How to Complete the Kortz Center Heist Solo Using the Skylight Approach (Elite Challenge)

The Skylight entrance is one of the most reliable ways to run the Kortz Center Heist solo while completing the Elite Challenge on Normal difficulty. It works only when every item on the Buyer’s Request list appears in a solo-accessible part of the exhibition room, so check the scoped locations first. Once the setup is suitable, the only demanding parts of this route are the rooftop approach and the laser room.

The standout advantage of this approach is that entering through the skylight automatically disables the horizontally moving security camera on the ground floor of the exhibition room. That camera is one of the most awkward things to work around on other routes, so removing it entirely makes the whole exhibition section far easier to navigate.

The Elite Challenge Requirements

To earn the Elite Challenge bonus, you have to meet all four conditions in the same run.

The accuracy requirement is the one most people fail, since stray shots add up faster than you would expect. This is exactly why the Guard Shipments prep and clean one-shot kills matter so much.

The Buyer’s Request Problem as a Solo Player

Before committing to an Elite Challenge run, you need to understand the Buyer’s Request list, because it is decided by RNG during scope out and it can make a solo Elite Challenge impossible.

One of the Elite Challenge requirements is looting every item on the Buyer’s Request list. If any of those items spawn inside the Crisp Gallery on the upper floor of the exhibition room, a solo player cannot reach them. That gallery requires two players, since one has to hold the shutter door open while the other loots.

If your requested items land anywhere else, whether that is the ground floor, the upper floor, or the vault, you are good to go solo.

The Setup

Infiltration Gear

Choose Tactical Equipment for the Skylight entry route.

Weapon Loadout

Choose either the Street or Security loadout. If you own the Mansion Armory, Street is the cleaner choice. The Armory adds a Pump Shotgun Mk II that can down a fully armoured guard with one torso shot, which helps protect the Elite Challenge accuracy requirement.

Security includes a Heavy Shotgun and Stun Gun, while the Mansion Armory adds a Marksman Rifle Mk II. The Stun Gun can remove a guard without affecting shooting accuracy, but guards stunned before the vault may return afterward. If you plan to rely on a suppressed pistol, complete Guard Shipments first so guards are not wearing helmets.

Getaway Vehicle

Choose the Manchez. Its speed and manoeuvrability suit the off-road escape used in this route.

Complete the Access Code and Hacking Device equipment missions as normal.

Optional Prep Work

Guard Shipments and Guard Routes are the two preps to prioritise. Guard Shipments weakens the guards and helps protect your accuracy, while Guard Routes shows every guard and cone of vision on the minimap.

Glass Cutter is situational. You need it when a Buyer’s Request item appears in a vertical glass display case. We had one in a display case during this run, so we completed the prep. It can also give you more options for filling your bag after the requested items are secured.

You can skip Power Drills and EMP Charges.

The Finale Walkthrough

The Drive and Rooftop Entry

Once you spawn in, you can jump the small bump on the road to skip the zigzag turn and get moving quickly.

Keep driving, and at the approach to the Kortz Center, take a left onto the grassy patch and park at the base of the building. Do not drive any further than this, or the guards will hear the bike, alert the area, and force a restart.

Get off the vehicle, wait for the nearby guard to walk away, then run up the stairs. The camera here will not detect you as long as you do not linger. About halfway up, drop into stealth stance, since there is a guard near the top.

At the top of the first set of stairs, there is a guard right next to you. Before taking him out, wait for the camera on the right to look away. Then take him out and shoot out the camera.

Guard Placements

This next section varies, as there are two possible guard arrangements.

Arrangement one (shown in our run): Two guards stand chatting, with a third lone guard positioned in the back watching them directly. You cannot proceed up the next stairs without being spotted, so you have to clear them.

Go around from the left, take out the lone guard in the back first, then take out the two chatting guards.

After taking him out, you can easily take out the chatting guards.

Arrangement two: The two chatting guards are present, but the lone guard is positioned much further back and out of line of sight. This makes the two chatting guards easy to clear since they are outside his field of vision. In some cases you may not get the two chatting guards at all, letting you move straight up.

Once the guards are down, continue up and take out one more guard near the top. Then head to the skylight on the rooftop, get close, and wait for the entry cutscene.

There is one more guard up here that you can safely ignore.

Entering Through the Skylight

As soon as you drop in, go into stealth stance and look to your right. There is a guard by the door leading to the upper floor stairs. Take him out.

Keep an eye out for a dropped key. One of the guards in the exhibition room drops the exhibition room exit key, and you need it to escape on this route. It can come from any guard in the area, so check the ground after each kill until you have it. On our run the first guard dropped it, but if yours does not, one of the others will.

Next, take out the guard leaning against the rail ahead. Shoot him from the side rather than head-on, otherwise he can drop down in front of the camera and trigger the alarm.

Then move left and deal with the guard by the tiger statue. He patrols and drifts towards the middle, so do not spend too long on the previous two guards or he may move out of position.

Bottom Floor

Head downstairs to disable the glass cabinet alarm. Halfway down, take out the guard behind the security desk. Then jump down and disable the alarm.

Now collect your Buyer’s Request items. On our run, two were on the ground floor and one was in a vertical glass display case upstairs, which is why we ran the Glass Cutter prep.

As a general rule, loot your Buyer’s Request items first. The only reason we grabbed some rings before the requested item on this run is that we had run the heist enough times to know exactly which secondary loot would top off the bag. If you are unsure, prioritise the requested items.

Upper Floor

Go through the double doors and head upstairs, staying in stealth. You can aim down sights to move slightly faster. There are two guards at the top, so clear them.

If one of your requested items is through the double doors to the right of those guards, go in and loot it, but take out the extra guard in there first. Shoot him from an angle that will not send him through the glass window. You can refer to our Hard Mode guide to see this section as one of our Buyer’s Request items was through the double doors.

Our third item was on the balcony to the left, guarded by another guard leaning on the rail, so we cleared him too. Remember you can run through cameras as long as you do not linger.

All vertical glass display cases require the Glass Cutter to open, which is why the prep matters if one of your items is in one.

Heading to the Vault

With all your requested items collected, head back and go right through the Staff Only door to reach the elevator.

Hack the keypad by pressing the prompt when the highlighted white block passes through the red line in the middle. Once hacked, ride it down to the basement.

The Basement

Head down the corridor. There is a guard at the far end. If he is not there, take cover behind the pillar support on your left, because he sometimes returns to position facing your direction, which can trigger the alarm. On our run he faced away as he returned, but in previous runs he turned towards us, so play it safe. Once he is back in position, take him out.

After that, take out the guard on the right.

Then the guard on your left, followed by the one inside the CCTV server room. The glass is not bulletproof, so you can shoot straight through it.

Move forward and take out the leaning guard.

Head to the other side of the office and wait for the guard to exit the Security Control Room, then take him out.

One of the three server room entrances will have a green lit keypad. That is the one you can hack.

This fingerprint-matching hack has appeared several times in GTA Online. Match the four square grids showing parts of the pattern with the full fingerprint on the right. On Normal difficulty you complete this twice.

Once inside, use the computer to disable the CCTV cameras. Raf will send you an access code for the computer inside the Security Control Room.

Head there after disabling the cameras and input the code to unlock the security doors to the laser room.

The Laser Room

This is where most runs fall apart. The layout is random, and on this run we got the hardest of the Normal variants. Here's how you can tackle this particular variant.

Head to the left of the room and wait for a clear opening to the wall switch, watching for the individual vertical lasers. Once you see an opening, move in and disable the first laser section.

Move to the right side and watch for the three horizontal lasers coming towards you. As soon as they clear, move quickly to the second switch, weaving around the vertical lasers, and disable it.

A lot of players think you have to jump the horizontal line at the bottom here. You do not. Wait for the set of lasers coming down the middle to clear.

Then wait for the horizontal lasers to travel towards you, and as the horizontal laser reaches the end of its section it will begin to fade. As soon as it fades, move for the opening on either the left or right, staying central early to avoid the moving side lasers. Once through, hit the switch on the left to disable the section.

The Vault

The vault door hack is a memory minigame. Watch the pattern the nodes light up in, then repeat the final pattern back.

Use the AI Scramble option at the bottom of the screen to your advantage. Memorize the first few nodes, then use AI Scramble to replay the pattern before finishing the rest. This makes the hack close to failure-proof. But every time you use the AI Scramble, it will use one access attempt.

Once the Vault door opens, go straight to the primary target and loot it. Watch the vault thermal sensor progress bar in the bottom right of the screen. You must loot and leave before it fills, or it triggers the alarm.

Once looted, head back to the server room. This time, wipe the CCTV footage and disable the security cameras. Then return to the elevator and ride it back up to the ground floor.

The Great Escape

On the ground floor, exit through the double doors, jump over the railing, and leave through the bottom exit door next to the security desk. This is where the exit key becomes essential. Once you are out, you get a cutscene.

After the cutscene, take out the guard directly in front of you.

There is a camera on your right, so stick close to the right wall, run to the ledge ahead, and jump down.

Drop into stealth and aim down sights to move around the corner, since a guard sometimes watches over the Manchez. If he is there, take him out. Otherwise, get on the bike.

Head off-road directly ahead, staying out of the lines of sight of the police, especially the helicopters. Once you are past the helicopter, get on the road and drive towards the drop-off.

Do not try to hide to lose the cops, as you will lose them automatically. Just avoid driving into them. Watch your minimap, and if police are heading into your path, take a detour, then continue towards the drop-off.

Once you have shaken them, drive to the drop-off as fast as possible to complete the heist.

Normal Result

This solo run finished in 15:13 using the Skylight entrance. I Hear Voices paid GTA$308,500 as an additional sale after that week’s boosted payout had already been used. With GTA$266,000 in Secondary Targets, GTA$50,000 for the Buyer’s Request, a GTA$10,000 Getaway Vehicle Payment and GTA$50,000 for the Elite Challenge, the result-screen take was GTA$684,500. After the GTA$100,000 setup fee, the host’s run profit was GTA$584,500 before property costs.

The Heist Earnings Calculator can calculate the confirmed target, loot and bonuses. The GTA$10,000 Getaway Vehicle Payment is shown separately because that payment varies between runs.

For every other part of the job, use our Kortz Center Heist hub. The complete scope-out guide covers every entry point and Secondary Target location. If you would rather come in through the ground floor, follow our Normal Staff Entrance walkthrough. To compare the tougher route, see the Hard Mode solo Elite Challenge walkthrough. For the money side, check the Kortz Center Heist payout guide.