A Comprehensive Guide to Build-Making for Death Sentence (WIP)

How to make builds like you're actually good at the game

Introduction

This guide is aimed towards intermediate-advanced players who want to optimize their building. If you are here to learn what the decks are and what they do, you are in the wrong place. I aim to provide an in-depth guide illuminating building advice, tactics, and methods that have largely been constrained to the depths of Reddit and Discord. Entering this guide, you should be fairly familiar with this game and the language surrounding it. Ideally, by the time you (and I) finish the guide, you will be able to throw together a build within minutes that is difficult to criticize in execution. We will largely ignore Revenant playstyles, as very few truly good players use it, meaning you shouldn't either.

Things are still work in progress! I expect within the coming months the amount of content in this guide will drastically expand. Feedback is appreciated, and if you're a better builder than me, mercilessly tear me apart in the comments.

Elements of a Build

Good Death Sentence gameplay is predicated upon staying alive. This may seem silly and obvious at first, but this single concept should underpin every build one makes. Survivability in any build, first and foremost, is provided by one's deck, and second, provided by one's weapons; the hearts and souls of any build. Broadly speaking, survivability can be distilled into the following key elements: bullseye, sustainability, mobility, and killing power.

Bullseye - take this skill, unless you're on Anarchist or Stoic.

Sustainability - the ability for a build to survive continuous damage over the course of a heist, this is provided by:

• First Aid Kits - While limited in number, these powerful burst heal options can often last an entire heist, providing options for aggressive play as well as relief from otherwise fatal mistakes.
  
• Hostage Taker - Continuous heal that (on most decks) provides less value than FAKs given heist times are not extended. However, this skill can help patch up shots lighter than heavies far more efficiently. The buildup for this skill also includes Jokers and Partners in Crime, which are extremely potent skills in their own right, making Hostage Taker an attractive sustain option for many decks.
  
• Armor - Only real sustainability if 2 shot armor is present. A less powerful sustain option and should be supplemented with another form of sustain due to bullseye only being abusable once all armor is lost.
  
• Deck - Decks provide sustain in the form of healing, 2 shot armor, or other gimmicks, such as gating or invincibility. Generally, the more sustainability a deck provides, the more powerful it is. Many top decks allow one to depend on only one other sustain option, whereas weaker decks often demand two or even all three other sustain options.

Mobility - The ability to safely traverse the map, or the lack of need thereof. This is provided by:

• Scavenger Basic - One of the best skills in the game. Greatly increases the ease of ammo gathering by reducing the amount of distance one must move to get ammo.
  
• Duck and Cover Basic - A flat 25% extra speed on demand for a single point. Self-explanatory, and almost universally too powerful to pass up.
  
• Second Wind Basic - A conditional 50% extra speed when you need it most. The first skill in a tree more or less almost every wants a skill in.
  
• Inspire - Basic provides 20% movement speed on demand to a teammate. Aced allows you to run an extra 9 meters and sit in place for 6 seconds. Excellent mobility when it's needed most.
  
• Partners in Crime Aced - A conditional 10% speed, most of the time, with a joker buffs on top. The speed boost is a secondary effect most of the time, but is nice nonetheless.
  
• Parkour Basic - A flat 10% extra speed, but costs two points. The general consensus is to only take this skill on ICTV, but I personally don't take it even on ICTV, but know great players who take it on suit. Personal preference, more than anything.
  
• Deck - If your deck provides you with the survivability to do so, one can move across distances more freely.
  
• Crowd Control - If every enemy is dead or stunned, then it doesn't matter how long it takes the player to move from point A to B. This can come in the form of flashes, perks, or just plain DPS.

Essentially every build will take Scavenger, Duck and Cover, and Second WInd, which for 3 points form the absolute foundation for a build's mobility. Inspire is an extremely potent mobility skill which is recommended for most newer players to take.

Killing Power - the ability to keep oneself safe by killing the cops before they kill you, this is provided by:

• Single Target - The raw damage output of your weapon combined with crits and/or Zerk. Overkill for shotguns, and trigger happy for pistols. Take neither and on most weapons you'll run your ammo dry killing dozers and specials. Accuracy and stability increase one's consistency of single target damage.
  
• Crowd Control - Some confluence of single target damage with target transferability. Body Expertise provides this for most weapons and is one of the single best skills in the game as a result. Surefire provides this for pistols. Shotguns have innate crowd control. Higher rate of fire also greatly augments target transferability. AOE options such as Graze and explosive weapons also provide this. Accuracy and stability increase one's ease of crowd control, aside from shotguns, where lower accuracy increases crowd control potency.
  
• Shield Killing - In my opinion, an optional aspect, but a convenient and useful one nonetheless. A role most often filled by a secondary explosive weapon, the 5/7 AP pistol, the Shock and Awe skill, or the use of a primary sniper. Tools such as Hacker's stun can also provide this utility.
  
• Fast Dozer Killing - A strange amalgamation of rate of fire, crits, ease of aim, or other assorted skills. Crits are by far the most common answer to dozers, and Unseen Strike basic sees use almost exclusively to kill dozers. High Explosive Judge is used to destroy faceplates in shotgun builds because hitting the faceplate is difficult with the random spread of shotguns. Snipers have a low rate of fire, and thus can be difficult to kill dozers with; as a result, they're generally paired with a high DPS SMG secondary. This niche can also be aided by or even entirely filled by melee skills or perks, especially in combination with zerk.
  
• Skill - Results may vary. As much as this seems like a joke, different levels of mechanical skill may negate the need for any or all of these elements. A great player might not need any anti-dozer utility in their build, for example, due to their savviness with aim and positioning allowing them to entirely forgo tools for the quick elimination of dozers. A not insignificant amount of the high-level community ignores shield killing in their builds entirely, opting instead to rely on technical and positional options. Kill-based survivability is one of the most skill-dependent portions of the game and as such individual needs greatly differ. However, it is worth noting that even the most mechanically gifted and skilled players in the game will generally fit every single one of these aspects into almost every build.

The shots to down metric is something to consider when contemplating survivability,

Supplementary Elements:

• Dodge - An inherently inconsistent survivability tool that is too volatile to truly be considered sustain. Almost always supplemented by some other sustain options. Dodge is only worthwhile on decks that already have dodge (further elaborated upon in the Dodge section of this guide), but can prove to be a potent asset to both survivability and mobility even at smaller numbers.
  
• Jokers - A survivability tool so powerful they might merit an entire guide of their own. Increasing the amount of possible targets decreases the heat upon each player by a proportional amount. Jokers allow hijinks such as my 8 saw Yakuza runs to occur.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mced178OYIo
  
• Doctor Bags - Crew sustainability. If your build does not rely on First Aid Kits for sustainability, this is a great way to build to inspire. More than one or two people running Doctor Bags per heist is, in the majority of cases, unnecessary.
  
• Ammo Bags - Both mobility and killing power. Not having to limit killing to areas where you can pick up ammo greatly increases one's range of influence, and not having to run around to get ammo greatly reduces the amount of necessary mobility a build might want. Additionally allows a generally larger volume of damage output.

Formula of a Build

Understanding the elements of a build, we can put together a rudimentary formula for a build which will serve as a general framework for all our builds going forward.

Let's get the easy stuff out of the way. Bullseye for 6 points. Scavenger, Duck and Cover, and Second Wind are another 3, and we've covered our basics.

FIrst and foremost, we must establish a source of survivability and sustain. More often than not, this is determined by one's deck. This will be elaborated upon in later sections, but generally one will spend anywhere from 28-51 additional points on non-DPS related survivability.

Now, you're left with some indeterminate number of points. You could have as many as 111, if you're playing with a bare bones Grinder setup, or as few as 54, if you want a truly survivable Yakuza build. Decide whether you want inspire or not, and you're down anywhere from 16 to 28 extra points.

Now you get to choose your weapons. We'll go into far more detail about this later on in the guide. Generally, you want to spend as many points as possible pumping up your damage output, as sustainability largely plateaus while killing power doesn't. The right balance between the two is up to you to find for yourself and decide, but many of the best players find themselves more in favor of killing power; sustainability compensates for taking damage, but you don't take damage if everything is dead.

------------------Skills------------------

Work in progress

Mastermind

Medic

• Combat Medic
  
• Quick Fix
  
• Painkillers
  
• Uppers
  
• Combat Doctor
  
• Inspire

Controller

• Forced Friendship
  
• Confident
  
• Joker
  
• Stockholm Syndrome
  
• Partners in Crime
  
• Hostage Taker

Sharpshooter

• Stable Shot
  
• Rifleman
  
• Marksman
  
• Ammo Efficiency
  
• Aggressive Reload
  
• Graze

Enforcer

Shotgunner

• Underdog
  
• Shotgun CQB
  
• Shotgun Impact
  
• Far Away
  
• Close By
  
• Overkill

Tank

• Resilience
  
• Die Hard
  
• Transporter
  
• Shock and Awe
  
• Bullseye
  
• Iron Man

Ammo Specialist

• Scavenger
  
• Bulletstorm
  
• Portable Saw
  
• Extra Lead
  
• Saw Massacre
  
• Fully Loaded

Technician

Engineer

• Third Law
  
• Sentry Targeting Package
  
• Eco Sentry
  
• Engineering
  
• Jack of All Trades
  
• Tower Defense

Breacher

• Hardware Expert
  
• Combat Engineering
  
• Drill Sawgeant
  
• More Firepower
  
• Kickstarter
  
• Fire Trap

Oppressor

• Steady Grip
  
• Heavy Impact
  
• Fire Control
  
• Lock N' Load
  
• Surefire
  
• Body Expertise

Ghost

Shinobi

• Chameleon
  
• Cleaner
  
• Sixth Sense
  
• Nimble
  
• ECM Overdrive
  
• ECM Specialist

Artful Dodger

• Duck and Cover
  
• Parkour
  
• Inner Pockets
  
• Dire Need
  
• Shockproof
  
• Sneaky Bastard

Silent Killer

• Second Wind
  
• Optical Illusions
  
• The Professional
  
• Low Blow
  
• High Value Target
  
• Unseen Strike

Fugitive

Gunslinger

• Equilibrium
  
• Gun Nut
  
• Akimbo
  
• One Handed Talent
  
• Desperado
  
• Trigger Happy

Revenant

• Nine Lives
  
• Running From Death
  
• Up You Go
  
• Swan Song
  
• Feign Death
  
• Messiah

Brawler

• Martial Arts
  
• Bloodthirst
  
• Pumping Iron
  
• Counterstrike
  
• Berserker
  
• Frenzy

------------Deck Archetypes------------

The method of survivability of a build is largely determined by the deck it takes. Aside from a few exceptions (and by enabling berserker), decks grant no benefits other than survivability. As such, we can divide the decks into categories based on their methods of survivability. The primary three vectors of survivability are Health, Armor, and Dodge, and decks with shared aspects can be built in similar, if not identical, ways. We will first go over how to build for each deck archetype before elaborating on deck specifics.

Health

Generally, any deck that is not anarchist can run health successfully, and it is widely acknowledged that health (with jokers and FAKs, specifically) is the optimal, though oftentimes not fun, playstyle on essentially every deck. Health playstyles rely primarily upon two mechanics: First Aid Kits (FAKs) and Jokers. Reference earlier sections for recommended tree buildups.

Jokers
The skill Joker along with Partners in Crime aced, as elaborated upon in earlier sections, allows the player to convert one dominated enemy cop into an ally while granting the player 10% movement speed and 30% extra health. This extra health along with the healing Hostage Taker grants forms the foundation for the survivability of most decks.

We can separate health decks by the amount of health each one has. The most prominent categories are decks with 230, 322, and 414 health. Partners in Crime aced grants 69 health, making these values 299, 391, and 483 health, respectively. Given heavies deal 225 damage on Death Sentence, this divides decks by those that can reach 3 shot health and those that cannot. As such, depending on the deck, Partners in Crime is more or less important.

230+ Health Decks:
At this health threshold, Partners in Crime does relatively little to increase the player's effective health-based survivability aside from slightly decreasing the time it takes for Hostage Taker to heal up to 2 shot again. For decks without other powerful survivability vectors or innate healing it is still recommended to take jokers due to their power. Hostage taker is still great for healing off light shots to avoid wasting first aid kits.

322+ Health Decks:
At this health threshold, Partners in Crime becomes significantly more impactful, as 391 health is just barely under the margin at which one can survive 3 consecutive heavy shots. In addition, with two 10% damage reductions (such as Underdog aced, Quick Fix aced, Crew Chief, or alternatively Tag Team's damage reduction), one can tank 3 health shots. Decks with 322 health often have powerful innate healing, and can forgo Hostage Taker often because of it. However, due to the reasons above, bringing a joker is recommended.

414+ Health Decks:
At this health threshold, Partners in Crime allows the deck to survive 3 consecutive health shots, which, needless to say, is a powerful boon. Four decks fall into this category: stoic, kingpin, leech, and muscle. All are considered top tier in no small part due to their high health. Bringing both Hostage Taker and Jokers is highly recommended for these decks, as they greatly increase survivability and Hostage Taker heals a health shot very quickly.

First Aid Kits
A large part of what makes the Health playstyle arguably the strongest in the game is First Aid Kits, and, more specifically, the skill Uppers Aced. Uppers Aced prevents a down and heals the user to full health when within a 5 meter radius of a ♥♥♥. This, needless to say, is extremely powerful. First Aid Kits' utility range from extremely powerful on 230 health decks to utterly broken on 414 health decks, are, point for point, the single most efficient way to increase survivability on any deck that is not anarchist. Health builds with healing can forgo FAKs for doctor bags or alternatively nothing in the mastermind tree, but First Aid Kits will always remain the most powerful option.

Dodge

Dodge, unlike the previous two survivability methods discussed, should be limited in usage to dodge decks. Why is this? Primarily because dodge becomes more powerful the more dodge you have. This is the reason that Sneaky Bastard is a worthwhile skill on decks that already have dodge. There's a long-winded mathematical explanation behind this that I'll leave at the end of this section for the nerds out there. Ignoring the math, dodge is essentially only worthwhile in any significant fashion if the deck already grants dodge.

Any deck with dodge should take Duck and Cover aced. For a mere 3 points it increases your expected shots to down anywhere from 13% to 40% depending on your deck and skills. The more interesting decision, then, is whether or not to take Sneaky Bastard.

Sneaky Bastard, similarly, can increase your expected shots to down anywhere from 15% to 40%. While you can calculate the exact benefit it provides to each respective deck and build, it is far more convenient to simply follow the following heuristics:

• Sneaky bastard is an extremely powerful survivability skill on Hacker, and almost always worth the points, even aced.
  
• Sneaky bastard is very powerful but often not worth taking over Hostage Taker (for most people) on Rogue and Sicario. Take it freely when running builds at 4 detection risk, but be cautious elsewhere.
  
• Sneaky bastard is decent on all other decks with dodge, but usually just not worth the heavy point investment, even at 4 detection risk.

Dodge is, essentially, pure damage reduction spread across a binomial distribution. Across a large enough sample size the two are indistinguishable. Like damage reduction, linear increases affect total damage taken multiplicatively. For example, going from 80% damage reduction to 90% damage reduction halves damage taken; it is the same case with dodge. As such, as one's dodge value approaches 100, effective shots to down approaches infinity exponentially. The following graph visually illustrates this by showing expected number of shots per hit on the Y axis across dodge chance on the X axis.

Armor

Any armor-based playstyle requires your armor to be able to withstand 2 heavy shots. This means that your build must have some confluence of damage reduction and armor such that you can withstand multiple 225 damage hits. Most often this is accomplished with ICTV and some 10% damage reduction or a deck-based armor boost, but certain decks can reach 2 shot armor in other varied ways which will be covered in the following section.

Generally, any deck can attain 2 shot ICTV, and an armor-based playstyle is among the strongest available. Many decks, however, have unique benefits that may discourage the use of ICTV for variety, as most decks that are not top tier play identically with 2 shot ICTV.

The generalist setup for 2 shot ICTV on decks that do not innately grant damage reduction or an armor boost is to combine Frenzy or Quick Fix Aced, both of which provide a 10% damage reduction, with ICTV. Underdog Aced is another option, but should generally be avoided due to a lack of control and consistency.

ICTV Buildups

Generic 18 point
Generic 16 point
Shield pierce 16 point
Shield pierce 18 point
Generic 17 point

---------------Perk Decks---------------

In the following section I will provide build templates for each deck, and brief discussions of their building quirks. Please consult another guide for an in-depth overview of what each deck does; this guide will simply cover how to build for each deck.

Any deck (other than stoic) can utilize the following 2 shot ICTV setups, though those that include increased armor, damage reduction, or damage absorption can forgo skills other than Iron Man aced. Each should use an ICTV buildup elaborated upon in the skills section of this guide.
Quick Fix ICTV 2 shot: https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1k0-90-90-90&p=0&t=h
Frenzy ICTV 2 shot: https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-90-90-90Ba&p=0&t=h OR https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-90-90-90xc&p=0&t=h

All build templates can build up to bullseye with resilience aced if preferred. If a build template is prefixed with ICTV, you should choose your build's preferred ICTV buildup covered in the skills section of the guide.

The following perk deck tier list is general and will vary from player to player, but can be taken as a rough guideline for perk deck strength.

Decks

Crew Chief
Notable characteristics: increased armor, innate 3 shot health, team buffs
Crew Chief should always take two jokers to fully benefit from the deck's effects. Its increased armor allows for innate 2 shot ICTV and allows one to innately tank 1 light shot with LBV without die hard aced if the player has one or more jokers.
Template:
Suit/LBV/ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=003I0-4d010-91010-7&p=0&t=4
Example build: LBV AR + 5/7 AP pistol 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1Q3I0-4d010-5iF0010xi000100&p=0&a=1&t=4

Muscle
Notable characteristics: innate 3 shot health, strong healing
Muscle has an innate Hostage Taker effect, and as such does not require any additional healing. At least one joker is highly recommended, and Hostage Taker is very strong on this deck due to its high health pool.
Template:
Suit/LBV/HBV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=00380-4d010-91010-7&p=1&t=4
Example build: HBV 250/500 Sniper + Krinkov 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5O1GgF00d0100010100010xc000100&p=1&a=3&t=4

Armorer
Notable characteristics: increased armor, 2s invincibility after armor break
Armorer is a very strong deck with innate 2 shot armor and 2s invincibility upon armor break. This extra layer of safety allows it to comfortably run berserker builds or health should it be desired. Lower your health by taking a single heavy shot or a single light/shield shot with frenzy. Frenzy is good (it allows you to take a heavy + light shot without armor break) but not necessary at all; only take it if you have excess points. Armorer can also get crits with CTV if it takes iron man and frenzy aced.
Template:
ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-9010-91010-7&p=2&t=4
Zerk ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-9010-91010-558&p=2&t=4 OR https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-9010-91010-5Ba&p=2&t=4
Zerk Crit CTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-8Lg10-91010-55G&p=2&a=5&t=4
Example build: ICTV Zerk Contractor + Krinkov 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1G001G00oB10001010005078000158&p=2&t=4

Rogue
Notable characteristics: 50% base dodge, faster weapon swap speed
Rogue has powerful innate dodge that should be reinforced by the consistency of the healing of one or two jokers. Sneaky bastard is a powerful option if the points are there, but should usually be limited to 4 detrisk builds inspireless builds given the power of hostage taker on this deck. First Aid Kits further support this deck's innate inconsistency.
Template:
Suit - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=001G0-4d010-90110-7&p=3&a=0&t=4
Example build: Suit Akimbo Stryk + 5/7 AP pistol 4 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5O1G1010d010-690021h2xa0100&p=3&a=0&t=4

Hitman
Notable characteristics: 1.5s armor regen regardless of suppression, extra akimbo stability and ammo
Hitman provides almost no actual benefit. The akimbo support is nice, but pigeonholes the only real benefit of this deck into a single weapon class. This deck is often taken with 2 shot ICTV and/or jokers for healing. Stay away from this on DS as a beginner.
Template:
ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-9010-91010-7&p=4&t=4
Example build: ICTV Zerk Akimbo Czech + 5/7 AP pistol 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1G001000fM10-69001012xa00xc&p=7&t=4

Crook
Notable characteristics: increased ballistic vest armor, 35% dodge with LBV, 25% dodge with HBV
Crook notably can withstand a light shot without die hard aced at base while retaining some dodge (tragically, Crook gets less dodge with LBV than Rogue with LBV), and should be run with health if LBV is taken. It, alternatively, can run a 2 shot HBV due to its increased ballistic vest armor, getting moderate dodge and crits.
Template:
HBV Zerk 2 shot - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-8Fk10-90110-55G&p=5&a=3&t=4 OR https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-8U510-90110-55G&p=5&a=3&t=4
LBV Health - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=001G0-4d010-90110-7&p=5&a=1&t=4
Example build: HBV Zerk DMR Kit AMR-16 + 5/7 AP pistol 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1G003g00U510-510-41xa00015G&p=5&a=3&t=4

Burglar
Notable characteristics: 35% base dodge, decreased targeting
Burglar is very similar to Rogue, just with lower dodge. The deck benefits more from a second joker due to lower targeting, but other than that there's not much to say other than that this deck should be reserved for the experienced or the stealth players. Build it the same way as rogue.
Template: https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=001G0-4d010-90110-7&p=6&a=0&t=4
Example build: Suit Izhma + HE Judge 4 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1Q1G10xcd0100010-5Chh4000100&p=6&a=0&t=4

Infiltrator
Notable characteristics: innate damage reduction, increased melee damage, healing by melee
Infiltrator is a deck with a variety of damage resistances that allow you to conceivably achieve 2 shot armor on armors as weak as HBV. However, it is best run with ICTV for consistency. Infiltrator's lack of any survivability other than 2 shot means it should be taken with at least a single joker. This deck's healing is strong enough to run it without Hostage Taker comfortably. Its melee is strong enough to forgo dozer killing tools, allowing for greater build variety. Additionally, with Partners in Crime and any 10% damage reduction, this deck gets 3 shot health, which is a powerful, if finicky, option.
Template:
ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=00380-610-91010-552&p=7&t=4
OPTIONAL 3 SHOT HEALTH ADDITION - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1k0-90-90-90&p=7&t=4
Example build: ICTV LMG + GL/Commando 75 detrisk (also works on Sociopath!)
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=xk380-4fM10-5gF0010xa0-452&p=7&a=6&t=4

Sociopath
Notable characteristics: increased armor, innate damage reduction, increased melee damage, healing by melee, armor gain upon kill, enemy panic upon kill
Sociopath is Infiltrator's older brother and has essentially all the same benefits, with armor gating and panic upon kill on top of Infiltrator's kit. Sociopath's armor boost and damage reduction allows it to tank a light shot with LBV or BV, but builds opting to take lighter armor options should take Hostage Taker.
Template:
ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-9010-91010-552&p=8&t=4
LBV/BV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=001G0-4d010-91010-552&p=8&t=4
3 shot ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-71fM10-91010-55G&p=8&a=6&t=4
Example: ICTV 500 Sniper + Krinkov 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1Q003U00oB10-95078000152&p=8&t=4

Gambler
Notable characteristics: increased health, healing, ammo for team
Gambler is an underwhelming health deck with mediocre support powers. It gets a decent amount of health an healing that can allow one to play without Hostage Taker. Built generically and fairly flexible point-wise. Run it with anything.
Template:
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=00380-4d010-91010-7&p=9
Example: Suit Akimbo Mark 10 + Mark 10 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5O381010dg10-5iF00105i120100&p=9&a=0&t=4

Grinder
Notable characteristics: increased health, very strong healing, only works with suit and LBV
Another 322 health deck that is arguably the most point free deck in the game. Very strong healing that means one can choose to forego a joker comfortably if desired. Only playable with suit and LBV, though, so it loses access to any sort of 2 shot armor, making its peak survivability pretty similar to its minimum. Gets access to Doctor Bags much more comfortably than other lower tier decks.
Template:
Suit/LBV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-8d010-91010-7&p=a&t=4
Example build: Suit Valkyria + Tatonka 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1G0-4109k10-52V00105O000100&p=a&t=4

Decks (Cont.)

Yakuza
Notable(?) characteristics: faster movement speed and armor regen when at low health
This deck does practically nothing. Build it like it does nothing. If you want to do well, run First Aid Kits, Jokers, and ICTV.
Template:
ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1k3c0-610-91010-7&p=b&t=4
Example build: ICTV LMG + GL/Commando 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1k3c1010fM100010iF0010Ba0-6&p=b&t=4

Ex-President
Notable characteristics: 15% base dodge, healing, faster armor regen upon kill
A fun, point-free deck to build. Gets a little bit of everything. Ex-President really likes having a joker, but can run without one decently well. Sneaky Bastard is hard to justify, but Duck and Cover is an easy pickup if using suit. While other armor options can be used, suit and LBV are the only ones worth considering. Ex-President uniquely benefits from a bit of self-damage, as you can safely trigger your stored healing that way.
Template:
Suit - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=00380-4d010-90110-7&p=c&a=0&t=4
LBV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=00380-49410-91010-7&p=c&a=1&t=4
Example build: Suit AMR-16 + Micro Uzi 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5O381010dg10-5iF00011m000100&p=c&a=0&t=4

Maniac
Notable characteristics: damage absorption
Maniac is a really interesting deck with a ton of depth. Too bad it sucks. This deck can do a wide variety of weird things, but none of them are really worth using at all. The only two setups really worth considering on this deck are boring health ICTV, which is just a very easy 2 shot, or the conditional 3 shot setup, which rarely actually works the way it's meant to but at least utilizes the deck in a fun way. This is one of the few decks which benefits from Bullseye aced, which gives it the occasional light shot.
Template:
ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-9010-91010-7&p=d&a=0&t=4
ICTV 3 shot - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-710010-91010-51I&p=d&a=0&t=4 OR https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-710010-91010-55G&p=d&a=0&t=4
Example build: ICTV Zerk Gewehr + 5/7 AP pistol 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1G003g011I10-950780-45G&p=d&a=0&t=4

Anarchist willl be elaborated upon in a subsequent section

Biker
Notable characteristics: armor gain and healing upon kill(?)
Biker is a deck with a ton of potential do do something. Unfortunately, most of the time it does... nothing. It provides continuous minor healing the vast majority of the time. Build it like it's deckless and hope that it does something sometimes. Running without ICTV is more feasible as you get occasional armor gates out of nowhere.
Template:
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=001G0-4d010-91010-7&p=f&a=0&t=4
Example build: Suit Contractor + Tatonka 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=xk1G1G00d01000101000105O000100&p=f&a=0&t=4

Kingpin
Notable characteristics: innate 3 shot health, 6 second pseudo-immortality from injector
An extremely powerful deck that unfortunately is no longer available without third parties. Kingpin really wants a joker to hit 3 shot health. It's one of the few decks that benefits significantly from Hostage Taker Basic, as Kingpin has the tendency to get left at a little under 2 shot health if exiting your injector improperly. Hostage Taker Aced is, however, recommended. LBV and HBV get a bit more value on Kingpin due to light shots ruining your healing on occasion otherwise on top of the fact that dodging is often detrimental. ICTV is not recommended, as it limits Kingpin's amazing mobility while providing relatively little in return. Inspire Aced loses value as manual revives are far easier.
Template:
Suit/LBV/HBV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=001G0-4d010-91010-7&p=g&a=0&t=g
Example build: LBV Predator + DB Judge 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=xk1G10xc94100010-5121Q000100&p=g&a=0&t=g (hi carrot)

Sicario
Notable characteristics: 20% base dodge, dodge increases upon getting shot, armor regen upon dodge, 10 second high area survivability from smoke
Sicario is built essentially identically to every other pure dodge deck in most cases. It plays without Inspire Aced slightly easier, but in practice Inspire is still quite useful. Sicario can run heavier armors, but all are impractical compared to suit. LBV is usable, but just generally a waste of points.
Template:
Suit - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=001G0-4d010-90110-7&p=h&a=0&t=e
Example build: Suit Desertfox + Tatonka 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1Q1G3U00d010-901xi0-6&p=h&a=0&t=e

Stoic
Notable characteristics: all armor converted to health, 75% of damage taken as damage over time, heal by 50% of damage over time upon using flask or after 4s of taking no damage
Needless to say, entirely abandoning armor changes the way a deck is built. Breakpoints mean next to nothing, and instead raw HP value comes first and foremost. Suit is the weakest way to play the deck, so almost every build will want to take a ballistic vest. ICTV is extremely powerful, but a huge point sink. First Aid Kits are standard, though the deck can be played without them. Frenzy Aced is also an... option. Nine Lives is uniquely useless and Inspire can be safely ignored as you do not need teammates.
Template:
LBV/BV/HBV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5g1G0-41410-91010-7&p=i&t=c&d=5
ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5g3I0-46N10-91010-7&p=i&a=6&t=c&d=5
Build example: HBV LMG + GL/Commando 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5g3I0-4xk10-52V0010xa0-6&p=i&a=3&t=c&d=5

Tag Team
Notable characteristics: increased health, healing and damage absorption upon kill while vape is active
Tag Team is perhaps the single most improperly maligned deck in the game. It provides healing nearly rivaling that of Grinder's, and with 2 shot ICTV (and 3 shot health with Quick Fix Aced). Its only large drawback is how finicky the vape is, and that vape uptime can only be maintained by players who kill decently fast. Tag Team can forego Hostage Taker if it wants and runs a variety of armors effectively.
Template:
Suit/LBV/HBV/ICTV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1k380-610-91010-7&p=j&t=f
Example build - ICTV Steakout + Krinkov 75 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1Q38001IfM100010-510xa0-6&p=j&a=6&t=f&d=5

Hacker
Notable characteristics: 35% base dodge, gain 20% dodge and heal upon kill while pocket ECM is active, area stun while pocket ECM is active
A fan favorite, Hacker is an extraordinarily flexible and powerful deck, both on the field and in the builder. It is the top user of Sneaky Bastard, loves a joker but thrives without one, and is exceedingly cheap to build to boot. Is great to build in a variety of ways, from Hostage Taker to Sneaky Bastard, but most high level players run it with Sneaky Bastard due to its ease of use and incredible potential for aggression.
Template:
Suit - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=0-8d010-90110-7&p=k&a=0&t=d
Example build: Suit Repeater + Heather 23 detrisk
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=5O00gF00d01000101000ozzo0-6&p=k&a=0&t=d


Leech
Notable characteristics: innate 3 shot health, 10 pseudo-immortality from ampoule, temp revive upon using ampoule usage, permanent if doc or revive another player during temp revive
Leech is Kingpin with Revenant characteristics and strong inbuilt healing. A single joker is highly recommended for 3 shot health, but otherwise you can really do whatever you want. The deck's even playable without Bullseye. Doctor Bags allow you to come back from the dead repeatedly without teammates dying while First Aid Kits are are solid as ever, and may prevent a down from a bad ampoule use. As with Kingpin, ICTV is not recommended.
Template:
Suit/LBV/HBV - https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=00380-4d010-91010-7&p=l&t=i
Example build: Suit Akimbo Kobus + Para
https://pd2builder.netlify.app/?s=1Q380-4dg10-5iF0030xi120100&p=l&t=i

Anarchist

WIP go watch carrot's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqCi-SXw0f4

---------------Weapons----------------

Work in progress

Addendum: Zerking

https://youtu.be/V_A9_-dE2zM

[Trapz72]

great guide

[Mr.BIG////ANUS//2024]

!!

[Winters]

yakuza should be much higher cause its good for stealth

[waste]

@Kolth no, Lust for Life overlaps with Bullseye Basic so heavily that the times Bullseye Basic will save you are far eclipsed by, say, spending those points in Duck and Cover Aced. Both options, of course, provide so little effective survivability they are not worth the 3 points.

[QT Gamer]

i think biker should go a tier up

[Kolth]

Looks like this could turn into a very helpful guide!

Isn't Bullseye Basic still good on Anarchist because it assists with armorgating?

[未知用户]

???

[Loki_Drummer]

Probably a good idea to talk about copycat at some point

[AliNiuttii]

1

[Sebas]

W