The Merryweather Heist #24

3.24. The Merryweather Heist

Trevor plans this heist, and he, Michael, and Franklin pull it together. In the planning mission Scouting the Port you pick Freighter or Offshore, and both approaches require the Minisub setup. If you pick Offshore, a Cargobob setup is added.

3.24.1. Overview

  • Planning: Scouting the Port
  • It opens after you finish Fame or Shame. You start as Trevor at Floyd's apartment on Vespucci Beach, and Trevor, Wade, and Floyd enter the Port of Los Santos dressed as dock workers.
  • When you reach Pier 400, Wade is called away to clean sewage, and Trevor takes over the dock work so he is not spotted.
  • Move the containers marked for the Dock Handler into the loading area
  • Climb into the crane cab and load two containers onto the truck
  • From the end of the crane walkway, photograph the bow, the guard on the gangway, and the stern, one photo each, and send them to Ron
  • Then drive the truck to the Los Santos Naval Port, which Merryweather is guarding. While the guards surround Floyd, Trevor takes the briefcase with the shipping manifest from the office.
  • Leave the restricted area, go back to the apartment, and pick the heist approach to finish. If you pick Freighter, Trevor tells Franklin to practice at the shooting range, and if you pick Offshore, he tells Michael to try flight school. Neither is required.
  • Gold medal
  • Finish within 20 minutes
  • Do not damage the containers: drive the Dock Handler slowly and carefully.
  • Take all 3 photos as instructed
  • Do not cause a disturbance on the dock: if you cause one you fail anyway, so finishing the mission clears this too.
  • You fail in these cases.
  • Trevor dies or is busted, or Wade or Floyd dies or you leave them behind
  • Trevor's cover is blown, or you leave Pier 400
  • A container is badly damaged, the Dock Handler is destroyed or stuck, a container on the handler is damaged, or you abandon the cargo
  • The truck is destroyed or stuck
  • Setup: Minisub
  • It opens after Scouting the Port, and you have to do it no matter which approach you picked. The target is the yellow submersible hanging from a ship docked at the port.
  • Sneak onto the ship and release the cable from the control panel, or shoot the cable with a sniper rifle to drop the submersible into the water. There is one guard on the ship.
  • Drive the submersible to another part of the port and Floyd lifts it with a crane onto a trailer. Move it together to the port warehouse, then get out of the truck to finish.
  • Gold medal
  • Finish within 8 minutes 30 seconds: go around the south of Elysian Island to Pier 400, and stay near the surface while avoiding underwater obstacles.
  • Steal the submersible without boarding the ship: snipe the cable from land, then jump in the water and get in the submersible.
  • You fail if any of these happen: Trevor dies or is busted, Floyd dies or you leave him behind, the submersible, truck, or Floyd's pickup is wrecked, or you leave the mission area.
  • When the heist opens
  • You have to finish By the Book and Minisub. If you picked Offshore, you also have to finish Cargobob.
  • You can do the setup missions before By the Book.
  • Either way, Lester shows up at the end and tells you to put the stolen device back, so this heist pays nothing.

3.24.2. Freighter

While Franklin covers from a distance, Michael plants bombs on the freighter, and Trevor recovers the device from the sunken ship in the submersible. The only setup mission is Minisub.

  • Sniper spot and infiltration
  • After the plan at Floyd's apartment, Trevor picks up Franklin and drives to the Miriam Turner Overpass. Franklin climbs to the lookout.
  • Around sunset, Michael, who was waiting in a boat, jumps into the water and boards the freighter. Meanwhile, as Franklin, use the sniper rifle and take out the Merryweather guards.
  • Planting the bombs
  • Michael sticks sticky bombs on the bow pillar, the first mast, and the second mast, in that order, then heads for the stern entrance. He plants four bombs in all.
  • If Michael is spotted along the way, switch to Franklin and take out the guards chasing him and the Merryweather helicopter.
  • Once Michael is off the ship, Franklin detonates the bombs and sinks the freighter.
  • Recovering the device
  • As Michael in scuba gear, find the device among the wreckage. Then Trevor picks it up in the submersible and carries it to the safe zone to finish.
  • Gold medal
  • 12 headshots, accuracy of at least 80%
  • Aim for every enemy's head and both goals fill together. This approach has a flaw where even 100% accuracy is not counted, so you cannot earn the gold medal. The Offshore approach does not have this flaw.
  • Kill 12 enemies with stealth attacks
  • Stay in stealth while you plant the bombs, and shoot the guards with a suppressed Combat Pistol. Franklin stays in stealth the whole time, so taking them all out as Franklin still counts.
  • Reach the inside of the ship without being spotted
  • Do not throw the bombs; stick them directly on the pillars. After the first bomb, climbing the ladder keeps the guards from hearing you. You can also drop the guards before Michael with the thermal scope on Franklin's sniper rifle.
  • Find the container within 60 seconds
  • Drive the submersible straight toward the wreckage. A red light blinks on the device.
  • Reasons for failure
  • A protagonist dies or is busted, or the police notice during the heist
  • Franklin's sniper rifle runs out of ammo, or Franklin falls behind
  • Merryweather notices while Michael is not in position, Michael runs out of sticky bombs, or a bomb goes off too early
  • Michael or Franklin leaves the area, or Michael or Trevor abandons the heist
  • The submersible runs aground

3.24.3. Offshore

You hang the submersible from the Cargobob, fly to Merryweather's offshore test site, and recover the device. The setup missions are Minisub and Cargobob.

  • Setup: Cargobob
  • It opens only if you picked Offshore in Scouting the Port. Enter Fort Zancudo and steal a Cargobob.
  • Once you leave the base, a military Buzzard helicopter chases you. Lose it, then drop the Cargobob in the hangar at Sandy Shores Airfield to finish.
  • Gold medal: finish within 5 minutes 30 seconds
  • As soon as you are in the Cargobob, fly straight toward Sandy Shores Airfield.
  • You fail if the Cargobob is destroyed or you leave it behind.
  • Moving the submersible
  • After the plan, Michael drives Trevor's truck with both of them to Sandy Shores Airfield.
  • Once Trevor gets in the submersible that Wade and Floyd brought, Michael lifts it with the Cargobob hook and flies to the test site off Paleto Cove.
  • Lower the submersible close to the test site.
  • Finding the device
  • Trevor finds the device with the Trackify app on his phone, grabs it, and surfaces. Switch back to Michael and lift the submersible.
  • Merryweather chase
  • On the way back to the airfield, Merryweather helicopters and boats attack. Franklin has to move to the rear of the Cargobob and take them all out with the Combat MG.
  • Fly low over the airfield and lower the submersible to finish.
  • Gold medal
  • Find the device within 2 minutes
  • The seabed is full of rocks, so stay as high as you can until you are almost on top of the device.
  • Finish within 14 minutes 30 seconds
  • Kill every Merryweather pursuer
  • Do not flee; stand and fight.
  • Get clear of the Merryweather chase within 4 minutes
  • The faster you take the enemies out, the more the time goal fills with it.
  • Reasons for failure
  • A protagonist dies or is busted, someone falls behind, or Wade or Floyd dies
  • The submersible is destroyed, or the Cargobob is destroyed or abandoned
  • You do not deal with Merryweather in time

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