GTA Online: The Criminal Enterprises - Operation Paperclip walkthrough

Operation Paperclip is the namesake of the mission chain added to GTA Online with the GTA Online Criminal Enterprises Update, and it’s an action packed climax point to the whole ordeal. In it, you need to sneak up to a construction site filled with guards and drones, take out a helicopter, and take back a briefcase filled with nefarious AI tech. Fun stuff!

In this guide, we’ll take you through each step of the mission so you can complete it issue free. Each mission step has its own section, so if there’s a specific part you’re stuck on you can jump right to it.

• Operation Paperclip - how do I sneak up the construction site?
• Operation Paperclip - how do I take down the helicopter?
• Operation Paperclip - how do I catch the helicopter and get the briefcase?

Operation Paperclip - how do I sneak up the construction site?

When the mission first starts, you’ll need to grab a keycard off a guard and make your way up a construction site via an elevator. There are around eight guards in total, with the keycard dropping randomly of one of these enemies. It’s time to equip a silenced weapon and get to work.

We recommend killing every guard near the elavator itself, except from the drone. Destroying the drone will immediately alert the guards, and lose the element of surprise. The reason you want to explicitly take out the guards around the elevator - the two pairs of guards in its proximity - is because they can spot you as you go up the elevator.

This obviously sucks, but it’s worth taking the extra two minutes killing two guards to avoid a ruined run. We recommend starting with the two guards under the construction site, then the single guard by the elevator, then the pair standing on the dirt road in front of the elevator. Make sure you’re not spotted by the drone as you take them out!

Once you have the keycard, take the elevator up to continue the stealth section of this mission! You’ll be left on a floor with six enemies - two pairs and two solo guards - as well as a guard. Focus on the solo guard near the elevator first, then the nearby pair of enemies. From there, take out the remaining pair. At this point, you’ll need to sneak past the drone while it’s looking away to kill the final guard. He’s overlooking the side of the construction site so punch him off for laughs.

At this point, take the nearby elevator up, and the stealth section will end. Action time!

Operation Paperclip - how do I take down the helicopter?

At this point, you’ll be dropped into a big combat scene. Upwards of twenty enemies with assault rifles will be shooting at you, and it’s your job to take them all out and make your way to the top floor. The key here is to take your time, take them out one by one, make sure you’re sticking to cover, and keep chugging down snacks if you get hit too much.

Eventually, the floor will be clear and you’ll be able to ascend up to the roof. As you do, the helicopter will take off. At this point, you need to unload as much damage into that helicopter as you can. A full clip of assault rifle ammo, a rocket if you can hit it, anything you can.

Once it gets too far away, leap off the construction site onto the street below to continue the chase. Be careful not to crash headfirst into the lower floor though, as this will almost certainly kill you. All your teammates will laugh too - watch out!

Operation Paperclip - how do I catch the helicopter and get the briefcase?

When you reach the street, jump in a car and chase that helicopter down! If you’ve dealt enough damage it should quickly land on a large building a short distance from the construction site, so you thankfully don’t have far to go.

This is your final combat section - so be sure to feast up, grab your favourite mid-ranged weapon, and start climbing up via the ladder on the exterior of the building. Slowly make your way towards the crashed helicopter, taking out enemies carefully as you go. Eventually, you’ll be able to take out Mason. He will then drop a suitcase, which you must pick up.

With the suitcase, head back to the street and jump into a car. When in the drivers’ seat, race over to the dropoff point and you’ll have wrapped up the penultimate mission in the Operation Paperclip mission chain!

If you're looking for a guide on the next mission in Operation Paper Trail, check out our walkthrough guide for ULP: Cleanup!

That concludes our guide on Operation Paperclip! For more Criminal Enterprises guides, give our guides on how to get all 18 new Criminal Enterprises vehicles, as well as the new GTA + rewards a read!