Dirty Ice is a jewelry store heist in Payday 3 in which players will aggressively borrow some ill-gained jewelry from the Ashton Fine Jewelry Store. During the heist, a vault is mentioned several times, but figuring out how to open it can prove tricky for less experienced heisters.
There are a couple of steps you’ll need to get the vault in Dirty Ice open, but nothing too challenging.
How to find the Dirty Ice vault in Payday 3
The vault in the Dirty Ice heist in Payday 3 is located in the restricted hallway behind the main store. This hallway can be reached in several different ways:
- By unlocking the QR code door in the shop area.
- By unlocking the door to the VIP showroom and taking the door into the hallway.
- By gaining access to the basement from behind the store and going upstairs to the hallway.
Once inside the hallway, you’ll see the vault door just outside of the manager’s office.
There will be guards and security cameras monitoring the hallway, so tread carefully if you’re trying to complete the mission under the guise of stealth.
How to open the Dirty Ice vault in Payday 3
To open the vault in Dirty Ice, the red button on the desk in the manager’s office must be pressed at the same time that the red keycard is scanned at the vault door. This is easy to coordinate with a friend, but if you’re playing solo, you can shove a hostage into the button on the desk which will force them to press it, leaving you time to run back to the vault and scan the red keycard.
Finding the vault was the easy part. If you’re at the vault, turn around and enter the manager’s office. Inside, hack into her computer and browse until you find the vault door email, in which it will be explained that you need to press two buttons simultaneously to open the vault.
The bank manager is the perfect hostage to use for this since you’ll already need to take her hostage to open the Jewelry Workshop. Two birds with one stone!
The first button is on the manager’s desk to the left of the computer. The second button is right next to the vault door but requires the red keycard to be activated.
How to get the red keycard in Dirty Ice
The red keycard can be found in the basement. To get into the basement, you’ll need a code. On the manager’s computer, find the email regarding the basement door, which will instruct you to check one of three locations:
- The Wi-Fi password in the break room
- The open ledger in the VIP showroom
- The employee of the month photo in the shop area
Each of these locations will have a four-digit code—the manager’s computer will tell you which one you need to gain access to the basement. Once you have the correct code, the easiest way to get into the basement is by going around the back alley and down the ramp. You will see the door that requires a code at the bottom of the ramp.
Once inside, continue to the room with a safe and a fuse box on the wall (be mindful of the guard and security camera in the basement). You’ll find the red keycard out in the open next to the safe.
Once you have the red keycard, you are ready to open the vault in Dirty Ice.
Pressing the buttons simultaneously
If you have a multiplayer partner that you can coordinate this with, great. If not, you’ll have to take a hostage and make them press the button on the desk.
If you’ve gone loud and there are no more civilians around to take hostage, SWAT officers can be taken hostage if they are stunned by a flash-bang grenade.
The button on the desk must be pressed at the same time that the red keycard is swiped at the scanner next to the vault. If you’re playing alone, take a hostage as a human shield, and bring them into the manager’s office. Looking at the button on the desk will give you the prompt to force the hostage to press it.
Follow the prompt to command your hostage to press the button, and then quickly walk into the hallway and scan the red keycard. The vault door will open, and inside you will find the Rare Stone.
Dirty Ice vault reward in Payday 3
Opening the vault gives you the Rare Stone, which is worth several bags of jewelry. During Dirty Ice, every jewelry bag must be “cleaned” within the workshop, or else there is a chance it will be worthless.
The Rare Stone does not require cleaning—you can take it straight to the getaway van or helicopter. The Rare Stone is worth about $40,000, which is twice what a normal jewelry bag is worth.
