Michael and the crew play it safe in their last big job.
The Big Score – Subtle Approach is one of two ways to complete The Big Score in GTA 5. The Subtle Approach is the least efficient approach to complete this mission due to the smaller overall take you can get after completing the mission. Nevertheless, the Subtle Approach presents a fairly complex set of objectives that will appeal to players looking for a challenge.
In this guide, we have outlined everything you need to know about The Big Score – Subtle Approach and how you can get a Gold Medal for completing the mission in GTA 5.
The Big Score – Subtle Approach Synopsis
Franklin, Michael, and Trevor meet at Vanilla Unicorn to change for The Big One. Lester is already in the building preparing the team’s uniforms and briefing the team’s hacker on the hardware he will use for the job.
Franklin leaves first to head to Mission Row, while Michael and Trevor stay behind to lead the rest of the crew to the Union Depository.
On their way to the Union Depository, Trevor berates Michael for picking a crew that Trevor deems incapable and begins to doubt that Michael picked a less capable crew so he can set them up to fail as he did to Trevor and Brad back in North Yankton.
Michael defends himself by telling Trevor the crew he picked was the same crew they employed in the last job, which went well. The crew member takes Michael’s side and tells Trevor they did a great job in their previous heist.
Michael and Trevor set aside their argument while waiting to intercept two Securicars at the tunnel. When Trevor sees the vans coming, he tells Michael to deploy the spike strips and drive further down the tunnel, so the Securicars do not crash into them as they drive over the spike strips.
With the Securicars disabled, Michael and the crew forces the drivers to get out of the Securicars so they can use the vans to enter the Union Depository unnoticed. Michael, Trevor, and the crew hold the Securicar crew hostage while the rest of the crew changes the van’s blown-out tires. As soon as the Securicars are ready, Michael takes one of the drivers, Casey, with them so they can use his ID to enter the Union Depository parking area.
Michael’s crew drives the two Securicars to the Union Depository underground entrance. The security crew at the Union Depository gate was a little suspicious about the Securicars being late, but he let the crew enter nevertheless. Once inside, Michael and the crew park the two Securicars at their designated parking spot and head toward the manager, who checks each crew’s IDs.
With their IDs checked, the manager leads Michael and the rest of the crew to the Union Depository vault, where Casey enters the vault code that opens the vault door. With the vault door open, Michael and the crew follow the manager as he leads them to the cells holding the trolleys full of gold bars.
Trevor remarks on the amount of gold there was in the cell. The manager tells Trevor that the gold belongs to the Chinese and that the Union Depository only holds it for them. When Trevor jokes about keeping the gold for himself, the manager jokingly tells him to take as many as he can, causing both men to laugh.
Trevor and Casey push the gold carts out of the vault and onto the Securicars in the parking lot. After all the gold has been loaded, Michael and the crew drive out of the Union Depository parking lot without too much issue, but the same cannot be said at Franklin’s end.
Franklin reports that Merryweather has discovered that Michael and the crew took the gold from the Union Depository and are already out looking for Michael and the crew. Franklin works with the crew’s hacker to manipulate the traffic lights system to keep Merryweather away from Michael and the crew.
Franklin works to manipulate the traffic lights and lead Michael and the crew away from Merryweather, allowing Michael and the crew to safely arrive at Franklin’s location, where they unload all the gold from the Securicars and onto the Gauntlets.
Meanwhile, Trevor prepares to take out Casey to eliminate any witnesses. Michael stops Trevor from killing Casey and bribes him with a bar of gold. Trevor does not approve of Michael’s actions and calls him soft, causing both men to start an argument. Franklin quickly stops both men, telling them to work first and bicker later.
Before Michael and the crew can finish loading the gold onto the Gauntlets, several Merryweather agents arrive, forcing Michael, Franklin, and Trevor to cover the crew while they load the gold.
After a brief yet intense standoff with Merryweather, Michael, Franklin, Trevor, and another crew member drive away in their upgraded Gauntlets. The crew drives through multiple LSPD blockades around town and eventually makes their way to a tunnel where two container trucks await them.
Michael and the other Gauntlet drivers load the cars onto the trucks and disappear, evading the LSPD. Michael leaves the gold in the care of the other crew members while he, Franklin, and Trevor take a Cavalcade and drive to Michael’s house to meet with Lester.
Despite the job being a huge success, Trevor asks Lester where the gold is being held. Lester tells Trevor that he’s keeping it in lockdown for a few days while he waits to have the gold melted and sold. Lester explains he’s done this to ensure nobody knows where the gold is in case anybody from the crew gets pinched.
Trevor does not like the idea and starts attacking Michael, which leads to a chain of arguments that leaves the crew in bad shape.
The Big Score – Subtle Approach Gold Medal Objectives
- Headshots: Kill 20 enemies with a headshot.
- Signal Man: Perform less than ten traffic light changes.
- Accuracy: Finish with a shooting accuracy of at least 60%.
All Gold Medal objectives for this mission can be completed through multiple replays. You can return another time and replay the mission to get the rest of the Gold Medal objectives.
The Big Score – Subtle Approach Mission Guide
Pick the Subtle Approach in the planning board.
Pick the following crew members:
Gunman: Gustavo Mota, Packie McReary
Driver: Taliana Martinez, Karim Denz
Hacker: Rickie Lukens
Head to the underground tunnel marked yellow on the map.
As soon as Trevor spots the incoming Securicars, drop the spikes, then drive forward.
Drive to the Depository underground entrance.
You do not have to do anything much here. Just follow the crew and the manager around.
After loading the gold, get back in the van, then follow Trevor. The play will switch to Franklin.
Turn this set of traffic lights on as soon as the screen initializes.
STOP the middle rightmost traffic lights.
STOP the upper leftmost stoplight.
Turn the third traffic light from the left along the middle row GREEN.
Immediately turn the upper rightmost corner GREEN.
STOP the second set of lights from the left along the middle row.
Turn the rightmost set of lights along the middle row GREEN.
IMMEDIATELY turn the bottom right corner lights RED.
Turn the third set of lights from the left of the middle row GREEN.
IMMEDIATELY turn the bottom middle set of lights RED.
Michael and the crew should arrive immediately. You can skip the cutscene here if you want to save time.
Play Michael as much as you can here. His unique ability will help you score all 20 Headshots required to get the Headshot Gold Medal, plus he can guarantee you keep your Accuracy percentages up.
Just follow the rest of the Gauntlets. Feel free to use Franklin’s special ability to clear tight turns.
This section of the mission requires you to drive toward the inside of the cargo van. The play will immediately slow down, but you can still use Franklin’s special ability.
A quick cutscene will play out after you successfully load the Gauntlets into the container vans. After which, just drive back to Michael’s house, marked yellow on the map.
You can watch the cutscene if you want, or you can just skip it.
Slow and Steady
Despite being a less lucrative approach to The Big Score, the Subtle Approach is a fun and challenging mission that will unlock a cutscene that gives weight to the final mission in GTA 5.
The Subtle Approach is not the approach you want to take in The Big Score to get the most cash after completing GTA 5’s story mode.
Nevertheless, follow the detailed guide above, including the specific crew members you need to hire to ensure you get the most money out of this mission.
The Gold Medal Objectives are easy enough to complete in this mission. The standoff with Merryweather will quickly get you 20 headshots if you use Michael and his special ability.
Accuracy should not be a problem as well since Michael’s special ability can slow down time and help you land shots more easily.
Lastly, follow the pattern we have laid down in the guide above for the signal light section of the mission to get all three Gold Medal Objectives in a single run.
