GTA 5 The Big Score is the final and biggest heist mission that protagonists Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton execute. It is one of the last and most complicated missions in the storyline. There are two approaches: Obvious and Subtle, with over 200 million dollars of heist money.
In this article, we would show you a complete guide to executing this heist.
Table of Contents
1 - Heist Preparation Missions
Subtle Approach
There are 4 preparation missions in this approach. The first one, Stinger, would have you steal a van equipped with spike strips. The latter 3 'Gauntlet' are identical - they require you to steal three Gauntlets around Los Santos and modify them at Los Santos Customs.
Obvious Approach
There are 3 preparation missions in this approach. The first one, Driller, would have you stealing a Cutter parked inside a warehouse. The second one, Sidetracked, involves stealing a train using a Skylift. The last one 'Getaway Vehicle', would have you park a vehicle in a parking lot next to the Union Depository.
2 - GTA 5 The Big Score Heist Guide
Subtle Approach
In this approach, your job is to steal the Securicars, drive them back to the Union Depository while disguising as the people who transport the gold. After Trevor has stolen all the gold in the vault, a chase mission would begin, with the Merryweather Security team chasing the cars with the gold. You would then be switched to Franklin, whose job is to use a laptop to control the traffic lights of the district to aid Michael and Trevor to escape the Merryweather vans.
After losing the tails, they need to transfer the gold to a pack of 4 modified Gauntlets. The Merryweather troops would show up again in the middle of the transfer, however - a massive shootout would happen. The protagonists will have to protect the crew while they transfer the gold from the Securicars to the Gauntlets. Choose the best weapons, keep focused on covers and try switching characters in order for a better shootout.
Once all the Merryweathers have been disposed of, the players would be switched to Franklin once again, whose task would be driving one of the Gauntlets. Players would need to follow the rest of the crew and ignore the LSPD. There would be two trailers waiting for the four Gauntlets inside a tunnel. The player needs to get inside the trailer before the tunnel ends, otherwise, the heist would fail. The three will enter a Cavalcade and drive to Michael's House.
Regardless of the outcome, all three enter a massive argument that supposedly leaves them on bitter terms despite the victory.
- Enter in the car. - (Michael)
- Go to the tunnel entrance before 8am. - (Michael)
- Release the spike strip in the tunnel before the Securicars get out. - (Michael)
- Wait for the Securicars. - (Michael)
- Go to the Union Depository. - (Michael)
- Follow the manager. - (Michael)
- Enter the Securicar. - (Michael)
- Follow Trevor. - (Michael)
- Keep the streets clean for the Securicars. - (Franklin)
- Kill all the Merryweather soldiers. - (Michael, Trevor and Franklin)
- Follow the rest of the crew. - (Franklin)
- Go to Michael's House. - (Franklin)
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Obvious Approach
In this approach, the player would rob the Depository by drilling the vault and steal the gold. After a few explosions, the NOOSE team would arrive and harass the player when they are getting the gold out. Fight them off - it is best to use some kind of rapid-fire guns as there are just a lot of them. The player would then switch around on Trevor and Michael, fighting cops and fly the helicopter to the extraction point. After Franklin is available again, use an RPG or minigun to destroy the Buzzard Attack Chopper then escape to the underground parking lot and use the getaway vehicle. You would need to fight off another NOOSE team in the process.
Get into the car as Franklin and try to lose the police. You would need to hide underground in sewers or subways for the 5 stars wanted level to cool down. The player would then switch to Trevor, whose job is to pilot the helicopter carefully so that Lester would be able to shot down the Merryweather security choppers. It is important to work with Karim Denz beforehand so that he doesn't crash the other helicopter.
After destroying the helicopters, locate the train on the radar and detach the gold cart in the train car. Finally, fly to McKenzie Field Hangar to complete the mission.
- Get in the car. - (Michael)
- Go to the bank. - (Michael)
- Pierce the vault wall with the driller. - (Franklin)
- Park the driller near the wall. - (Franklin)
- Plant the bombs on the vault doors and detonate. - (Franklin)
- Protect the crew member from the NOOSE agents. - (Franklin)
- Fly out of the city. - (Trevor)
- Escape with the crew member. - (Michael and Franklin)
- Enter in the getaway vehicle. - (Michael or Franklin)
- Lose the cops. - (Michael or Franklin)
- Follow the driver. - (Trevor)
- Keep the helicopter steady so Lester can destroy the Buzzards. - (Trevor)
- Release the gold in the train. - (Trevor)
- Land in the airfield. - (Trevor)
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3 - How to avoid losing gold?
The Payout of this heist is $201,600,000 for Obvious and $201,300,000 for Subtle. Players need to pick experienced drivers for this heist - an inexperienced one could crash and lose an amount of gold. This is especially important in the Obvious approach, as crashing one helicopter would cost you half the gold amount... while the Subtle approach's vehicle is only worth a quarter. Use Taliana Martinez (5%) and Karim Denz (8%) as the drivers; if Karim is inexperienced, he must be chosen as Driver 2.
The Obvious approach has a significantly better payout You can get ~$6 million more per protagonist, as it requires a smaller and less expensive crew. You would need experienced gunmen and even a hacker in Subtle. Lester would not give you the money until the final mission is completed - it is best to go around doing all the side quests before committing.
Interested in more of our articles related to GTA 5? Check out this post for a guide to the final mission in the game.