Heists and Crews

Heists decide how much money the story pays out, and each one hinges on two choices made at the planning board: the approach and the crew. The campaign contains a prologue bank job plus five heists, running from the Jewel Store Job to the Big Score at the Union Depository.

How the crew system works

The harder heists need computer-controlled accomplices with their own skill sets, such as hacking and driving. An accomplice who survives a successful job takes a cut of the cash reward, and he can return for later missions with improved skills. That creates the central trade-off: a skilled crew member costs a larger percentage but makes the job smoother, while a cheap one leaves more money and more risk. Some heists also allow different strategies. In a holdup, for example, the team can subdue civilians quietly with an incapacitating agent or storm the venue with weapons drawn. GameSpot cited the 1995 film Heat as a style influence on the heist design.

The Jewel Store Job

The first heist involves only Michael and Franklin. Michael enlists Lester Crest and Franklin to rob a Vangelico jewellery store so that he can repay Martin Madrazo. A hired driver, gunman and hacker complete the team, and the plan comes in two approaches, loud or smart. The smart route subdues civilians quietly with an incapacitating agent, while the loud route storms the store with weapons drawn. Lester's intel mission, casing the jewel store, comes first. For the hacker, Rickie Lukens gives the team enough time inside the store to grab all the jewellery. Packie McReary is a gunman choice, and Karim Denz a driver choice. To make Packie available, complete his random event, where he is robbing a store near Franklin's house and needs a getaway driver.

The Merryweather Heist

This is the most straightforward job because the crew is set for the player. The choice is the approach: freighter or offshore. Because the team is fixed, no hired crew decisions appear on the planning board for this job.

The Paleto Score

Trevor, Michael and Franklin raid the Pacific Standard Bank in Paleto Bay with a hired gunman. The job funds a heavy lift helicopter for a future FIB operation, so the FIB keeps most of the take. The crew fights off the local police and then the military. It offers one loud approach only. For the gunman, Packie McReary and Chef both perform well and charge 2% less than Gustavo Mota, and Packie holds a slight edge in stats if he joined the Jewel Store Job.

The Bureau Raid

Michael and Franklin break into the FIB headquarters to erase the evidence held against Steve Haines. The two approaches are fire crew and roof entry, and the crew roles change with the approach. Only Franklin is paid, and his cut comes to about $240,000, so Michael's share is zero. Rickie Lukens works well as hacker, especially if he joined earlier heists. Norm Richards is the preferred gunman here because the choice leaves a higher cut. Taliana Martinez drives as well as Eddie Toh and takes 9% less.

The Big Score

The final heist targets the gold bullion in the Union Depository, and the plan is set up with Lester at the Vanilla Unicorn. The two approaches are subtle and obvious, and the obvious approach uses two drivers and two gunmen. The payout arrives only after the story ends. Crew cuts for this job include:

• Drivers: Eddie Toh at 14% and Taliana Martinez at 5%.
• Gunmen: Chef at 12%, Karl Abolaji at 8%, Norm Richards at 7%, Hugh Welsh at 7% and Daryl Johns at 6%.

Eddie Toh, Taliana Martinez and Chef each fill either the first or second slot of their role well. Karl Abolaji, Norm Richards, Hugh Welsh and Daryl Johns suit the first gunman slot.

Choosing cheaper members raises the protagonists' share, while gunmen who took part in the Bureau Raid perform better. Because the Big Score holds the largest pot of money in the story, this is the heist where the crew choice matters most.

Why the heists stand out

Reviewers singled the heists out as a welcome break from the series' usual mission structure, and Eurogamer likened them to blockbuster set-pieces. Polygon compared the rapid character switching during a heist to film editing, with the player acting as editor who cuts to the most interesting viewpoint at each moment. Joystiq felt that creativity and methodical approaches were rewarded.

Where the heists fit in the plot

The heists drive the entire plot, and the order they appear in is covered in story and endings. The planner behind most of them is profiled in supporting cast. Multiplayer heists later became a separate feature, explained in multiplayer mode.