Summary
Grand Theft Auto Online’s Vapid Liberator is in danger of being an icon of the FOMO mentality in gaming. While it’s one of the game’s more striking vehicles, its scarcity may be overshadowing its performance. While its appearances have become something of a tradition forGrand Theft Auto Online, it could be treated better than it currently is. As it stands, the Liberator is an impressive truck that suffers greatly from the restrictions that players have to face in acquiring one. Despite how cool it is, it’s a stern reminder of a worrisome trait of modern gaming.
FOMO is most easily applied toBattle Passes such asFortnite’s, but it applies to any sort of limited time event. FOMO stands for “Fear Of Missing Out”, and it describes that attitude perfectly. When something is only offered for a limited time, a player can feel more pressure to get it, even if they may have passed on the item in question normally. This is a rather common sight in live-service games, with many cosmetics and other items in various games being offered only for the duration of an event. Afterwards, they become unavailable until the event returns, or they are released through other means.
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GTA Online’s Liberator and Players Suffer From its Limited Availability
The Vapid Liberator will make players thankful forGrand Theft Auto Online’s 50-car garage. The Liberator is a monster truck decorated with an American flag-themed paint job, making it stand out no matter where it’s driven. In addition to being as tough as one would expect a monster truck to be, it’s also surprisingly fast, with excellent off-road ability thanks to its massive tires as well as solid handling. Its performance is actually comparable to, or even better than many smaller cars. The only downside to the Liberator is that it’s unavailable to purchase for a good majority of the year.
Unfortunately, players only have the opportunity to buy a Liberator of their own duringGTA Online’s Independence Day event, which typically runs for about a week, give or take a few days. This is even harsher than most limited-time deals due to the strict timeline, and that makes the FOMO effect regarding the Liberator even stronger. The fact that it’s such a fantastic vehicle can also make it feel like a borderline pay-to-win scenario. Considering its high price tag, players either have to shell out lots of in-game cash, use Shark cards to afford it, or go without the truck for another year.
While the Liberator is tied to the Independence Day event due to its patriotic theme, it doesn’t need to remain off-limits. Being alimited-edition item inGTA Onlineis more frustrating than beneficial, and loosening those restrictions could be a good call. One solution would be to make the Liberator available for purchase at all times, possibly with a discount during the Independence Day event. Another option would be to make a buyable version of the Liberator without the patriotic motif that could be permanently available instead. Either option would deal with the Liberator’s biggest problem while still keeping the vehicle’s ties to the event.
Keeping the Liberator’s availability restricted to less than a month per year does nothing but keep a good vehicle out of the hands of players. The truck is anexpensive purchase inGrand Theft Auto Online, which already gives players a significant obstacle in acquiring it. Instead, the Independence Day event becomes a prominent example of the Fear of Missing Out where the Liberator is concerned, since players know how quickly it will disappear again. The Vapid Liberator is a good vehicle that shouldn’t be stuck asGrand Theft Auto Online’s biggest example of FOMO.
Grand Theft Auto Onlineis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
