Packie McReary[]
Should it be noted that when I do this mission with Packie, he gets cornered and arrested by the police?--User:Staff Sergeant Jack Jackson | Talk Page | My Contributions 21:47, October 10, 2013 (UTC)
$30 million Subtle Approach[]
I find it strange that while the article says that the subtle approach will give $24 million to each character, I took that route, did "The Third Way" and I got $30 million for each character. --Falloutghoul (talk) 17:36, October 16, 2013 (UTC)
Stocks[]
One would think that this mission would effect one or more stocks; I don't think it does. If it does then that should definitely be mentioned in the article. --User000name (talk) 03:33, December 27, 2017 (UTC)
- It technically does not, which is why the article doesn't mention it. The news mentions activity on the stock market, which will trigger in-game after the finale - the story mission that takes place immediately after this heist, which is why it's mentioned on those article pages. Dsurian (talk) 09:24, 9 December 2020 (UTC)
Data Analysis[]
As I've done with previous heists, I'm listing out some relevant data here to be used by whomever may desire it. It also supports a few recent edits I've made on the article, and may help newcomers work out the complicated math regarding these results.
First off, the Gross Take is constant at $201,600,000; attaining this figure is surprisingly simple during either approach. However, multiple factors may reduce this amount before various cuts are determined, depending on approach and crew choices.
Regarding the Obvious approach, one really only needs to worry about the first helicopter crashing due to it's pilot being a 'poor' Driver1, which will cost the player 50% of the take (Money Dropped), resulting in a Net Take of merely $100,800,000;
In regards to the Subtle approach, there will always be a $300k hit for the coerced guard's bribe ...in addition, a 'poor' Driver1 and/or Gunman1 will lose 9% each (potentially 18% - Slow Loading Cost) ...in addition, a 'poor' Driver1 will also inevitably crash their getaway vehicle, losing another 25% (Money Dropped). In total, this reduces the take by ~39%, which potentially leaves the player with a minimum Net Take of $123,799,500;
From here, the various cuts are simply based off whatever the Net works out to be; Lester's Cut is constant at 12%, the Crew Cut takes whatever they're owed, and the remainder gets split evenly between the three protagonists - assuming all three survive the end-game - with each share varying between $41.6 mil ("Obvious; Best") and $9.6 mil ("Subtle; Worst").
Subtle>Gunman1[]
An interesting maths query - which is better, a 9% hit early or a 5% hit later? During the Subtle approach, when choosing Gunman1, you can either choose a 'good' gunman at greater expense to avoid a 9% 'Slow Loading Cost', or choose a 'poor' gunman and take the early hit in order to save 5% on the Crew Cut. What's interesting is that, if the goal is to reach extremes (the 'best' and 'worst' results), then the 'good' gunman appears to be the preferred choice in either case.
Granted, the 'best' results are very close, with only a $150k margin per protagonist, but the $17.5 mil saved between Crew and Lester just doesn't quite match the $18 mil retained by avoiding poor performance. Then again, if neither Packie or Chef are available to the player, using a 'poor' gunman - even the recent addition, Karl Abolaji - is better that hiring Gustavo Mota.
The 'worst' results have a surprisingly larger margin, likely due to everything increasing substantially due to using a 12%'er; Money Dropped goes up by $4.5 mil, Lester and Casualty go up $1.5 mil each, and the Crew gets $14 mil more = ~$20 mil greater expenses, vs $18 mil retained ...which leaves ~$0.7 mil less per protagonist if a 'good' gunman is chosen.
Obvious>Driver1[]
There appears to be a discrepancy between my findings in-game (EE, Build 2060.1) and what's been maintained on the wiki. The wiki claims that it's possible for a 'good' Driver1 to canonically die (pre-GTA:O Casino Heist) - in that, the heist can be completed successfully with a 'good' Driver casualty. However, I've observed the opposite, and it seems clear that when Driver1 is fleeing the city, there are essentially two sequential checks being made by the game.
Firstly:Merryweather check - Have all three Buzzards been destroyed?
> If yes, next check; success
> If no, has Chopper1 reached 'end-of-wind-farm'?
> > If yes, execute 'crash-Chopper1' *and* fail mission;
> > If no, re-check;
- Regarding the above, Driver1's skill is moot; an inexperienced Karim will actually live slightly longer than if the player were to speedily dispatch the Buzzards. Furthermore, there seems to be *no situation* where Chopper1 crashes (while a Buzzard survives) and the heist does *not* fail. This would mean that Eddie and Taliana canonically survive this heist.
Secondly:Quality check - Is Driver1 classified as 'poor'?
> If yes, execute 'crash-Chopper1' *without* failing mission. successful failure
> If no, proceed normally with train trigger; complete success
- The above pointedly takes place after all three Buzzards have been dispatched. No other variable seems to have an affect, such as potential damage received by Chopper1 from the Buzzards or turbines, or total time elapsed.
To be clear, I'm not opposing the second 'Quality' check - I'm aware that exists, and agree with it. What I'm arguing is that the first 'Merryweather' check is accurate in how I've laid it out; assuming a good Driver1 crashes their helicopter, the mission is guaranteed to fail, and thus their death cannot be canon. Unfortunately, I cannot update the wiki as-of-yet, and am hoping for some help confirming this assertion, preferably by someone with access to the original (X360/PS3) game.