There are just as many unique ways to tweak your Payday 3 build as there are unique ways to complete a Payday 3 mission. Whether your playstyle prioritizes stealth, speed, power, or strategy, how you spend your skill for points can aid you in your pursuit of loot. We’ve put together some of the best Payday 3 builds for those heisting on PS5, PS4, Xbox, and PC.
The build you choose will primarily be down to your own preference. However, there are some Payday 3 heists that are more suited to particular approaches than others. For example, Rock the Cradle has to be played stealthily to ensure maximum payout, while Road Rage is loud-only. While you may have your niche, it’s vital to be flexible when the circumstances call for it. Thankfully, you can easily respec before a mission to ensure you’re well-prepared for whatever comes your way, allowing you to mix and match the best Payday 3 skills with your choices for the best Payday 3 weapons.
Best Payday 3 builds to use
The best Payday 3 builds are:
- Stealth build – Infiltrator, Aced Infiltrator, Quick Fingers, Frugal Thrower, Retriever, Bagger, Blade Bouncer, Pressure Points, Hacker, Aced Hacker, Secure Loop, Appliance Breach, Routed Ping, Cover-Up, Signal Catch, Slippery, CQC Specialist, Groundskeeper, Escapist, Swift
- Pacifist/casing build – Grifter, Aced Grifter, Social Engineering, Walk the Walk, Open Mic, Hacker, Secure Loop, Appliance Breach, Routed Ping, Signal Catch, Glitch Protocol, Escapist, Infiltrator, Aced Infiltrator, Quick Fingers, Bagger
- Crowd control build – Engineer, Aced Engineer, Spin Cycle, Cooling System, AP Turret, Detonation, Dual Sentries, Targeted Fire, Gunslinger, Aced Gunslinger, From the Hip, Heavy Hipfire, Finisher, Quick Draw, Enforcer, Aced Enforcer, Ammo Specialist, Aced Ammo Specialist, Full Loaded, Top Up
- Tank build – Tank, Aced Tank, Last Man Standing, Hardy, Extra Plates, Armor Up, Disengage, Enforcer, Aced Enforcer, Quick Reload, Face to Face, Solid, Combat Reload, Shock & Awe, Mower, Sprint Loaded, Replenish, Ammo Funnel, Suppressive Fire, Recoil Handling, Top Up
- Precision build – Sharpshooter, Aced Sharpshooter, Speed Aim, Cutting Shot, Precision Shot, Long Shot, Collateral Control, Strategist, Aced Strategist, Combat Marking, Mower, Aced Mower, Recoil Handling, Suppressive Fire, Ammo Funnel, Replenish, Sprint Loaded, Top Up
- Support build – Medic, Aced Medic, Steady Hands, Extra Charge, Combat Medic, Code Blue, Field Surgery, Manipulator, Aced Manipulator, Negotiator, Stockholm Syndrome, Silver Tongue, Master Trader, Marked for Death, Slippery, Disengage, Sprint Loaded, Ammo Specialist, Escapist, Balanced, Swift
Stealth build
- Build includes: Infiltrator, Aced Infiltrator, Quick Fingers, Frugal Thrower, Retriever, Bagger, Blade Bouncer, Pressure Points, Hacker, Aced Hacker, Secure Loop, Appliance Breach, Routed Ping, Cover-Up, Signal Catch, Slippery, CQC Specialist, Groundskeeper, Escapist, Swift
The Hacker and Infiltrator skill lines are the backbone of this stealth-focused build. Hacker skills let you manipulate tech on the map to evade detection from staff while Infiltrator skills aid your lockpicking abilities.
While you’ll want to avoid combat as far as possible, a few sneaky guard takedowns can make it a whole lot easier to navigate heists unnoticed. This is where CQC Specialist and Infiltrator’s knife skills like Retriever come in. Unarmed and throwing knife kills are the easiest ways to wipe out guards while avoiding detection.
Pacifist/casing build
- Build includes: Grifter, Aced Grifter, Social Engineering, Walk the Walk, Open Mic, Hacker, Secure Loop, Appliance Breach, Routed Ping, Signal Catch, Glitch Protocol, Escapist, Infiltrator, Aced Infiltrator, Quick Fingers, Bagger
This build is a bit of a strange one. If you really fancy a challenge, some of the Payday 3 missions can be completed entirely in casing mode (with your mask off). Without a mask on, you won’t have access to your weapons. In return, guards will treat you like a civilian. That is until you’re caught in a restricted area or doing something illegal.
Your aim while doing a no-mask mission should be to be quick but methodical to avoid the sightline of cameras and guards in private areas. In some sections of the map, it’ll seem almost impossible to avoid detection. Thankfully, there are a couple of skills that can help you out.
The Grifter skill line is primed for casing gameplay. It offers a boost to your movement speed in front of security cameras, civilians, and guards provided you have no mask on. Social Engineering is one of this skill line’s most vital perks, as it makes employees ignore you doing illegal actions when you have a speed boost. This makes it a lot easier to do important actions like lockpicking or moving stolen merchandise.
Another important addition to this build is the Hacker skill line. These skills are helpful in avoiding detection and redirecting the attention of guards. Infiltrator, Quick Fingers, and Bagger also fit this build’s covert playstyle well, as they help you to get in and out of the heist area quickly. Given that no-mask runs are such a challenge, it’s worth having a backup plan. Use your remaining skill points in a way that benefits your combat style so you’re ready for when everything hits the fan.
Crowd control build
- Build includes: Engineer, Aced Engineer, Spin Cycle, Cooling System, AP Turret, Detonation, Dual Sentries, Targeted Fire, Gunslinger, Aced Gunslinger, From the Hip, Heavy Hipfire, Finisher, Quick Draw, Enforcer, Aced Enforcer, Ammo Specialist, Aced Ammo Specialist, Full Loaded, Top Up
The primary focus of this build is setting up turrets. The turret almost acts like a fifth heist mate, offering extra firepower to help you mow down any enemies that cross its path. This is great for scenarios when the police presence gets overwhelming. Turrets are also useful for dealing with enemies when you need to focus on time-sensitive actions like disarming dye packs.
The skills in the Engineer skill line focus on increasing your turret’s power and resilience. Dual Sentries even grants you the ability to create two turrets at a time. The only downside is that they will overheat 50% faster. You can take advantage of your turret overheating to trigger the benefits of the Detonation skill: an explosion that damages NPCs nearby.
Otherwise, you’ll have to redeploy your turrets every now and then to cool them back down. The hipfire and sidearm skills you get from the Gunslinger skill line make the high-speed bursts of combat between turret maintenance more rewarding.
Tank build
- Build includes: Tank, Aced Tank, Last Man Standing, Hardy, Extra Plates, Armor Up, Disengage, Enforcer, Aced Enforcer, Quick Reload, Face to Face, Solid, Combat Reload, Shock & Awe, Mower, Sprint Loaded, Replenish, Ammo Funnel, Suppressive Fire, Recoil Handling, Top Up.
This is a build for those who like to be at the front of the action. The aptly named Tank skill line provides buffs to your armor and overall resilience, allowing you to withstand the heat of the frontline. With Extra Plates, Tank skills will provide your armor bag with four additional charges. That said, your increased armor regeneration speed means you won’t have to hit up your armor bag quite as often.
Aced Tank and Last Man Standing is an essential combination for a tanky heister. With Aced Tank, you gain/refresh GRIT for a 10% damage reduction whenever one of your armor chunks breaks. If you still have GRIT when an enemy downs you, you stay standing and become invincible for 10 seconds. This second wind gives you valuable time to source a health kit or just eliminate more enemies.
The Enforcer is a skill line that gives you a whole host of perks for killing enemies up close. Meanwhile, the Mower increases overall damage output.
Precision build
- Build includes: Sharpshooter, Aced Sharpshooter, Speed Aim, Cutting Shot, Precision Shot, Long Shot, Collateral Control, Strategist, Aced Strategist, Combat Marking, Mower, Aced Mower, Recoil Handling, Suppressive Fire, Ammo Funnel, Replenish, Sprint Loaded, Top Up.
This build is a perfect fit for marksman types. The Sharpshooter skill line offers a lot in the way of buffs for ADS and scoped attacks. Aiming down sights provides you with the EDGE effect. This status can be consumed to increase your armor penetration or provide a damage modifier to shots made while aiming down a scope
Strategist and Combat Marking integrate well with Sharpshooter skills. This helps you plan attacks and provides an extra 10% damage increase on top of the bonus already given by EDGE.
Support build
- Build includes: Medic, Aced Medic, Steady Hands, Extra Charge, Combat Medic, Code Blue, Field Surgery, Manipulator, Aced Manipulator, Negotiator, Stockholm Syndrome, Silver Tongue, Master Trader, Marked for Death, Slippery, Disengage, Sprint Loaded, Ammo Specialist, Escapist, Balanced, Swift
For a support build, the most obvious place to start is the Medic skill line. These skills improve the effectiveness of medic bags and buff your revivals. Aced Medic is an especially good fit as it means you take 40% less damage while reviving a teammate. Escapist and Swift help you to speedily pull away after they’re back on their feet.
This build also takes from the Manipulator skill line. This is focused on trading hostages to push back a police assault or secure more resources. In this way, a player with hostage management skills is a real asset to a crew during their heist.
That’s everything when it comes to the best Payday 3 builds. For more tips, check out our guides on how to earn C-Stacks in Payday 3 and how to play Payday 3 solo if you aren’t keen on teaming up with a friend.