GTA Online Cayo Perico Preps Guide: Every Strategy From Fastest to Easiest (2026)

The Cayo Perico Heist is still the most efficient solo money-making method in GTA Online, but your prep missions can make or break your hourly earnings. This comprehensive guide covers every prep strategy, from the absolute fastest speedrun setup to beginner-friendly approaches that prioritize ease over speed.

Whether you’re grinding for maximum profit per hour or just want to complete the heist without frustration, you’ll find the right approach here.

Understanding the Cayo Perico Prep Structure

Before diving into specific strategies, let’s break down how Cayo Perico preps actually work. Unlike other heists in GTA Online, Cayo Perico gives you significant flexibility in which prep missions you complete.

Mandatory vs Optional Preps

Every Cayo Perico run requires you to complete certain prep missions. Others are entirely optional and exist to make the finale easier or unlock specific approach options.

Mandatory Preps (Must Complete):

• Approach Vehicle (choose one from six options)
• Equipment: Cutting Torch OR Demolition Charges (need at least one entry method)
• Weapon Loadout (choose one loadout)

Optional Preps:

• Fingerprint Cloner (simplifies hacking minigame)
• Plasma Cutter (alternative to cutting torch for glass cases)
• Safe Code (grants access to El Rubio’s wall safe)
• Guard Uniforms (disguise for easier stealth)
• Grappling Equipment (alternative compound entry)
• Bolt Cutters (opens locked gates without noise)
• Disruption: Armor (weakens guard armor)
• Disruption: Air Support (disables helicopters)
• Disruption: Weapons (weakens guard weapons)

The key insight here is that experienced players skip most optional preps entirely. The time spent completing them rarely pays off in faster finale times, especially once you’ve mastered the stealth route.

The Intel Gathering Phase

Before any prep missions become available, you need to scope out Cayo Perico. This is technically separate from preps but directly affects your prep options.

What You Must Scope:

• Primary Target (mandatory, in El Rubio’s basement)
• At least one entry point

What You Should Scope (First Run Only):

• Drainage Tunnel (unlocks the fastest entry point permanently)
• Secondary loot locations (helps plan your route)

What You Can Skip After First Run:

• Guard uniforms location
• Grappling hook location
• Bolt cutter locations
• Supply truck location

Once you’ve unlocked the drainage tunnel on your first playthrough, you never need to scope it again. It remains available for all future heists. This is crucial information that many guides overlook.

Intel Gathering Speed Tip:

After scoping the primary target at the communications tower, you can jump off the tower to your death. This instantly teleports you back to the plane, skipping the long walk back. Sounds counterintuitive, but it saves 2-3 minutes every intel run.

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Pre-Prep Setup: What to Do Before Starting

Your prep efficiency depends heavily on what you’ve set up before even starting the heist. These one-time investments and settings adjustments make every future prep run significantly faster.

Essential Purchases

Kosatka Submarine ($2,200,000)

This is the entry point for the entire heist. You cannot start Cayo Perico without owning the Kosatka. It serves as your planning room, vehicle storage, and fast travel hub.

Sparrow Helicopter ($1,815,000 base / $2,415,000 with missiles)

The single most important purchase for prep efficiency. The Sparrow spawns directly inside your Kosatka’s moon pool, eliminating the need to swim to shore or call in external vehicles.

With a Sparrow, your typical prep mission flow becomes:

1. Start prep from planning screen
2. Exit Kosatka via Sparrow (instant)
3. Fly to objective
4. Complete objective
5. Fly back to Kosatka
6. Land Sparrow in moon pool
7. Return to planning screen

Without a Sparrow, you’re either swimming to shore and stealing vehicles or calling in personal vehicles that spawn hundreds of meters away. This adds 2-3 minutes per prep mission, which compounds to 15+ minutes across a full prep run.

Kosatka Fast Travel ($1,900,000 upgrade)

Allows you to relocate your Kosatka anywhere on the map for $2,000 per use. This puts your submarine close to prep objectives, cutting flight time significantly.

Example: The weapon loadout prep often spawns at Merryweather HQ near the port. Fast traveling your Kosatka to the Elysian Island area means your Sparrow flight is 30 seconds instead of 3 minutes.

Sparrow Missiles ($240,000 upgrade)

Not strictly necessary, but extremely helpful for the weapon prep mission when enemies spawn outside buildings. You can eliminate them from the air before landing, preventing damage to your Sparrow.

Highly Recommended Purchases

Oppressor Mk II ($2,925,000 base + Terrorbyte + upgrades)

An alternative to the Sparrow that some players prefer. Pros: faster in straight lines, can be called instantly via MC menu, doesn’t require returning to Kosatka. Cons: more expensive total investment, requires Terrorbyte ($1,375,000+) to upgrade, can’t spawn inside Kosatka.

For pure Cayo Perico grinding, the Sparrow is more efficient. But if you play other content regularly, the Oppressor Mk II’s versatility might justify the higher cost.

Buzzard Attack Helicopter ($1,750,000)

If you’re a CEO, you can spawn the Buzzard instantly via the SecuroServ menu for free. It’s slower than the Sparrow and spawns outside rather than inside the Kosatka, but it’s a solid backup vehicle and useful for other content.

Armored Kuruma ($525,000)

Useful for the weapon loadout prep if you struggle with combat. The Kuruma’s bulletproof windows let you drive directly into enemy fire without taking damage. Not necessary for experienced players, but helpful for beginners.

Game Settings Optimization

Spawn Location:

Set your spawn location to Kosatka (Interaction Menu > Spawn Location > Kosatka). This puts you directly on your submarine when you load into the game or switch sessions, eliminating travel time to start your heist.

Keybinds (PC):

Bind your phone and interaction menu to easily accessible keys. You’ll be using both constantly during preps. Default keybinds work but aren’t optimal.

Notifications:

Consider disabling phone notifications during grinding sessions. English Dave’s calls about nightclub DJs can interrupt your flow at the worst moments.

One-Time Tasks That Pay Off

Unlock All Entry Points:

During your first intel gathering, scope out every entry point even if you don’t plan to use them. This unlocks them permanently for future heists, giving you flexibility if you want to experiment with different approaches later.

Memorize Fingerprint Patterns:

The fingerprint hacking minigame uses only 4-5 unique patterns. Memorizing them makes the hack take 5 seconds instead of 30. This saves time both in the Fingerprint Cloner prep (if you do it) and during the finale.

The patterns are:

• Concentric circles (target symbol)
• Square spiral (maze pattern)
• Wave lines (horizontal waves)
• Hexagonal pattern (honeycomb)

Each fingerprint is a partial version of these. Match the partial to the correct full pattern, then rotate until it aligns. With practice, this becomes instant.

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Approach 1: The Speedrun Setup (Fastest Prep Completion)

This is the setup used by experienced grinders who want to minimize time between heists. Total prep time: 12-20 minutes depending on RNG and execution.

Required Preps (Speedrun)

1. Approach Vehicle: Kosatka

The Kosatka approach spawns you directly at the drainage tunnel entrance, which is the fastest way into the compound. The prep mission itself involves stealing a Sonar Jammer from a Merryweather submarine.

How to complete quickly:

• Fast travel your Kosatka close to the objective marker
• Use Sparrow to fly to the area
• Dive down to the submarine (it’s usually 20-30 meters deep)
• Enter the submarine hatch, grab the jammer, exit
• Swim back up and return to Kosatka via Sparrow

Time: 4-6 minutes

Alternative: Some speedrunners prefer the Longfin approach vehicle instead. The Longfin spawns you in a boat near the island, allowing you to hit the airstrip for secondary loot before entering the compound. The prep involves stealing a boat from police using a Phantom Wedge truck.

2. Equipment: Cutting Torch

The cutting torch lets you enter the compound through the drainage tunnel grate. The prep usually sends you to a construction site or warehouse to steal it.

How to complete quickly:

• Fly directly to the objective via Sparrow
• The torch is usually on a table or in a toolbox
• Grab it and fly back

Time: 3-5 minutes

3. Weapon Loadout

Choose either Aggressor or Conspirator. Both work for speedruns, but they have different advantages:

• Aggressor: Assault Shotgun, Machine Pistol, Machete, Grenades. The assault shotgun is excellent for close-range guard elimination. Requires 2 fingerprint hacks during finale.
• Conspirator: Military Rifle, Machine Pistol, Knuckle Dusters, Stickies. Better at range than Aggressor. Also requires 2 fingerprint hacks.
• Crack Shot: Sniper Rifle, AP Pistol, Machete. Only requires 1 fingerprint hack, but the sniper rifle is overkill for most situations.

The weapon prep sends you to one of several locations to steal weapons from Merryweather or other factions. Locations include office buildings, Merryweather HQ, or various warehouses.

How to complete quickly:

• If you get an office building: Stealth is faster than fighting. Sneak to the objective, grab weapons, sneak out.
• If you get Merryweather HQ: Use Sparrow missiles to clear outside enemies, then enter.
• If you get a warehouse: Usually straightforward, minimal enemies.

Time: 5-8 minutes

Note on Merryweather Weapon Prep:

If Pavel texts you about Merryweather moving the weapons (you’ll see a Valkyrie helicopter), this is the longest version of the weapon prep. You have to follow the helicopter until it lands, then fight through enemies. Some speedrunners restart the prep or even the entire heist setup when they get this variant. For casual grinding, it’s fine to complete it anyway since it only adds 3-5 minutes.

Optional Prep for Speedruns

Fingerprint Cloner (Recommended)

While technically optional, most speedrunners complete this prep because it makes the finale hacking slightly easier. The prep sends you to an archive building to steal a device.

Time: 3-4 minutes

If you’ve memorized the fingerprint patterns, you can skip this prep entirely. The difference in finale time is maybe 15-20 seconds.

Skip These Preps Entirely (Speedrun)

• Plasma Cutter: Redundant with cutting torch
• Demolition Charges: Not needed for drainage tunnel entry
• Safe Code: Only adds $50K-$100K, prep takes 5+ minutes
• Guard Uniforms: Unnecessary if you’ve mastered stealth
• Grappling Equipment: Only useful for non-drainage tunnel approaches
• Bolt Cutters: Helpful but not essential
• All Disruption Missions: Complete waste of time for experienced players

Total Speedrun Prep Time

With Sparrow and Kosatka fast travel:

• Approach Vehicle (Kosatka): 5 minutes
• Cutting Torch: 4 minutes
• Weapon Loadout: 6 minutes
• Fingerprint Cloner: 4 minutes

Total: 15-20 minutes

This sets you up for the fastest finale completion. See our [Cayo Perico Speedrun Guide] for the optimal finale route that completes in under 10 minutes.

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Approach 2: The Budget Setup (Minimal Investment Required)

Not everyone has $4M+ to spend on a Sparrow and Kosatka upgrades. This approach works with just the base Kosatka and whatever vehicles you already own.

Required Preps (Budget)

1. Approach Vehicle: Longfin

The Longfin approach is actually preferable for budget players because:

• The prep provides a Phantom Wedge truck, so you don’t need to own one
• The Longfin lets you hit secondary loot before entering compound
• It’s ground-vehicle based, so no helicopter needed

How to complete:

• Drive to the police station (any personal car works)
• Steal the Phantom Wedge from the impound
• Use the Wedge to smash through traffic and reach the boat
• Attach the boat trailer and drive to the drop-off

Time: 8-12 minutes (longer without fast vehicles, but doable)

2. Equipment: Cutting Torch

Same as speedrun setup. Even without a helicopter, you can drive to most cutting torch locations in reasonable time.

Time: 5-8 minutes

3. Weapon Loadout

Same process as speedrun, but expect longer travel times without a Sparrow.

Time: 8-12 minutes

Recommended Optional Preps (Budget)

Fingerprint Cloner:

More important for budget players who might not have the finale memorized yet. Reduces stress during hacking.

Safe Code:

For budget players, every dollar counts. The safe code prep adds $50K-$100K to your take. Whether this is worth the 5-7 minute prep depends on how much you value consistency over speed.

Total Budget Prep Time

Without Sparrow or fast travel:

Total: 35-50 minutes

This is significantly slower than the speedrun approach, but it works. Your hourly earnings will be lower, but you’re not spending millions on vehicles either.

Upgrade Priority for Budget Players

If you’re currently running budget preps and want to improve, here’s the order to buy upgrades:

1. Sparrow ($1.8M-$2.4M) – Biggest single improvement to prep times
2. Kosatka Fast Travel ($1.9M) – Cuts prep times further
3. Sparrow Missiles ($240K) – Quality of life improvement

After 5-6 heists with the budget approach, you’ll have enough to buy a Sparrow. After that, your prep times drop dramatically and earnings per hour increase significantly.

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Approach 3: The Beginner-Friendly Setup (Easiest Completion)

New to Cayo Perico? This setup prioritizes making the finale as forgiving as possible. You’ll spend more time on preps, but you’ll actually complete the heist instead of failing repeatedly.

Required Preps (Beginner)

1. Approach Vehicle: Kosatka or Longfin

Both work for beginners. Kosatka is simpler (you spawn directly at the tunnel), while Longfin gives you more flexibility.

2. Equipment: Cutting Torch

Standard prep, same as other approaches.

3. Weapon Loadout: Aggressor

The Aggressor loadout’s assault shotgun is the most forgiving weapon for beginners. If you get detected (which will happen), the shotgun handles close-range combat well.

Essential Optional Preps (Beginner)

Fingerprint Cloner:

Absolutely do this prep as a beginner. The hacking minigame is confusing at first, and the cloner makes it significantly easier.

Guard Uniforms:

This is the key prep that makes beginner runs manageable. With uniforms equipped during the finale:

• Guards won’t detect you unless you enter their red vision cone
• You can walk past most guards without worrying about proximity
• You have much more room for error

The prep sends you to a location where guards have spare uniforms. Stealth or fight your way to the uniforms and return to the Kosatka.

Time: 6-10 minutes

Bolt Cutters:

Located around the island during intel gathering. If you scoped them, you can use them during the finale to open locked gates silently instead of shooting locks.

Optional Disruption Preps (Beginner)

If you’re really struggling with combat during the finale, consider doing one or more disruption preps:

Disruption: Weapons

Makes guards deal less damage if you get into firefights. The prep involves destroying weapon shipments.

Disruption: Armor

Makes guards easier to kill. Same mission structure as weapons disruption.

Disruption: Air Support

Disables the Buzzard helicopters that chase you after detection. Useful if you struggle with the escape phase.

These preps take 5-10 minutes each and are generally considered not worth the time by experienced players. However, for beginners who frequently get detected, they can mean the difference between completing the heist and failing.

Total Beginner Prep Time

With moderate vehicle setup:

• Approach Vehicle: 6 minutes
• Cutting Torch: 5 minutes
• Weapon Loadout: 7 minutes
• Fingerprint Cloner: 5 minutes
• Guard Uniforms: 8 minutes

Total: 30-40 minutes

Plus potentially 15-30 minutes more if you add disruption preps.

When to Transition Away from Beginner Setup

Once you can complete the heist without getting detected 3-4 times in a row, start dropping optional preps:

1. First, drop disruption preps (if you were doing them)
2. Then drop guard uniforms (once stealth feels comfortable)
3. Finally, consider dropping fingerprint cloner (once you’ve memorized patterns)

Each prep you drop saves 5-10 minutes, directly increasing your earnings per hour.

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Approach 4: Maximum Profit Setup (Best Earnings Per Heist)

This approach prioritizes getting the maximum possible money from each heist run, even if it takes slightly longer. Best for players who want fewer runs with higher payouts rather than rapid grinding.

The Strategy

The key difference here is using the Longfin approach to hit secondary loot at the airstrip before entering the compound. This maximizes your loot bag without relying on RNG inside the compound.

Required Preps (Max Profit)

1. Approach Vehicle: Longfin

Essential for this strategy. The Longfin lets you approach from any angle, and experienced players use it to reach the airstrip first.

2. Cutting Torch

Standard prep.

3. Weapon Loadout

Your choice. Aggressor is popular for its versatility.

4. Fingerprint Cloner

Recommended to keep the finale smooth.

The Finale Route Difference

With Longfin:

1. Spawn in boat north of island
2. Drive to airstrip
3. Loot hangars (cocaine is worth most)
4. Fill entire loot bag
5. Drive to drainage tunnel
6. Enter compound, grab primary target only
7. Exit and escape

With Kosatka:

1. Spawn at drainage tunnel
2. Enter compound immediately
3. Grab primary target
4. Exit compound
5. Either escape with only primary, or try to hit secondary loot outside compound (risky)

The Longfin approach typically nets $400K-$500K more per heist because you’re guaranteed secondary loot. The Kosatka approach is faster but leaves money on the table.

Loot Priority (Solo Player)

When filling your loot bag at the airstrip:

1. Cocaine – $220K-$250K per stack (best value per bag space)
2. Weed – $150K-$180K per stack (second best)
3. Cash – $90K-$110K per stack (take if nothing else)

Gold requires two players to access, so ignore it for solo runs.

Expected Earnings (Max Profit)

• Primary Target: $900K-$1.3M (depends on what spawns)
• Secondary Loot: $400K-$450K (full cocaine bag)
• Safe: $50K-$99K (if you did the safe code prep)
• Elite Challenge: $100K (hard mode)

Total: $1.5M-$1.9M per heist

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Prep Mission Detailed Breakdown

This section covers each prep mission individually with specific tips and strategies.

Approach Vehicle Preps

Kosatka (Submarine Approach)

Objective: Steal a sonar jammer from a Merryweather submarine.

The submarine is located underwater at a marked location. You’ll need to dive down, enter through a hatch, navigate inside to grab the jammer, and exit.

Tips:

• Use a Sparrow to get close, then dive in
• The submarine interior is linear, you can’t get lost
• Enemies inside are easy to stealth past or kill
• Watch your oxygen meter (shouldn’t be an issue)

Time: 4-6 minutes

Longfin (Boat Approach)

Objective: Steal a Longfin boat from police impound using a Phantom Wedge.

This is a multi-step mission:

1. Go to a police station to steal a Phantom Wedge from impound
2. Drive the Wedge to the boat location (you’ll smash through police roadblocks)
3. Hook up the boat trailer
4. Deliver the boat to a drop-off point

Tips:

• The Phantom Wedge destroys any vehicle it rams, so don’t worry about roadblocks
• Drive carefully with the trailer; it can detach if you corner too sharply
• Cops will chase you; the wanted level clears at the drop-off

Time: 8-12 minutes

Alkonost (Plane Approach)

Objective: Steal a large plane from an airport.

Not commonly used because the plane approach is slower than drainage tunnel. The prep involves infiltrating an airport and flying the plane back.

Time: 10-15 minutes

Velum (Plane Approach)

Objective: Steal a small plane.

Similar to Alkonost but with a smaller aircraft. Still not optimal for speedruns.

Time: 8-12 minutes

Annihilator Stealth (Helicopter Approach)

Objective: Steal a stealth helicopter.

Requires fighting through enemies at a compound. The stealth helicopter approach lets you air-drop onto the island, but it’s slower than drainage tunnel entry.

Time: 10-15 minutes

Patrol Boat (Boat Approach)

Objective: Steal a patrol boat.

Alternative to Longfin. Some players prefer it for certain approach angles, but Longfin is generally considered superior.

Time: 8-12 minutes

Equipment Preps

Cutting Torch

Objective: Steal a cutting torch from a construction site or warehouse.

The simplest equipment prep. Fly to the location, walk in, grab the torch, leave.

Tips:

• Minimal enemies, sometimes none
• The torch is always in an obvious spot
• Can be stealthed easily

Time: 3-5 minutes

Demolition Charges

Objective: Steal demolition charges.

Only needed if you’re not using the drainage tunnel (which requires cutting torch). Most players never do this prep.

Time: 5-8 minutes

Plasma Cutter

Objective: Steal a plasma cutter.

Alternative to cutting torch for certain entry points. Redundant if you’re using drainage tunnel.

Time: 5-8 minutes

Fingerprint Cloner

Objective: Steal a fingerprint cloning device from an archive building.

The building has light security. Navigate through, grab the device, exit.

Tips:

• Can be stealthed entirely
• If detected, enemies aren’t particularly tough
• The device is on an upper floor

Time: 4-6 minutes

Safe Code

Objective: Obtain El Rubio’s safe combination.

This prep involves hacking into a laptop or stealing documents to get the safe code. During the finale, this lets you access the wall safe in El Rubio’s office for $50K-$100K.

Whether this prep is worth doing depends on your priorities:

• Speedrunners skip it (5-7 minute prep for $50K-$100K isn’t efficient)
• Casual players often do it (guaranteed extra money)

Time: 5-7 minutes

Weapon Loadout Prep

All weapon loadouts share the same prep mission structure with different possible locations:

Office Building Locations:

These involve infiltrating a high-rise and navigating to the weapons cache. Can be stealthed entirely if you’re patient.

Tips:

• Take the stairs, not elevators
• Guards have predictable patrol routes
• The weapons are in a marked room; grab them and exit

Merryweather HQ:

Located at the docks. You’ll fight through Merryweather soldiers to reach the weapons.

Tips:

• Use Sparrow missiles to clear outdoor enemies before landing
• Or drive an armored vehicle directly to the entrance
• Indoor fighting is straightforward

Penthouse/Mansion Locations:

Similar to office buildings but in residential settings. Usually easier than office buildings.

Warehouse Locations:

The simplest variant. Walk in, deal with minimal enemies, grab weapons.

The Valkyrie Variant (Merryweather Moving Weapons):

If Pavel mentions Merryweather moving the weapons by air, you’ll have to follow a Valkyrie helicopter until it lands, then assault the landing zone. This is the slowest variant.

Tips:

• Keep distance from the Valkyrie; if you get too close, it triggers combat early
• Once it lands, use Sparrow missiles or ground assault
• Some players restart the prep to avoid this variant

Time: 5-12 minutes depending on variant

Infiltration Equipment Preps

Guard Uniforms

Objective: Steal guard uniforms from a location on the mainland.

This prep is valuable for beginners but skipped by experienced players. The uniforms let you walk past most guards without detection during the finale.

Tips:

• Multiple enemies at the location; stealth or combat works
• The uniforms are in a specific room or area
• You’ll need to carry them back to your vehicle

Time: 6-10 minutes

Grappling Equipment

Objective: Steal grappling hooks.

Only useful if you’re entering the compound via walls rather than drainage tunnel. Most players never need this.

Time: 5-8 minutes

Bolt Cutters

Note: These aren’t obtained through a traditional prep mission. Instead, you scope their locations during intel gathering, and they become available during the finale.

During intel, you can find bolt cutters at various spots around the island. If you mark them, you can pick them up during the finale to cut open locked gates silently.

Worth scoping on your first run, but most speedrunners don’t bother with them after learning the optimal route.

Disruption Preps

All three disruption preps follow similar structures: destroy enemy equipment (weapon shipments, armor shipments, or helicopters) across multiple locations.

Disruption: Weapons

Objective: Destroy weapon shipments at 3 locations.

Makes guards deal less damage during finale combat.

Time: 8-12 minutes

Disruption: Armor

Objective: Destroy armor shipments at 3 locations.

Makes guards die faster during finale combat.

Time: 8-12 minutes

Disruption: Air Support

Objective: Destroy 3 Buzzard helicopters.

Prevents Buzzards from chasing you if you get detected during the finale.

Time: 8-12 minutes

Are Disruption Preps Worth It?

For experienced players: No. The 25-35 minutes spent on all three disruption preps could be spent doing an entire second heist.

For beginners: Maybe. If you’re consistently getting detected and dying during combat, disruption preps reduce that frustration. But the better long-term solution is learning stealth.

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Comparing All Approaches

Here’s a summary table to help you choose the right approach:

Approach	Prep Time	Finale Difficulty	Investment Needed	Expected Profit	Best For
Speedrun	15-20 min	Hard (stealth required)	$4M+ (Sparrow, fast travel)	$1.3M-$1.5M	Experienced grinders
Budget	35-50 min	Medium	$2.2M (Kosatka only)	$1.0M-$1.3M	New players saving for upgrades
Beginner	30-40 min	Easy (with uniforms)	$2.2M-$4M	$1.0M-$1.3M	First-time heist runners
Max Profit	25-35 min	Medium	$3M+	$1.5M-$1.9M	Players who want highest per-heist earnings

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Common Prep Mistakes to Avoid

Doing All Preps Every Time

Many players complete every available prep mission because they assume more preparation means better chances. In reality, most optional preps waste more time than they save during the finale.

Not Using Fast Travel

If you’ve bought Kosatka fast travel, use it. The $2,000 cost is nothing compared to the time saved. Fast travel before starting each prep to position your submarine close to the objective.

Fighting Instead of Stealth (Office Building Weapon Prep)

The office building weapon prep can be completed without killing anyone. Sneaking through is faster than fighting floor by floor. Only engage guards that are directly in your path.

Using Slow Vehicles

If you’re driving a standard car to prep locations instead of flying, you’re wasting 5-10 minutes per prep. Even a stolen helicopter from the hospital helipad is better than driving.

Starting Preps Without Planning

Before beginning preps, check your objectives on the planning screen. Know which preps you’re doing and in what order. This prevents wasted time revisiting the planning screen repeatedly.

Ignoring the Valkyrie Variant

When you get the Merryweather Valkyrie variant of the weapon prep, you can:

• Complete it anyway (adds 3-5 minutes)
• Find a new session and restart the prep (might get a different variant)
• Restart the entire heist setup (guarantees new RNG)

Speedrunners often restart for better RNG. Casual players should just complete it.

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Prep-Specific Tricks and Shortcuts

Sparrow Survival

Your Sparrow can take a few rockets before exploding. If it starts smoking, you can still complete the current objective. Just don’t push it too far.

If your Sparrow is destroyed during a prep, you can:

• Call it back from the services menu ($10,000 repair)
• Return to Kosatka via any means and take a new Sparrow from the moon pool
• Call another vehicle (Oppressor, Buzzard, etc.)

Kosatka Positioning for Multiple Preps

Some preps have objectives near each other. Before starting a prep chain, fast travel your Kosatka to a central location that minimizes total flight time across all preps.

Example: If your weapon prep is in the city and your cutting torch prep is also in the city, position the Kosatka at the pier between them.

Submarine Interior Shortcuts (Kosatka Approach Prep)

When stealing the sonar jammer from the Merryweather submarine, there’s a direct path through the interior. Don’t explore, just follow the objective marker. The submarine is completely linear.

Phantom Wedge Driving (Longfin Prep)

The Phantom Wedge destroys anything it hits at speed. Don’t slow down for traffic. Ram through everything. The boat trailer is sturdy enough to survive the impacts.

Sticky Bomb Guard Elimination (Weapon Prep)

If you’re doing the weapon prep at Merryweather HQ and want to save Sparrow missiles, you can throw sticky bombs from the air and detonate them to clear groups of enemies.

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Efficient Prep Session Structure

Here’s the optimal order for completing preps in a single session:

Step 1: Check Intel and Plan

Before starting any prep, verify:

• What primary target spawned (determines baseline earnings)
• Where secondary loot is located (if using Longfin approach)
• Whether hard mode is active (Pavel texts after 10-minute cooldown)

Step 2: Position Kosatka

Fast travel to a location central to your planned preps. For most setups, somewhere along the east coast works well.

Step 3: Complete Preps in Proximity Order

Do preps based on geographic location, not the order they appear on the planning screen. This minimizes travel time.

Typical order:

1. Weapon Loadout (usually in the city)
2. Fingerprint Cloner (archive building, city)
3. Cutting Torch (varies, often city or industrial)
4. Approach Vehicle (varies)

Step 4: Final Check

Before starting the finale, verify on the planning screen:

• All mandatory preps show green checkmarks
• Your approach vehicle and entry point are selected
• Your weapon loadout is selected

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Transitioning to Speedrun Preps

If you’ve been doing full prep runs and want to transition to the speedrun approach:

Week 1: Drop Disruption Preps

Stop doing all disruption missions. Focus on completing the finale without them. Learn the stealth route.

Week 2: Drop Guard Uniforms

Practice the finale without uniform disguise. This forces you to learn guard patterns properly.

Week 3: Drop Non-Essential Equipment

Stop doing safe code, bolt cutters, and other optional preps. Your prep list should now be:

• Approach Vehicle
• Cutting Torch
• Weapon Loadout
• Fingerprint Cloner

Week 4: Optimize Vehicle Routes

Focus on minimizing travel time. Use fast travel, position your Kosatka well, and practice efficient Sparrow flying.

Week 5+: Consider Dropping Fingerprint Cloner

Once you’ve memorized the fingerprint patterns, the cloner becomes optional. Test runs without it and see if it affects your finale time.

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Connecting Preps to Finale Performance

Your prep choices directly affect how the finale plays out. Here’s how each prep investment pays off:

Kosatka Approach = Drainage Tunnel Entry

You spawn underwater at the tunnel entrance. Swim in, cut the grate, swim through, emerge inside the compound. Fastest entry, no guards, no detection risk.

Longfin Approach = Flexible Entry + Secondary Loot

You spawn in a boat. You can go anywhere on the island: airstrip for secondary loot, main dock, drainage tunnel (you can still use the tunnel with Longfin). Most versatile option.

Cutting Torch = Silent Grate Entry

Required for drainage tunnel. Without it, you’d need demolition charges which are louder and less practical.

Fingerprint Cloner = Easier Hacking

During the finale, you hack fingerprint scanners to access restricted areas. The cloner shows you the target pattern, making matching faster.

Guard Uniforms = Disguise During Finale

If you did this prep, you can grab uniforms from a marked location during the finale. While wearing them, guards ignore you unless you enter their direct vision cone.

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Final Recommendations

For First-Time Players:

Do the beginner setup. Complete guard uniforms, fingerprint cloner, and all mandatory preps. Your first completion matters more than your first speed record.

For Players Grinding for Money:

Invest in a Sparrow as soon as possible. It’s the single biggest improvement to your Cayo Perico efficiency. Then use the speedrun prep setup.

For Players Who Want Maximum Per-Heist Earnings:

Use the Longfin approach with airport secondary loot. Slightly slower preps and finale, but $400K+ more per heist.

For Players With Limited Time:

The speedrun setup with Sparrow and fast travel lets you complete the entire heist (intel + preps + finale) in 35-45 minutes. Perfect for squeezing in a run during a lunch break.

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Summary

Cayo Perico preps are straightforward once you understand what’s actually necessary versus what’s optional padding. For most players, the optimal prep list is:

1. Approach Vehicle (Kosatka for speed, Longfin for max profit)
2. Cutting Torch
3. Weapon Loadout (Aggressor is versatile)
4. Fingerprint Cloner (optional but recommended)

Everything else can be skipped once you’re comfortable with the finale stealth route.

Your vehicle investments make the biggest difference in prep time. A Sparrow cuts prep missions from 40+ minutes to under 20 minutes. That time savings compounds with every heist, easily paying for the vehicle within a few runs.

Ready to put your preps into action? Check out our [Cayo Perico Speedrun Guide] for the optimal finale route that completes in under 10 minutes.