Planning the Big Score is a short interactive cutscene in GTA V which is part of the planning for The Big Score. The trio meet up at the Vanilla Unicorn to discuss and plan the biggest heist of their lives, the Union Depository.
In this mission the player only has to select the approach and the crew for The Big Score. The player can either choose the Subtle Approach or the Obvious Approach. Both approaches have unique heist setup missions before the main heist.
The Subtle Approach unlocks the missions Stingers and Three Modified Gauntlets whereas the Obvious Approach unlocks Driller, Sidetracked and Getaway Vehicle.
For the Subtle Approach the player has to choose two gunmen, two drivers and a hacker. In this approach, Michael and Trevor hijack two Securicars en route to the Union Depository, taking the occupants hostage. They assume the guise of Gruppe 6 officers to gain entry into the Union and procure the gold without incident.
Finally, they transfer the gold into four specially equipped Gauntlets to avoid detection by law enforcement while escaping the city.
For the Obvious Approach the player has to select two drivers and two gunmen. In this approach, Franklin uses a Cutter to access the Union Depository vault from below ground and steal the gold directly.
Meanwhile, Michael creates a diversion at the front of the bank to draw police attention away from the heist. Trevor, utilizing his helicopter, then transports the stolen gold to the train for escape
To maximize the amount of cash obtained, the optimal strategy is the Obvious approach which involves selecting Karim Denz and Taliana Martinez as the two drivers, and Daryl Johns and either Norm Richards or Hugh Welsh as the two gunmen. This selection can yield well over $41 million for each character.
Name of Mission | Planning the Big Score |
Protagonist(s) | Michael De Santa Franklin Clinton Trevor Philips |
Location | Vanilla Unicorn |
Target | Plan the score. |
Time of the Day | In-game time |
This mission does not have any particular mission objectives as the player has to only choose the approach and crew for The Big Score in this mission.
There are no rewards for the completion of this mission as it is only a heist setup mission.
After this mission, according to the approach chosen, the player has to complete certain heist setup missions to prepare for the heist. The Subtle Approach unlocks the missions Stingers and Three Modified Gauntlets whereas the Obvious Approach unlocks Driller, Sidetracked and Getaway Vehicle.
A glitch may occur if the player switches to Franklin immediately after the mission. If Franklin is driving his Buffalo, a message may come up stating that it is a suitable getaway vehicle and can be modified, even though the protagonists' personal vehicles cannot be used as getaway vehicles. If the player switches to another protagonist and then switches back to Franklin, he will not be able to use his vehicle as a getaway vehicle.
If the protagonist gets a private dance in the strip club before this mission, this may cause the map marker to disappear.
A. The player has to visit Lester at the Vanilla Unicorn while playing as any protagonist to start the mission Planning The Big Score. It is marked as H on the map and is unlocked after the mission Meltdown.
A. There are no gold medal objectives for this mission.
A. The Union Depository heist is planned in this mission. The player has to only choose the approach and crew for The Big Score in this mission.
All Issues
