Who Here Has Completed the Criminal Mastermind Challenge? [Tips]

[nosmoking000]

Hey guys, I know there has been several topics on the Criminal Mastermind challenge on GTAF, but I felt those were either for bragging or seemed unorganized. Now, yes I want to brag a little bit because this challenge is very...Exhilarating, stressful, unnerving...Okay, I'll shut up now.

BUT, the point of this topic is to collect and discuss any tips for those who are interested in trying to complete this challenge. Additionally, to get a bearing on how many people on the GTA Forum community have completed or are thinking about completing this challenge. Please feel free to add your own tips for a specific heist or setup mission as well as ask any questions! If there are any tips I have missed or are helpful let me know so I can add them to the list. Also, please do not discuss about how you need a crew for this challenge all of this can be done here...

PlayStation Heist Free Agents

http://gtaforums.com/topic/770472-heists-free-agents-topic-playstation/

XBox Heist Free Agents

http://gtaforums.com/topic/775265-heists-free-agents-topic-xbox/

Lastly, the second poll question about which Heist seemed/seems to give you the most trouble, please post which setup or part of the heist that you/your crew had the most trouble on. Maybe myself or another one of the fine fellow GTAF members can help you out!

Personally, the crew I was working with had an extremely hard time on the Humane Labs Raid - Delivering the EMP. Those damn scientists....

NOW without further ado...

Criminal Mastermind Challenge Tips!

Must have things you will need to prepare before every setup/heist:

• At least one person with an armored Kuruma (Extremely overpowered, you and your crew will be nearly invincible. Explosions do not apply).
• Everyone with the "Heist Armor Outfit" gear. (Can be found under outfits at any clothing store)
• SNACKS, SNACKS, SNACKS (Don't let Scooby Doo go hungry in combat).
• Body Armor (Can't stress this one enough).
• At least two people with a mic/headset (Best case scenario, everyone in your crew has one).
• An AP Pistol with an extended magazine and plenty of ammo (Large clip and scary accurate).
• Designate ONE person to use any explosives such as RPGs, Grenade Launchers, etc.
• The person that is using the explosives should have a headset and let the others know when they are firing (I have accidentally blown myself up when another one of my crew members ran in front of me...We were at Series A Funding - Trash Collection ).

Things you should consider doing...

• Go slow and take your time.
• Use cover AT ALL TIMES!
• Stay calm.
• If you begin to lag extremely bad, quit the game. No if's and's or but's. For PS3 and PS4 this can be done by holding the PS Button and then pressing "Quit Game" (PS3) or PS Button and "Close Application" (PS4). I am not sure how to do this on 360/XBone.
• Speaking of lag, if it is possible, a wired connection is best.
• Whoever is hosting the Heists, should use an invite only session. This decreases load times significantly.
• If you fail a mission (E.g. "You alerted a scientist" PRESS CONTINUE! DO NOT PRESS QUICK RESTART.). Actually sources tell me it is possible to quick restart. Never tried it though.
• If you want to complete this in one whole gaming session, be sure you have 6-8 hours free (this includes breaks and/or mission failures).

Edited April 12, 2015 by nosmoking000

[Giantsgiants]

I haven't completed the challenge yet. I did find some people through the forums that I'm hoping I can get together with and do the challenge.

 

As for the heist missions, I had the most trouble with the first setup in Series A where you have to steal coke from a yacht. I'm just not good at navigating through boats; they're all like a maze to me.

 

Since finding a crew to do this with seems to be half the battle, I thought I might add a tip that I feel is definitely useful:

 

If starting a thread in an attempt to recruit players, please give a specific date and time on when you're planning on doing the challenge. It makes it so much easier for people who want to join your crew since they'll have an idea of when it's going down, and can plan accordingly. I've seen some Playstation users do this, which is good, but I wish more Xbox users would do it as well. I don't like having to sign in everyday hoping that today is going to be the day.

[nosmoking000]

 

Since finding a crew to do this with seems to be half the battle, I thought I might add a tip that I feel is definitely useful:

 

If starting a thread in an attempt to recruit players, please give a specific date and time on when you're planning on doing the challenge. It makes it so much easier for people who want to join your crew since they'll have an idea of when it's going down, and can plan accordingly. I've seen some Playstation users do this, which is good, but I wish more Xbox users would do it as well. I don't like having to sign in everyday hoping that today is going to be the day.

Not exactly a tip or related to this topic for completing the Criminal Mastermind challenge, but definitely a nice little reminder for us all when it comes to recruiting.

[CarimboHanky]

mics can be a plus but not needed at all.

 

i mean me a couple friends did the mastermind challenge without usings mics, evenknow they all had mics, 99% of our communication was done via text before each mission.

 

off all the heist i'd say the most difficult for me was the humane labs. i almost die escaping the lab in the underwater tunnel.

 

having access to the kuruma and insurgents prior to starting the challenge makes everything easier.

 

the pacific bank was supposed to be the hardest of them all but we did a practice run before starting the challenge, practiced the escaping route... when the time came, we worked like a swiss watch!

[Vicarious Mind]

I could if I could find the right People to do it with

[Jaggs]

I did it yesterday. Played with some friends to complete it. We did it first try on Free aim.

 

We didn't have too much trouble overall except for some close calls, the Fleeca one of course you don't die in, Prison break we almost failed while hopping into the plane. Humane labs we dodged 2 rockets by an inch that would have killed us as the Valkyrie was already stalling. Then the last heist, the Pacific standard, I traded in my Greenwich parkway apartment for the one next to the bike stash. Got the kuruma to clear up the road blocks for the bikers and then I hopped on the back to do the jump. We made it with 4 seconds left on the timer.

 

Also worth mentioning, our Loyalty award glitched out really early on, so it's on 25/26 now, but we will play again anyway I think so it doesn't really matter right now.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Jaggs

[nosmoking000]

I could if I could find the right People to do it with

 

You even try asking people on the forums? I'm a noob here but I was lucky to find a good group of guys to pass the challenge. Or do you already have people in mind, but y'all are never on at the same time and/or don't have enough time?

Then the last heist, the Pacific standard, I traded in my Greenwich parkway apartment for the one next to the bike stash. Got the kuruma to clear up the road blocks for the bikers and then I hopped on the back to do the jump. We made it with 4 seconds left on the timer.

 

You can enter your garage during the heist?!

Edited March 25, 2015 by nosmoking000

[Shadowfennekin]

It's not worth my time. I have everything I want in game anyways just need to buy something that costs a Mill for the last Heist achieve.

 

Plus after Pacfic........ I don't trust myself or others to do that...

[StangOne50]

Its all about having good teammates. No one man can do it alone. It takes teamwork and communication and maybe a little bit of luck. Every man must be able to hold his own. One weak link in the crew and your bound to fail.

 

I had a great team and we flew right through it with no real issues.

[Gotthejuice187]

Looking for people to play with, add my PSN : sundeep2k9, im level 213, have a mic, completed all heists, will do it this weekend.

[littlenogom]

I did it yesterday. Played with some friends to complete it. We did it first try on Free aim.

 

We didn't have too much trouble overall except for some close calls, the Fleeca one of course you don't die in, Prison break we almost failed while hopping into the plane. Humane labs we dodged 2 rockets by an inch that would have killed us as the Valkyrie was already stalling. Then the last heist, the Pacific standard, I traded in my Greenwich parkway apartment for the one next to the bike stash. Got the kuruma to clear up the road blocks for the bikers and then I hopped on the back to do the jump. We made it with 4 seconds left on the timer.

 

Also worth mentioning, our Loyalty award glitched out really early on, so it's on 25/26 now, but we will play again anyway I think so it doesn't really matter right now.

Free Aim CMM in the pocket!

[X Reaper X]

I'll get it once I can get a group together. It's physically impossible to do it while I'm stuck with randoms who would rather clean their car windows with their tongues instead of actually doing the mission. Or just quitting at the start.

[oozgur]

Looking for people to play with, add my PSN : sundeep2k9, im level 213, have a mic, completed all heists, will do it this weekend.

Are you on ps4 and what is your Timezone

[n.W.o. 4-Life]

I would like to do it, but I'm still trying to pass the Pacific Standard Finale.

[nosmoking000]

I would like to do it, but I'm still trying to pass the Pacific Standard Finale.

What are you having problems with?

[n.W.o. 4-Life]

 

I would like to do it, but I'm still trying to pass the Pacific Standard Finale.

What are you having problems with?

 

Once I get to the alleys people, usually same 1 or 2 people, die. I've died twice, as well as another guy that was pretty good, but the other 2 died probably 4-5 times. One of them I wanted to shoot because he exited the bank and stood there for a couple seconds before even moving. lol of course...just let cops shoot you.

Edited March 26, 2015 by n.W.o. 4-Life

[nosmoking000]

 

 

 

I would like to do it, but I'm still trying to pass the Pacific Standard Finale.

What are you having problems with?

 

Once I get to the alleys people, usually same 1 or 2 people, die. I've died twice, as well as another guy that was pretty good, but the other 2 died probably 4-5 times. One of them I wanted to shoot because he exited the bank and stood there for a couple seconds before even moving. lol of course...just let cops shoot you.

You guys at the part with the bikes? Or right before the bikes?

[n.W.o. 4-Life]

 

 

 

I would like to do it, but I'm still trying to pass the Pacific Standard Finale.

What are you having problems with?

 

Once I get to the alleys people, usually same 1 or 2 people, die. I've died twice, as well as another guy that was pretty good, but the other 2 died probably 4-5 times. One of them I wanted to shoot because he exited the bank and stood there for a couple seconds before even moving. lol of course...just let cops shoot you.

You guys at the part with the bikes? Or right before the bikes?

 

 

 

 

 

Before the bikes, right after you exit the bank you head down an alley and make a right. I made it to the turn and that's it.

Edited March 26, 2015 by n.W.o. 4-Life

[recen]

We done it as well and it was kinda fun so we will do it again this weekend. I hate it tho that there isn't a wearable clothing award for that. It would be awesome to have a T-Shirt like the Elite Challenge T-Shirt for doing that. Kinda sad.

[Wesk_]

Completed it with my crew, we didn't really had much trouble , we did it good, had perfect playing+ Communication and planning , There was only a few setups where i was worried about (trash truck, bikes somebody falls of the bike or so, hydra EMP crashing into enemy/teammate ) etc but we did it great, it was running good everything went perfect best Team ever

Edited April 8, 2015 by GTAV112

[Giantsgiants]

Finally completed it as well. Finished it up last night.

 

We had to restart a couple of times, but I still think the hardest part is finding the right players. By "right" I don't just mean players who have skill and can stay alive. I also mean players who are committed to this challenge and won't bail out on you.

 

Edited April 8, 2015 by Giantsgiants

[Nick1020]

Congrats Giants. That'll be enough to fund your atrocities

 

Anywho, I tried but the people gave up after someone died on the third heist. I can do it easily but I can't seem to find good players.

[Squirrel__Army]

Find a good crew with heist experienced players. I've done the mastermind, next challenge will be getting the elites once the 1st person part is done.

[Sangers]

I've done everything except get 25 Crowd Controls and complete 50 Heist Finales. I have about 10 finales left and about 7 Crowd Controls.

 

First Person is actually really fun. Albeit we were bumbling around like retards for the first two heists and landing the chopper on the beach in the Humane Labs Raid finale was super challenging.

 

I'm on a lot so if anyone needs help with any of the challenges, invite me.

[JustSomeBunny]

I did criminal mastermind already so now I'm going for the elite challenges. I actually think these are harder to manage, mainly because so few people are interested. I am a completionist however. I'm looking for like-minded individuals to go hard on these elite challenges. PM me if you're on PS4 and think you're up to the task. Thanks!

[Karlitoz-E]

My crew failed the first time, but we will try again. Thanks for the tips

[Ezekeil2Ofive17]

I've done the cm and there are many tips and tricks but the best advice I can give you communicate, plan and keep your cool

 

oh and player saved outfits and an armoured kuruma are very useful

 

There are specific strategies for each setup that will massively cut down risk in my guide, link in sig

Edited May 17, 2015 by Ezekeil2Ofive17

[TheKingChivas]

OP should have an option for "We're going to tackle it soon". My group has done all the other challenges (including a brutal go-through in the Different Perspective Challenge in first person) and should be giving the Mastermind one a go this weekend (I hope).

[nosmoking000]

OP should have an option for "We're going to tackle it soon". My group has done all the other challenges (including a brutal go-through in the Different Perspective Challenge in first person) and should be giving the Mastermind one a go this weekend (I hope).

 

Done. By the way, how was it?

[Retired Mafia]

Allmost halfway on the CMM so far. Challenge itself isn't too hard. Got friends on which i can trust. Biggest problem for us is 1 guy has some problem with his ps3, in the first 30 or 40 min it will freeze, we never know when. Afther that it won't freeze anymore till he signs off. So we allways need to wait till he froze and then continue the CMM.

 

Best tip i can give you:

 

With series A steaking the bensons, don't take the route given to you, as soon as you cross the bridge at the location(where the bensons were located) take a left and drive through the train track tunnels, bridges and you'll be save without a doubt.