Planning the Big Score

Type	MISSION
Planning the Big Score
Appears in	V
For	Lester
Location	Vanilla Unicorn
Protagonist(s)	Michael De Santa Franklin Clinton Trevor Philips
Conditions of mission failure
None
Missions
Unlocks	Stingers and Gauntlet (Subtle approach) Getaway Vehicle, Driller & Sidetracked (Obvious approach)
Unlocked by	Meltdown
Technical Information
Time of day	In-game time

Planning the Big 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.

Overview

Michael, Trevor, Franklin and Lester reunited in the Vanilla Unicorn to discuss how they are going to proceed with the Union Depository heist. They discuss with method they should use and with crew member should come with then.

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:

• Stingers
• Three Modified Gauntlets

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)

Additional preparation

It goes without saying that loading the characters with weapons and ammunition (and optionally extended magazines), plus maxing out armor, is vital before triggering the main heist mission. If choosing the Obvious approach, it is not important to equip Trevor as he won't need it, but making sure Michael and Franklin are equipped with RPGs (and optionally miniguns) before going in will make aspects of the mission easier to survive.

Crew

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

Subtle

Gunman

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

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

Driver

Note: the first driver loads the Gauntlets with the gold bars and also drives one of the Gauntlets in the escape, the second driver helps change the tires of the Securicars when they are stolen.

• Eddie Toh - If chosen as the first driver, he changes the tires with no problem and as the second driver, he doesn't let any gold bars fall and is not captured by the police in the escape. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)
• Karim Denz - If chosen as the first driver, he changes the tires with no problem, however, as the second driver, he will let gold bars fall and will be captured by the police in the escape. If he have previously experience either from the jewelry or FIB heist, then none of this things happen.
• Taliana Martinez* - If chosen as the first driver, she changes the tires with no problem and as the second driver, she doesn't let any gold bars fall and is not captured by the police in the escape. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)

Hacker

• Paige Harris - If chosen, there will be no lag while controlling the traffic lights. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)
• Christian Feltz - If chosen, there will be a lag of 2 seconds in his connection, but if he has previously experience from either the jewelry or FIB heist, then there will be no lag at all.
• Rickie Luckens - If chosen, there will be a 4 seconds lag in his connection, but if he has previously experience from either the jewelry or FIB heist, then the lag will be only 2 seconds long, if he has experience from both the heists, then there will be no lag at all.

Obvious

Driver

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

• Eddie Toh - If chosen, Eddie will do a good job, being either the first or second driver, however, his helicopter can still be destroyed if the player doesn't protect him from the Merryweather helicopters. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)
• Karim Denz - If chosen, Karim does a good job as the second driver, even if he does not have any past experience, as the first driver however, he loses control of the helicopter in the wind farm and loses half of the gold bars. If he has previously experience, then he only falls if the player fail to protect him from the Merryweather.
• Taliana Martinez* - If chosen, Taliana will do a good job, being either the first or second driver, however, her helicopter can still be destroyed if the player doesn't protect her from the Merryweather helicopters. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)

Gunman

Note: the first gunman, helps Franklin steal the gold bars from the vault, the second gunman, helps Michael distract the cops.

• Gustavo Mota - If chosen, Gustavo does a good job being either the first or second gunman, helping kill a lot of enemies. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)
• Karl Abolaji - If chosen, Karl will do a decent job being either the first or second gunman, since he can't have previously experience, it's recommended to protect him in the shootouts.
• Packie McReary* - If chosen, Packie does a good job being either the first or second gunman, helping kill a lot of enemies. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)
• Norm Richards - If chosen, Norm will do a decent job being either the first or second gunman, if he has previously experience from the FIB heist, then he will help a little more in the mission, having more chances of killing enemies.
• Chef - If chosen, Chef does a good job being either the first or second gunman, helping kill a lot of enemies. (Previously experience doesn't make any difference)
• Hugh Welsh - If chosen, Hugh will do a decent job being either the first or second gunman, if he has previously experience from the FIB heist, then he will help a little more in the mission, having more chances of killing enemies.
• Daryl Johns - If chosen, Daryl will do a decent job being either the first or second gunman, if he has previously experience from the FIB heist, then he will help a little more in the mission, having more chances of killing enemies.

* 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, going the obvious route does not require paying out a $300,000 bribe, and only one vehicle needs to be updated, as opposed to three in the subtle approach. It's also important to know that if Karim Denz doesn't have previously experience for the job, he must be selected as the second driver, to drive the train, because if chosen to pilot the helicopter, he will crash making the crew lose half of the score.

For the subtle approach, the best choice would be, Rickie Luckens 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 choice not take to much of the final score, even if he doesn't have previously experience, he will not cause to much trouble to the crew. Karim and Taliana have very low cut, and if Karim doesn't have previously 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 then, so he must be selected as the second gunman, for the first gunman, it must be a good gunman, like Packie or Chef, because even with previously 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.

Aftermath

Lifeinvader Posts

• Lester Crest - "So now we're running strategy meetings from a strip club? You're really letting Philips run with the ball these days."

Trivia

• Before triggering this mission, it's a good idea to create a unique save point in case the selected team/approach isn't working. (Doing so will require redoing the set-up missions, of course.)
• Unlike most missions, this mission ends without the Mission Passed screen being displayed.
• A glitch may occur if you switch to Franklin immediately after the mission. If he's driving his Buffalo a message may come up stating that it's a suitable vehicle for the getaway and may be modded for this purpose. Normally default vehicles cannot be used. This only lasts as long as you don't switch to another player. Once you switch back, the Buffalo is again off limits.