Prologue

Before you start

• None. The mission starts automatically on a new story file. Choosing New Game from the pause menu restarts the game from the prologue cutscene (sources 1, 2, 15).
• Expect the opening section to have limits: you cannot jump, Michael and Trevor cannot use special abilities, you cannot be Busted, and the wanted level does not count toward wanted-level stats (source 2).
• Optional: if you want the gold medal, plan to finish in a single clean attempt, with no retries or checkpoint reloads (see Decisions).

1. 1. Go to the guard

Control starts with Michael in the depot lobby after the on-screen text 'Ludendorff, North Yankton, nine years ago.' Walk through the doorway toward the guard and the hostages. If you linger, Trevor and Brad insult Michael, but this costs nothing. From this point on, killing any hostage fails the mission, so keep your trigger finger disciplined.

Checkpoint: You reach the hostages and the aiming prompt appears, with Michael unable to move.

2. 2. Aim at the hostages

This is the first small puzzle. Michael is rooted in place and can only aim. Point your weapon at the hostages and they shuffle into the back room. Cover every one of them. If any are left behind, Brad drives them in himself, so you cannot get stuck. Do not fire your weapon during this phase.

Checkpoint: All hostages are in the back room and the next prompt asks you to deal with the explosive charge.

3. 3. Trigger the charge with the phone

When Trevor says the explosives are set, open Michael's in-game phone and go to the contacts list. Choose Detonate, which is the only number available. You will not need to dial anything else.

Checkpoint: The charge goes off and the vault area opens up, so the crew moves in.

4. 4. Collect the cash

Move down the hall to the vault and collect the cash inside. Then head to the new marker near the back of the area. Reaching it starts a cutscene that handles the next beat for you.

Checkpoint: The cutscene plays, and a guard grabs Michael as he leaves the vault and holds a gun to his head.

5. 5. Take out the guard as Trevor

You now have to switch characters. On PlayStation or Xbox-style controls, hold Down on the D-pad and choose Trevor with the right stick. I found no confirmed PC-specific prompt, so follow the on-screen prompt on PC. As Trevor, aim at the guard's head and shoot him while avoiding hitting Michael. Take a clean headshot rather than spraying.

Checkpoint: The guard drops, Michael is unharmed, and control returns to Michael with a new objective to get to cover.

6. 6. Get to cover

Follow the group to the back area, where Brad plants charges on the door. Take cover behind the crate with a toolbox on top and wait for the blast. Sirens begin once the charge goes off, which tells you the police are coming.

Checkpoint: The door blows open, you hear sirens, and the objective moves on to the shutter door.

7. 7. Open the shutter door

Go to the garage door opener in the next room and stand near it. Trevor hits the switch and the shutter rises gradually, so keep your weapon ready as it lifts, because police are waiting on the other side.

Checkpoint: The shutter is open and the first firefight begins with five wanted stars.

8. 8. Return to the crew and escape the cops (first firefight)

The first wave is North Yankton State Patrol: two Police Roadcruisers, one Police Rancher and two officers on foot, with two officers per vehicle. Take cover at the edge of the garage door and pick off the officers in the distance. Then advance from pillar to pillar and watch your left, where cops try to flank. Enemies duck behind their vehicles, so either move up or wait for heads to pop out. One guide says not to bother looting bodies for cash or weapons. A video-transcript guide, single-source, suggests swapping to Michael to help finish a wave. Treat that as an optional tip.

Checkpoint: The initial wave is down and the objective directs you toward the getaway car.

9. 9. Get to the car

Push forward down the hill, mostly running and gunning. One guide says to just hold the fire button as you move instead of aiming down sights. At the T-junction the getaway vehicle waits on the left. Two more Roadcruisers arrive as a roadblock, but you do not need to kill those officers. You can only enter the car once no police officers are left alive, so clear the area before approaching.

Checkpoint: You can get into the car and a cutscene starts.

10. 10. Wait for the crew and ride out

Get in the car and wait for your crew. A cutscene plays in which the driver is killed, leaving Michael at the wheel. There is nothing to do except watch.

Checkpoint: Control returns with Michael driving and the objective to drive to the helicopter pick-up point.

11. 11. Drive to the helicopter pick-up point

Follow the highlighted route and stay on the marked road. Avoid the police cars in the opposite lane, because hitting them or going off course can trigger a chase and a fail. Landmarks: a police roadblock forces a right turn, then you cross a railroad crossing and a train clips the back of the car. If the objective text reappears, it means you left the car, so get back in.

Checkpoint: The train hits the car, the crash cutscene plays, and you continue on foot.

12. 12. Hold off the cops (final stand)

After the crash, take cover and defend your fallen comrade against the remaining police. This section is listed at the end of the objective sequence by GTABase. Use the cover you are given, return fire, and stay put. The mission ends with cutscenes, followed by a funeral scene with Dave attending.

Checkpoint: The final cutscenes play and the mission pass screen appears.

Choices and things you can miss

• There are no optional objectives and no story choices. The outcome is scripted. That Brad's and Michael's fates cannot be changed is an inference from the sources, none of which describes a branch.
• Gold medal: sources conflict. GTABase says there are no gold medal requirements (source 1). PSNProfiles counts the Prologue among four automatic golds (source 22). Grand Theft Wiki says it is automatic only if you finish in one clean playthrough without using a checkpoint (source 5). The safe approach is one attempt without retrying.
• Whether to use the swap-to-Michael trick in the first firefight is optional and rests on a single guide, so you can ignore it.
• Easter egg, optional and unverified: Grand Theft Fans says that if you derail the car and go under the frozen bridge, you can get out and aim at the frozen lake to see an apparent alien in the ice. I did not verify the exact route, and it may not be reliable (source 8).

Rewards

• No cash or items are listed.
• GTABase lists the rewards as Open World and GTA Online (source 1).
• Story unlock: Franklin and Lamar, the next characters introduced.
• Gold medal: possibly automatic, depending on the source (see Decisions).
• Replay: use Menu > Game > Replay Mission (source 2).

Troubleshooting

• Mission failed after shooting a hostage: killing any hostage fails the mission. Aim without firing in step 2 and keep your fire discipline from then on.
• Fail conditions listed by Grand Theft Wiki: killing hostages, Brad dying, the getaway car being destroyed, and going off course during the getaway. Fandom adds dying, killing the crew, abandoning the crew, route or car, making the car undriveable, and running out of ammo. The ammo claim appears only there, so treat it as unconfirmed (sources 2, 5).
• Fandom also says turning back, going off route or getting the car stuck fails the mission. Stay on the marked road and do not ram traffic.
• The 'Drive to the helicopter pick up point' objective returns only if you leave the car. If it pops up, get back in.
• Cannot enter the getaway car: make sure no police officers are left alive, including those from the roadblock arrival if they are near the car.
• Skipping: sources disagree. Game8 says only specific sections can be skipped, and skipping moves you to the next section, which looks like a retry-after-failure option. Sportskeeda says the Prologue cannot be skipped. I could not reconcile the two (source 6).
• A vague, unverified Sportskeeda FAQ note says a 'glitch' can be fixed by saving after reaching Franklin's house.

Release and platform notes

Funeral detail: Dave Norton wears sunglasses in the original version and a beanie in the Enhanced version. An early Enhanced bug left Michael's and Trevor's rifles without magazines, and it was later fixed. GTA Online access: Fandom's page says finishing the mission unlocks GTA Online only on PS4, Xbox One and PC. On PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, players can skip the prologue before starting Online for the first time. A community Steam thread claims PC saves once required it first, which I could not confirm officially. First-person view exists (source 17), but I found no first-person-specific mission differences. Grand Theft Wiki's page is the oldest of the main sources, and many pages repeat the same facts, so agreement between them is weaker evidence than it looks.