Those looking for a heist game that provides endless action and fun should look no further thanPayday 2. Theco-operative gameprovides 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.
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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 morestealthy, there are quite a few ways they can go.
Updated on June 13, 2025 by Patrick Armstrong:One of the things that givePayday 2such 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 essentialtips for making the quiet route stay quiet.
14Be An Artful Dodger
Payday 2’sSkill 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 makesPayday 2sucha 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, butplayers 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.
13See 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.
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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.
12Crew 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 andthe 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.
11Crew 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.
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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.
10Mastermind Skills
Whenmaking a stealth build, skills will always be key to making a perfect character. Under theMastermind skill section, there are two skills that players should use if they want to make the buildwork.
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.
9Enforcer Skills
From theEnforcer skill section, there is one skill that shouldbe 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.
8Technician Skills
There’s plenty of theTechnician 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.
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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.
7Ghost Skills
Ghostis a big one forstealth 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.
6Fugitive Skills
Between all the skills available to unlock in the other four sections, there really isn’t a solid skill in theFugitive sectionworth spending valuable skill points on. The only skill that could be somewhat helpful is theBerserker 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.
5Guns
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, isthat the gun has some kindof suppressor so that any enemies can be executed silently.
TheSilent 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.
