Every now and then, Rockstar Games swings by to drop a content update for Grand Theft Auto Online players. They often come with bug patches, new features, weapons, cars, and a rainbow of things in between. Once in a while, you even get a literal mass-destruction piece of weaponry at your disposal. That is the case of GTA 5 Online Orbital Cannon. And here we have all the information about your enemies' worst nightmare.

What is GTA 5 Online Orbital Cannon?

Rockstar Games should change the description of this weapon to a 'literal griefing tool of destruction'. It's every GTA Online players' worst nightmares. The Orbital Cannon is a devastating remote-controlled explosive weapon first introduced in The Doomsday Heist update of GTA Online. It uses a satellite in space to target and obliterates any "pain in your eyes".

Orbital Cannon Gta 5 Oliberated
Being obliterated by an Orbital Cannon is not pleasant

This is what happens when the city's most dangerous criminal shakes hands with a billionaire and an AI, trying to find a way to save the world from nuclear apocalypse. They come up with a system that could launch missions from a flying fortress that also has the power to wipe all life off the live session. Some players even find this addition disturbing, since they constantly getting blasted times on ends.

How does It Work?

The Orbital Cannon fires an area-of-effect attack that automatically destroys all vehicles and destructible props. It also eliminates all players within the blast radius, regardless of their cover or armor. You can destroy everything in the game in a single shot. Ah, let's not forget its completely binary effect, which means you will take the same damage even on the edge. So, unless you're out of its strike zone, you are history.

Orbital Cannon Facility Gta Control
Here is what the control room looks like

GTA 5 Online How to Get Orbital Cannon?

The option to get an Orbital Cannon will unlock after the player acquires Facility properties. The canon itself costs GTA$ 900,000, which is in fact not that much of a paywall. But to balance things out, a single attack of this weapon will set you back GTA$ 500,000 for a manual shot, or GTA$ 750,000 for an automatic shot. There is a price a timer of 48 in-game hours (48 real-time minutes) between shots.

How to Use the Orbital Cannon?

The GTA 5 Online Facility Orbital Cannon features a large circular table in a circular room, with several monitors. There are five control panels on the table, which the player can go up to in order to access the weapon. So, the procedure is buying a Facility (the cheapest one costs $1.25 million), buy an Orbital Cannon, access it, pick your target, pay a truckload of money to fire. Then wait for it to come up online again. It's pretty straight-forward.

So, ideally, you want to use this kind of destructive weapon to get rid of any enemies or competition you may have in the game. But many just use it to pretty much "send a message", or etch a huge 'middle finger' to whoever on the blast zone. Also, when you get your first kill with the Orbital Cannon, you will unlock the "Orbital Obliteration" trophy.

Orbital Cannon Gta 5 Use
Pick your target and release the powerful blast

Ways to Avoid an Orbital Cannon Attack

If our instruction on GTA 5 Online How to Use Orbital Cannon does not help you, our guide on avoiding such attacks may. Here are what you want to do to dodge the force of obliteration from outer space:

  • Use Lester's Off the Radar or VIP/CEO Ghost Organization to get off the Orbital Cannon radar. This makes it harder to track you down and you won't appear on the automatic targeting list.
  • Hide inside the apartment, facility to out of Orbital Cannon's vision.
  • Go to underground tunnels and buildings to disappear from the targeting list.
  • Hide on the 1st floor of the parking lot in Pillbox Hill. The Orbital Cannons can only pierce through 3 parking lot floors.
  • If you own a Yacht, hide inside the Yacht Bridge to stay off the automatic targeting list.

GTA 5 Online Orbital Cannon Glitch

When it was first released, many players complained about the annoying, somewhat disturbing glitch regarding the Orbital Cannon. Apparently, some found ways to cheat the cannon's cooldown and reset it immediately after each shot. That means they could strike multiple players in one session repeatedly, just for griefing them.

Orbital Cannon Gta 5 Flying
This is the most controversial addition of the Doomsday Heist update

Combined that glitch with a few hacked accounts with billions of dollars, they could wreak havoc for hours on ends. Instantly kill any target on the street, while they have no way of fighting back since you're in a facility. Luckily, Rockstar Games did notice the problem and issued a patch for it. Or else, this might even be a more effective griefing tool than the Hydra grief itself.

Orbital Cannon Gta 5 Target
Choose your target wisely

That is everything you need to know about the GTA 5 Online Orbital Cannon. If you happen to own one or considering buying one, do others a favor, and use it only when times call for it. Ensure a safe, fair, and positive gaming environment for all to enjoy the game. For more information, guides, tips, and tricks regarding GTA V Online, visit our website at GuruGamer.com.