Payday 2may be in its eighth year, but the community has grown since the start of 2021. With the lack of new releases in the gaming community over the past year, people are looking for a different multiplayer experience. Gamers looking for a new game to play with their friends should see if they enjoyPayday 2.
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The shooter is a refreshing break from the battle royale and RPG games that have taken over the community in the past couple of years. New and returning players will want to know the topPayday 2builds in 2021before jumping into online multiplayer, and this guide will cover seven of the most overpowered of them.
Updated on June 08, 2025, by Jake Fillery:Payday 2 remains an extremely popular game. Now that Payday 2 is on Steam and the Epic Games Store, players are putting their clown masks on and taking any gun that they see so they can create chaos and cash in Washington D.C. However, if players want to stop shouting for a medic bag, perhaps it’s time to look at Payday 2’s best builds. Builds are an essential part of Payday 2, and players will want to use the best skills, weapons, and perk decks if they are to come out on top and survive the Death Sentence difficulties in Payday 2. Players are constantly innovating new ideas and overpowered builds in Payday 2, so it’s time to look at the closest thing to an immortal heister to create thebest Payday 2 Builds in 2023.
14Stealth Extravaganza
Whilst most builds are dedicated to the art of doing things Loud and maximizing destruction, this build will ensure the best stealth build inPayday 2so that players can maximize their efficiency when doing things quietly. Players will want the Locomotive 12G or The Judge Shotgun for this build, as their stopping power is immense. Players will be able to hold onto body bags for longer, as shooting an enemy or civilian from close range with these weapons will send them flying, so it’s best to aim correctly.
As for the attachments, players will want to use: Any Suppressor, 000 Buckshot, Concealment Boost, and a Compact Laser Module. Attachments aren’t essential, other than the Suppressor, otherwise shooting guards and civilians is impossible without getting detected. Players are aiming for the lowest Concealment possible.
The Hacker Perk Deck is the utmost essential Perk Deck for this build, as players will find themselves reliant on the Pocket ECMs. Pocket ECMs refresh over time, meaning if players are careful, they can use them to counter cameras and delay pagers with a limited window of time, whilst keeping their main ECMs safe for future and more desperate use. Pocket ECMs are great for tactical use.
These Skills will be needed for those going Stealth:
13Leech Akimbo VD-12
Purchasing the McShay Weapon Pack 2 will grant players the VD-12, which is arguably the best gun inPayday 2. Thanks to its stopping power, high accuracy, and the ability to use autofire, the VD-12 isimmensely powerful,especially when paired with Leech. Players will want to use Akimbo VD-12s with these attachments: 000 Buckshot, Long Barrel, The Silent Killer Suppressor, Stability Boost, Auto Fire, LED Combo, and Straight Grip. The 5/7 AP Pistol is recommended as the secondary, for concealment and the fact that it penetrates body armor, enemies, shields, and walls.
The best Perk Deck inPayday 2is arguably Leech, which will almost essentially assure the support synergy of the team. When getting hit whilst using Leech, players will heal their teammates from the health that has been lost. Whilst in Leech mode, players only need to damage enemies to convert that damage back into health, almost assuring that they will have constant health in a tank-like state.
To maximize the efficiency of a Leech Akimbo VD-12 build, players should aim for these Skills:
12Hacker CR805 Akimbo
Added in The Biker Heist DLC, players could get their hands on the CR805, which players will want to use for this build in the Akimbo format. Players will want to focus on the low Concealment stat for the bonuses of this build and to do so, they will need the following attachments to make this gun a fearsome machine of death:
Short Barrel, Medved Suppressors, Concealment Boost, Compact Laser Module, Speed Pull Magazine. The comfort of this build comes from the high fire rate, easy reload, and the great damage output from the fact that it’s a submachine gun. Accuracy isn’t great, but players won’t need it withthe right mobility and support.
The true hero of thisPayday 2OP build is the Hacker Perk Deck, as players will have constant access to Pocket ECMs that will disable enemies, causing them to stand still and remain stunned, leaving them vulnerable to damage. Killing enemies whilst the Pocket ECM is active will grant players health, meaning whilst they are staying mobile, they are getting a constant and steady stream of stunned enemies, health back, and kills.
The following Skills are essential for this build:
11Rodion Wrecker
The Rodion 3B has been described in thePayday 2community as a “point and clicks adventure”, considering just how overpowered the build can be when placed in the right build within the right hands. Players are going to want to purchase the McShay Weapon Pack 3 DLC if they want to get their hands on this Assault Rifle with selective firing, which will enable players to deal out accurate damage in either a single fire or burst mode that will conserve ammo and pack a punch.
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The attachments players will want for the Rodion 3B are as follows: Federation Suppressor, Taktika Deluxe Charging Handle, Concleament Boost, Stealth Laser Module, AK Rubber Grip, Arkady Ammo Pouch, Siberian Speed Pull Magazine, Svidetel Iron Sights, Shoulder Pad.
The 5/7 AP Pistol is recommended for the secondary gun on this build, considering its sheer power to pierce the body armor of Maximum Force Responders and shields. As for the Perk Deck, players will want to use Copycat, as it will allow players to invest heavily in health or dodge cards, whilst simultaneously copying the other best Perk Decks inPayday 2.
As for the Skills, players will want to invest in the following:
10Anarchist Akimbo
One of thebest and most enjoyable classesto use is anakimbo build with Anarchist for speed and concealment.Below are the following skill allocations for the class.
Each of these perks will be geared toward fast movement and accuracy at close range. Players can choose between running the concussion or Molotov. TheAkimbo Krinkovsare recognized by many in the community as the best SMGs and should be used with this class. With a deadly combination of high damage, accuracy, and 60-round mags, these guns are scary good in all modes. Krinkovs have a better rate of fire and higher pickup percentage than any comparable weapons in the game.
There are a lot of options for attachments, butaccuracy, stability, and reload timeare the stats to focus on. The primary Akimbo guns should be equipped with a full auto mod. Finally, the class is complete with a pistol secondary and melee weapon.
9M60 Anarchist
TheM60 LMGmay not be the most used weapon in the class, but it can be overpowered in heists. The gun will two-shot most enemies and has less recoil than the more popular KSP. Because of how controllable the M60 is at range, it is one of the better sniper killers inPayday 2. Below are the perks people will want to use to optimize the build.
Gamers will want to run the Improved Tactical vest with the M60 and their grenade launcher of choice. Concussion grenades and the switchblade are the final items players should use to create one of the bestPayday 2builds.
8Kingpin Rocket Spammer
The rocket class is extremely addictive. It is one of thebest position defense weaponsand shines when players have high ground on opponents. Reloading can take some time, but an assault rifle will be the backup in chaotic situations. Players will want to use the following Skills.
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The weapons in the class will be geared to exploit blast damage and the skill trees above. Among assault rifles, theUnion 5.56is far and away the top option. It has an extremely high fire rate with very good damage values. With the right attachments, players can get to100 accuracy and 100 stability. Reload speed and an ammo pickup rate of 9 make the Union the king of ARs inPayday 2.
As a secondary, gamers should choose the launcher of their choice. The build may seem cheap, but it is too overpowered to ignore. Players can use their rockets, then grenades, and the Union 5.56. If the tactic works properly, it is disgustingly broken inPayday 2.
7Mindless Anarchist
Gamers that want to shut their brains off and fly through hordes of enemies will want to run this build.Akimbo Krinkovspaired with the infamousGrimm shotgunare the primary weapons players will want to use in the build. The Grimm requires little aim or accuracy; pressing the trigger is good enough. If Dragon’s Breath rounds are equipped, every enemy on the screen will die from burn damage.
Players can spam the Grimm so fast that opponents will not be able to react. For a shotgun, the Grimm has terrible accuracy from the hip. However, bad accuracy increases the AOE of the Dragon’s Breath rounds, allowing the gun to DPS more enemies at once. Use the following perks:
With this setup, gamers will have four different AI at their disposal to help take down more enemies. If people need to fire a bullet, they will barely have to aim with the Grimm and dual Akimbo SMGs. This is one of the most mindless ways to playPayday 2, but it provides a nice break from the stress of complex builds.
6Armorer LMG
Another effectivePayday 2build is the Armorer paired with the Buzzsaw 42 LMG.Payday 2has been LMG/Shotgun dominant for years now, so one had to cut. The skills for the class are enumerated below.
One of the most popular LMGs right now is theBuzzsaw 42. The weapon has a ridiculous fire rate and somehow has decent accuracy too. The main selling point of Buzzsaw is itsunmatched DPS values.The gun does 80 damage per bullet with a fire rate of 1,200 rounds per minute. No weapon inPayday 2has a better damage output than the Buzzsaw MG 42.
After modifying the gun with their preferred attachments, players will want to use a rocket or pistol secondary and a Molotov to round out the build. Skilled Armorers are almost impossible to kill because they have extra health kits and are extremely efficient with ammunition.
5Stoic KSP Build
One of the most fun classes to use in the game is aKSP Stoic deck built with the Controller and Silent Killer treesbuilt out. The LMG grenade launcher combo is a jack of all trades that will perform well in almost any scenario. All of the important skills are listed below.
Gamers will want to have thebigger barrel, the foregrip, and the bipodequipped to maximize the effectiveness of the gun. The KSP is one of the simplest guns to control in the game and paired with a grenade launcher, the class will tear through hordes of enemies with little resistance.
Among LMGs, the KSP is a jack of all trades. It hasa rate of fire over 900 and 80 damage per round.Ammo pickup is about 15 rounds when wielding the gun, and 100 rounds are more than enough ammo to dish out a ton of damage. With the above attachments, the KSP will have very high accuracy and stability for an LMG as well.
