Heists are elaborate story missions in first introduced in Grand Theft Auto Vice City, in The Job. (although The Getaway in Grand Theft Auto III already presented a major heist) There are many of these missions spread across the series, each requiring careful preparation and execution. If the player successfully completes these jobs, they can earn millions of dollars. In GTA V, the ability to replay these missions also exists.
Overview
Heists, in the conventional term, have appeared in several Grand Theft Auto games as straightforward missions, but take on a bigger dimension in Grand Theft Auto V. In Grand Theft Auto V, the major heists typically begin with a meeting of the three protagonists: Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton, and Trevor Philips. The player is presented with options on how to approach the proposed mission. For example, they could choose to enter a building stealthily from the roof, or burst through the front door. The complex missions require the help of specialists. These are drivers, gunmen, or hackers. The player has cheap and expensive options, however the drawback to hiring an expert is they demand a bigger cut of the take, but picking a crew member taking smaller cuts means they might not be as good until they are used. Once the player has some clear objectives and hires the specialists they require, they must perform a series of sub-missions. These include: stealing vehicles which carry equipment being used for the job (like weaponry, knockout gas, intercepting vehicles or emergency vehicles for disguising the player), finding a place to stash the Getaway Vehicle, and buying some suits and masks to wear during the heist. An achievement/trophy will be unlocked for each heist when completed.
Heists in 3D Universe
GTA III
- The Getaway - Claude serves as a getaway driver in a bank heist.
GTA Vice City
- The Job - Tommy Vercetti, Phil Cassidy, Hilary King and Cam Jones rob El Banco Corrupto Grande in Little Havana.
GTA San Andreas
- Against All Odds - Carl Johnson and Catalina rob an Off-Track Betting shop.
- Small Town Bank - Carl Johnson is forced into a bank robbery along with Catalina.
- Breaking The Bank At Caligula's - Carl Johnson teams up with Wu Zi Mu, Zero and a handful of other people to construct a heist at the Leone operated Caligula's Casino.
Heists in HD Universe
GTA IV
- Three Leaf Clover - Niko Bellic, along with Patrick McReary, Derrick McReary, and Michael Keane, construct a plan to rob the Bank of Liberty.
GTA Chinatown Wars
- Dragon Haul Z - Huang Lee helps Zhou Ming escape in a dragon costume after robing the Bank of Liberty.
GTA V
- Prologue - Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips, Brad Snider, and an unknown accomplice rob a bank in Ludendorff, North Yankton.
- The Jewel Store Job - Michael enlists the help of Lester Crest and Franklin Clinton to rob a jewelry store to pay back money to Martin Madrazo, for wrecking his girlfriend's house.
- The Merryweather Heist - Trevor Philips enlists the help of Michael De Santa, Franklin Clinton and Wade and Floyd Hebert to rob Merryweather Security of a high-tech device.
- Blitz Play - Ordered by the FIB; Michael, Franklin, and Trevor take down a Securicar, steal the security bonds, and fight off several waves of police until an opening is found which allows each of them to escape.
- The Paleto Score - Another job for the FIB; Michael, Franklin, Trevor, and a hired gun (player's choice) raid the bank in Paleto Bay and fend off both the local police and the military.
- The Bureau Raid - Michael and Franklin raid the FIB Building to retrieve incriminating evidence against Steve Haines.
- The Big Score - Pressured on by Merryweather, Michael, Franklin and Trevor go for the biggest heist of their lives to steal millions of dollars worth of gold bullion from the Union Depository.
Crew members
Drivers
- Eddie Toh - 14% cut
- Karim Denz - 8% cut
- Taliana Martinez - 5% cut (Only available once you've completed her random event)
Gunmen
- Gustavo Mota - 14% cut
- Chef - 12% cut (Only available after Blitz Play)
- Karl Abolaji - 8% cut (Only available after The Paleto Score)
- Hugh Welsh - 7% cut (Only available after The Paleto Score)
- Norm Richards - 7% cut
- Daryl Johns - 6% cut (Only available after Blitz Play)
- Patrick McReary - 12% cut (Only available once you've completed his random event)
Hackers
- Paige Harris - 15% cut
- Christian Feltz - 10% cut
- Rickie Luckens - 4% cut (Can be unlocked after "Friend Request," "The Paleto Score," or "The Bureau Raid.")
Losable crew members
Depending on your heist specialists experience, they can sometimes end up dying or left behind. In which case, their cut will increase by 50% e.g. Losing a crew member with a cut of 7% will increase to 10.5%.
Drivers
Eddie Toh
- Big Score (Obvious) If Trevor doesn't keep the helicopter steady so Lester can destroy the helicopters shooting and knocking into Eddie, he ends up losing altitude and crashes his helicopter.
Karim Denz
- Big Score (Subtle) If his driving experience is low and if he is chosen to ride the fourth Gauntlet, he crashes his car, and gets pulled out and arrested by the police.
- (Obvious) If his driving experience is low and if he is chosen to ride in the helicopter carrying the gold, he crashes it into a windmill and it explodes, killing him.
Taliana Martinez
- Big Score (Obvious) If Trevor doesn't keep the helicopter steady so Lester can destroy the helicopters shooting and knocking into Taliana, she ends up losing altitude and crashes her helicopter.
Gunmen
Daryl Johns
- Paleto Score Gets hit by a police car then pinned to a wall causing him to suffocate and die.
- Bureau Raid (Covert) Gets caught in the blast when the door opens.
Hugh Welsh
- Bureau Raid (Covert) Gets caught in the blast when the door opens.
Karl Abolaji
- Bureau Raid (Covert) Gets caught in the blast when the door opens.
Norm Richards
- Jewel Store Job Falls off his bike no matter which way you take to steal the jewelry, if not dead, possibly got arrested.
- Paleto Score Gets hit by a police car then pinned to a wall causing him to suffocate and die.
- Bureau Raid (Covert) Gets caught in the blast when the door opens and dies in the blast.
Video
Grand Theft Auto Online
Main article: Heists Update
In Grand Theft Auto Online, heists are scheduled to be released on March 10th, 2015. A trailer has been released for the Heists Update.
According to IGN, Heists will be missions similar to Heists from Story Mode involving a crew, a target and splitting a reward. A heist will require 4 players at rank 12 or above, with one as designated Heist Leader. The Leader must also own a high-end apartment so they'd have a room to set up the planning board. Story Mode planner Lester Crest and a new character will contact the Heist Leader directly when a new heist is available, and the leader can invite players into the crew, assign positions, pick outfits and allocate each player’s cut. On the other hand, the heist leader will need to personally front the set-up costs in order to successfully pull off the heist. Unlike the leader, other crew members get a cash payout for each prep mission, while the leader won’t receive their cash until the finale is complete.
Some missions have all players working as one unit, some require players to take on specific tasks like hacking or crowd control, while others require players to split into smaller teams to complete separate high value objectives. Several Heists revealed so far include:
- A prison bust involving infiltrating the Bolingbroke Penitentiary.
- Stealing jets from an aicraft carrier.
- Robbing the Fleeca bank on the Great Ocean Highway and using a Kuruma and a Cargobob to escape.
- Raiding a luxury yacht similar to Dignity.
- Robbing the Pacific Standard Public Deposit Bank.