Payday 3 differs from its predecessor with a new skill point system. Although it’s simplified quite a bit compared to what fans are used to, there are still many skills to mix and match with. With this much variety, it can be intimidating to craft an efficient setup though. Here’s our list of the ten best Stealth and Loud Builds for Payday 3.
10 Best Payday 3 Builds – Stealth and Loud
We’ll be separating this list into two parts: one for stealth and one for loud. Don’t worry about them being solely meant for one play style; we’ve included some that strike a balance. These builds will also be based on the maximum 21 skill points you can have. If you don’t have that many available yet, feel free to make your builds as close as you can. Finally, the Aced versions of the primary skills will be listed separately since they require an additional point.
Best Payday 3 Stealth Builds
Best Payday 3 Loud Builds
Best Payday 3 Stealth Builds
Casing Support
If you’re worried about being too clumsy during stealth, this is the build for you. There are some skills to help you actively participate, but you can just as easily help from a distance by marking targets and hacking things. The Hacker and Grifter skill lines are your best friends here, but we also added some from CQC Specialist to improve your takedowns.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Grifter | Grifter, Grifter Aced, Walk the Walk, Social Engineering, Open Mic, Slippery |
| Hacker | Hacker, Hacker Aced, Secure Loop, Appliance Breach, Routed Ping, Glitch Protocol, Signal Catch |
| Strategist | Strategist, Strategist Aced |
| CQC Specialist | CQC Specialist, CQC Specialist Aced, Groundskeeper, Savage Takedown, Cover-Up |
No Mask
One of the most noteworthy additions to Payday 3 is being able to do plenty more without masking up. It’s even possible to complete some heists this way if you’re crafty enough. This build allows you to accomplish that with the Grifter and Infiltrator skill lines. There are some extra points left over, so we put them into skills that can help you in case you do need to mask up during stealth.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Infiltrator | Infiltrator, Infiltrator Aced, Quick Fingers, Retriever, Bagger, Blade Bouncer, Frugal Thrower |
| Grifter | Grifter, Walk the Walk, Social Engineering, Open Mic, Slippery |
| Hacker | Hacker, Hacker Aced, Secure Loop, Appliance Breach, Routed Ping, Glitch Protocol, Signal Catch |
| Strategist | Strategist, Strategist Aced |
Related: How to Stealth No Rest for the Wicked
Ghost
If you want to be stealthy, but still deadly, we’ve got you covered. We mixed some of the previous skills with those that let you remain a nuisance in combat. The primary focus is on the Hacker, Tactician, and Grifter lines.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Infiltrator | Infiltrator, Infiltrator Aced, Quick Fingers, Bagger |
| Grifter | Grifter, Walk the Walk, Social Engineering, Open Mic |
| Hacker | Hacker, Hacker Aced, Secure Loop, Appliance Breach, Routed Ping, Glitch Protocol, Signal Catch |
| Tactician | Tactician, Tactician Aced, Coup de Grace, Discombobulate, Expose, Scramble |
Intimidating and Efficient
This is the build you want to use if you prefer to just rush in and take command of everyone in a room. While everyone else is sneaking, you’re the one shouting and keeping civilians in check. The CQC Specialist line provides the build with flexibility in and out of combat.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Escapist | Swift |
| Manipulator | Manipulator, Manipulator Aced, Overbearing, Silver Tongue, Negotiator, Menacing, Stockholm Syndrome, Master Trader |
| Grifter | Grifter, Grifter Aced, Open Mic |
| Hacker | Signal Catch |
| CQC Specialist | CQC Specialist, CQC Specialist Aced, Soft Assets, Groundskeeper, Pin Puller, Savage Takedown, Pressure Points, Cover-Up |
Jack of All Trades
Sometimes heists don’t go as planned. For those cases where you don’t want to restart and want to keep it going, this build is for you.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Medic | Medic, Medic Aced, Steady Hands, Extra Charge, Combat Medic, Code Blue, Triage, Field Surgery |
| Ammo Specialist | Ammo Specialist |
| Infiltrator | Infiltrator, Infiltrator Aced, Quick Fingers, Bagger |
| Escapist | Swift |
| Demolitionist | Extra Munitions |
| Grifter | Grifter, Grifter Aced, Walk the Walk, Social Engineering, Open Mic |
| CQC Specialist | Cover-Up |
Best Payday 3 Loud Builds
The Regenerator
Using a mix of different skills, this build relies on the new Edge and Grit buffs to help you constantly regenerate your armor. Keep the helmets flying enough and your armor will keep coming back. It’s worth mentioning that on lower difficulties you can be reckless, but you won’t feel as OP on higher difficulties.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Ammo Specialist | Ammo Specialist, Ammo Specialist Aced, Scorunger, Plate Up |
| Mower | Mower, Ammo Funnel, Replenish |
| Tank | Tank, Tank Aced, Hardy, Extra Plates, Armor Up, Last Man Standing |
| Sharpshooter | Sharpshooter, Cutting Shot |
| Enforcer | Enforcer, Enforcer Aced, Combat Reload |
| Gunslinger | Gunslinger, Gunslinger Aced, Heavy Hipfire |
The Wall
The goal of this build is to turn you into a tank that can hold the line. Some of the previous build’s selections can be found here, but we placed more of an emphasis on the Mower and Tank skill lines.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Ammo Specialist | Ammo Specialist, Ammo Specialist Aced, Scorunger, Plate Up |
| Mower | Mower, Mower Aced, Recoil Handling, Suppressive Fire, Ammo Funnel, Replenish |
| Tank | Tank, Tank Aced, Hardy, Extra Plates, Armor Up, Last Man Standing, Disengage |
| Enforcer | Enforcer, Enforcer Aced, Face to Face, Solid |
Engineer
Sentry guns make their return from the previous game, but they function a bit differently this time around. You’ll enjoy this if you love the idea of using these little guys. As the name implies, we’ll be focusing strongly on the Engineer skill tree, but we’ll also include stagger-related skills.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Mower | Mower, Mower Aced, Suppressive Fire |
| Engineer | Engineer, Engineer Aced, AP Turret, Cooling System, Detonation, Spin Cycle, Dual Sentries, Targeted Fire |
| Gunslinger | Gunslinger, Gunslinger Aced, From the Hip, Heavy Hipfire, Finisher, Quick Draw |
| Tactician | Tactician, Tactician Aced, Coup de Grace, Scramble |
Best Road Rage Build
Since we’ve found a lot of success grinding levels through the Road Rage heist, we figured it deserved its own spot among your loadouts. This should keep you well-prepared to deal with the onslaught of cops as well as quickly transport the loot.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Infiltrator | Infiltrator, Quick Fingers, Bagger, Frugal Thrower |
| Sharpshooter | Sharpshooter, Sharpshooter Aced, Cutting Shot |
| Escapist | Escapist, Escapist Aced, Balanced, Swift |
| Demolitionist | Demolitionist, Demolitionist Aced, Blowback, Overcooked, Extra Munitions |
| Enforcer | Enforcer, Enforcer Aced, Face to Face, Combat Reload |
| Tactician | Scramble |
Medic/Support
This build is all about being the best team player and helping out the rest of your group. The primary focus is on the Medic and Manipulator skill trees.
| Skill Tree | Skills |
| Medic | Medic, Medic Aced, Steady Hands, Extra Charge, Combat Medic, Code Blue, Triage, Field Surgery |
| Ammo Specialist | Ammo Specialist, Mag Throw |
| Manipulator | Manipulator, Manipulator Aced, Overbearing, Silver Tongue, Negotiator, Menacing, Stockholm Syndrome, Master Trader |
| Escapist | Escapist |
| Strategist | Strategist, Strategist Aced |
That covers our top 10 Stealth and Loud builds in Payday 3. Even with the right setup, it helps to know the ins and outs of each heist though. We’ve got all the tips and tricks you need at our PD3 guides hub.
