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GTA 5 The Big Score best approach, Subtle or Obvious differences explained

It's time for one last heist.

The Big Score is the last heist in GTA 5 - it's Michael's final score and everyone is involved.

Here the crew takes on the Union Depository and plan to steal a lot of gold. There are two approaches to this heist: Subtle and Obvious.

Below you'll learn about the best approach for The Big Score, along with Subtle and Obvious approach walkthroughs.

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Subtle or Obvious? The best approach for The Big Score in GTA 5

The Subtle approach for The Big Score might be the safest, but choose the Obvious approach if you want the biggest score.

Best crew for The Big Score in GTA 5

The approach you choose will determine the crew you use for The Big Score.

If you pick the Subtle approach, you will need decent gunmen to help escape, good drivers to handle the Gauntlets and the semi-trucks, and a good hacker to deal with the traffic lights. If you have been leveling up your crew, you will not have that much trouble choosing the right people for the job.

The best crew for the Subtle approach:

  • 2 Gunmen: Gustavo Mota, Chef or Packie McReary (1) and Daryl Johns (2)
  • 2 Drivers: Taliana Martinez (1) or Eddie Toh (1) and Karim Denz (2)
  • 1 Hacker: Rickie Lukens

If you pick the Obvious approach, you need cheap gunmen and good drivers. You will not need a hacker for this.

The best crew for the Obvious approach:

  • 2 Gunmen: Any, with the more experienced gunman as Gunman 2
  • 2 Drivers: Taliana Martinez (1) or Eddie Toh (1) and Karim Denz (2)

Here are some crew tips for The Big Score in GTA 5:

  • It is recommended that you recruit Taliana Martinez and Packie McReary to give you more options.
    • Taliana Martinez can be recruited after the Crash Rescue random event.
    • Packie McReary can be recruited after the Getaway Driver random event.
  • If you do not have Taliana available, then choose Eddie Toh as Driver 1. Karim Denz should always be Driver 2.
  • If you do not have Packie McReary, you can choose Gustavo Mota or Chef.

The Big Score best getaway car

For the prep mission, Getaway Vehicle, the best getaway vehicle is a 4-door, fast car. You can choose to modify the car by upgrading the armor, engine, tires, and brakes, but it's not required.

If you replay the heist, the default car is the Ubermacht Oracle, but other good getaway cars include:

  • Obey Tailgater
  • Bravado Buffalo
  • Rapid Exemplar
  • Karin Sultan
  • Lampadati Felon

Subtle approach walkthrough for The Big Score in GTA 5

The Subtle approach for The Big Score is precisely what it means: subtle with minimal confrontations. Using this approach requires the crew to dress up as security guards, go into the bank, take the gold, and leave peacefully.

Prep Missions:

Before the heist, the trio must complete these prep missions:

  • Gauntlet: steal three Bravado Gauntlets and modify them to handle a high-risk getaway.
  • Stingers: steal an LSPD van equipped with spike strips.

Walkthrough:

Michael and Trevor dress as guards and ambush the Union Depository armored trucks. They take one guard with them to help with the robbery.

After arriving at the Union Depository, the bank manager leads Michael and Trevor to the underground vault where tons of gold is stashed. The crew takes the carts and loads them onto the armored trucks.

Michael and crew drive off, but not before Merryweather mercenaries spot them. Franklin and the hacker must change the traffic lights in order to impede the pursuers.

If successful, Michael and Trevor meet up with Franklin and the rest of the crew under a bridge. From there, they load up the Gauntlets with bricks of gold. As they are loading the Gauntlets, Merryweather mercenaries arrive, and a gunfight ensues.

Once the mercenaries are defeated, the crew takes off in the Gauntlets and are immediately followed by the police. The police chase ends when the cars are loaded on two semi-trucks. Now that the gold is safe, they hide the semis and meet at Michael's house.

Getaway Tips:

Below you find some gateway tips for The Big Score's Subtle approach:

  • The first gunman choice is important. If you choose a bad gunman, they will drop gold bars while transferring them to the Gauntlets.
  • Karim Denz should always be the second driver. If chosen as the first driver, he will drop gold bars when loading the Gauntlets.

Outcome:

If all goes well with the Subtle approach, the crew can make around $201,600,000 total. Of course, there was money spent on upgrading the Gauntlets and the guard payout of $300,000, so this isn't the most money that the crew can earn.

There are also gold medal objectives to achieve:

ApproachCrewGold Medal Objectives
SubtleMichael, Franklin, TrevorKill 20 enemies with a headshot
Perform less than 10 traffic light changes
Finish wtih a shooting accuracy of at least 60%

Obvious approach walkthrough for The Big Score in GTA 5

The Obvious approach for The Big Score is a little louder with more gunfights. The goal of this approach is to have Michael and a gunman cause a distraction while Franklin and the second gunman drill a hole next to the vault.

Prep Missions:

Before the heist, the trio must complete these prep missions:

  • Driller: Steal the Cutter from a warehouse in East Los Santos.
  • Sidetracked: Divert a train and secure the freight engine and a flatbed.
  • Getaway Vehicle: Obtain the car needed for the getaway.

Walkthrough:

Michael, Trevor, and Franklin split up with Michael heading to the Union Depository to pick up one of the gunmen, Franklin heading underground to drive the cutter, and Trevor and Lester in a chopper hovering over the depository.

Michael and the gunman enter the depository while Franklin drives the cutter into the wall and drills a large hole into the wall.

In the bank vault, Franklin places sticky bombs on the cages and blows the doors open. As soon as the doors are blown, a NOOSE team arrives. Franklin holds off the cops while the gunman starts loading the crates.

After defeating the first wave, Trevor arrives with the helicopters. A second NOOSE team arrives, and Franklin and the gunman have to protect the gold and the helicopters.

Once the second wave is defeated, Trevor and Lester make their getaway with the gold secure to the helicopters. Now that Franklin and Trevor are making their escape, Michael and the gunman have to make theirs. A shootout ensues between Michael and the cops outside of the depository.

Eventually, Michael meets up with Franklin, and they continue to fight their way to the getaway car. Meanwhile, Trevor, Lester, and one of the drivers fly towards the train with the flatbed.

On the way, they are intercepted by Merryweather. Trevor has to keep the helicopter close and steady so that Lester can fire rockets at the Merryweather helicopters. After Merryweather is cleared out, Trevor must place the gold on top of the flatbed. The crew then heads to Sandy Shores Airfield. After a short celebration, the crew splits up.

Getaway Tips:

Here are some gateway tips for The Big Score's Obvious approach:

  • You do not need the best gunman in this approach, but the most experienced one should be your second gunman. They will help in the shootout with the cops.
  • During the getaway, you can take the underground subway tunnel that has been under construction. This will help you quickly lose the cops that are chasing you.
  • Keeping the helicopter steady is fairly easy to do as Lester will fire as soon as the helicopters are in the line of sight. The sooner Lester takes out the helicopters the greater chance you have of protecting the second helicopter and the gold it holds.

Outcome:

If all goes well with the Obvious approach, the crew makes $201,600,000 total. This comes to approximately $26,000,000 for Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. Since they did not need to pay anyone off or spend money on their cars, this is a full takeaway.

There are also gold medal objectives to achieve:

ApproachCrewGold Medal Objectives
ObviousMichael, Franklin, TrevorComplete within 16:00
Kill 20 enemies with a headshot
Finish with a shooting accuracy of at least 60%
Drop the gold onto the train within 30 seconds

Good luck completing the final heist of GTA 5! From here, the last mission in GTA 5 - and a pretty big choice to make - awaits...