There are five optional prep missions in the Kortz Center Heist, the latest and biggest heist in Grand Theft Auto Online. None of them are required to start the job, but each one either makes the finale easier or lets you carry out more loot.
Every optional prep is unlocked by photographing a specific point of interest during the scope out, so if you haven't done that yet, check our Kortz Center Scope Out Guide first.
Here's what each one does and how to complete them.
Guard Shipments
What it does: Weakens the armor and weapons the guards carry during the finale, similar to the Duggan Shipments prep from the Diamond Casino Heist. This is one of the more valuable optional preps.
How to unlock it: Photograph the delivery truck and crates on the Loading Bay camera feed during the scope out.
How to complete it: In this mission, you're first asked to break into a warehouse. Once inside, you'll find several guard shipments, and all you need to do is destroy them. They're explosive, so keep your distance when you shoot them. It's easier if you use an explosive weapon for the wider area of effect, so an RPG, homing launcher, or grenade launcher works great here.
Once they're destroyed, hack the computer and download the delivery routes. This gives you five minutes to destroy the remaining shipments. As a solo player, you'll have three armored vans driving around, each carrying guard shipments. When you get close to one, you'll see its health bar in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Just shoot at them until they are destroyed, which doesn't take long as long as you're using an automatic SMG, or use your Oppressor Mk II to line up your missiles and fire. Note that the Oppressor Mk II won't lock on here, so you'll have to aim manually. Keep your distance too, since the shipments are explosive and the van goes up along with them when destroyed.
After destroying all three vans, leave the area to complete the mission.
Guard Routes
What it does: Reveals the positions of all guards throughout the heist, so you can see exactly where every guard is on your minimap.
How to unlock it: Photograph the radio tower on top of the Bell Building.
How to complete it: Head to the location Raf marks for you and search a parked, unmarked cruiser for the radio tracker. The cruiser sits in a parking lot full of cops, but the good news is they're just patrolling and won't turn hostile simply because you walk in. They will become hostile if you stay in their field of vision too long, so avoid being seen.
The unmarked cruiser is one of a kind, so you won't have much trouble spotting it. Once you find it, you'll be prompted to search the trunk for the radio tracker. Opening it sets off the car's alarm and alerts the cops, so it's best to keep your own vehicle parked close by for a quick getaway.
After grabbing the radio tracker, get back to your vehicle and lose the cops. Once you're clear, make your way back to the Kortz Center and plant the tracker on the radio tower on top of the Bell Building. This is the same point of interest you photographed to unlock this mission.
Two guards patrol the roof. You can take them out with a sniper rifle or sneak up and eliminate them quietly.
If you have an Oppressor Mk II you can fly straight up, or take the stairs on the southern end of the Bell Building to reach the rooftop.
Glass Cutter
What it does: Lets you cut through the reinforced glass display cases to steal the secondary loot inside. Remember that you'll also need to disable the case alarm during the finale to actually smash them.
How to unlock it: Photograph the display case with a skull in it.
How to complete it: First, make your way to the KnoWay HQ and upload your AI concierge to the KnoWay servers. Once that's done, your concierge will locate the general area of the safehouse you need to break into to get the glass cutter.
From here you can either take the KnoWay taxi straight to the location or head there yourself. We'd recommend the taxi if you don't have a flying vehicle. If you've got an Oppressor Mk II, just fly over. The Oppressor also helps you pin down the exact spot, since its homing missiles will lock onto the guards and enemy vehicles outside the safehouse, making it easy to spot from the air. Either way, the enemies and their vehicles are hard to miss.
Break into the safehouse, eliminate the enemies, and you'll find the glass cutter inside. Pick it up and deliver it to your Mansion to complete the mission.
Power Drills
What it does: Lets you drill through the vault lockboxes during the finale for additional loot.
How to unlock it: Pan to the lockboxes on the Vault camera feed until your AI concierge calls them out.
How to complete it: Head to the house where the construction team is working. Enter and eliminate any enemies in your way as you search for a duffel bag containing the power drills. This one is straightforward, with not much to it beyond grabbing the drills and delivering them back to your Mansion.
The duffel bag can be anywhere in the house, such as the bedroom or the living room. We found ours in the living room. The area also has armed guards, so take them out as you search. Once you've got the power drills, leave the house, lose the cops, and return to your Mansion to complete the mission.
EMP Charges
What it does: Disables lights and CCTV cameras, wipes the CCTV footage, and opens an additional staircase connecting the exhibition and basement. Because clean footage protects your sale value, this one directly helps your payout. If you don't have the EMP charge, you can still do so by interacting with one of the computers during the finale, and it is enroute as well so doesn't take much time either.
How to unlock it: Photograph the electrical box on the Bell Building or around it.
How to complete it: First, you need to destroy an armored moving truck that's protected by a helicopter flying alongside it. Take out the helicopter with any weapon, though a homing launcher or your Oppressor Mk II's missiles work best. Once it's down, start damaging the truck to lower its health.
You can track the truck's health in the bottom right corner of the screen. There's a black line marking the point you need to get its health below. Once it drops past that threshold, the truck stops and you can get inside.
GTA 6 giveaway
Win a full copy of GTA 6 Ultimate Edition.We're giving away full copies of GTA 6 Ultimate Edition in several draws through launch. Enter with your email, then join in once on the site. One entry per person.
Prize
A full copy of GTA 6 Ultimate Edition
Email first, then one site action during the draw window.
Head into the truck, eliminate the guards, and go to the far end to find the EMP charges to steal.
Grab the charges, then get into the Rumpo Custom van parked inside the truck and drive it out. From there, simply drive the van to the Kortz Center parking lot, park it, and arm the EMP by pressing whatever button the game prompts you to. Once armed, leave the area to complete the mission.
Which Optional Preps Are Worth Doing?
You do not need all five. We recommend prioritising:
- Guard Shipments: This removes the guards' head protection and weakens their weapons. It is especially useful for the Elite Challenge, which requires over 90% shooting accuracy, because clean one-shot kills reduce the risk of panic firing and missed shots. If your Mansion has the Armory expansion, the Street Loadout includes a Pump Shotgun Mk II that can one-shot fully armoured guards. An owned Bunker can also apply compatible ammo and upgrades to that weapon. Those improvements may make Guard Shipments less important, but without them we strongly recommend completing it. The Agency does not provide the Armory; it is a separate property benefit that gives you more time inside the vault.
- Guard Routes: Showing every guard and cone of vision on the minimap removes much of the guesswork, particularly on a stealthy run.
- Glass Cutter: Complete this if a Secondary Target or buyer-request item is inside a glass display case. It can still be useful for filling your bag even when the display-case item is not on the buyer's list.
The remaining preps are situational, so use them when you want every possible advantage or their unlock matches your planned route. Our Staff Entrance walkthrough and Skylight walkthrough show how these optional preps support two completed Normal solo Elite routes. The Hard Sewer walkthrough uses Guard Shipments, Guard Routes and the Glass Cutter in a completed 14:59 Elite run.
And that's all five optional prep missions covered. None of them are required, but each one makes the finale smoother or pads out your payout, so they're well worth doing if you've got the time. For every other part of the job, including the full scope out, the required prep missions, and the payouts, head over to our Kortz Center Heist hub.
