like the Space Docker and Dunce Hat? Have you tracked down the elusive Kanye West? Let’s take a look at some of the rarest items in the game, and how you can get your hands on them.
The Jetpack
That’s right, friends. If you’ve been out of the loop for quite a while, you might think that the jetpack is nothing more than an urban legend. Largely because, for such a long time, it was. Back when the game was still new and canny players were busting the whole thing wide open, there were all kinds of theories as to how to unlock the jetpack. The mystery of Mt. Chiliad was thought to be the key to finding it, and so it was… in the online segment of the game.
As of the Doomsday Heist update, you can travel inside that secret bunker and actually get yourself that impractical flying device you’ve always wanted. It’s called the Thruster.
The Dunce Hat
Now, if you’ve spent more than about an eighth of a nanosecond playing the average online game, you’ll have noticed one thing: random players online can be super, super objectionable. There are the trolls, the griefers, the spammers, the rapping-along-with-Eminem-down-their-mic-ers… it can be an all-around bad time, that’s for sure.
This being Grand Theft Auto, of course, you’ve got to expect the average player to be an extra dose of unpleasant on top of that. This is why, early in the game’s lifespan, Rockstar implemented the bad sports system, which saw repeat offenders lumped into a pool with others of their ilk. They were also – hilariously – equipped with a dunce hat.
The Giant Taco Truck
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment. Yes, it’s fun to engage in precisely-planned and tactical heists with skilled players, but do you know what’s even more fun? Forgetting all of that and just messing around on the highways of Los Santos with ridiculous vehicles.
High-speed chases in tractors, buses, and fire trucks are what life is all about, right? If you really want to go for it, though, you’re going to want that huge taco truck that’s hidden away in the game.
It’ll spawn in a secretive location north of Sandy Shores, between the hours of 1 pm and 2 pm.
The Spaceship Parts
For as long as Grand Theft Auto V has existed, it’s been plagued by odd rumors about aliens. Those wacky funsters at Rockstar have hidden all manner of extra-terrestrial easter eggs throughout the game (more on that later), and the whole thing culminates in a little sidequest for the most dedicated players to solve: finding the Spaceship Parts.
You can start your search after completing the Fame or Shame mission in the main story, which unlocks the Far Outmission and sets you off on your journey. There are 50 parts to find in all, scattered across the map in the most unlikely places. How to find them? For one thing, you follow the glow and rhythmic humming they emit, and for another, you check out this handy-dandy guide (complete with map) from IGN.
The Space Docker
As you can imagine, if you’re not following a detailed guide, it sure can be tough to hunt down all 50 of those Spaceship Parts. Even if you are, it’s a bit of a slog. Do you the hunt for all of those hidden photo ops in Marvel’s Spider-Man? It definitely was not a good time.
What’s your reward for getting all of those Spaceship Parts? That’s the real question. The answer, if you didn’t know, is the Space Docker. This super-unconventional vehicle looks like a regular dune buggy, albeit one that Doc Brown has added all manner of enhancements and doohickeys to. It has the unique ability to briefly ‘glide’ if driven over a jump or ramp.
The P-996 LAZER
Now, there are two things we all know about top-secret government bases. For one thing, they’re sure to be home to a whole array of neat toys and forbidden knowledge that we’re never, ever supposed to know about (they’ve probably got the answer to why our partners leave stuff next to the dishwasher rather than inside it in there). For another, they’re going to enthusiastically defend those secrets.
So, you want that sweet-looking military jet? Good luck with that. The guards of Fort Zancudo take their job very seriously. As seriously as Arnold Schwarzenegger took his job of rescuing his daughter at the end of Commando, and with just as many explosions.
Prior to the P-996 LAZER Week (after which, they were available to buy), it was one heck of a dangerous ordeal to try and steal one of these.
Kanye West
That’s right. Never mind dunce hats, super-fancy military jets, or any of those sorts of things. As it turns out, one of the rarest secrets to find in Grand Theft Auto V is… Kanye West himself.
That’s right. The rapper, man-scarf seller, and social media wiseman has never been officially confirmed to be in the game, but many players have encountered an NPC that looks shockingly like him. A random spawn, he could appear anywhere in your game at any time. Possibly singing Stronger or Gold Digger or something, though that’s not been confirmed.
Keep an eye out for him on the streets of Los Santos.
UFOs
As we’ve already seen, the game is rife with alien references and sci-fi influences. You’d almost expect to see a boy riding a bicycle right up there in the darn sky, with an odd little lumpen creature in the basket.
After completing the main game 100% (no easy feat, as we’ll also see later), those references become much more implicit. Less obscure easter eggs, more huge UFOs right there in your darn face.
After getting that elusive 100%, flying saucers will start to spawn in select areas of the map, under particular conditions.
The Kraken
With the predominantly concrete jungle feel of Los Santos, you’ll probably spend much of your time up there on land. The city is huge, after all, and the opportunities for water exploration are pretty darn limited in comparison.
This isn’t to say that there’s not a lot to see down there, though. Underwater exploration is an intriguing distraction, and there are two vehicles you can use to do so: the submersible and the Kraken.
Both are pains to acquire, but the Kraken makes the list because (if you’re not a returning player) it requires you to complete Franklin’s Wildlife Photography Challenge to unlock. This is one of the more obscure sidequests, unlocked after completing the first Strangers and Freaks mission.
It’s quite the challenge, requiring you to get Snapmatic shots of everything from a seagull to a mountain lion.
The Halloween Livestream T-Shirts
If there’s one thing that dedicated fans both love (when they manage to get them) and hate (when they don’t), it’s time-limited event content.
Holidays are a big cause of this. Even Super Mario Odyssey got in on the Halloween fun last year, alongside so many other games. As we reported over on The Richest, Rockstar once released some very exclusive Halloween-themed shirts, which have left fans feeling all kinds of ways.
They were available only through one method: the Rockstar Broadcast Stream GTA Online T-shirt Cannon. As a result, they’re among the very rarest items available in the game. They aren’t available any more full stop, in fact. If you weren’t a lucky winner, you’re out of… luck.
