Should I play payday 1 first?

[Piotyr]

Topic says it all, is this game plot heavy in some of its heists? I feel like I am missing out on some stuff, also I feel like a few missions expect me to know my stuff.

[Good Mythical Anal]

No,no,no,no.

No

[SC]

You don't have to, but it's the much better game.

[qweqweqwe]

You don't have to.
BUT if you do,master it,and survive OVK 145+,then you will absolutely destroy PD2 when you transition from PD1.
PD2 DW=PD:TH's Hard/OVK. OVK145+ = a diffferent monster all together.

[0ptimistPrime (the Gray)]

Aside from the initial lack of a British voice on Hoxton, no. There's no real story in Payday 2 at all (Hoxton was British in PD:TH, and American in PD2... they later explained it as "Old Hoxton" getting busted, and even later we got to break him out in the heist Hoxton Breakout and then play as him again). If you want some story, you can check out the web series and some of the DLC trailers, though.
There's no need to play Payday: The Heist before you play Payday 2. You're welcome to do whichever you feel like playing first.

I will say that PD:TH has a far smaller active playerbase, and simpler mechanics.
Hests are quite linear (Bain will tell you exactly what to do every step of the way), the crew seems much more chatty and they can really make you feel like a part of the heist.

Payday 2 has more of... pretty much everything except intercharacter dialogue. More weapons, more skills, more heists, more choices, more masks, more RNG, more headaches, more players, more headaches, more opportunities to play with some cool people.


I wouldn't say that either PD:TH or PD2 are "better," except that they are both better than the other in their own ways. They are both great games, and it's definitely worth playing them both to see what each offers.

Best of luck in your criminal career
"Let's make a little money."

[Good Mythical Anal]

Originally posted by Optimist Prime (the Gray):

Aside from the initial lack of a British voice on Hoxton, no. There's no real story in Payday 2 at all. If you want some story, you can check out the web series and some of the DLC trailers, though.
There's no need to play Payday: The Heist before you play Payday 2. You're welcome to do whichever you feel like playing first.

I will say that PD:TH has a far smaller active playerbase, and simpler mechanics.
Hests are quite linear (Bain will tell you exactly what to do every step of the way), the crew seems much more chatty and they can really make you feel like a part of the heist.

Payday 2 has more of... pretty much everything except intercharacter dialogue. More weapons, more skills, more heists, more choices, more masks, more RNG, more headaches, more players, more headaches, more opportunities to play with some cool people.

Best of luck in your criminal career :chains:
"Let's make a little money."

I guess Overkill can try revealing a little bit more of their past life than what we now know. http://youtu.be/cFl5taExPzk
^ great example

[Sir. Lagsalot]

PAYDAY 2: Easy Peasy Run & Gun
PD:TH: Real Man Tactics

In all seriousness, got for PAYDAY 2. You are NOT missing out on anything other than Nostalgia

[NaIM]

Payday 2 improved so much that youay consider it an entirely different game. So you will probably feel that PD:TH is underwhelming.

[qweqweqwe]

Originally posted by NaIM:

So you will probably feel that PD:TH is underwhelming.

Except for the difficulty...
My ass is still sore from trying(and repeatedly failing,no ♥♥♥♥) Green Bridge 145+ with random pubbies there.

[NaIM]

Originally posted by TJulie Sigtuna:

Originally posted by NaIM:

So you will probably feel that PD:TH is underwhelming.

Except for the difficulty...
My ass is still sore from trying(and repeatedly failing,no ♥♥♥♥) Green Bridge 145+ with random pubbies there.

Right, even not the hardest difficulties are harder than Deathwish.

[Piotyr]

Sometimes a game can be harder due to unrefined mechanics so I am getting the feeling that is how payday 1 is vs 2 am I correct?
From everything I am reading so far it seems like the heists in 1 seem a bit more focused and have more narrative in their gameplay than 2.

I play with a crew of 3 or 4 when I play so no problem with pubbies unless I just want to exp grind when I tend to do solo anyway.

In the end I feel like I am missing something, while its not THAT hard I feel like I've started a game in the middle (I've found it very hard to figure out what mission you should start with and where you should progress so me and my friends started doing a lot of missions that were sequals to other missions or seemed more built for higher level characters and ended up quite confused/screwed due to being level 1s)

[SC]

Originally posted by Piotyr:

Sometimes a game can be harder due to unrefined mechanics so I am getting the feeling that is how payday 1 is vs 2 am I correct?

Not quite, we just didn't have broken OP ♥♥♥♥ like ICTV+Bulletproof, Dodge, Swan Song, crits, Overkill...

That and cops were just WAY more aggressive and spawned in WAY higher numbers.

[stuntrock]

PD:TH is for serious vets that want a really hardcore challenge without all of the leniency PD2 offers. Inspire? Nope. Modded HUDs? Nope. Skill sets? Nope. Requiring all four teammates to /absolutely/ work together to win a heist? Hell yes.

On higher difficulties like Overkill (or 145+, unless you know everybody and all have mics), LOL. You absolutely need people who actually understand the game and know how to play, understand the dynamics, know when to move, etc. if you even remotely think you have a chance at completing a mission.

It's why vets love it and new players hate it.

[Piotyr]

reminds me a bit about how it was the reverse in left 4 dead (1 was easy thanks to exploits in gameplay and not having the new infected to deal with)

we aren't using modded HUDs, half out of laziness and half out of it gives too much info sometimes.
Want to suggest some perks/skills to stay away from to remove overpowered builds from our group?

[Stoibs]

Heists in the original were generally better, this ranges from the setup, execution, multitude of objectives (Which admittedly Payday 2 is getting better at lately), and last but certainly not least - the interaction, personality and banter that the crew had with both each other and Bain himself.

There's more sense of polish and professionalism merely walking around first world bank unmasked and listening to your character point out tactical info ("No-one in the cafeteria", Manager isn't in his office", "Got Eyes on the Manager" etc.) than there is in the entirety of the sequel. Nevermind all the other scripted lines of dialogue, the entire Scene from Heat, the lengthy exchange with Bain in Diamond Heist when the codes don't work etc. that just puts it on a whole different and immersive level leaps and bounds ahead of the sequel.

Also yeah, the difficulty is a completely different ball game. OVK 145+ is stupidly hard, and Deathwish doesn't hold a candle to it.

Seems like Payday 2 was made into more of a casual arcade shooter and made more accessible for a larger audience with many of these questionable design choices, smaller less involved heists, easier gameplay etc.

[JV]

Depends, if you wanna complete both games get both, like me, I bought PD:TH first to know payday, after completing all heists and reaching OVK 145 i got PD2 which turns out to be easy