The Jewel Store Job: Smart approach walkthrough

Prerequisites: this is the Smart approach

This walkthrough covers the single-player Jewel Store Job using the Smart approach. Choose that branch at the planning board after Casing the Jewel Store, then complete Bugstars Equipment and BZ Gas Grenades. This version incapacitates the store through its ventilation; the armed Loud entry belongs to another branch. If Carbine Rifles appears as your preparation instead, check which approach you selected. Create a separate manual story save before using the planning board. A later mission replay for a better medal is not a substitute for preserving that save. On a first completion, understanding the route matters more than minimising every crew commission.

Crew choices: what actually changes

Your crew determines the margin for mistakes. A larger gross take does not automatically mean a larger personal profit: collected jewellery, losses and commissions all contribute.

1. Construction entrance, roof and ventilation

Begin with Michael at the crew meeting and wait for Franklin to enter the car before leaving. The destination is the building under construction used during the earlier casing mission.

1. After switching to Franklin, enter and take the stairs on the right. Use the ladders to reach the rooftops and retrace the route across the roof structures to the raised ventilation position.
2. Line up at the place from which Michael previously photographed the vent. Select the BZ gas grenade specifically. Aim at the marked opening on the ventilation unit; landing a grenade somewhere on the roof is insufficient.
3. Throw only with a clear arc and the opening properly lined up. A successful throw triggers the store sequence and returns control to Michael. Missing the vent is not an instruction to abandon this branch and attempt a Loud entry.

2. Collect the jewellery methodically

Enter as Michael and begin with nearby cabinets that still contain jewellery. Move between adjacent cases rather than crossing the whole room for each pickup. After an animation, briefly check the camera direction: it may have shifted, changing where the next movement input sends you. Watch the other robbers as well. An already emptied cabinet is no longer a target, but one a helper missed still needs attention. The minimap helps identify relevant cases. You can shoot glass before collecting to shorten later smashing animations; for a first completion, a calm route with minimal wasted movement is more useful than an unfamiliar speed technique. Listen to the alarm warnings and leave in time. Quick Grab’s 50-second target is an optional gold condition, not the entire available window supplied by every hacker.

3. Motorcycle escape: bridge, construction tunnel and sewers

After the exit scene, you control Franklin on a motorcycle. Leave a small gap to the riders ahead so their line shows you the route while giving you room to brake.

4. Follow the street route toward Dorset Drive and Las Lagunas Boulevard. Use Franklin’s driving ability before difficult traffic crossings when the meter permits. It helps you avoid obstacles but does not repair a jump already taken badly.
5. Follow the crew off the bridge section onto the freeway, then right into the construction tunnel. Straighten the motorcycle before the drop and brake for the confined entrance.
6. If Norm is your gunman, watch for his crash before the tunnel. Franklin can collect the dropped bag; doing so does not save Norm or remove every financial consequence of choosing him. Avoid a panicked turn straight into the pursuers.
7. The first split tunnel rejoins, so either branch leads onward. Stay with your driver. Karim can provide poor directions, and the Karim/Norm combination can produce a pause while he finds his bearings; that pause alone is not a mission failure.
8. Keep the throttle controlled through the mud. Continue through the subway construction area, up the ramp on the left and through the narrower connecting passages. Follow visible crew markers, ease off at drops and take the left opening at the later gated fork toward the exit.

4. LS River: protect the riders with the truck

At the exit into the concrete flood channel, Michael takes over in the heavy Pop’s Pills truck. Deal first with police immediately ahead, then those behind the motorcycles. Use controlled side impacts with space for the cruiser to move away; do not trap the bikes between your truck and a wall. Follow the crew as they cross between the channel’s sides. Additional cruisers descend the bank and emerge from side tunnels. Position the truck between them and the riders instead of racing far ahead to the rendezvous. Once the pursuing cars are dealt with, stop at the meeting marker, allow the motorcycles to be loaded and take the exit toward the marked lockup. The delivery, not merely reaching the river, completes the assignment.

FAQ and troubleshooting

The broad story route applies to original consoles and newer versions, including PC Legacy/Enhanced. Use your own input mapping; first-person view is optional.