GTA 5 Heists: A Comprehensive Guide to Pulling Off the Perfect Score
Grand Theft Auto V’s heists are undoubtedly one of the game’s most exhilarating and rewarding features. Planning and executing these multi-stage missions require careful preparation, strategic decision-making, and seamless teamwork (if playing with others). This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know to successfully complete each heist in GTA 5, maximizing your payout and minimizing potential pitfalls.
## Understanding the Heist Structure
Before diving into the specifics of each heist, it’s crucial to understand the general structure they follow:
1. **Setup Missions:** These are preparatory missions that involve acquiring necessary equipment, vehicles, or information for the main heist. The success of your setup missions directly impacts the difficulty and potential rewards of the final heist. The better you perform in the setups, the easier the final heist will become.
2. **The Heist Finale:** This is the main event, where you execute your carefully laid plans to steal the target objective. This phase demands coordination, precision, and the ability to adapt to unexpected situations. The finale determines the final take and the overall success of the heist.
3. **Crew Selection:** When Lester calls for a heist, you will have to choose crew members. The crew will consist of gunmans, drivers and hackers, and each crew member will have their own cut percentage. The lower the cut, the less skilled the crew member is, and the higher the cut, the better the crew member is.
## General Heist Tips and Strategies
* **Communication is Key:** If playing with friends or online players, constant communication is essential. Use voice chat to coordinate your movements, relay information, and adapt to changing circumstances.
* **Choose Your Crew Wisely:** When selecting crew members, balance skill with cost. More experienced crew members will demand a larger cut of the profits but will also perform their roles more effectively. Inexperienced crew members are cheaper but prone to making mistakes.
* **Invest in Upgrades:** Invest in the best weapons, vehicles, and armor available. These upgrades can significantly improve your chances of success.
* **Practice Makes Perfect:** Replay setup missions or heists to familiarize yourself with the layout, enemy positions, and optimal strategies. Knowledge of each heist helps greatly.
* **Save Often (During Setups):** Especially during setup missions, quick save frequently using your character’s phone. This allows you to reload a recent save if you make a mistake or fail a mission, saving you time and money.
* **Consider the ‘Smart’ Approach:** Many heists offer multiple approaches. While the loud and aggressive approach might seem appealing, often a stealthy and strategic approach yields better results and higher payouts.
* **Manage Your Wanted Level:** Be mindful of your wanted level. Escaping the police can be challenging, especially during heists. Consider using vehicles with good handling and speed, and utilize off-road routes when possible.
* **Take Advantage of Character Abilities:** Utilize each character’s special ability to your advantage. Franklin’s driving ability can be crucial for escaping, Michael’s bullet time can help in firefights, and Trevor’s rage mode can provide temporary invincibility and increased damage.
## Heist-Specific Walkthroughs
Now, let’s delve into each of the heists in GTA 5, providing detailed walkthroughs and strategies.
### 1. The Jewel Store Job
This is the first heist in the game and serves as a tutorial for the heist mechanic. It’s a relatively simple heist involving robbing a jewelry store.
* **Planning:** Choose between the **Loud** and **Smart** approaches.
* **Loud:** Simply smash your way into the store and grab as much jewelry as possible before escaping. This approach is straightforward but riskier, as it attracts immediate police attention.
* **Smart:** Subdue the security guard and use sleeping gas to incapacitate the customers and employees. This approach is stealthier but requires more preparation.
* **Setup Missions:**
* **Casing the Jewelry Store:** Scout the jewelry store and identify potential entry and exit points. Take photos of the security systems and vents.
* **Bugstars Equipment (Smart Approach):** Steal a van from the Bugstars Pest Control company. This van will be used to transport the sleeping gas.
* **Gas Grenades (Smart Approach):** Acquire sleeping gas grenades. These are used to incapacitate the store’s occupants.
* **Exterminator Outfit (Smart Approach):** Acquire the Bugstar’s outfit. This is used so the team can blend in with the workers.
* **Getaway Car:** Obtain a suitable getaway vehicle and stash it near the jewelry store. This car is crucial for escaping the police after the heist.
* **Crew:** Choose a gunman and a driver. A cheaper crew will be much less effective.
* **The Heist:**
* **Loud:** Approach the store aggressively and shoot out the security. Grab as much jewelry as possible and escape in the getaway vehicle. Be prepared for a high-speed chase with the police.
* **Smart:** Approach the store in the Bugstars van and use the sleeping gas to incapacitate everyone inside. Collect the jewelry and escape in the getaway vehicle. You may still encounter some police resistance, but it will be less intense than the Loud approach.
### 2. The Merryweather Heist
This heist involves stealing a superweapon prototype from Merryweather Security Consulting. It’s a more complex heist than the Jewel Store Job, with multiple stages and potential complications.
* **Planning:** Choose between the **Offshore** and **Freighter** approaches.
* **Offshore:** Use a submarine to infiltrate Merryweather’s underwater facility and steal the device.
* **Freighter:** Attack a Merryweather freighter at sea and steal the device from its cargo hold.
* **Setup Missions:**
* **Minisub:** Steal a mini-submarine from a dockyard. This is required for the Offshore approach.
* **Cargobob:** Steal a Cargobob helicopter. This is required for lifting the submarine for the offshore approach, or lifting the container for the freighter approach.
* **Weapon Shipment:** Intercept a Merryweather weapon shipment and acquire necessary weapons and equipment.
* **Crew:** The Merryweather Heist does not require any crew members, as it is only done by Michael, Trevor and Franklin.
* **The Heist:**
* **Offshore:** Use the Cargobob to transport the minisub to the designated location. Submerge the submarine and infiltrate the underwater facility. Retrieve the device and escape back to the surface. The crew will have to fight off Merryweather forces both underwater and above water.
* **Freighter:** Use boats to approach the freighter. Board the freighter and fight your way to the cargo hold containing the device. Load the device onto the Cargobob and escape. The crew will face heavy resistance from Merryweather security personnel on the freighter and in helicopters.
**Important Note:** After completing the Merryweather Heist, you’ll realize that the device is useless. This mission is a setup for a later heist.
### 3. The Paleto Score
This is a straightforward, action-packed heist involving robbing a bank in the small town of Paleto Bay. It’s a high-risk, high-reward mission with intense firefights.
* **Planning:** There is no planning stage for this heist; it’s a direct assault on the bank.
* **Setup Missions:**
* **Military Hardware:** Steal military-grade weapons and armor from a convoy. This is essential for surviving the intense firefight during the heist.
* **Crew:** Choose two gunmans. A cheaper crew can quickly die during the mission.
* **The Heist:** Drive to Paleto Bay and storm the bank. Secure the money and prepare for a massive police assault. Fight your way through waves of police officers, SWAT teams, and even military forces. Use heavy weapons and cover to survive. Eventually, the team will escape into the woods to reach the getaway vehicle.
### 4. The Blaine County Savings Bank (Optional Heist)
*Note: This heist is only available if you choose the loud approach for the Bureau Raid.*
This heist involves robbing a bank in Blaine County. It’s a heist that can be unlocked if you choose the loud approach for the Bureau Raid and Lester suggests it as an alternative.
* **Planning:** No planning stage for this heist.
* **Setup Missions:** None.
* **Crew:** Pick a Driver and a Gunman.
* **The Heist:**
Drive to the bank, and rob the bank by shooting the guards, securing the cash and escaping. Watch out for police as they will try to intervene with the heist.
### 5. The Bureau Raid
This heist involves infiltrating the IAA (International Affairs Agency) headquarters to retrieve information about Michael’s past. It offers two distinct approaches: the **Firefighter** approach and the **Roof Entry** approach.
* **Planning:** Choose between the **Firefighter** and **Roof Entry** approaches.
* **Firefighter:** Disguise yourselves as firefighters and enter the building under the guise of responding to a fire alarm. This approach is stealthier and allows you to move through the building without raising suspicion initially.
* **Roof Entry:** Parachute onto the roof of the building and rappel down into the server room. This approach is more direct but riskier, as it immediately alerts the IAA.
* **Setup Missions:**
* **Fire Truck (Firefighter Approach):** Steal a fire truck and the required equipment. This is used for the disguise in the Firefighter approach.
* **Overalls (Firefighter Approach):** Acquire firefighter overalls. These are used to complete the disguise.
* **Masks:** Purchase masks for disguising your identity.
* **Bugstar Van:** Steal the Bugstar van.
* **Crew:**
* **Firefighter Approach:** Select a hacker, a gunman, and a driver.
* **Roof Entry:** Select a gunman and a driver.
* **The Heist:**
* **Firefighter:** Drive the fire truck to the IAA headquarters and enter the building. Navigate through the building, disable security systems, and locate the server room containing the information. Download the data and escape. Be prepared for a firefight if your cover is blown.
* **Roof Entry:** Parachute onto the roof of the IAA building and rappel down into the server room. Download the data and fight your way out of the building. This approach involves a lot of shooting and requires good combat skills.
### 6. The Big Score
This is the final and most ambitious heist in GTA 5, involving robbing the Union Depository, which holds the city’s gold reserves. It offers two distinct approaches: the **Subtle** approach and the **Obvious** approach.
* **Planning:** Choose between the **Subtle** and **Obvious** approaches.
* **Subtle:** Use a train to tunnel into the Union Depository. This approach is stealthier and involves more planning and preparation.
* **Obvious:** Directly attack the Union Depository with armored vehicles and heavy weapons. This approach is more straightforward but riskier, as it attracts massive police and security force response.
* **Setup Missions:**
* **Train (Subtle Approach):** Steal a train. This train will be used to tunnel into the Union Depository.
* **Drill (Subtle Approach):** Acquire a powerful drilling machine. This is used for boring through the tunnel wall.
* **Gauntlets:** Steal 4 Gauntlet Classic cars, which will be modified for the heist.
* **Helicopter (Obvious Approach):** Steal a helicopter to use in the heist.
* **Riot Gear (Obvious Approach):** Obtain riot gear for increased protection.
* **Barracks (Obvious Approach):** Steal the Barracks, which are used to block the road.
* **Driller (Obvious Approach):** Steal the driller.
* **Crew:**
* **Subtle:** Two gunmen, a driver, and a hacker.
* **Obvious:** Two gunmen and a driver.
* **The Heist:**
* **Subtle:** Use the train to tunnel into the Union Depository. Use the drilling machine to bore through the tunnel wall and access the vault. Load the gold onto the trains and drive away. The team will need to coordinate and protect the train from attacking Merryweather forces.
* **Obvious:** Drive armored vehicles to the Union Depository and breach the main entrance. Engage in a massive firefight with security forces and police. Load the gold onto the armored vehicles and escape. The crew will face relentless pursuit from law enforcement and will need to use heavy weapons and coordinated tactics to survive.
## Maximizing Your Heist Payout
Here are some tips for maximizing your payout from heists:
* **Complete Elite Challenges:** Each heist has an Elite Challenge, which rewards you with a bonus payout for completing specific objectives (e.g., completing the heist within a certain time, taking minimal damage, headshot accuracy). These challenges can significantly boost your earnings.
* **Minimize Crew Cuts:** While it’s tempting to choose cheaper crew members, they are more likely to fail, costing you time and money in the long run. Balance skill with cost.
* **Avoid Dying:** Dying during a heist reduces your payout and can potentially fail the mission. Play cautiously and use cover effectively.
* **Collect All the Loot:** During heists, make sure to collect all available loot, such as cash, jewelry, and valuables. This can significantly increase your final take.
* **Play on Hard Difficulty:** Playing on Hard difficulty increases the payout, but also increases the challenge. If you’re confident in your abilities, this is a good way to earn more money.
## Conclusion
Heists in GTA 5 are a challenging but rewarding experience. By carefully planning your approach, selecting the right crew, and executing your strategy effectively, you can pull off the perfect score and earn a fortune. Remember to communicate with your teammates, invest in upgrades, and practice your skills. With patience and perseverance, you’ll become a master of heists in Los Santos.