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Looking for a walkthrough to find out how to beat the Dirty Ice heist in Payday 3? Our guide is locked and loaded to help you out.
In Payday 3, your main goal is to perform the perfect heist with your Payday Crew. No matter the job, no matter the difficulty, the crew will always come through. At least, that’s the idea. In the third story mission called Dirty Ice, you hit a jewellery store that’s hiding more than its facade suggests. Although the store is small, there is a lot to consider and do before you can make your getaway. Our walkthrough will guide you through the Dirty Ice heist in Payday 3. So let’s dive in and pull off this heist.
The Goal of ‘Dirty Ice’ Heist
This heist takes place in a jewellery store that’s hiding more behind its humble facade. Namely, blood diamonds. It’s your job to get in, empty the place, and escape with as much as you can carry. However, you’ll need to navigate tight corridors and clean up the jewellery before being able to make it out safely.
The Layout of the Store
The store can be roughly divided into several sections. There’s the main public showroom, filled with civilians and heavily guarded. Then there are the back alleys that, while guarded, provide several good entry points. Then there’s the basement that’s far too secure for a small store like this. And lastly, there are the private and secure areas inside, which are the heart of this heist. To succeed in this mission, you’ll need several QR codes, a security code, as well as a couple of keycards.
Crew Considerations
Your crew loadouts differ, depending on the approach you plan to take when starting the heist. For example, if you plan to enter the public area locked and loaded, then having firepower to beat the raids and a Grifter to handle the hostages is a must.
However, we’d argue that a stealthy approach is far superior in this heist. For higher difficulties, you would definitely need to bring a Hacker. Besides that, a CQC Specialist and an Infiltrator would be highly beneficial to have around. For lower difficulties though, you can play around with any loadout combination.
Payday 3: Dirty Ice Heist Walkthrough for Stealth
Going in with stealth mode in this heist is a more rewarding way of doing things, especially because it teaches you how to juggle multiple plates in Payday 3. The area you have to work with is fairly limited and can result in a good amount of backtracking while avoiding threats.
Gaining Entry
The easiest way to stealth into the jewellery store is to run straight across the street from your spawn point. From there, go forward until you see an opening in the fence on the left. Also note that the getaway van is parked here, making the escape much easier.
There’s a civilian on a smoke break with a phone nearby. Get the QR code from the phone without being seen, then make your way to the basement door on the left. There are a couple of guards patrolling this back alley area, so be careful not to get caught!
Use the QR code to gain entry and you’ll see that the basement door requires a 4-digit code. Head up the stairs and you’ll find yourself in the main private area of the store. From now on, be careful not to get caught doing illegal activities by civilians, and not to be seen by guards and cameras.
Getting into the Basement
Sneak to the main corridor and avoid the guard and the camera. This guard carries the Blue Keycard that unlocks the security room in the basement. Lockpick your way into the manager’s office on the left. Then, grab the QR code from the phone on the couch and hack into the computer.
Read through the e-mails to check where the basement code is located. It can be in one of a few random locations:
- On a notepad located on a cabinet in the VIP Room.
- Hidden as the Wi-Fi code on the board in the Kitchen.
- On the “Employee of the Month” picture in the public lobby.
Following this, use the other office door to exit and enter the bathroom on the opposite side. There’s a QR code that you can get from a phone on the sink. This bathroom is also a good place to stash anyone you had to take down along the way.
Next, sneak into the Kitchen and grab the QR code from the phone on the counter, and also the Wi-Fi code (if it’s there in your playthrough). Then sneak your way to where the 4-digit code is located and memorize it. Finally, sneak back to the stairs and go down to the basement, then enter the code.
The Basement
This room is guarded by a patrolling guard and two cameras. On the boxes in the middle is a lure that you can use to distract the guard. Otherwise, sneak around the three threats until you reach an open door on the left side. Enter the room and close the door for safety.
On the desk of the room is a Red Keycard that you can use to get some extra loot. On the same desk is a safe. Unlock it to trigger more information about the mission and the manager. Lastly, on the right side is a breaker. Pull it to deactivate the alarm system on the jewellery cases. With that done, sneak your way out of the basement.
The VIP Showroom
From the basement, return to the main corridor and use the QR code to unlock the VIP Showroom. This is where the main loot is located, but it needs to be “cleaned” for the mission to succeed. The cleaning machine is in the adjoining room that can only be opened with the Manager’s retinal scan.
With the alarms off, the Showroom is protected by a single camera that you can sneak around. Many of the jewellery cases contain jewellery that can be freely opened and looted as extra cash. The cases that have to be lockpicked contain the loot that needs to be cleaned first.
Head back to the Manager’s office and activate the phone. This will lure the Manager over. Hide and wait for her and, if everything’s gone to plan so far, this is the time to go mask-on. When she enters, sneak up on her and grab her. Take her to the VIP Showroom and shove her into the retinal scan. After the door opens, take her inside and stash her there with hands bound. Be careful, this room is also protected by a camera. This one is very tricky to avoid, so either hack it or disable it.
Grabbing the Loot and Escaping
Now is the time to lockpick all jewellery cases that you can and load the loot into the machine for cleaning. It takes a little bit of time to clean each individual piece, and when it’s done, you can find it ejected on a front tray.
Take your crew and carry as much of the cleaned jewellery back to the van out back as you want/can. Be mindful of the guards patrolling, and this could also be a good opportunity to grab the hostage on the long smoke break. Tie them up in front of the van so they can’t be found.
If you’ve looted the Red keycard, you’ll find the vault next to the Showroom. To activate the reader, a button on the Manager’s desk needs to be pushed simultaneously. You can use a hostage to do it or have one of your crew push the button while scanning the card. Inside is another valuable – Rare Stone – that you can add to your van. With everything loaded up, head back to the front of the van where the escape area is located.
Difficulty and Profit
Dirty Ice is a very satisfying heist that rewards a clever approach in a small arena. You can always try a different approach, making it very replayable. Just like all other heists in the game, there are four difficulty levels that you can attempt.
- Normal: $50,000 – $300,000 profit, the easiest difficulty.
- Hard: $60,000 – $350,000 profit, the best way to farm it for money and XP.
- Very Hard: $70,000 – $450,000 profit, the cameras are indestructible, which makes it much harder without a Hacker.
- Overkill: $80,000 – $500,000 profit, indestructible cameras, tougher enemies, Elite Guard patrolling the main corridor. It makes it much harder to complete.
This is one of the best heists in the game to farm quickly for money and XP. The Hard difficulty is probably the best way to do it, letting well-organized crews complete it in about 10 minutes and escape with decent loot.
Check out our heist guides for the first and second missions of Payday 3: No Rest for the Wicked Heist Walkthrough and Road Rage Heist Walkthrough.