Planning the Big Score

Planning the Score is the first part of the multi-mission final heist in Grand Theft Auto V. This mission is essentially an interactive cutscene in which the player chooses the approach to take and the team members to use.

Description[]

Michael, Trevor, Franklin and Lester reunite in the Vanilla Unicorn to discuss how they are going to proceed with the Union Depository heist. They discuss which method they should use and which crew members they should choose.

Methods and Preparation[]

Subtle[]

In this method, Michael and Trevor steal the two Securicars that are going to the Union Depository, make the occupants hostage and support and pose as Gruppe 6 officers, so they can enter in the Union and peacefully take the gold. Then they take the gold to four modified Gauntlets, so they can get out of the city without alerting the police.

Choosing the subtle method will unlock the following setup mission:

Obvious[]

In this method, Franklin uses a Cutter to reach the Union Depository vault from the underground, so he can steal the gold directly from the vault. Michael will be at the front of the bank, distracting the cops and Trevor uses his helicopter the take the gold to the Train.

Choosing the obvious method will unlock the following setup mission:

Driller
Sidetracked
Getaway Vehicle (It's recommended to upgrade the car in the Los Santos Customs)

Crew[]

The following characters are available to complete Michael, Trevor and Franklin's crew.

Subtle[]

Gunmen x2[]

Note: the first gunman helps Michael and Trevor in the Union Depository and also helps load the Gauntlets with gold, while the second gunman helps hold the guards while they steal the Securicars.

Gustavo Mota - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second gunman. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Packie McReary* - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second gunman. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Chef - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second gunman. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Karl Abolaji - If chosen as the first gunman, he will drop some of the gold bars while loading the Gauntlets. If chosen as the second gunman, he does a good job.
Norm Richards - If chosen as the first gunman, he will drop some of the gold bars while loading the Gauntlets. If chosen as the second gunman, he does a good job. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Hugh Welsh - If chosen as the first gunman, he will drop some of the gold bars while loading the Gauntlets. If chosen as the second gunman, he does a good job. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Daryl Johns - If chosen as the first gunman, he will drop some of the gold bars while loading the Gauntlets. If chosen as the second gunman, he does a good job. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)

Drivers x2[]

Note: the first driver helps load the Gauntlets with gold and drives one of the Gauntlets during the escape, while the second driver helps change the tires of the Securicars when they're stolen and drives one of the trucks that the Gauntlet drivers must load their cars onto.

Eddie Toh - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second driver. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Taliana Martinez* - If chosen, she does a good job as either the first or second driver. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Karim Denz - If chosen as the first driver, he will drop some of the gold bars while loading the Gauntlets, and will be captured by the police during the escape, losing 1/4 of the take. However, the player has the chance to save him as Franklin by killing all of the cops that have blockaded him (the blockading cops have more health than usual, and the player must be quick so as to not fall behind from the rest of the cars). Once saved, he tells the crew that he will go a separate route and instead head straight for the airfield, recovering the one-fourth of the take initially lost. If he is placed as the second driver, he has no problem changing the tires, but will swerve side to side when driving the truck, making it difficult for the player to enter. If he has any previous experience, then he does a good job as either driver.

Hacker[]

Paige Harris - If chosen, there will be no lag while controlling the traffic lights. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Christian Feltz - If chosen, there will be a 2 second lag while controlling the traffic lights. If he has any previous experience, then there will be no lag at all.
Rickie Lukens - If chosen, there will be a 4 second lag while controlling the traffic lights. If he has any previous experience, then the lag will be only 2 seconds, and if he has experience from both the Jewelry Store and the Bureau Raid, there will be no lag at all.

Obvious[]

Drivers x2[]

Note: the first driver will be the pilot of the second helicopter, while the second driver will be the driver of the train.

Eddie Toh - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second driver, however his helicopter may still be destroyed if the player fails to protect him from the Merryweather helicopters. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Taliana Martinez* - If chosen, she does a good job as either the first or second driver, however her helicopter may still be destroyed if the player fails to protect her from the Merryweather helicopters. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Karim Denz - If chosen as the first driver, he will crash his helicopter in the wind farm - losing 1/2 of the take. If chosen as the second driver, he does a good job. If he has any previous experience, he does a good job as either the first or second driver, however his helicopter may still be destroyed if the player fails to protect him from the Merryweather helicopters.

Gunmen x2[]

Note: the first gunman helps Franklin steal the gold bars from the vault, while the second gunman helps Michael in the streets engaging the police.

Gustavo Mota - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second gunman. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
Packie McReary* - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second gunman. (Previous experience doesn't make much difference)
Chef - If chosen, he does a good job as either the first or second gunman. (Previous experience doesn't make much difference)
Karl Abolaji - If chosen as the first gunman, he does a good job. If chosen as the second gunman, he's not very helpful, possibly requiring the player's protection.
Norm Richards - If chosen as the first gunman, he does a good job. If chosen as the second gunman, he's not very helpful, possibly requiring the player's protection. If he has experience from the Bureau Raid, he will be more helpful and less fragile.
Hugh Welsh - If chosen as the first gunman, he does a good job. If chosen as the second gunman, he's not very helpful, possibly requiring the player's protection. If he has experience from the Bureau Raid, he will be more helpful and less fragile.
Daryl Johns - If chosen as the first gunman, he does a good job. If chosen as the second gunman, he's not very helpful, possibly requiring the player's protection. If he has experience from the Bureau Raid, he will be more helpful and less fragile.

* The player must first complete the character's stranger task.

For maximum cash, the best choice is the obvious approach, with Karim Denz and Taliana Martinez as the two drivers; and Daryl Johns and Norm Richards or Hugh Welsh as the two gunman, adding well over $41 million for each character (more if the player chooses the A ending).

This is the best choice because all the crew members have the lowest heist cut of their categories, and the obvious approach does not require a hacker, so the protagonists need even less to pay for the crew. Also, choosing the obvious route does not require paying out a $300,000 bribe, and only one vehicle needs to be upgraded, as opposed to three in the subtle approach. It's also important to know that if Karim Denz has no experience, he must be selected as the second driver, to drive the train or he will crash making the crew lose half of the score.

For the subtle approach, the best choice would be Rickie Lukens as the hacker, Karim Denz and Taliana Martinez as the two drivers; and Daryl Johns and Packie McReary or Chef as the two gunman. Rickie has the lowest cut of the hackers, so he does not receive too much of the final score. Even if he doesn't have previous experience, he will not cause too much trouble to the crew. Karim and Taliana have very low cuts, and if Karim has no experience he must be selected as the second driver, or else he will lose part of the score. As for the gunmen, Daryl has the lowest cut of all them, so he must be selected as the second gunman, for the first gunman, it must be a good gunman, like Packie or Chef. Even with previous experience, all the available bad gunmen will drop gold while loading the gauntlets, losing part of the final score.

With the additional cost of the hacker and the good gunman, plus the bribe of $300,000 for Casey, make the final cut for each of the protagonists only $35 million, not counting the additional expense of upgrading the three Gauntlets.

Glitches[]

A glitch may occur if the player switches to Franklin immediately after the mission. If Franklin is driving his Buffalo, a message may come up stating that it is a suitable getaway vehicle and can be modified, even though the protagonists' personal vehicles cannot be used as getaway vehicles. If the player switches to another protagonist and then switches back to Franklin, he will not be able to use his vehicle as a getaway vehicle.
If the protagonist gets a private dance in the strip club before this mission, this may cause the map marker to disappear.