2019-09-30T14:35:07 02:00

GTA Online Heists Guide: Tips & Tricks for the Heists

In this GTA 5 guide you will find out

which requirements you have to fulfill for heists
which preparations you should make for the missions
which challenges and achievements are waiting for you

The heists in GTA Online are a real challenge for team players. To make the sometimes very tricky missions easier for you, we have compiled the best tips and tricks for you. We also have a GTA Online guide to earning money for you.

1. Heist requirements for the classic heists

Basically, you can only enter the heist business with a character at level 12. The player who is to act as a team leader must have enough money to cover the cost of the heist and needs a luxury apartment with a planning room (starting at GTA$200,000) to activate the five classic heists.

As a team leader, you assign your team members to the individual preparation missions and tasks in the heist itself, besides you determine the profit share of all participants. Be careful not to take advantage of your teammates - you bear the initial costs, but the heist has to be worthwhile for all of them.

Note: Heist progress is only saved to the team leader, so as a group, pick a reliable person with a stable internet connection. If you play through all heists in the correct order as a fixed group, you will receive an additional bonus.

Starting costs for the five classic heists:

The Fleeca Job (1): GTA$11,500
The Prison Break (2): GTA$40,000
TheHumane Labs Raid (3): GTA$54,000
Series A Funding(4): GTA$40,400
The Pacific Standard Robbery/The Pacific Standard Job (5): GTA$100,00

For all five classic heists, Lester is your primary contact. If you, as the team leader, meet the above requirements, sooner or later he will contact you by phone. Then drive to the warehouse marked with an "L" on the map to talk to him. Shortly after that you will receive another call with the first mission, which you will then start in your own apartment in the planning room.

2. Heist requirements for the Doomsday missions

To start the three Doomsday heists, you'll create an underground base (starting at GTA$1,250,000) and take your crew members with you as VIP, CEO or Biker Club President in the appropriate organizations; besides, you'll advance the cost of the heist again as the team leader. Everyone involved should be at least level 120 so that you can use the much-needed minigun in the third heist and be on your way with maximum health bar.

You start the three Doomsday Heists in the planning room of your underground base and also assign the team members to the corresponding tasks there, you purchase a base on the Maze Bank Foreclosures website. The planning room is available after purchasing the base and watching a short introductory movie.

Starting costs for the three Doomsday Heists:

The Data Leak Situation/The Data Breaches (1): GTA$65,000
TheBogdan Problem/The Bogdan Problem (2): GTA$95,000
The DoomsdayScenario(3): 120.000 GTA$

Tip: When buying the base, pay attention to convenient access roads, these are more important for the frequent use of somewhat larger vehicles than a location near the city. Here, the three bases in Sandy Shores (GTA$2,740,000), Grand Senora (GTA$2,525,000) or Route 68 (GTA$2,312,000) are recommended as they are in the middle of the map and easily accessible from the highway.

3. General Heist Preparations

Unlike most other tasks in GTA Online, heists are significantly more elaborate and are most comparable to raids or veteran dungeons in MMORPGs. With appropriate preparations, you will make the game easier for you and your fellow players:

Buy supplies: The first duty for all team members is to provide enough ammunition for the weapons you use, enough snacks and protective vests so that you don't bite the dust unnecessarily during missions. Equip your weapons with silencers, which are available at AmmuNation in different strengths, as well as ammunition and vests. In the underground base you can refill your snacks and vests for free, which is really convenient before the start of the Doomsday Heists.

Heist vest use: For heists, there are additional and only effective in the Heist protective vests, which you can buy in all clothing stores (Tops > Mission Vests) in the free game. Putting them on will reduce your running speed, but it will reduce the damage received from enemies by half.
After buying the heavy heist vest (GTA$20,000), you'll need to set it as your clothing style, while the team leader must allow "player-saved outfits" in the settings during heist preparation. If you want to compensate for the slower pace in the mission itself due to the heist vest, then you should sprint and jump as often as possible. You can use the normal protective vests, which replenish your armor, in addition to the Heist vest!
Four-door vehicles preferred: Since you'll be traveling with four team members except for the Fleeca raid, each team member should have at least one four-door vehicle ready. The cheapest solution is to buy the armored Kuruma once you have completed the Fleeca raid. Alternatively, you can buy the armed HVY Insurgent. In the Insurgent, however, only the gunner can fire at enemies with a machine gun (after upgrading Minigun) with infinite ammunition. If you don't own or want to buy both vehicles, look for a normal, four-door car with maximum armor, bulletproof tires and good acceleration.

Take advantage of free practice opportunities: Because of the different driving characteristics of the vehicles, it is worth gaining some experience with a similar model before a particular raid. For example, if you are the designated driver for the prison bus in the "Prison Break" heist, steal a school bus or a similar model to practice acceleration, cornering and braking in open terrain. You can gain flying experience for free even without your own planes with the ones at the three airports as well as at Fort Zancudo.

4. How to make the heist easier

Once you are on the road, communication with your team members is key to success. That's why it's worth going out in a tight group with accompanying Teamspeak or Discord voice chat. You should also keep the following in mind:

Easy mode to try out: There's no shame in trying out the more complicated heists in easy mode first: There you'll get to deal with less tough enemies and get familiar with the environment and the tasks at hand. Especially if you have players in your permanent team who are not yet well acquainted with the mini-games during the missions or are relatively new to GTA Online, a little extra practice can be a great help do no harm. As a team leader, make sure you get your original investment back when you successfully complete the loot distribution. Otherwise, you should agree that the learning effect is more important than the earnings during a trial run on an easy difficulty level.
Passive without stress: To avoid trouble with annoying fellow players, set yourself to passive before the start of the heist. When you return to the open world after completing a heist, your teammates can't legally cause you trouble.
Know your abilities: During heist preparations, you will often need to steal special vehicles or complete tasks in different companions. Be honest with yourself and your teammates about your skills in the game. It doesn't help anyone if you're the worst pilot in Los Santos and volunteer for a section of the game where the group only survives if a pilot is acting in a fighter jet! The heists are designed to require good drivers, pilots, shooters and mini-game players during the preparations and the final mission.

Use cover: GTA Online's cover system is rarely used in conflicts against players, but it saves you a lot of damage during jobs and heists. Corners of houses, crates, cars and low walls offer you protection from enemy fire. On the PC you take cover by pressing "Q", on the Xbox you press RB, on the Playstation R1. From cover, you can scout by pressing the aim key/target button, but it also lets enemies see a part of your body. If you release the key or button, you retreat into cover. Shoot from cover and you will attack your enemies without exposing your body or head.
Regularly heal/refill armor: In the heat of battle, it's easy to forget that you can also replenish your life and protection bars. Use snacks and normal protective vests to bring them back up to maximum during breathers, in cover, or while on the move. Especially good: In cover, while driving or racing, you can eat the snacks without eating animation, so that you get energy back much faster.
Get rid of the stars: During the preparation missions for the Doomsday Heists, you can call Lester to remove your Wanted stars. Should you make too much of a mess or can't escape well from the police with a difficult vehicle.

Off the GPS route: The in-game GPS will usually show you the ideal route to your destination as calculated by the game, but especially during police chases, it pays to outrun the AI by using side streets and open terrain. If you're driving in the city center, you'll confuse the AI by frequently changing directions and driving along sidewalks, in underground garages and through alleys. Here you'll mainly benefit from experience with the map of Los Santos and its surroundings, an off-road vehicle, and an experienced driver who knows your getaway vehicle and its driving characteristics well. The Kuruma in particular drives a bit unconventionally when making fast turns!

5. Unique Heist Challenges

To earn a few extra dollars, it's best to pull off the various heists in a solid group. The following unique challenges and bonuses await you in the classic heists:

First Time - GTA$100,000: Complete the last stage of a heist (i.e. the actual heist/job) on any difficulty level for the first time - a total of half a million GTA$ awaits you here.
Important Supporting Role - GTA$100,000: Complete all preparation missions and heists as a crew member.
Complete in order - 1,000,000 GTA$: Complete all tutorials and heist missions in the correct order.
Loyalty - 1,000,000 GTA$: Completes all Heist missions with the same team.
Criminal Genius - GTA$10,000,000: Complete all tutorials and Heist missions in the correct order with the same team, with no team member dying.
Other Perspective - GTA$100,000: Complete all preparation missions and heists in first-person perspective. To do this, the team leader must set the camera mode to "first-person perspective" in the lobby settings during Heist Preparation.

In the Doomsday Heists, you can earn a lot of money with the following one-time challenges:

First Time - GTA$50,000: Complete the final heist of each heist for the first time, earning a total of 150,000 GTA$ for all three heists.
Complete in Order II - 500,000 GTA$: Complete all Doomsday Heists and their preparation missions in the correct order.
Major Supporting Role II - 50,000 GTA$: Completes all preparation missions and final heists as a crew member.
Loyalty II - GTA$50,000: Complete all Doomsday Heists in the correct order in the same team of two.
Loyalty III - 50,000 GTA$: Complete all Doomsday Heists in the correct order in the same team of three.
Loyalty IV - 50,000 GTA$: Completes all Doomsday Heists in the correct order in the same team of four.
Criminal Genius II - 750,000 GTA$: Complete all Doomsday Heists in the correct order on Hard difficulty with no player deaths in the same team of two.
Criminal Genius III - GTA$1,750,000: Complete all Doomsday Heists in the correct order on Hard difficulty and without player deaths in the same team of three.
Criminal Genius IV - 3,750,000 GTA$: Complete all Doomsday Heists in the correct order on Hard difficulty and without player deaths in the same team of four.

6. Heist achievements in GTA Online

Of course, there are some achievements for the heists as well, with which you can show how far you've come in these challenging missions. The following achievements are available for the classic heists:

Always Ready: Successfully complete a heist preparation.
Boss: Pay for a heist mission as the leader.
Four Ways: Allocate 25 he loot to each team member before the final mission as a leader.
Can't touch this: Successfully complete a Heist Final without being injured.
Criminal Genius: Earn a total of 25 platinum medals in heist preparations and final missions.

Live a little: Spend a total of GTA$8,000,000 on vehicles and aircraft unlocked through Heists.
Dead Presidents: Successfully complete "Fleeca Raid" and "Pacific Standard Job" as a leader or crew member.
Freedmen: Successfully complete the "Prison Raid" heist as a leader or part of a crew.
In the Name of Research: Successfully complete "Humane Labs" and "Series A Funding" as a leader or part of a crew.

New achievements have come into play with the Doomsday Heists:

The Data Leak Situation: Successfully complete "The Data Leak Situation" Heist as a team leader or crew member.
The Bogdan Problem: Successfully complete the heist "The Bogdan Problem" as a team leader or crew member.
The DoomsdayScenario: Successfully complete the heist "The Doomsday Scenario" as a team leader or crew member.
A World Worth Saving: Successfully complete all three Doomsday Heists as a team leader or crew member.

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