Those looking for a heist game that provides endless action and fun should look no further than Payday 2. The co-operative game provides players with a plethora of levels to choose from, each providing a different heist scenario that players can execute in the best way they can think of.
Part of the game is the customization of the player's character, being able to choose what skills and weapons players may want to go into a heist with. Because of the variety of ways a heist can be executed, players can choose between going in loud or quiet. For players who are looking to be more stealthy, there are quite a few ways they can go.
Updated on September 3, 2022 by Patrick Armstrong: One of the things that give Payday 2 such incredible longevity is the incredible strategic diversity that the various builds open up. Even if the player is committed to going all-in with a loud or quiet build, the question remains: what kind?
Given that the player can bring everything from an AK-47 to a bow and arrow, the choices can feel overwhelming at times. That said, here are some essential tips for making the quiet route stay quiet.
14 Be An Artful Dodger
Payday 2's Skill Tree is divided into five classes, each with three subclasses, and each subclass has multiple tiers of skills. Even if the player reaches Level 100 they won't have enough points to Ace every skill in even a single class, let alone all five. Hard choices like this are part of what makes Payday 2 such a great tactical shooter. Due to this skill limit, players making stealth builds typically focus their Ghost skills on the Shinobi subclass.
Doing so is undoubtedly the right decision as the skills in that subclass are invaluable, but players should also consider taking a few Artful Dodger skills: Duck and Cover, Parkour, and Inner Pockets. Duck and Cover and Parkour significantly increase the player's mobility by buffing their Sprint Regeneration and Sprint Speed, amongst other things. Inner Pockets increases the player's Concealment, which is always useful for avoiding detection. None of the necessarily need to be Aced, if the player is low on skill points.
13 See The Saw
The Enforcer class isn't what comes to mind when most players think about stealth builds. With its focus on shotguns, tanking damage, and ammo preservation, the Enforcer seems specifically geared toward loud builds, making most skill choices from this tree out of place. The Ammo Specialist subclass, however, does include some interesting possibilities for players looking to expand beyond the Ghost tree.
The Portable Saw skill is a fantastic alternative for stealth builds, especially when Aced. With this skill Aced the player can not only bring the OVE9000 Portable Saw as a secondary rather than primary weapon, but also they can increase the saw's efficiency by 40%, making cracking into secure areas an absolute breeze. Doing so will require the player to give up one of their two weapon slots, but in a stealth build the plan should never require that much firepower anyway.
12 Crew Abilities
It's no secret that stealth missions with other players can be a bit of a nightmare. Whether playing in public matches or in a private lobby with one's friends, coordinating the precise movements required by stealth missions becomes extremely difficult when other players are added to the equation. Even with good comms and the most useful skills, it's often easier just to play with AI teammates.
Using AI teammates opens up interesting options for the player since the player can customize their loadouts as well. The player can bring three Crew Abilities and three Crew Boosts with their AI partners. When it comes to Crew Abilities, the most important for a stealth build is Quick, which increases interaction speeds by up to 75%. Sharpeyed can be useful for ammo pickups, but the player won't run out of stealth ammo that often anyway.
11 Crew Boosts
There are eight Crew Boosts to choose from. The good news is that only three of them really apply to stealth builds, making it easy for players to make their picks in this area. It's important to remember that the player must assign their most important Crew Abilities and Crew Boosts to higher numbered bots, since the lower numbered the AI, the sooner they will be replaced if a human player joins.
The first essential Crew Boost for stealth builds is Concealer, which grants the player three additional points of Concealment, increasing their overall sneakiness. Invigorator grants the player 50% more Stamina and reduces the speed penalty when wearing armor by 50%. Last, Accelerator allows the player to reload and swap weapons 50% faster. All of these skills make for a quicker, quieter robber.
10 Mastermind Skills
When making a stealth build, skills will always be key to making a perfect character. Under the Mastermind skill section, there are two skills that players should use if they want to make the build work.
The first is Stockholm Syndrome, which intimidates civilians for a longer period of time and can even lead to hostages sacrificing themselves to the police, so the player can avoid being arrested. The second is Forced Friendship, which allows for quickly tying up hostages at the basic level and increased damage absorption based on the number of hostages the player may have.
9 Enforcer Skills
From the Enforcer skill section, there is one skill that should be used in stealth missions: Transporter. With this equipped, the end game of a heist will become a ton easier. Part of each mission is needing to load the escape vehicle with the loot bags filled during the heist.
The skill allows players to throw the bag 50 percent further, meaning getting a bag to the vehicle is a lot easier and can be done more in secret. Other potential skills to use include Portable Saw, which allows for easier access to deposit boxes, and Resilience, which increases armor recovery rate.
8 Technician Skills
There's plenty of the Technician section that players could choose from, but one stands out above the rest: Jack Of All Trades. The basic level of this skill allows players to use their deployable faster. However, if players can afford the Ace level of Jack Of All Trades, it allows players to bring a second deployable on a heist mission.
This is huge because it unlocks even more ways to complete a heist. Other Technician skills that could be helpful are More Firepower, Kickstarter, and Hardware Expert.
7 Ghost Skills
Ghost is a big one for stealth builds, so there a few worth looking into. First is the High-Value Target skill, which is good for taking out any targets or enemies standing in the way. When aced, this skill will give players the ability to deal an additional 50 percent of damage upon a foe when further than 10 feet away.
There is also Chameleon, which increases the time that it takes to be detected while in casing mode. The ace level allows players to pick up items in casing mode. There is also the ECM Specialist skill, which can increase jammer efficiency and allow players to place two.
6 Fugitive Skills
Between all the skills available to unlock in the other four sections, there really isn't a solid skill in the Fugitive section worth spending valuable skill points on. The only skill that could be somewhat helpful is the Berserker skill, which allows players to deal exorbitant amounts of damage when they are low on health.
If a stealth mission goes wrong and players need to deal with an all-out shootout, some of the skills under Gunslinger could also serve useful. Other than that, it's best to focus on making things as stealthy as possible.
5 Guns
Moving on to the weapons needed for a stealth job, this is a bit more flexible to how someone may want to play. The most important thing, above all else, is that the gun has some kind of suppressor so that any enemies can be executed silently.
The Silent Killer Suppressor and the Champions' Suppressor are the player's best option. Putting a Concealment Boost on the weapon helps in this regard as well. As for what guns are most useful, answers range from the Bernetti 9 Pistol to the Cavity 9mm assault rifle.
4 Melee Weapons
On a heist where players are looking to avoid as much human contact as possible while they look to execute it, melee weapons are probably not super useful to carry around. That doesn't mean that a weapon or two couldn't be useful to have just in case.
A Weapon Butt is likely the perfect choice because its main purpose is to break through various objects that may be in the player's way or may hide something. If that isn't good enough, there's also no issue with just using fists.
3 Throwables
Along with guns, players who are looking for creative ways to damage people from a far distance should look into equipping some throwables. The best throwable in the game is a shuriken because it makes no noise but deals a massive amount of damage.
It is also a quite fitting weapon given the circumstances of a stealth-based heist. Players could also use knives and cards to deal damage as well and, since stealth missions tend to bring weaker enemies, these objects deal a ton more damage than they do in a loud situation.
2 Deployables & Armor
Going back to deployable, what a player brings with them to use on a mission depends on the setting, so consider investigating what a heist may entail before choosing them. A major one is a saw, which can be used to cut-through deposit boxes and ATMs.
There is also the ECM Jammers, which as stated earlier, can be used to disrupt cameras and other communication devices. Also considering bringing trip mines for spotting enemies and shape chargers for opening safes. As for armor, players should wear a two-piece suit in order to keep their speed-up.
1 Perk Decks
Lastly, there aren't a ton of Perk Decks that help players in the stealth category, but the few that do really come in handy. The best deck available is arguably the Burglar Perk Deck, which is part of the Clover Character Pack DLC. This gives players the ability to do stealthy actions much faster, such as stuffing body bags and picking locks.
There is also the Hacker Perk Deck, which includes a Pocket ECM that allows players to stun enemies after the alarm is raised, which is called a feedback effect. The rest of the pack adds perks to players for actions taken during the feedback effect.