PAYDAY 2 Is a very in-depth game. It takes roughly 2000 hours to fully complete it to infamy 25. So where do you start? Should you join deathwish heists you know you can't be good on but others might carry you for that extra XP?

No! You need to learn how to get there yourself, and this is the guide that will teach you how.
This guide won't be easy, in fact it will take days, months even before you go from normal to deathwish, but it is possible!

Good luck!

Whoa, what is this menu?! Heists, what are those? How do I get into a game?
Easy there! In time all will be explained!
Alright, lets go over the basics of the main menu
(Note: You should probably do the tutorial and basic heists before you do a real heist)

CRIME.NET
You use this to connect or start an online lobby. A lobby in progress will show the heist name, the host name, and the amount of people in the lobby. Now be aware that pros don't really like level 0s so you might want to start at...

CRIME.NET OFFLINE
Here you can play heists offline/in singleplayer, with AI to help you out. While the AI is stupid, they're nearly invincible until later heists. You might wanna start here, because the AI can't kick you!

INVENTORY
This is where you equip or buy your guns, spend your exp, melee weapon, change character, and that sort of thing!
First off, guns. When you start PAYDAY you have virtually no money, so you won't be able to buy stuff just yet. Some good weapons for beginners would be the UAR rifle (not accurate assault rifle, but good dps.) the bronco revolver (good high damage high accuracy pistol.)
This video will give you good weapons with no dlc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETOvLUiPoX4

Next up, XP. There are 5 skill trees, mastermind (medic stuff), enforcer (ammo and shotguns), technician (sentry guns, c4 to blow open doors, and faster drills), ghost (sneakybeaky stuff and silencer stuff), and fugitive (pistol skills, and a bunch of weird hard to explain but good stuff)
The best builds combine these trees to make crazy death machines, but for now just spend your points in stuff that looks good.

There are also perk decks, which you also spend XP on (but it's seperate from the skill tree.) They start out giving you minor perks like 10% more health but end with things like you regenerate health or you get armor for kills and a bunch of crazy stuff. Not sure which to start putting points into? Muscle is a nice simple one for begginners. You get more health and then at the end you regen it.

Armor is a little more complex. More armor = more hits before you start taking damage, so everyone should go for the best armor, right?
well more armor also = less speed, if you wear the best armor you walk very very slow even with skills to make you fast.
More armor also = worse dodge. There are skills (mostly in fugitive and ghost) that make it so if you get hit there is a % chance the bullet will miss and do no damage, and better armor makes this chance go way down.
For now though you probably won't be using dodge, so just always equip the best armor you have.

First heist(s)
Some easy heists to do first are
Jewelry store, Four stores, Ukranian job, and Mallcrasher.
Heists you shouldn't touch with a ten foot pole are
Shadow Raid, Goat simulator, Birth of Sky, Safehouse nightmare (only appears on halloween), and pretty much any heists that have 2+ skulls.

Now go heisting on a normal (no skulls) mission to test your skills!

To go from Normal to hard, you should...

Have new weapons (not using default!)
Have played at least 3-7 heists
Are around level 10-30

Hard, unlike the name suggests is not really that hard.
However it does add more special units, which can be very deadly to unprepared new players.

Cloaker
Cloakers spawn usually only once per match on Hard, but when you see them take out your most powerful weapon and spam it at them until they die!
Cloakers can ONE HIT DOWN YOU!!!
When they charge to do their killing kick, you'll hear a loud WULULULULULU!
They also like to sneak around corners and get you when you least expect it. Don't let this happen!
They usually hide behind doors, corners, under cars, or in generally harder to find locations.
You can also hear a quiet sort of tech-y ambient noise when they're around. If something sounds out of place like that, you might have a cloaker so be on your toes!

Taser
These guys will stun you in place, and your gun will auto fire over and over.
Point your gun at them and when it auto fires it will kill him/or knock him down, breaking the stunning. You might have to shoot him more than once, especially on higher difficulties.

BULLDOZERS
These guys only spawn for scripted events on hard, and for damn good reason.
Heists to look out for is meltdown (there's one hiding in the containers) any halloween heist, and birth of sky.
If you see one, aim for the head! They take the most damage there.

While this may sound... Hard (haha very funny) it really isn't as bad as it sounds. You can probably do hard heists earlier than the requirments I listed.
Also: You should test out new difficulties on Mallcrasher, arguably the easiest heist since theres a lot of cover in shops.

To go from Hard to Very Hard, you should...

Be around level 40-50
Have modified weapons
Have some sort of setup making sure you won't immediatly die (have someone bring medic bags, use full muscle so you get health regen, etc.)

Very hard is a higher jump than normal to hard, BUT it's still very doable!
Pretty much the only change is enemies have VERY SLIGHTLY more health, and it spawns way more of them.

One very important change is the health specials have.
Cloakers go from 2,000 health to 4,000, tasers go from 300 to 600, and bulldozers go from 2,000 to 4,000 (albiet they have way more armor than cloakers)
This might sound scary at first, but really all it means is that the strategy you've been using to dominate specials? Yeah just do that - but more.

Another important thing to know is that now CAPTAIN WINTERS can spawn. To new players, he is just about the scariest thing in the entire world. But don't be afraid! If you know how to deal with him it's not that hard.
Basically, he's the guy in the middle with the badge on his shield and he has a ton of reinforcements behind him. He also creates a NEVER ENDING ASSAULT that gives enemies more health (because he yells tactical things at them, or something) and only ends if you kill him.
So how do you kill him? Grenades! Lots of Grenades. Just make sure you have one or two people with any grenade (except concussion grenade, for obvious reasons) and when he appears, spam them at him! Don't have any grenades? Get two people on either side to flank him, and aim for headshots. You do nearly FIVE TIMES normal damage to him if you get a headshot, so aim high! Don't have teammates? Run around him while shooting or get an AI to distract him and then go for quick headshots.

The other major thing that appears more often is SWAT turrets. Most new players assume these things are un-killable, since they have a frankly insane amount of health, but it IS possible to kill them! Aim for their weak spot, just under the protective shiled thingy and fire in bursts (do NOT just run out in front of it!) and if you need to you can take them out. Better yet, if someone has an RPG the turret is as good as broken. However, take this with a grain of salt since it's usually easier to just ignore them or run right past them in shorter bursts.

While this may sound daunting at first, remember to ease yourself in! Play mallcrasher first, and work your way up to tougher heists.
This is also the point where you should start trying to host or join lobbies with people that have a similar skill/level. While public games can be more frustrating or tedious, teammates make the difference between the AI running to you and trying to get you up next to a still active cloaker, and your teammate just yelling at you to get up INSTANTLY! (Inspire skill aced)

Going to Very Hard to Overkill, you should...

Be around level 60-70
Have a setup that compliments itself (eg you use a pistol and have pistol skills)
Know how to deal with specials and larger numbers of cops
Work well with randoms in pubs
Be ready for a REAL challenge!

Overkill, while the name might seem daunting, is really not as bad as it sounds! The main differences (once again) are higher enemy health, and new units.
HOWEVER there is one important change that is neither of those, the amount of specials that can spawn!
On very hard, only 2 tasers could spawn, 2 cloakers, 2 bulldozers, etc.
Well, that's all been put up to 4!
Yup, the amount of specials has been doubled!
Sounds terrifying, right? Weeeeeeeeeeell not really. You see, while there can be more specials total, they don't all spawn at the same time. I've only ever seen four cloakers at the same time once or twice, and trust me I've played many many overkill heists!
The exception to this is tasers and shields, which spawn in packs of 2 now. It's still uncommon to see 4 tasers at once, but I've seen it many more times than cloakers. Hell, I'm not sure I've ever seen 4 bulldozers.

So what's the new enemy? The medic!
The medic can be confusing when I describe it to people, so pay close attention. If there is a medic alive, and he is close to, lets say Unit A, and then we shoot Unit A so he is at 0 health (dead) the medic will PREVENT the last bullet from killing him and regenerate around 15-25% of his health. Basically, we shoot Unit A, Unit A is highlighted in green indicating a medic healed him, and he doesn't die (but he only has a tiny bit of health.) This affect, while on a cooldown, is dangerous when combined with other specials or even other medics! Let's run through a hypothetical. So what should you do if there's a medic next to a bulldozer? If you tried to kill the bulldozer he'd be revived (to an extent) and keep shooting, so who should you shoot first?
If you didn't say/think, "The medic," you might need to see a doctor.
What's more is the medics have these bright red and white outfits that make them VERY easy to put apart from the crowd. Always be sure to take them out first!

Once again, start with easy heists like mallcrasher to test your skills.
Good luck!

What's that? Overkill wasn't hard enough?
Aw crap, that was kind of the last difficulty you could just "jump into" with no real assistance.
Well, if you really want to make the jump from Overkill to Mayhem, it's going to take skill, quick thinking, lots of ammo, and a little bit of luck.

Mayhem is the difficulty after Overkill but before Deathwish, and with a few little tweaks, EVERYTHING changes.

To go from Overkill to Mayhem, you should...

Be at Level 80-100
Have an extremley well-thought out build (so the one you made of skills that look niceprobably won't cut it)
Be able to solo most overkill heists
Know how to effectivly deal with/avoid every special
Be good at dealing with large numbers of cops
Have good weapons (no unmodded amcars here!)
Have either the ICTV (best armor) or some sort of dodge
Be ready to fail longer heists (Sometimes wasting nearly 45 mins - 1 hour)

Holy crap, that's a lot of requirments! How am I supposed to meet them all?!
Don't worry, there's only a few that are really important.

1. Have a well-thought out build
2. Have either the ICTV or dodge
3. Have high damage weapons.
Let's go over them 1 by 1.

1. Have a well-thought out build.
I remember my first, build. Ah, the nostalgia. It was a mastermind focused armor build using the bronco. I supplied medic bags to the team and dealth with snipers and even most speicals from long range while taking out baddies at close range with my Ak.
Breaking news, that build, and probably yours too, SUCKS!
Well, at least in the sense of doing the Mayhem difficulty.
I was outputting high damage, but I wasn't using the ICTV or dodge, I was using the improved combined tactical vest. I'd go down in just a couple shots, and I'd go from team player to team deadweight. This realisation that I couldn't just go do a Deathwish (since mayhem didn't exist at the time) heist made me TERRIFYED of deathwish, so much so I didn't play that much it until infamy 3 (as in prestige/restart the game.) Don't let this happen to you. Mayhem and Deathwish, even One down are doable, you just need to have the right build. This is when the internet comes in handy. VERY handy.
My current dodge build for deathwish came from an online video and my one down/dps deathwish build came from a more experienced friend. Once you know every skill inside and out, it's fine to make your own build. Heck, since it doesn't cost anything to spend/take back skill points you can expirament now! But trust me- there are people that know more about this game than you, and you should take their advice.

My dodge build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmYCG-IGbtg
Another good build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1UnwmTwvQo

You will probably have to make modifications to these builds, since you can unlock tiers easier when you go infamy, but be smart about what you get and leave behind and these builds work incredibly!

Whew, that was a lot of text, what's next!

Have either the ICTV or dodge.
Similarly to the last point, stuff that worked earlier isn't going to really work now, because enemies do so much more damage. Put simply, use the builds and the armors they have and you should be fine.

Have high damage weapons
Low damage weapons aren't going to cut it any more. Enemies once again have double the health they did on overkill, so weapons like the IZHMA auto-shotgun that used to take one hit to kill now take 2-3, sometimes 4 shots to kill basic cops.
Once again, take pro's advice!
I put this video in the guide earlier, but I would HIGHLY RECCOMEND you watch it if you didn't already, because the weapons showcased are really good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETOvLUiPoX4
Combine these with your new build(s) creativly, and you could make something good but more custom to you.

So now what?
Well, I think there's a certain mall that needs to be taught a lesson.

Going from Mayhem to Death Wish, you should...

Be using a good build (see Overkill to Mayhem)
Be near level 100 and have gone infamy around 2-3 times
Work well with others
Be able to solo most heists on Mayhem (excluding hard ones like birth of sky)
Know most (if not all) heists layouts.
Know most (if not all) heists objectives, choke points, and other important info.
BE PATIENT!

Mayhem to Death Wish requires patience. Lots, and lots of patience.
First off, you NEED to be in pubs by now. Soloing deathwish is only for the people so good at payday they're practically gods or those who're just plain crazy.
Pubs can take a while to get set up, but the alternative will lead to you getting killed.
What's more is I often see new players try to rush objectives while there's still many enemies out by the objective. THIS WILL NOT WORK ON DEATH WISH! If you try to run out into the middle of a ton of cops, snipers, and specials for 30 seconds not being able to shoot or run, YOU WILL DIE! Wait until the cops numbers die down or the assault ends if the objective is out in the open (like the C4 on the roof of Panic Room.) In my Prison Nightmare video, my team and I hunkered down and defended the same spot for FIVE MINUTES straight because we thought it was unsafe to continue. And you know what? It worked.
running around like a dumbass WILL GET YOU KILLED! And that's not just for doing the objective(s) either, trying to move bags by sprinting like a madman out into the open is going to get you killed. The risk often is not worth it, so just don't risk it!

You should be aware that in Deathwish, it spawns a TON of cops, which is why it's so important to have teammates, so you can push their numbers back.

It also spawns bulldozers in packs of two, AND it spawns the Skulldozer, a dozer tougher than a Black Dozer that also does more damage. Take these guys out as fast as you can, or they will take you out first!

If you feel confident about your skills in Mayhem, by all means try a deathwish pub!
Just don't be surprised if you get kicked, because Death Wish hosts expect you to pull your weight.

To go from Death Wish to One down, you should...

Be absolutly mad
Want to die
Lose all hope
GIVE UP



One down is for the toughest of the tough, it's for those who eat Death Wish heists for breakfast, those who aren't satisfied with a measly 2 million in spending.
Jokes aside, to go from Death Wish to one down, you should...

Be infamy 5 or higher,
Be able to do Death Wish heists easily/solo,
Be able to MAKE deathwish builds. (know the skill trees in and out)
Own DLC (optional but seriously reccomended)

One down units have double Death Wish unit's health, meaning only the best weapons can do ANYTHING to them. What's more is their damage is once again multiplied to an insane amount. THREE HITS takes out the ICTV. On normal three hits doen't even take off one tick of armor, NOW IT TAKE OFF EVERY TICK!
And similarly to the name, you can only go down once.
Yup, you go down once, then you're grey, and the next time you go down you're in custody.
If that wasn't enough it spawns the ZEAL team, which creates a new set of basic units, heavy armor units, Shields, Tasers, CLOAKERS (Yes, the cloakers now have a ZEAL version) and bulldozers. Zeal Bulldozers are basically nightmare fuel to anyone not fully prepared for once down, since as you'd imagine, they aren't exactly the easiest to fight.

What? You STILL want to try One Down? Are you insane?!

Similar to Death Wish, doing One Down requires skill and patience.
STAY IN COVER at almost all times. No, seriously. In deathwish you can sprint out for a second or two, (usually to push objective or just to move from one place to another) but this is NOT the case on one down. Stay in cover AT ALL TIMES unless
a. There are no cops at the area you want to move at and you have some sort of backup plan (eg swan song so you can get back into cover or a teammate with inspire)
b. The assault has ended and you've killed any cops in the area.
Running out in the open to push objective at the wrong time is almost certain custody, since even if teammates have inspire it doesn't matter since the cops will just shoot you the moment you get up!
BRING CONCUSSION GRENADES!
On Overkill and even Death Wish, Concussion grenades can be useful at times, but aren't really a necessity. Well now they pretty much are! If you NEED to push and theres still some cops left, these can be a huge help to you.
Sure you can spare one or two (or even three if you've got a good team!) teammates bringing molotovs or javelins for bulldozers, but ♥♥♥♥♥♥ are these little throwables useful.
Plus you can just use a grenade launcher with incindeiary grenades if you want molotovs.
HAVE HIGH STANDARDS!
If you're hosting, DO NOT let some low level idiot join your team. Wait for good teammates and you will finish more heists. On Death Wish you can usually spare 1 (or sometimes 2) deadweights but this is not the case on One Down. This is why it's important to be at least infamy 5 and near level 100, if you join a pub and you're low level, chances are you won't stay in that pub for long.
Better yet, arrange a team! If you meet a good player who is nice, friend them on steam! It's always good to have skilled reliable teammates. As a bonus, friends usually (cough the name is crash cough) won't kick you if you mess up, since they're your friend!
You should also all get builds for specific duties, one person focuses mainly on hard to kill specials, maybe with a sniper rifle or bow; someone else focuses on large numbers of cops with an lmg, flamethrower, etc.
While you don't NEED to do this, it really helps.

While DLC isn't mandatory for one down, it sure as hell helps a lot!
Wolf pack gives you the china puff, gage historical the crossbow, sniper pack for the thanatos, clarion + micro uzi or jackets piece all work, scarface rifle and the broomstick, etc.
My point is, there's some good DLC to help you out on OD and while you can get away with not having DLC when you play with a team in OD, solo-OD is pretty much impossible with no DLC.
I can't even think of a good one down weapon that doesn't require dlc. That being said, if you're at this point you're probably an avid payday fan and probably already bought the dlc. If not, look around online for a good no dlc build, or just make one yourself. I seriously wish good luck to the poor souls who don't have the money for dlc but love payday enough to get this far.

If you're having troubles with low level players constantly joining your one down lobbies (which happens A LOT more than you might think. Seriously, ask any OD lobby hosts) Try installing the mod "Newbies go back to overkill." It auto-kicks new players and you can even set custom requirments such as they need at least 100 hours or have a complete perk deck.

One Down is brutal, but with good skill, patience, and teamwork it is possible.
Good luck!

While the guide was made by 123carter, certain sections wouldn't be possible without help!

Thanks to Exvieran and The name is Crash for helping me go from Overkill to Deathwish, I'd probably still be doing Overkill if it wasn't for you guys!

Thanks to GeneralMcBadass, B33croft, and Connor Shaw for providing the best builds and weapons out there! If you're a Payday 2 fan, I would highly reccomend checking out their channels!

Thanks to Dylwells, heha xd, System Control, and Spartan EDM for being good teammates!

Thanks to Actual Trash, Rusty Toast, and ThatOneGuyNamedZyan for trying out Payday with me! May you one day be able to do Mayhem/Deathwish!

Special thanks to Nighthawk, helped me tweak a few things and update the One Down section
Thanks to GF for telling me how long it takes to hit infamy 25

And thank you, for reading this guide.