Maniac Shotgun Build (DW Tested)

Maniac is an interesting but underused perk deck, providing damage resistance to your teammates depending on how much damage you're doing over the course of the heist. Ultimate Edition is not required, and a No Infamy build is also included.

UPDATE

The game has changed quite significantly since Death Sentence has been added. Suppressor Damage skills are no longer in the game, losing some weapon's viability. I'll be updating this guide within a month's time average with updated info.

Skills

Mastermind:

This is mainly used to get to the Hostage Taker skill. As perk decks are revolved around your survivability, Maniac lacks any health regen like Muscle or Grinder, this will help us survive a bit longer. Having a single convert take damage for you and provide passive buffs is also a plus. (Alternate version with Inspire located in the next section).

Enforcer:

The enforcer tree is used to obtain our shotgun skills and ICTV armor, as well as some extra ammo for weapons that have low ammo pickup like the Raven and the Locomotive 12G. (Alternative version located in the next section).

Technician:

Not much to say here. You can swap out Martial Arts skill in the Fugitive tree for Hardware Expert to complete objectives faster, it's up to you.

Ghost:

Our suppressor and movement speed skills are found here. Pretty simple.

Fugitive:

Martial Arts is the only skill we need here, more damage resistance is nice, however, feel free to switch this skill out for Hardware Expert if enemy melee damage isn't a problem for you.

Inspire Version (Alternative Skills)

If you feel that you can handle your ammo, feel free to replace your skill points in Enforcer for Inspire.

Mastermind:

Enforcer:

No Infamy Build (Alternative Skills)

PD2 Skills page[pd2skills.com]

Weapons

As per the title says, this build revolves around using a shotgun as your primary source of damage, and a secondary weapon used for taking out shields, bulldozer faceplates, and/or snipers, depending on your personal tastes and the map you're playing on.

I'll be including various different weapons that would work with this build, however because of this I won't be including specific modifications, as I'd like to keep this short and simple.

The only real requirements you need for each weapon are suppressors.

Primary(s)

Raven Shotgun

Magazine	14
Total Ammo	42
Rate of Fire	104
Damage	90
Accuracy	44
Stability	44
Concealment	22
Threat	28
Reload Time	9.6

Pros
• With the OVERKILL skill active, you can one-shot MFR's.
  
• Damage and accuracy is high enough to take out enemies from medium to long range.
  
• Good all-round stats
  
• High magazine capacity, can be increased even further with modifications

Cons
• Long reload time
  
• Low ammo pickup and total ammo
  
• Ultimate Edition is required

Steakout 12G

Magazine	8
Total Ammo	72
Rate of Fire	300
Damage	42
Accuracy	28
Stability	44
Concealment	9
Threat	28
Reload Time	4.1

Pros
• Very large potential magazine that can be further increased by Close By Aced
  
• Has the third largest ammo pool and pickup of all shotguns
  
• Magazine reload, faster than per-shell reloads of other shotty's
  
• High rate of fire for a shotgun

Cons
• Average damage
  
• Noticeable recoil
  
• Tasers can quickly empty the player's ammunition if they're not careful
  
• Ultimate Edition is required

Little Friend 7.62 Assault Rifle

Magazine	20
Total Ammo	40
Rate of Fire	612
Damage	160
Accuracy	72
Stability	44
Concealment	8
Threat	22
Reload Time	3.2

Pros
• High damage
  
• Decent accuracy
  
• High-damage and extremely ammo-efficient grenade launcher
  
• Ammo pickups restore both rifle and grenade ammo
  
• Very high pick-up rate for the grenade launcher

Cons
• Strong recoil
  
• Low total ammo for both the rifle and the launcher
  
• Low ammo pickup on the rifle
  
• Rifle and grenade launcher count as separate weapons when using Ammo Bags, causing more ammunition to be consumed
  
• Ultimate Edition is required

M308 Assault Rifle

Magazine	10
Total Ammo	70
Rate of Fire	706
Damage	160
Accuracy	84
Stability	36
Concealment	8
Threat	31
Reload Time	3.1

Pros
• Ultimate Edition is not required
  
• Highest damage of all the assault rifles
  
• High rate of fire
  
• Fast reload
  
• High accuracy and good hip accuracy
  
• Can establish perfect accuracy and near perfect stability using mods and skills

Cons
• Poor stability without mods
  
• Can't pierce shields like sniper rifles can

Reinfeld 880 Shotgun

Magazine	6
Total Ammo	42
Rate of Fire	104
Damage	90
Accuracy	40
Stability	32
Concealment	11
Threat	28
Reload Time	4.8

Pros
• Ultimate edition is not required
  
• High damage and accurate
  
• Unlocked very early on
  
• Well-rounded
  
• Plentiful ammunition capacity and magazine size, even by default

Cons
• Reloading can be slow
  
• Low ammo pickup
  
• Low rate of fire
  
• Slow weapon draw/holster

Secondary(s)

Arbiter Grenade Launcher

Magazine	5
Total Ammo	15
Rate of Fire	80
Damage	700
Accuracy	96
Stability	96
Concealment	18
Threat	37
Reload Time	4.5

Pros
• Highest total ammo of all the grenade launchers
  
• Second highest magazine of all grenade launchers, with the first being the Piglet
  
• Significantly lighter grenade arc allowing for more accurate shots at range, allowing for long range kills, great at dealing with snipers

Cons
• Lowest damage of all grenade launchers
  
• Low ammo pickup rate
  
• Slow reload
  
• Expensive and has an unconventional method of unlocking
  
• Ultimate edition is required

China Puff 40mm Grenade Launcher

Magazine	3
Total Ammo	6
Rate of Fire	40
Damage	1,300
Accuracy	96
Stability	96
Concealment	18
Threat	37
Reload Time	5.3

Pros
• Very high damage (can one-shot kill any unit except for Cloakers and Bulldozers on lower difficulties)
  
• Fast reload speed
  
• Can kill entire groups of enemies with a single well-placed shot
  
• Has a built-in flip-up gadget-sight

Cons
• Extremely limited max ammo
  
• Low ammo replenishment rate from ammo drops
  
• Capable of friendly fire; self damage can completely shred lower strength armors
  
• Expensive
  
• Very limited modifications available
  
• Ultimate edition is required

Explosive Pistol Crossbow

Magazine	1
Total Ammo	25
Rate of Fire	50
Damage	300
Accuracy	96
Stability	96
Concealment	26
Threat	10
Reload Time	1.2

Pros
• Fast reload time
  
• High damage, accuracy, and stability
  
• Unlocked fairly early

Cons
• Single-shot capacity and low total ammo
  
• Low rate of fire
  
• Bolts drop fairly rapidly, making longer-range shots challenging
  
• Modifications other than bolts do not effect stats in any way aside from Concealment
  
• Cannot pick up ammo from ammo drops
  
• Ultimate edition is required

The Judge Shotgun (HE Rounds)

Magazine	5
Total Ammo	36
Rate of Fire	500
Damage	158
Accuracy	40
Stability	28
Concealment	29
Threat	28
Reload Time	2.3

Pros
• Tied for the highest damage of all shotguns
  
• Highest total ammo of all 155 damage shotguns
  
• Fast reloads (especially with Shotgun CQB ace)
  
• High rate of fire for a shotgun
  
• Fastest weapon/draw holster of all shotguns

Cons
• High recoil
  
• Lowest ammo pickup of all shotguns
  
• Low magazine capacity, and the lack of any magazine size-increasing mods most other shotguns have
  
• High price
  
• Ultimate edition is required

Locomotive 12G Shotgun

Magazine	6
Total Ammo	42
Rate of Fire	160
Damage	90
Accuracy	48
Stability	36
Concealment	23
Threat	28
Reload Time	4.8

Pros
• Ultimate edition is not required
  
• High damage
  
• Good rate of fire for a pump-action
  
• Can be modified for very high concealment

Cons
• Low maximum ammo
  
• Fairly low base ammo capacity
  
• Poor stability

The Judge Shotgun

Magazine	5
Total Ammo	40
Rate of Fire	500
Damage	155
Accuracy	52
Stability	28
Concealment	29
Threat	28
Reload Time	2.3

Pros
• Ultimate edition is not required
  
• Tied for the highest damage of all shotguns
  
• Highest total ammo of all 155 damage shotguns
  
• Fast reloads (especially with Shotgun CQB ace)
  
• High rate of fire for a shotgun
  
• Fastest weapon/draw holster of all shotguns

Cons
• High recoil
  
• Lowest ammo pickup of all shotguns
  
• Low magazine capacity, and the lack of any magazine size-increasing mods most other shotguns have
  
• High price
  
• Recommended for Overkill and below due to its low ammo pickup and magazine size

Possible Weapon Combinations

My favorite version of this build, however it might require Fully Loaded Aced if you are too spendy with its ammo.























The Steakout is a great alternative to the Raven, being able to have a much higher ammo pickup rate with less damage.























This version of the build utilizes the grenade launcher of the Little Friend to take out shields and bulldozer faceplates, and the rifle version to take out distant targets with massive damage, like snipers. The Locomotive will be your main source of outgoing damage.




















A great alternative build for those who don't have the Ultimate Edition. Use the Locomotive for killing most targets, and the M308 to gain some long range advantage. While I did not mention it in the weapons section, feel free to switch out the M308 for the Platypus Sniper Rifle to penetrate shields!

FAQ

This section is an unedited section filled with questions that I think might be asked in the comments. It's filled with my opinionated ramblings, and I wholeheartedly apologize for that.


Q: Why copy descriptions from the payday wikia? Are you that lazy?
A: I feel like there's no point in gathering information when it's already been researched. If you're that upset that I included descriptions from the wiki I have included a source in the section below. And no I will not be removing them :)

Q: Do you feel that Maniac is an underpowered perk deck?
A: For the other three players that benefit from it, absolutely not, it's amazing to combo with other people, helping them survive just a bit longer. For the player that runs it? Kinda, I mean it all depends on what difficulty you're running at. This build absorbs a set number of damage, so higher difficulties will make it harder to absorb more damage. I understand that Overkill Software has to be careful when tweaking game mechanics, as changing anything critical is a great risk. Maniac doesn't need a huge buff, however it could do with a minor quality of life change, however it's not necessary, as every deck doesn't need to be perfect. Not every deck has to be One Down viable.
Perhaps change the deck to become a more percentage-based system?

A youtuber who goes by the name, 'Usual,' made a maniac one down solo build a while ago, which i'll showcase here. He talks about his personal opinion on how Maniac should be changed to be better.

Sources

http://payday.wikia.com/wiki/Payday_Wiki
http://pd2skills.com/
http://www.overkillsoftware.com/games/hardcorehenry-trailer/

Disclaimer: Anyone who thinks I stole ideas or builds or anything from anyone else is purely coincidental. Please be respectful of not only my guide but other people and their content. :)

[sweegy]

dwod

[Pink Panzer]

good build i use it quite a bit , just switch out maniac for armorer/muscle/anarchist and you got one hell of a good build

[leaf]

thanks

[paribas]

seems pretty nice, you put many alternatives which is VERY nice
keep it up