GTA Online Doomsday Heist Act 2 Guide: The Bogdan Problem
A full Doomsday Heist Act 2 guide to The Bogdan Problem: every setup, the submarine finale, payouts on normal and hard, and the elite challenge bonus.
The Doomsday Heist Act 2, known as The Bogdan Problem, is the middle chapter of GTA Online's three-act Doomsday Heist and one of the better-paying co-op jobs in the game. This guide covers every setup, the two-team submarine finale, the full payout on normal and hard, and the elite challenge bonus. Act 2 hunts down a Russian submarine off the coast and sets up the betrayal that drives the rest of the story.
What you need before starting the Bogdan Problem
The Doomsday Heist launched on December 12, 2017, and Act 2 cannot be played in isolation. To host any act you must be a CEO, VIP, or MC President and you must own a Facility, the underground base bought through Maze Bank Foreclosures. You also have to complete Act 1: The Data Breaches before The Bogdan Problem unlocks.
The setup cost to launch Act 2 is roughly GTA$95,000, paid by the host to cover prep. The heist supports 2 to 4 players. You will use the Avenger (the tilt-rotor aircraft stored in your Facility) and the Stromberg (the amphibious sports car) heavily here, so it helps if the crew has access to both. For a full overview of the mode and the rest of the GTA Online content library, see our GTA Online hub.
The Bogdan Problem setup missions
Act 2 runs as a chain of freemode prep missions followed by four instanced setup missions. The preps gather equipment and intel; the setups are the harder, scored jobs. Work through them in this order:
- Prep: Keycards - grab the keycards needed to access secured areas later in the act.
- Setup: Avenger - steal the Avenger aircraft from a hangar at Los Santos International Airport and fly it back. This is the workhorse vehicle for the finale.
- Prep: ULP Intel - track down intel on the captured IAA agent codenamed ULP.
- Setup: Rescue ULP - one team assaults a foundry to free Agent ULP while the other team provides cover.
- Prep: Riot Control Van - secure the RCV with its water cannons.
- Setup: Salvage Hard Drives - use the RCV's water cannons to stop Russian agents from destroying hard drives you need to recover.
- Prep: Strombergs and Prep: Torpedo ECUs - acquire the amphibious Strombergs and the torpedo electronics that arm them for the underwater assault.
- Setup: Submarine Recon - use the Strombergs to wipe out a convoy, then dive underwater to scan Bogdan's submarine and finish the prep work.
Each setup is scored, and the Avenger setup in particular sets up your only air vehicle for the finale, so do not write it off as filler.
The Bogdan Problem finale walkthrough
The finale, simply titled The Bogdan Problem, splits the crew into two teams. The Submarine Team drives the Stromberg to a Russian sub lurking off the coast and boards it through an access hatch. The Air Support team flies the Avenger above and holds off enemy agents while the boarders work.
The core finale beats are straightforward once you know them:
- Take the Avenger to the submarine's location and clear incoming agents from the air.
- The Stromberg team dives to the submarine and boards it through an airlock.
- Fight through to the brig to find your contact, force the intel out of him, then push to the control room (the bridge).
- Photograph the evidence with your phone, then plug the Cliffford device into the center console to complete the data grab.
- Regroup and escape in the Avenger before the sub goes down.
Communication matters more here than in most heists because the two teams are doing completely different jobs at the same time. The air team's only job is to keep agents off the boarders, so the Avenger pilot should treat staying alive and on station as the priority.
The story twist behind the heist
The Bogdan Problem is named for Bogdan, the codename (and, he insists, the real name) of a Russian operative who arrives in San Andreas aboard the submarine Ramius. For most of the act he looks like the villain. The twist is that Bogdan is trying to stop the real threat. After you plug Cliffford in, Bogdan appears and explains that the genuine enemies are Avon Hertz and his AI neural network, Cliffford, who want to wipe out humanity. Avon then betrays the crew, Cliffford triggers the submarine's self-destruct, and everyone scrambles out before it explodes. That betrayal is the hook that leads directly into Act 3: The Doomsday Scenario.
Doomsday Heist Act 2 payout and elite challenge
The Bogdan Problem is the reason a lot of players grind the Doomsday Heist. The finale pays:
- Normal mode: GTA$1,425,000
- Hard mode: GTA$1,781,250
That total is split among the participating players based on the share the host assigns, so the host can take a larger cut or spread it evenly across the crew. Setting up the act costs about GTA$95,000 out of pocket, which comes off the host's end.
There is also an elite challenge for the finale. Clear it to earn an extra GTA$50,000 on top of the payout. To qualify you must:
- Keep the Avenger under 5% damage.
- Finish the finale in under 15 minutes.
- Lose no lives across the whole crew.
A skilled duo or trio can comfortably hit those targets once they know the route, making The Bogdan Problem one of the more efficient money earners in GTA Online. If you want to compare it against other earners or browse more co-op content, start at the GTA Online hub.
