Paleto Score Setup is a heist setup in Grand Theft Auto V given to protagonists Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips.
Description
Michael and Trevor meet at Trevor's meth lab in Sandy Shores. They are joined there by FIB agents, Steve Haines and Dave Norton. Haines has yet another job for Michael and Trevor, but this one requires Michael and Trevor to source the equipment they will need, including a military-grade helicopter which will cost at least $2 million, money that Michael and Trevor do not have. With that in mind, Michael remembers a "bank in the sticks" that Lester Crest referred to earlier in the game. Michael phones Lester, who agrees to meet them in Paleto Bay.
Lester arrives by bus, and the trio drive to the Blaine County Savings Bank. They inspect the front of the bank, before driving around the back to see the alarm system setup. Lester wants to check the response time of the local police, so Michael shoots one of the alarms to trigger it. The trio drive to a filling station across the road to wait for the police and time their response. "Sixty-seven seconds" later (according to Lester), four cars arrive, with more on standby. Over Lester's police scanner, the police declare the incident a false alarm and set up checkpoints along the highway. At this point, Trevor leaves the vehicle and steals a motorcycle. When Trevor exits the car, the player can choose whether to control Michael or Trevor. Trevor is more likely to win the race, but choosing Michael allows the player to hear specific dialogue between Michael and Lester. Regardless of who arrives first, once the three reach the meth lab, Lester sets up the board for the heist. The player is able to choose a gunman. After the heist is described, the mission ends with Trevor comically throwing up a bowl of rotten leftovers that he was eating during the heist planning.
Crew
The following characters are available to complete Michael, Trevor and Franklin's crew.
Gunman
- Gustavo Mota - If chosen, he will not be killed in the escape and will provide a distraction while Michael, Trevor and Franklin fight the military in the chicken factory. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
- Norm Richards - If chosen, he will be pinned against a wall by a police car and will be crippled in the accident, plus meaning you having to leave him and will not be able to provide a distraction, he most likely dies from the accident seeing as it adds casualty expenses.
- Packie McReary* - If chosen, he will not be killed in the escape and will provide a distraction while Michael, Trevor and Franklin fight the military in the chicken factory. (Previous experience doesn't make any difference)
- Daryl Johns - If chosen, he will be pinned against a wall by a police car and will be crippled in the accident, plus meaning you having to leave him and will not be able to provide a distraction, he most likely dies from the accident seeing as it adds casualty expenses.
- Chef - Only if you receive his call after the mission, I Fought The Law. If chosen, he will not be killed in the escape and will provide a distraction while Michael, Trevor and Franklin fight the military in the chicken factory.
*Only if you completed his character's stranger task.
For maximum cash, the best choice is Norm Richards. Although he gets left behind during the mission and consequently costs more due to casualty expenses, Norm’s bag can picked up, allowing the protagonists to continue without losing millions of dollars, and his final cut (10.5%) is still cheaper than that of Chef or Packie (12%). Although logically Daryl Johns is an even cheaper option (9%), Daryl’s presence will be more noticeable in later heists, thus it would be wise keep Daryl for later rather than sacrifice him here. The lack of a gunman shouldn’t provide too much trouble near the end of the heist.
Bear in mind that during the escape the protagonists will lose a bit of money every time that the bag on their back is shot by the police. Because of this, the player should use caution to ensure that the bag stays out of the firing line. Try to keep the protagonist with their back turned to a wall or any place with no officers, so you don't run the risk of losing too much money.
Regardless of the gunman selected, the following setup mission will be unlocked:
Mission Objectives
- Go to Michael's car.
- Go to Paleto Bay.
- Go to Blaine County Savings Bank.
- Focus on the bank.
- Go to the empty lot near the bank.
- Shoot the alarm.
- Go to the gas station.
- Race Michael or Trevor back to Liquor Ace.
- Choose a gunman.
Gold Medal Objectives
- Leisurely Drive - Drive to the bank within 03:30.
- Winner - Win the race back to the meth lab.
Aftermath
Lifeinvader Posts
- Lester Crest - "Can't believe you brought me out to this backwater shithole. Everybody looks like they're related."
Trivia
- If the player decides to race back as Michael, his conversation with Lester will differ depending on whether or not the player has previously bought stocks on the stock market.
- If the player races back to Liquor Ace as Michael, the radio in his Premier will be tuned to Los Santos Rock Radio and "Night Moves" by Bob Seger will always play.
- If the player chooses to return to the meth lab as Trevor but decides to swim back, Michael will "wait" back on the road but will teleport if Trevor enters a boat.
- If you enter Los Santos with Michael and Lester the mission will fail. Trevor, however, can roam Los Santos freely.
- If racing as Michael, Trevor will stick his middle finger up at Michael if he is close behind him.
- If playing as Michael when driving back to the meth lab, it is impossible to knock Trevor off his bike. If playing as Trevor, however, he will still fall off the bike if he crashes.
- After the mission ends, Trevor will receive a phone call from Franklin, saying that the O'Neil brothers are looking for Trevor and that he has been following them. After this, should the player switch to Franklin at any time, the mission Predator will automatically begin.
- Depending on player choices, the opening cutscene - and indeed the entire premise of this mission strand - features a major continuity error. The whole reason for planning this heist is based on Michael stating that he and Trevor are broke and, thus, unable to afford to buy a helicopter. However, if the player has invested in the stock market based upon the outcome of Lester's assassination missions for Franklin, Michael in particular could have tens of millions of dollars at his disposal. In fact, it's very possible that he may even own a helicopter by this point. A possible reason for stealing one is to avoid the police tracing it.
- Driving back to the meth lab as Michael will allow the player to hear a unique conversation between him and Lester, though it is harder to win the race (The Premier has worse off-road handling than Trevor's dirt bike), which is required to attain gold on this mission.
- It is possible to knock Trevor down before he gets on his bike, giving Michael a headstart in the race. The mission will not fail as long as Trevor is not killed.
- Lester claims that the Los Santos Police Department are better trained for armed robberies than the Blaine County Police. However, in normal gameplay, both share the same gunfight and driving tactics.
- Strangely, the officers who respond will usually be Los Santos Police officers instead of the Blaine County Sheriffs.
- When Lester gets off the bus he is wearing suit trousers. However, at the end of the mission, he is wearing jeans.
