PAYDAY 2
PAYDAY 2 is a first person co-op shooter built around four-player crews pulling off jobs that range from quick smash-and-grabs to sprawling multi-step robberies. Team up, manage the police response, crack safes and vaults, and get out with the haul before the situation spirals out of control.
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Publisher: 505 Games Playerbase: High Type: Co-op Shooter Release Date: August 13, 2013 Pros: +Deep character and loadout customization. +Available across multiple platforms. +Wide selection of heists and mission types. +Memorable crew and a surprisingly engaging tone. +Heists feel layered and rewarding to learn. +Frequent DLC and ongoing additions. Cons: -Random teammates can derail a run. -Low-level players may get removed from lobbies. -Steep learning curve for higher difficulties and stealth. |
Payday 2 Overview
PAYDAY 2 (PD2) is a mission-driven cooperative FPS where a four-person crew takes contracts and completes objectives under pressure. Each job can play out very differently depending on how the team chooses to approach it. Prefer a direct assault? Mask up early, start drilling, and brace for escalating waves of law enforcement with heavier units joining the fight. Want a cleaner operation? Stay quiet, control cameras and guards, and try to keep the alarm from ever going off. What makes PAYDAY 2 stand out is how it supports both styles, and how quickly a plan can shift when a small mistake forces the crew to adapt.
Payday 2 Key Features:
- Personalized masks and looks – Unlock a large selection of masks and tweak them with colors, materials, and patterns to make your robber instantly recognizable.
- Stealth runs or full-on firefights – Many heists can be played quietly or loudly, and the game responds with different pacing and threats based on the chaos you create.
- Build-focused skill system – Shape your role through skills, whether you want crowd control, faster drilling and gadgets, or a nimble stealth setup.
- Jobs that go beyond bank vaults – A broad mission lineup, including bigger, more intricate heists with higher payouts and more moving parts.
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Payday 2 Review
PAYDAY 2 offers a healthy spread of contracts, and while the theme is always crime, the objectives are not limited to classic “open the vault” scenarios. One job might be about grabbing valuables and escaping quickly, another could involve manipulating a situation for a client, and others lean into multi-stage setups that ask the crew to manage several tasks at once. That variety helps the game avoid feeling like a repetitive checklist, even when you are replaying familiar locations.
Starting a session is straightforward. You can jump into open games from the main menu or purchase a specific contract to host the mission you want. In practice, most players can find something suitable by browsing and waiting briefly, rather than spending cash to force a particular heist immediately. The reward structure also encourages repeat play: completing jobs pays out money that is split into an offshore stash and spending cash on hand. The on-hand portion fuels practical progression, letting you purchase skills and gear while still building a larger bankroll in the background. The economy generally feels generous, especially once you can reliably finish jobs, and it rarely takes long to afford a new weapon or a key upgrade.
Mask Up and Commit
Before a heist begins, PAYDAY 2 places the team into a planning phase that is more important than it first appears. Players can review expected threats and get a sense of the location, then spend resources on helpful assets such as extra ammo drops, ziplines, or improved escape support. It is also the best moment to coordinate loadouts. A crew that covers multiple needs, stealth tools, crowd control, drilling support, and survivability, tends to have a smoother run than four players bringing the same general-purpose kit.
Once on site, the opening “casing” period sets the tone. The team scouts routes, watches guard patrols, identifies cameras, and spots interactive elements that will matter later. During casing you are constrained, suspicious actions are limited, which pushes the crew to observe and plan rather than immediately brute-forcing objectives. When the masks go on, the restrictions lift and the job truly begins. Some groups take their time to set up a clean stealth path, while others treat casing as a brief warm-up and trigger the loud approach immediately. Both options are viable, but they lead to very different kinds of tension.
The loud-versus-stealth split is where PAYDAY 2’s mission design shines. Going hot typically means managing crowd control and resources while the game ramps up with repeated assaults and tougher enemy types. Success becomes a rhythm of holding key positions, completing objectives under fire, and coordinating revives and ammo. Stealth, on the other hand, is a careful puzzle of timing and discipline. Players must avoid detection, deal with guards cleanly, and hide evidence before it is found. It is a different skill set, and the game supports that shift by changing the pace and the kind of pressure you face.
Different Paths to the Same Payday
Customization is one of the biggest reasons PAYDAY 2 has remained popular for so long. It lands in three major areas: perks and skills, weapon mods, and cosmetic identity through masks. Weapons can be tuned with attachments like sights and other parts that change handling and effectiveness, allowing you to create builds that suit stealth, mid-range control, or close-quarters damage. The catch is that parts are tied to the randomized end-of-mission rewards, which can make perfect builds take time to assemble, but it also gives long-term players something to chase.
Mask editing is purely visual, but it is a signature feature that helps each character feel personal. Between different mask bases and the ability to alter colors, materials, and patterns, players can create anything from intimidating to ridiculous, and that identity becomes part of the social side of joining lobbies.
The perk and skill setup functions as a flexible class system. Skills are divided across several trees: Mastermind, Enforcer, Technician, Ghost, Fugitive. Mastermind leans into teamwork and control, supporting the crew with quick revives and tools that influence enemies and civilians. Enforcer favors durability and brute force, rewarding aggressive play and heavier equipment. Technician focuses on the “job” side of heists with deployables and drilling-related improvements. Ghost is built for stealth and mobility, emphasizing speed and tools that help avoid or delay detection. Fugitive centers on staying alive and pushing through dangerous situations with survival-oriented benefits. Importantly, you are not locked to a single path. Mixing skills across trees is common, and the game allows respec options so players can experiment without permanently ruining a build.
Co-op That Rewards Coordination
PAYDAY 2 is at its best when the crew communicates. Even simple coordination, calling targets, managing civilians, rotating to cover drills, and warning teammates about special threats, makes a major difference. Stealth attempts in particular benefit from clear roles, one player watching cameras, another handling guards, others moving bags or completing objectives. Loud runs are more forgiving, but they still reward teams that share resources and understand when to push forward versus when to stabilize. With the right group, the game creates a satisfying “crew” feeling that few co-op shooters match.
Strengths, Friction Points
The reason PAYDAY 2 has endured is easy to understand once you have a few successful heists under your belt. The game offers meaningful build variety, a steady stream of unlocks, and missions that feel different depending on planning and execution. Regular updates and DLC have also helped keep the experience from stagnating, especially for players who enjoy learning new jobs and experimenting with different tools.
The biggest drawback is not the core mechanics, it is the social friction that can come with public lobbies. A single player can break stealth, waste resources, or ignore objectives, and that can sour a run quickly. Newer players can also run into gatekeeping, with some hosts kicking low levels to avoid mistakes on higher difficulties. The upside is that not every lobby is like that, and the best groups are often the ones that teach newcomers the basics and turn early failures into learning runs.
Final Verdict : Great
PAYDAY 2 delivers a strong co-op shooter loop that mixes planning, improvisation, and satisfying progression. It expands on the appeal of its predecessor with more ways to build a character, more mission variety, and a flexible approach that supports both stealth and all-out combat. When the team clicks, it produces memorable stories, last-second escapes, drills that finish at the worst possible moment, and recoveries from plans that fall apart. For the price and the amount of content on offer, it remains an easy recommendation for players who enjoy cooperative games, especially those who can bring friends along for the ride.
Payday 2 Links
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Payday 2 Wikia [Database / Guides]
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Payday 2 Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit
CPU: Core 2 Duo E8190 2.66GHz or Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition
RAM: 3 GB RAM
Video Card: GeForce GTX 260 or Radeon HD 6770
Hard Disk Space: 10 GB available space
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit
CPU: Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz or Athlon II X4 620
RAM: 3 GB RAM
Video Card: GeForce GTX 460 or Radeon HD 5850 1024MB
Hard Disk Space: 25 GB available space
Payday 2 Music
Payday 2 Additional Information
Developer: Overkill Software
Game Engine: Diesel 2.0
Other Platforms: Linux, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Designer(s): Ulf Andersson
Composer(s): Simon Viklund, Gustaf Grefberg
Closed Beta: July 23, 2013
Release Date: August 13, 2013
Steam Release Date: August 13, 2013
Development History / Background:
PAYDAY 2 was developed by Swedish video game studio Overkill Software. It is the sequel to the 2011 game Payday: The Heist. PAYDAY 2 was profitable purely from pre-orders, covering every dollar invested into the game by publisher 505 Games. By September 2013 PAYDAY 2 sold 1.58 million copies, with 80% of sales being digital. An updated edition was created for release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, titled Crimewave Edition. Over a dozen DLC packages have been released, featuring new heists, mechanics, and weapons. A DLC titled Payday 2: Hotline Miami was a collaborative project between Dennaton Games and Overkill, and includes heists influenced by the top-down shooter.