How to Host a Heist: PayDay 2 Reviewed

Post by Dan @ 04:05pm 16/08/13 | 29 Comments

Designed as a four player co-op game, PayDay 2 adds a new level of polish and much more to the multiplayer first-person heist genre (everything is a genre now right?). In today's review, PC shooter buff Bennet "GunSlingerAUS" Ring joins some friends as career criminals and has a few nice things to say:

When things go right and you’re walking out the vault with half a million in unmarked currency, not a cop in sight, Payday 2 is one of the most satisfying co-op games of all time. Yet even when your plans explode in a mess of buckshot and tear gas, it delivers a level of co-op excitement that is hard to find. Sure, there are a few rough edges in the form of crime.net and the weapon mod systems, and the lack of content won’t help it’s longevity. But at the end of the day this budget title delivers an experience that betters many of its full-priced competitors, and with a year’s worth of DLC in the pipeline, Payday 2 will keep your career as a criminal going for quite some time. Well, at least until somebody complains to the Classification office and gets it banned in Australia…

Get the full low-down in this in-depth PayDay 2 review.

payday 2 review overkill software 505 games

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Latest Comments

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Kiminoth
Posted 04:18pm 16/8/13

Such a good game, pretty hooked atm

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Enska
Posted 04:46pm 16/8/13

The Crime.net page is one of those "good idea at the time" thingys like Skyrims clusterf*** of a skilltree.
I dont bother with stealth but.
Theres absolutely no reward or acknowledgment like there was in the first, making it mostly a waste of time and cash when you can just go loud and get the f*** outta there.

Edit* - also, normal diff is s***, pro jobs on v.hard or overkill are how to make the coin and xp.

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carson
Posted 04:55pm 16/8/13

It's a pretty good game. At first I didn't like it, but now it's great. Especially with friends.

Like Enska said, I think it needs some way of acknowledging that you have decided to go stealth to encourage it. Though it's a good challenge.

Crime.net is pretty bad, but it's not horrible.

My main desire is for a lot more types of hiests or at least the addition of Steam Workshop and a editor of some description for people to use to make even more levels to be played.

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Mephz
Posted 05:26pm 16/8/13

This game is impossible to stealth half the jobs I swear

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Trauma
Posted 05:31pm 16/8/13

My stealth reward was completing a jewelry store heist on overkill with only 2 (low level) human players. We would of been screwed if we got the cops.

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copuis
Posted 06:06pm 16/8/13

It's a pretty good game. At first I didn't like it, but now it's great. Especially with friends. Like Enska said, I think it needs some way of acknowledging that you have decided to go stealth to encourage it. Though it's a good challenge.Crime.net is pretty bad, but it's not horrible. My main desire is for a lot more types of hiests or at least the addition of Steam Workshop and a editor of some description for people to use to make even more levels to be played.

really, you stealth a job more often than not the whole job is quicker, hell even a low level smash and grab, four players all timed well, and working together is quick and painless

that said, shooting the s*** outa guards is fun

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carson
Posted 06:36pm 16/8/13

We have started trying to do the Framing Frame (I think it's called that) level stealth. It's quite difficult and a lot of trial and error.

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Audi
Posted 07:31pm 16/8/13

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Trauma
Posted 03:36pm 17/8/13

We have started trying to do the Framing Frame (I think it's called that) level stealth. It's quite difficult and a lot of trial and error.

Yes we learned this over many hours.

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carson
Posted 07:09am 17/8/13

Any tips Trauma?

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Crakaveli
Posted 02:37pm 17/8/13

Doing the nightclub level on overkill is so easy if you have ECM to open doors and C4 to open safe. can knock that level over in under 5 minutes and get like $100,000 plus each time

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Trauma
Posted 03:49pm 17/8/13

Any tips Trauma?

We blasted our way through the 1st mission, key here is to get all the objectives, not just the bare min. Did not have the skill set to handle that many guards without alarm.

The last mission is a bit annoying, at some point (I think once the first objective is done) the guard pathing changes, and becomes an issue, never got it done. Best effort was 7/8 on objective 2 after 1h 10min of stealthing about, 6 cams in play.

Doing the nightclub level on overkill is so easy if you have ECM to open doors and C4 to open safe. can knock that level over in under 5 minutes and get like $100,000 plus each time

We just hit this point and yes, super easy mode from there. I'm enforcer so I cut open the door and a mate blows the safe, jewelry store can also be knocked over like this.

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copuis
Posted 04:40pm 17/8/13

man anyone else having it crash out every now and then?

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Trauma
Posted 05:42pm 17/8/13

Not one crash for me. Try this.

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trillion
Posted 05:59pm 17/8/13

can one be Starsky and the other Hutch? or is it more like Point Break?

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copuis
Posted 07:03pm 17/8/13

that was all fine trauma, there was something that wasn't working, and with them rolling back one of the updates it is allgood now

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trillion
Posted 11:19pm 17/8/13

are you betards enjoying yourselves?

the game payload is kinda hefty @ 11.6Gb. not even getting a demo look in at this one

if it had a native web player, f2p model like Quake3Arena did, it might get a wider audience of bargain hunters. Is web netcode cut out for a game (Unity engine is getting there but laggy last time i checked) as optimised for interop as native studio compiled builds though? the jury is still out on that one

digital distribution fail

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Trauma
Posted 01:40pm 18/8/13

6gb install for me. Worth it imo.

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carson
Posted 08:28pm 23/8/13

Latest patch today fixes a lot of exploits. No longer able to get stuff through walls, if you have cops alerted when you finish a mission another day is added where you must escape. So no longer able to grind the quick missions like Ukranian and Nightclub. This is good imo and probably pushes you to do the hiests with more emphasis on stealth/keeping the civvies in check.

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Trauma
Posted 03:45pm 24/8/13

I think it's bad, they over reacted. Reduced Xp for fast mission but made them multi day unless you stealth it. Thus forcing stealth on players. Also added networking bugs, I often crash to desktop now when connecting to mates, and once connected there may be desync where the host see one thing and you see another.

Given that the game is not even half finished I think slowing it down this much and further limiting the content pool with these restrictions will hurt them. Their only focus should be adding the missing content, right after rolling this broken patch back.

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Mephz
Posted 06:01am 24/8/13

Been able to stealth a few so not too worried.
Banks/Big Oil/Framing Frame/Jewellry (+ukranian)

cant do four stores its just too hard to contain

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carson
Posted 03:26pm 24/8/13

I think it's bad, they over reacted. Reduced Xp for fast mission but made them multi day unless you stealth it. Thus forcing stealth on players. Also added networking bugs, I often crash to desktop now when connecting to mates, and once connected there may be desync where the host see one thing and you see another.Given that the game is not even half finished I think slowing it down this much and further limiting the content pool with these restrictions will hurt them. They're only focus should be adding the missing content, right after rolling this broken patch back.

Yeah. After a few games I'm of two minds. Initially I thought it was good, but it makes games that were quick a lot longer and harder. Especially doing them solo.

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Trauma
Posted 03:53pm 24/8/13

If they wanted to stop XP farming on Ukrainian Job all they had to do was make the van leave the moment the alarm goes off and double it's return time. Nightclub is a bit harder to fix, as it's not a straight smash and grab. In the absence of any real idea there I'd say just drop it's XP.

Hating the escape mission crap, they are so boring. Could have had a few more heists if they didn't waste time on those.

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D-Sub
Posted 05:57pm 24/8/13

It's not even an escape. It's a hold out against waves of mindless cannon fodder. On overkill at lvl45 it's a boring chore and I'll be giving it a little time before I return to this game.

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carson
Posted 06:58pm 24/8/13

Yeah. I dunno what they were thinking.

They should have made it so you get diminishing rewards for playing the same hiest again and again maybe. But having an escape after every, goddamn, mission sucks.

There is a s*** load of backlash on the recent changes on the steam forums about the escape missions. I don't mind the fixes to looting through walls and things like that.

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carson
Posted 10:47pm 24/8/13

Just played a few rounds with my friend. Turns out that farming Ukranian has shifted to farming Rats. Just blow the meth lab up in Day 1, and Blow the bus up and leave in day 3 and you get a tonne of XP and cash. Even with the escapes it takes about 15mins and you now get way more xp and cash than you would in Ukranian job.

It's still harder to farm the cards, but it's now much easier to get levels and money. I wonder how long till they patch that out though.

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Trauma
Posted 07:41am 25/8/13

Yea I did a fast rats on overkill pro and got well over 100k XP. Lets see if they bog that one down too.

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Enska
Posted 10:21am 25/8/13

I'm really hoping they push out some more content soon, getting over the same heists.
I'm just mostly doing Firestarters now, massive xp and money if you clear the deposit boxes on the last day. I got a $750k payday the other day.

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carson
Posted 03:17pm 25/8/13

My friend and I had a level 6 join us for a very hard Rats. When we finished he was level 15. Stuck around for a few more heists and got 27 by the end.

I hope they push out more. Kinda wish they released mod tools though.

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