Ultimate Kingpin Build [DS/OD Certified]

The build that won me the One Down mask. This guide will show you how to destroy everything with a syringe and a shotgun.

Introduction

Welcome to this guide on how to shine on Death Sentence with this Kingpin build. My aim with this build is to make an extremely mobile, survivable, self-sufficient and very damaging setup that relies on timing and gamesense to make maximum use out of it. At its fullest this build will destroy entire waves of cops, as well as help your team around by reviving, preventing downs, taking aggro, doing objectives and moving bags in plain middle of the assault. You will be able to take a LOT of punishment and survive situations you probably wouldn't have survived with another build.

This build carried me on the hardest heists in the game (Goat Simulator, Henry's Rock, The Bomb: Forest, Lab Rats) and ultimately led me to the One Down mask.

Requirements

This build uses quite a few DLCs, which means you'll need the Ultimate Edition of PAYDAY 2.

You will also need to be at least Infamy III and have The Assassin Set and the Set of the Corrupted, so you can reduce skill point cost for the Mastermind and Ghost trees.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
High survivability	Skill-based
Great sustainability	Vulnerable during Injector Cooldown
Extreme damage	Mediocre long range impact
Can deal with every unit in the game	No throwable option

Perk Deck & Throwable

Let's begin with the Perk Deck and the Throwable since the build is going to revolve around them :

Obviously we're going to use Kingpin and the Injector, it's the whole point of this setup.
The Injector basically gives you 6 seconds of nigh-invincibility with a minimum cooldown of 24 seconds. Killing an enemy will remove 1 second from the cooldown, meaning you can get it back in less than 15 seconds if you're killing stuff quick enough.

Skills

MASTERMIND :

• Uppers (Aced) : insane addition to your survivability and helps negating the "unforgiving" nature of Kingpin.
  
• Quck Fix (Aced) : extremely important, the -10% damage reduction along with Underdog Aced will allow you survive a Shotgun Bulldozer shot at close range.
  
• Inspire (Aced) : mandatory skill for Death Sentence + One Down when you're playing with an actual team (don't use it if you're playing with bots).
  
• Confindent (Aced), Partners in Crime (Aced) and Joker (Basic) : two meatbags that take damage for you and increase both your health and movement speed is an invaluable asset to this build.
  
• Hostage Taker (Aced) : health regeneration is another huge asset to this build, since it mostly relies on your health pool when the Injector is on cooldown.

ENFORCER :

• Underdog (Aced) : again, extremely important since the -10% damage reduction along with Quick Fix will allow you to survive a Shotgun Bulldozer shot.
  
• Overkill (Basic), Shotgun CQB (Aced), Close By (Aced), Shotgun Impact (Basic) : mandatory shotgun skills we're gonna use for tremendously huge damage output.
  
• Bullseye (Basic) : extremely important for armor gating and healing with the Injector.

TECHNICIAN :

GHOST :

• Shockproof (Aced) : Tazers are a pain in the butt when you're using the Injector since they will focus you first.
  
• Low Blow (Basic) : HUGE damage boost for 3 points.

FUGITIVE :

• Nine Lives (Aced) : mandatory skill on One Down, since it becomes Two Downs. (give me a round of applause, please)

Note : you can change things based on your personal preference such as get Sneaky Bastard, Swan Song or Drill Sawgent.

Weapons

PRIMARY WEAPON : IZHMA 12G SHOTGUN

The IZHMA 12G with Overkill and crits is an absolute monster; boasting extreme damage, high magazine size, great ammo pickup and a very good spread. Having such a powerful primary goes extremely well with the Injector since each kill you get will remove 1 second from the cooldown. Therefore you can just dive in a large group of cops and decimate them in less than 6 seconds, and have your Injector ready in 10 seconds.

Mods :

• 000 Buckshot
  
• Short Barrel
  
• Concealment Boost
  
• Auto Fire
  
• Hollow Handle
  
• Compact Laser Module
  
• AK Rubber Grip
  
• Wide Stock

SECONDARY WEAPON : THE JUDGE SHOTGUN

The Judge Shotgun really takes the role of a secondary here. With HE Rounds it's useful for taking out Shields and removing Bulldozer faceplates. It can also kind of kill Snipers even though its accuracy is very low, which is a good thing.
Don't be too trigger happy with this weapon though, the Judge isn't an ammo-efficient shotgun and the HE Rounds make it even worse.

Mods :

• HE Rounds
  
• Concealment Boost
  
• Compact Laser Module
  
• Custom Reinforced Frame

Note : you can also use the Parabellum or the 5/7 AP pistols instead of using the Judge if you really want a ranged option.

MELEE WEAPON : BUZZER

Quick reaction electrical melee, perfect for dominating cops or holding Cloakers still while you headshot them bastards.

Note : you can use the other melees such as the Kunai Knife, the Electrical Brass Knuckles or any concealable fast melee such as The Pen or the Nova's Shank.

Armor & Deployable

ARMOR :

The Two-Piece Suit is the best way to run Kingpin on Death Sentence because of the extreme mobility and concealment it gives you. With Second Wind active you will go faster than Yakuza, and the more distance you travel the more you profit from those 6 seconds. Besides, the ICTV with Kingpin is extremely underwhelming since it will just allow you to survive one more shot from a ZEAL Heavy Swat at the cost of your damage output, some skill points and your mobility.
And finally, you have a LOT of health and damage reduction that allows you to survive many shots when your Injector is down, and you still have your armor than can take a shot and a possible armor gating opportunity with Bullseye. Take advantage of that !

DEPLOYABLE :

The First Aid Kit will complement your overall sustainability in a formidable way, giving you the survivability you need when your Injector is on cooldown. Again, you have metric ♥♥♥♥ ton of health and damage reduction, so getting that back when you are supposed to go down is a HUGE asset.
You can also prevent your teammates from going down by placing them on strategical locations such as next to objectives, near cover spots or when they are peaking windows and choke points.

Gameplay Tips

The two most important and ironically simplest tips I can give you are : aim for the head and stay in cover as much as possible. This is One Down : enemies have a crazy amount of health and deal crazy amounts of damage, so the best ways to mitigate damage and increase damage output are cover and headshots. You can't run around the map bodyshotting everything like on Overkill or Mayhem difficulties.

For more precise and specific tips about this build, here we go :

• Immediately get a Convert : having a convert is a TREMEMDOUS boost to your survivability, giving you more health, movement speed, activating Hostage Taker so you regenerate some of your health and just being a way to draw aggro from you when your Injector is on cooldown. Try to do this as soon as the heist starts, ZEAL Heavy Swats are hands down the best Converts since they have high health and they deal 225 damage, which is huge.
  
  
• Place First Aid Kits on strategic spots : as I already said, First Aid Kits will save you on many occasions : Bulldozers rushing you, snipers going unchecked, Heavy Swats sneaking behind you and decimating your team ... et caetera. Besides, First Aid Kits will give you a 10% Damage Reduction, which alongside Underdog Aced will allow you to survive Shotgun Bulldozers when your Injector is on (otherwise they will down you regardless).
  
  
• Know when to use your Injector : if you want to play safe just use your Injector before getting exposed, but if you want to save some Injector time use it when you hear your armor break. This way you'll save a second or two, and on some occasions you'll even be able to get away without even using it. You can also use it to do the objective, just place a First Aid Kit nearby and restart the drill for example. You can also Inspire reckless teammates if the host didn't kick them yet.
  And finally : don't be afraid to use it, the Injector's cooldown isn't that long so if you're rushed by enemies use it and slaughter them all.
  
  
• Kill stuff : this seems like an absurd piece of advice, but it's extremely relevant when it comes to this build. You have a deadly weapon that doesn't require a lot of aim, so try to spray it down a group of cops. You have a lot of killing power, an insane ammo pickup rate and you will get your Injector way faster this way. On average, I've had 14 second cooldowns by playing more aggressively with this build.

Gameplay Video

This gameplay is in Bank Heist: Cash on Death Sentence with the One Down mechanic. I have Full Speed Swarm running with all the difficulty tweaks activated, and I used neither AI nor Assets. I also got no downs.

Conclusion

So there you go, I hope you've enjoyed this guide and if so feel free to tell me what was your experience with this build. I'll be posting gameplay videos of it soon and I'll update the guide if Overkill ever decides to ♥♥♥♥ up with balance again !

[The Grey Angel]

My one critique is it's the Perk Deck for Scarface, and instead of using full auto assault rifles, we're using shotguns. No "Say Hello To My Little Friend" moments. :(

[crowmangler]

Could you perhaps make a guide on how to make builds for higher difficulties? Im a bit of a lobotomite when it comes to crafting builds, and there’s not enough guides that just shows off know how

[Ono-kun~]

THANK YOU
finally beat Henry's rock with this after a painful week
damn murkies everywhere

[Grim]

Very nice build

[tari]

thanks for the inspiration, very solid and badass

[Ivory]

This build is really good, well done! Quite meta, but if it works it works right?

[regice]

oh ok ty!

[Artemis0.5]

4 DR is enough to get max crits from low blow basic.

[regice]

yo, i am stuck at 4 detection risk and it is bugging me like hell
sned help

[Fake]

Hey, i love the build!
But my shotgun does little damage, any tip?