Heist League: does the alert level affect anything?

During a heist or grand heist, the alert level functions as a limit on how many chests you can open or how many alarms you can trip.

Some contracts and blueprints also have affixes that apply a debuff per % of alert level.

Does alert level do anything else? I think I noticed fewer guard reinforcements spawning in after lockdown (making escaping with the loot a great deal easier) if the meter is closer to empty, but so far I cannot verify it. Am I seeing things?

Solution 1:

Alert level affects nothing. Guard reinforcements are only triggered when opening certain chests or triggering the lockdown status. Furthermore, guard reinforcements have a set limit, so you will naturally see less reinforcements the longer you spend time in a heist post-lockdown.