Framing Frame

"Gentlemen, I have a golden opportunity for you. Politics and Art, at their best."

—The Elephant offering the heist

Framing Frame is a three-day heist in PAYDAY 2.

The crew must steal select paintings from an art gallery that is hosting a Singapore Art Exhibit, sell them to the senator's people, then frame the senator. The heist contractor is The Elephant. This heist is noteworthy for having a great emphasis on stealth over aggression, with a greater reward if the crew can stealth the heist and collect the gold.

The Day 1 of this Heist has become available on the 24th of October 2014 as a standalone single-day heist.

Day 1

Pre-Planning

Pre-Planning Options
v·d·e PrePlanning: Framing Frame Day 1 & Art Gallery Assets Asset Costs Favors Type Name Normal Hard Very Hard Overkill Death Wish 8P Loc Max Mission Beneficial Dead Drop Doctor Bag $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 4 2 Ammo Bag $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 4 2 Grenades $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 4 2 Body Bags $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 4 2 Surveillance Camera Access $1,000 $2,000 $5,000 $10,000 $13,000 2 1 1 Spycam $1,000 $3,200 $5,000 $10,000 $13,000 2 6 3 Insider help Keycard $2,000 $4,000 $10,000 $20,000 $26,000 2 1 1 Expert Driver (Framing Frame ONLY) $2,000 $4,000 $10,000 $20,000 $26,000 3 1 1 Additional mission equipment Roof Access $1,000 $2,000 $5,000 $10,000 $13,000 2 1 1 Entry Point $1,000 $2,000 $5,000 $10,000 $13,000 2 3 1
End of pre-Planning Options

Objectives (Stealth)

1. Steal at least 4 (on Normal) paintings marked with a red "sold" mark.
2. Escape.

Objectives (Stealth failed)

1. Get into the security room.
2. Override the system to open the paintings locks (299 seconds). Alternatively use the OVE9000 to saw open the bars.
3. Steal at least 4 (on Normal) paintings marked with a red "sold" mark.
4. Escape.

Walkthrough

File:2014-09-12 00002.jpg

The Framing Frame Pro Job Contract screen.

The lobby and each hall have one camera. It is advisable to take out the guard in the security room, which will stop the cameras from detecting you. Be aware that passing guards will notice a destroyed camera.

A laser will also spawn between two random halls. Lasers detect heisters and objects passing through them.

If your goal is to stealth the whole mission, it's much better to take all the available paintings. If you do so, you'll have more "friendly" cameras in the 3rd day, meaning the heist will be easier.

Should stealth break at any given moment, metal bars will cover the paintings and security shutters will close, sealing the crew inside until the police arrives on the scene. A computer in the security room must be hacked in order to lower the bars so that the paintings can be taken. Alternatively, an Enforcer can also use the OVE9000 saw to cut the bars off. A good method for this option is to simply tap the saw's trigger on each bar, it takes just one "hit" for the saw to cut a single bar.

Tips

• You can easily draw nearby guards by triggering the hand drier (by crouching beneath it) in the restroom.
• The number of paintings you secure in the van is the number of cameras you will have access to on Day 3 and the amount of money bags you'll receive on Day 2.
• The number of paintings available is randomized between attempts: the total is not impacted by difficulty, changes on restarting the day, and will always be between between six and nine.
• If the goal is to stealth the entirety of Framing Frame, one possible strategy with a group is to bring two to four Ghosts with ECMs. The team will then chain ECMs one after another and spread out and search for paintings (they only need to be picked up and thrown on the ground). With enough ECMs, the team can find all paintings and move them to the van without ever breaking stealth. Note: Depending on the team's size, builds, and speed, ECM skills wouldn't necessarily be required. If the team never kills a guard, the team doesn't have to worry about pagers, so acing ECM Specialist, while nice for the added time, is not required.

Variations

• A covered statue might spawn in Hall A-D, granting extra cover and providing a landing spot for roof access.
  • The additional roof access grants an extra statue that is functionally the same to the randomly spawned statue but its spawn position is controllable.

Day 2

Assets

Gage Courier Packages

Risk Level I, II, III

Sniper
Cost: XXXX$

Expert Driver
Cost: XXXX$
Req.: Inside Man Ace

Objectives

1. Trade the paintings.
2. Escape.
3. Secure Money. (optional)

Walkthrough

The group must first answer a phone inside a derelict rail carriage. They are instructed to place the paintings on the table. Once the paintings have been placed, the group must then throw the paintings out of a roof door, where a helicopter is waiting. Each painting is worth a single bag of money. Once finished, the group must move through an abandoned warehouse to the escape van.

If Day 1 was successfully stealthed or if players escaped less than 50 seconds after the alarm sounded on Day 1, the only resistance will usually be three civilians waiting by the escape van, who can be managed easily. However, there is a 1% chance that the police will ambush the players and attack in force.

If Day 1 was not successfully stealthed (players escaped more than 50 seconds after an alarm sounded), there is a 76% chance that police will ambush the players on Day 2.

Tips

• If your crew has access to the OVE9000 saw an alternate route to the escape van is available, accessed by sawing the two locks on the circular sewer grate near the train exit. It surfaces on the far end of the warehouse, but players must be heedful of fall damage when entering.
• Police forces will rappel into the sewers if accessed, making the area dangerous in the event of Shields or Bulldozers rushing in. However, Trip Mines can be very effective, a single player can easily delay the police long enough for their teammates to move the bags further towards the van.

Bugs

• If someone who is not properly in sync with the host answers the phone, it does not trigger the next sequence of the trade; this causes the crew to be stuck and unable to complete the heist.
• Usually the blue/red ! indicator will become stuck on the screen from the civilians once they detect you.

Day 3

Pre-Planning

Pre-Planning Options
v·d·e PrePlanning: Framing Frame Day 3 Assets Asset Costs Favors Type Name Normal Hard Very Hard Overkill Death Wish 8P Loc Max Mission Beneficial Dead Drop Doctor Bag $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 7 2 Ammo Bag $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 7 2 Grenades $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 7 2 Body Bags $1,600 $3,200 $8,000 $16,000 $20,800 2 7 2 Surveillance Spycam $1,000 $3,200 $5,000 $10,000 $13,000 2 11 3 Backup Vantage Point $2,000 $4,000 $10,000 $20,000 $26,000 3 1 1 Additional mission equipment Bag Shortcut $2,000 $4,000 $10,000 $20,000 $26,000 2 1 1
End of pre-Planning Options

Objectives (Stealth)

Framing Frame Day 3 Item Spawn Locations

1. Steal all 5 electronic items.
2. Assemble stolen electronic items next to the laptop on the roof.
3. Use the desktop computer to access the hidden vault.
4. Find the hidden vault.
5. Place 8 bags of coke in the pre-vault room.
6. Use the desktop computer to open the vault door.
7. (Optional) Use the desktop computer again to temporarily disable the lasers. This may have to be done a few times to bag all of the gold and carry it out of the vault room.
8. (Optional) Carry the gold to the zip-line.
9. Escape.

Objectives (Stealth failed)

1. Find the server room. (There are three possible server rooms)
2. Hack into the computer and wait for the upload to finish. (399 seconds)
3. Protect the power boxes while the upload is in progress.
4. Escape.

Walkthrough

The crew starts on the roof of the senator's apartment. To their immediate left is a laptop that is connected to the cameras placed inside all of the stolen paintings hung inside the apartment.

Guarding the apartment is a compliment of several guards and three security cameras. The guards patrol within the two levels and the roof of the apartment. The only safe place is where you spawn.

It is not uncommon for guards to walk onto the roof near the start of the heist. If you have detector trip mines in your possession, it is advised to place 3 of them on the three doors leading to the roof. This way, if any guard goes on the roof, you'll hear him and will be able to take him out stealthily.

The crew should attempt to locate the needed electronic items while avoiding the guards and cameras. You can kill a total of 4 guards, as domination now requires an answer to the guard's pager.

Once the crew have the 5 items, they will need to plug them into the laptop on the roof. Once that is finished, a player has to go to the senator's office and interact with his computer. This will grant access to the outer vault room that is hidden behind a book shelf that you will have to find.

There are three Book shelves located on the map. One in the bedroom on the bottom floor, one in the lounge area on the bottom floor, and one on the second floor next to the stairs leading down to the kitchen.

Once you have found the vault's entrance, a player will need to go to the roof where heist began to obtain eight bags of cocaine thrown to them near the zip-line.

The group must then move all eight bags of cocaine from the roof to the vault entrance and pile them up there. Once this task is accomplished, you need to operate the senator's computer again to open the vault. Then the crew can choose to leave or stay and get the gold from the vault.

Getting gold: The laser alarm system is active and if tripped (even with a bag) will sound the alarm. The player in the senator's office must again interact with the computer to shut off the lasers for a few brief moments (50 seconds), in this time the players at the vault can safely move into the vault and empty its contents. Before the lasers reactivate, the lasers will make 3 beeps, warning the player that the lasers are reactivating. After getting the gold out of the vault without setting off the alarm, the crew can now move the gold bags to the roof and place them onto the zip-line to be dropped off into the other building.

However if at any point the alarm is tripped then they must abandon the stealth route, even if the gold is loaded or about to be loaded.

Loud, looking for server: With the alarm tripped the crew must work fast to frame the senator. Bain suggests they should leak all information on the senator's illegal arms deal to all the media outlets and instructs the crew to locate the server room inside the apartment. There are two keycards in the apartment that can quickly open two of three rooms that might contain the server. To find it easily, listen for the PC beeps (noting that the sound is extremely faint). Once inside, the crew must interact with the server computer and defend it for 400 seconds while the upload is completed. At this point the police can shut off the power using two randomly placed power boxes around the map forcing the crew to bring the power back on and restart the computer to continue the upload process.

Once the upload is complete the crew can retreat to the roof and wait for helicopter extraction.

Bugs

• Occasionally, only the host can activate the PC at first. Other players will not be able to activate the PC but can still interact with it after the host has activated it first.
• On console, occasionally the "Bag Shortcut" asset will not work. The vent will be open but bags will not be able to be thrown down the vent.
• When the day goes loud, Bain will keep on repeating several phrases (e.g. the power being cut) even after their trigger have been rectified (turning the power back on). A third party modification of Hoxhud have fixed this problem but the official updates did not.

Tips

• Cameras and guards detect:
  • Players.
  • Dead bodies.
  • Surrendered guards.
  • Smashed glass.
  • Broken cameras.
  • Opened vault.
  • Body bags/loot bags.
  • Planted coke.
  • Open bookcase "doors".
• The electronic items can be located by interacting with the laptop on the roof or PC in the cabinet and switching between the cameras. When a camera sees an item, it will be temporarily marked with a yellow outline that can be seen by you and your group. The electronic items can also be picked up through solid surfaces, such as walls or windows. Bringing a weapon with an Assault Light or Tactical Pistol Light Gadget is recommended, as some items have a dark texture that blends in with the surface its spawned on.
• There are 9 possible locations for the paintings (and therefore cameras) to be hung on Day 3. The number of stolen paintings on Day 1 is the number of cameras you will have access to on Day 3.
• There are guard patrol locations not seen by cameras, this means that additional reconnaissance on foot will often be required despite having a full compliment of paintings.
• Cleaner aced is highly recommended to carry the corpses to a safe location (i.e. to the roof where players spawn, inside the closet on the bottom floor, behind the bookshelves).
• Do not destroy cameras. Use the Camera Loop skill or an ECM jammer if you need to look for items located near a camera.
• It is possible that a camera will be looking directly at the vault bookcase. In this case, it is advisable to have a player with Camera Loop loop the camera in order to save ECMs while the coke is planted and the gold moved out (if desired).
• It is recommended for one person to stay on the roof accessing the laptop (cameras) to spot the electronic items and guards. 
• Press the Shout/Interact key/button when you see a guard to highlight him. Helps a lot for everyone sneaking around!.
• If you have failed stealth, a Technician with Trip Mines should place them just under the circuit breakers. This helps reduce interruptions on the upload, and is also a good way of doing the 'Afraid of the Dark' achievement.
• The vault door will NOT close if the alarm is triggered while a player is still inside. Use this chance to bag and secure all the gold inside while preparing for plan B. This is by far the most lucrative method of breaking Day 3.
• When the NPC in the other building throws the coke, it is possible to get the "I got it, I got it!" achievement.
• Use your melee attack or silenced weapon to eliminate guards.
• To figure out which door has the server in it just stand next to the door and listen for the beeping the server makes.
• Bags can safely be hidden inside server rooms if they are placed appropriately.
• Loot bags (but not body bags due to their size) can also be hidden behind the right-hand chair in the bedroom without guards noticing them, which is very useful if the vault is located in the bedroom. However, it is inadvisable to hide them behind the left chair, as you may not be able to reach them to get them back out.
• If you're opting for Plan B, try to find the power boxes before activating the server.

Death Wish Mode Changes

Day 1:

• All cameras will now be replaced with Titan cameras.
• There are now 6 guards patrolling, 1 guard at the front desk, and 1 guard in the security room.

Day 2:

• There is now a small chance that the police will ambush you, even if you complete Day 1 without the alarm going off.

Day 3:

• All cameras will now be replaced with Titan cameras.
• There are now 6 guards patrolling.

• Guards do not have flashlights, making them harder to detect.
• There is now only one keycard available.

Achievements

Painting Yourself Into a Corner On day 1 of the Framing Frame job, steal all sold paintings without being seen.

 

Big Deal On day 2 of the Framing Frame job, trade 9 paintings.

I Wasn't Even There! On day 3 of the Framing Frame job, send the gold by zip-line without ever tripping the alarm.

Afraid of the Dark On day 3 of the Framing Frame job, while doing plan B, do not let law enforcers pull the power.

Moonlighting Complete the Framing Frame job on the Death Wish difficulty.

Making Crime Into an Art Form Complete the Framing Frame pro job on the Death Wish difficulty.

Big Deal

Since difficulty does not impact the amount of paintings, playing Normal difficulty is recommended. Additionally, one or more players should consider a mod such as HoxHud, which will list the map's bag loot amounts; whilst not necessary, it will significantly streamline the process by allowing immediate restart if the total is less than 9.

After playing with the desired approach, preferably taking the OVE9000 Saw if opting for Plan B, players need only escape with all paintings and complete Day 2 as normal. Once the helicopter begins to depart, the achievement should pop.

Afraid of the Dark

Like most area denial achievements, it is best attempted on a lower difficulty with a team of multiple, well balanced Technicians. By using sentries carefully and guarding the two boxes in pairs, it shouldn't be too difficult to hold down the area(s) long enough to complete the hack.

Maps

Day 1 Blueprints
Day 1 Interior Day 1 Overview
End of day 1 Blueprints

Day 3 Blueprints
Day 3 Main floor Day 3 Top floor Day 3 Roof
End of day 3 Blueprints