Payday 2 Guide: Meet the Specials

This guide will teach you the types of specials and how to defeat them!

NOTE

I am no longer updating this guide.

BullDozers

The Bulldozer is one of the strongest enemies in the game, covered in padding and wielding high damage weaponry the Bulldozers can take new/experienced players down if not handled correctly.

Vairents

The Different types of Bulldozers

Green Bulldozer

The weakest of the 3 but still hard to tackle if not handled correctly the green dozer comes with a Reinfield 880 pump shotgun. Even though they are weak the bulldozer has the highest damage between the 2 basic dozers (the 2nd dozer being the black dozer) as their reinfield is very powerful. However it is balanced by the guns long reload time. They can be easily identified by their green which stands out in large crowds.

This dozer can appear on Deathwish mode as a rare spawn.

Black Bulldozer

With the semi-autmoatic IZHIMA 12G shotgun at is side, the black dozer can easily pin down heisters thanks to the shotguns range and firepower. Though many people believe the black dozer to be stronger than its younger brother the green dozer they actually possess no more health than it. The black dozer can be seen by its rather large neck gorget. Even though the Black variant has less firepower than the green it has a much larger ammo cpacity, high rate of fire, faster reload spead and a greater effectivness over a long range.

This dozer can appear on Deathwish mode as a rare spawn (can be seen travelling in a 2 with its stronger varient the skulldozer).

SkullDozer

This god of war is the most powerful unit in the game, they wield a KSP light machien gun and wear digital urban camo. They have an extraordinary amount of health and can down players in seconds. They have a huge ammo capacity yet with a long LONG reload time. The Skull dozer, also known as "Elite Bulldozer" or "GenSec-Dozer" can be easily identified in large crowds due to its sheer size, camoflauge and its well known facemask.

The dozer only appears on Deathwish difficulty however it used to appear on Hoxton Breakout Overkill day 1 in the camera room until it was patched out. now only a black dozer spawns.

The Dozer Stats

Health(Normal-Overkill)-5,550 Hp
Health(Deathwish)-9,350 Hp

Headshot Bonus(Normal-Overkill)-22x92x
Headshot Bonus(Deathwish)-17.19x

How to take down a Dozer

Although weak and a waste of ammo, Dozers can be taken down by shooting them in their EOD suit, however it is not recommended due to their high health with the exception of using the thanatos.

The head is the most common and easiest way to take down a Dozer, It allows you to use their headshot bonus. Once a Dozer is spotted, players should concentrate their fire on the Dozers faceplate and attack one Dozer at a time. An exception is the Dozers hallowen counter part, the headless dozer which lacks the head hitbox forcing the crew to shoot their padded bodies.

A Dozer has 4 physical appearences which can tell you how close they are to going down.

• Solid Black faceplate-Fresh Dozer
  
• The suits transparent faceplate- 2nd stage of Dozer termination
  
• Cracked faceplate- 3rd stage of Dozer termination
  
• defenseless face- 4th stage of Dozer termination (hits to the head can quickly kill it now)

Altough covered in heavy EOD suits the dozers are fast and can easily stay close to running players simultaneously gunning them down. They can jump 10ft high, clumb walls and go through windows (even on the second floor of said building).

Dozers can be stunned using HE rounds, grenades and the GL40.

Now... What can tackle a dozer?

Assault Rifles

Assault rifles are reasonly affective at taking down bulldozers at any range. All rifles are best off with precision shots, semi-automatic or short bursts (depends on recoil). Using the rifle like a LMG and running up to the dozer and taking him face on can end their life quickly and easily yet for obvious reason it is best not to use this against a skulldozer.

Weapons to use

• Eagle Heavy
  
• M308
  
• The Falcon
  
• Gewehr 3
  
• CAR-4
  
• Gecko 7.62
  
• Clarion

Shotguns

From long range to short range the shotgun (no skils) is not very effective at taking a dozer head on due to their low damange per second ratings, the dozer will usually be able to take down a player at close range. HOWEVER using the Enforcer's skill tree and investing in shotgun skills you can easily increase the damage of shotguns to take even Skulldozers on. Additionally you can have different types of ammunition from the Gage Shotgun DLC, which comes with 4 new rounds! 000 Buckshot, HE rounds, Flechette rounds and AP slugs. A shotgun with HE rounds can be fired at the Dozer's feet which will stun them. HE rounds are also a very effective way to combat bulldozers, using them in a high accurate and damage shotgun e.g. the Reinfield and hitting a dozer with it will not only hit the face plate but also hit every single piece of armor that the bulldozer is wearing. Hitting one close up using HE rounds will do 2 things...

• Destroy the dozer of just about all his armor
  
• Do massive damage overall

SMGs

With a high rate of fire and and large magazine, SMGs such as the Mark 10 can easily shred through a dozer, however this requires the player to have. It is reccomended to leave out slow firing and low damage SMGs such as the Compact 5 when taking on a Dozer

LMGS

High rate of fire and a huge ammount of rounds in one magazine, the LMG can literally molest a dozer in a matter of seconds. Altough with a slow reload speed and high amounts of recoil, players should take advantage of the LMGs damage per second to take down even the strongest of Dozers. The best LMG to use against dozers is the Buzzsaw 42 due to its fire rate of 1200!

Snipers

Snipers are the perfect weapon for dealing with Dozers at far range due to their accuracy and high damage per shot, however they suffer with their slow rate of fire and slow reloads. Whilst the thanatos can easily kill a dozer by shooting it in the body 2 times, the Rattlesnake, R93 and nagant must go through the visor to achieve an effective kill.

Misc

• Oversaw9000- Can easily take off a dozers faceplate in less than a second which makes it extremely effective at close range. The player can then carry on using the saw to easily kill the dozer.
  
  
• Player Dozer- The easiest way to take a dozer is to beat them at their own game, a hybrid of Enforcer and Technician skills with offensive and defensive abilities can easily counter a dozer. The player should use "Man of Iron" and "Bulletproof" which grants the player 270 armour, allowing them to gom face to face with a dozer with LMG fire, Shotgun fire or assault rifle fire.

Quotes

Halloween

Headless Bulldozer- Headless Black dozers wielding IZHMA 12G with swords on their back
TitantDozer- Headless Dozers wielding KSPs with a shield on their back stating "Suck it". Please note that the Headless dozer DOES have a headshot bonus however it is very hard to hit as the spinal cord is tiny.

The Tazer

The Tazer is one of the most common specials to fight and in all honesty can be very tricky to deal with when there are large amounts of enemies surrounding them.

Once you have been tazed by a tazer you will start to shoot what ever gun your holding until the magazine is empty. This can be a nightmare when attempting a deathwish heist. If the tazer stuns your for 10 seconds you will suddenly go down and will not he able to fire your gun.



Tazer Stats
Before I tell you how to take one down we should look at their stats:
Health (Normal-Overkill)-360Hp
Health (Deathwish)-612Hp

Headshot Bonus(Normal-Overkill)-1.8x
Headshot Bonus(Deathwish)-1.35x

How to take down a Taszer

To take a tazer down, it is reccomended to fight them for long range so they are not able to get close enough to taze you. Once you have spotted a tazer it is best to take him down before dealing with any other enemy as they will stun you potentially allowing other enemies to take you down. If you are using a low damage gun it is best to take down a taser by shooting the head unless you have a high damage gun such as a modified Car4.

In the technician tree a skill known as "Shockproof" allows you to counter tazers
Basic: After 1-3 seconds the tazer will be knocked back, ending the taze (known to be unreliable)

Ace: The player is able to shock the taser by looking at them and pressing the interaction button (default "F") which will knock the tazer down allowing the player to finish them off.

Quotes

Cloakers

The Cloaker is attacks players from unexpected angles with a kick that incapacitates in one hit, then continuing to beat down the player. They are easily recognised by their green goggles and gas mask, as well as the electric sound they emit when close by. This sound is heard briefly after the Cloaker spawns, regardless of the player's position. Once a cloaker starts charging towards you their goggles will light up and you will hear a sound getting louder and louder. For a laugh Overkill Studios added a different variant of the cloaker for the White Xmas heist, he wears a santa hat and makes a jingly sound as he runs to tackle the player, however this is more dangerous than the normal cloaker as the sound is alot quieter

Cloaker Stats

Health(Normal-Overkill)-600 Hp
Health(Deathwish)-1,020 Hp

Headshot Bonus(Normal-Overkill)- 4.29x
Headshot Bonus(Deathwish)- 3.12x

How to take down a cloaker

Cloakers are known for their hiding places

• Under cars
  
• Behind doors
  
• In vents
  
• Round corners
  
• Pretending to be dead

This can be used to your advantage by setting up trip mines or sentries or grenades to flush them out or potentially kill them.

Given that cloakers like to ambush it is best to alert the team when a cloaker has downed you so they can be safe and watch out for any cloakers. Alternitviely the mastermind skill "Inspire" can be used to revive a teammate from a distance. To know if a cloaker has downed your team mate simply look at their health bar, if their health is still their it means they have been downed by a cloaker (kicked by a cloaker) or depending if they go down and are unable to shoot their weapon it means that they have either been kicked by a cloaker or tased by a taser, this is quite unreliable on higher difficulties as enemies like to carry on shooting you even though you are down so you are unable to use your gun in bleedout.

Almost any gun can easily take down a cloaker if aimed at the head.

Quotes

Shields

There are 2 variations of the shield:

• S.W.A.T Shield who come equipped with the Chimano 88 pistol.
  
• F.B.I Shield who come equipped with the CMP submachine.

The shield wields a full body shield which is impossible to penetrate with bullets (excluding sniper rifles and AP Slugs). Shields nearly always deploy in teams of around 4 yet usually seperate quickly. Once they first come out they attempt to block criticial areas to the players e.g. Doorways before joining with other poilce units. Shields tend to focus on 1 player at a time so it is best to take them on in pairs. Shields will also consistantly run towards walls making it even harder for the player to take them down. FBI shields even though having the same health are much more dangerous than SWAT shields due to their CMP submachine gun and wider shield. The FBI shield also carries a knife which will melee the player.

The Shield Stats

Health(Normal-Overkill)- 100 Hp
Health(Deathwish)- 170 Hp

Headshot Bonus(Normal-Overkill)- 1.67x
Headshot Bonus(Deathwish)- 1.25x

How to take down a Shield

To take down a shield players can run around the shield in circles, eventually the shield will not be able to keep up leaving a gap to execute him. Alternitively the shield can be killed with AP Slugs and snipers which can penetrate through the armour. The Iron man aced skill in the Enforcer tree allows the heister to bash the shield with a melee weapon which will lower their defense letting the player to kill the shield. Grenades can also easily kill shields OR stun them, once the shield has recovered from the stun they will look towards the direction of the grenade allowing the player to finish them off. When the shield reloads it will lower the shield exposing the right arm and a bit of its head, which easily allows one of the players to execute them.

Dropped shield

Even after the shield holder is dead the shield will still be working (most likely due to rag doll). This may allow the player to use the shield as cover (most notably if it falls on the table on rats). However it is also bullet proof to the player meaning if it is covering a door way the player will not be able to shoot any enemies on the other side. Where the shield drops is client based meaning it may fall in different places on other peoples screen.

Snipers

There are 2 varients of the sniper

• S.W.A.T Sniper
  
• F.B.I Sniper

Snipers are the easiest enemy to kill due to the fact they dont have much, if not any armour on at all.
They usually perch on rooftops, in windows or on hills to get a good view of the area. The sniper can be easily identified as it is the only enemy to use a laser on their gun (NOTE: Whilst the sniper is going to its perch the laser will not appear yet they can still shoot at the players). Snipers will always have a set place to go to meaning they will not be running into the middle of the map to shoot players, memorize the spots they camp so you know when to check for them to see if its safe. Snipers will tend to miss their first shot whilst the player is moving so it is best to stay on the move if you have a sniper aiming at you. Out of all the specials, the snipers are the most deadliest due to their accuracy and high damage weapons, they can easily pass through a players armour and even down them!

Sniper Stats

Health(Normal-Overkill)- 40 Hp
Health(Deathwish)-68 Hp

Headshot Bonus(Normal-Overkill)- 2x
Headshot Bonus(Deathwish)- 1.5x

How to take down a Sniper

It is best to use either snipers or assault rifles when taking down snipers due to their range, always aim for the head of snipers as its their weakspot and can be taken down in 1 shot. Always make sure when you shoot a sniper in the body to check if he is dead or was pushed back so he won't cause any futher damage to the team.

If you see a sniper aiming at you either:

• Run for cover
  
• Quickly take him out (You may lose some health)

If you are pinned down by a sniper, you can run out of cover then run back in, this will make the sniper shoot and miss, allowing you to quickly take him out before he can fire another shot, you could give suppressing fire which will make the sniper duck down for cover so he can not shoot or use a sniper to take him down quickly and efficently, using the Thei scope on a sniper automatically highlights enemies which makes it good for snipers on a map that is either dark or has many trees or bushes in the way (e.g. White Xmas).

Remeber although snipers are deadly, they have the weakness of having ineffective cover when shooting, so use that to your advantages.

Achievements

Bulldozer

Are you kidding me?
Kill a Bulldozer in a knife fight


The Man With the Golden Gun
Kill 6 Skulldozers using only the golden AK.762 rifle.


Surprise Mother******
Kill 10 Bulldozers using only the Thanatos .50 cal sniper rifle. Completing this achievement will unlock the CQB Barrel for the Thanatos .50 cal sniper rifle.

Bang for the Buck
Kill 10 Bulldozers using any shotgun and 000 buckshot ammo. Unlocks the Long Barrel for the Street Sweeper shotgun, "Steven" mask, "Sparks" material and "Chief" pattern.

Precision Aiming
Kill 25 Bulldozers using the Gewehr 3 Rifle. Unlocks the Sniper Barrel for the Clarion rifle, Sniper Stock, Sniper Grip and Sniper Foregrip for the Gecko 7.62 rifle, Precision Stock, Precision Grip and the DMR Kit for the Gewehr 3 rifle as well as the “Black Death” mask.

Tazer

It's Alive! IT'S ALIVE!
Whilst wearing the "Frank" mask get from the Halloween event, get tased 25 times

Cloaker

HOLY SHI-
You finally got what you were asking for!
(Get downed by a Cloaker.)

Cloak and Dagger
Kill a Cloaker with a knife.


In Town You're the Law, Out Here It's Me
Kill a jump kicking Cloaker using any shotgun.


Don't Push It
Kill a charging Cloaker using the Deagle pistol.


Dodge This
Perform 10 headshot kills on Cloakers using only the Thanatos .50 cal sniper rifle. Completing this achievement will unlock the Suppressed Barrel for the Thanatos .50 cal sniper rifle.
Not Today
Kill a jumping Cloaker using the GL40 grenade launcher. Unlocks the Wooden Stock, Retro Grip and Wooden Foregrip for the Gewehr 3 rifle.

Rabbit Hunting
Kill 10 Cloakers using the Gecko 7.62 rifle. Unlocks the Skeletal Stock, Fabulous Stock and Fabulous Foregrip for the Gecko 7.62 rifle as well as the “Volt” mask.

Shield

Fool me Once, Shame on -Shame on you. Fool me - you Can't get Fooled Again
While wearing the "43rd" mask, kill 95 Shields using the "Swedish K" submachine gun.


Maximum Penetration Maximum Penetration
Kill 10 Shields by shooting through their shields using only the R93 sniper rifle. Completing this achievement will unlock the Short Barrel for the R93 sniper rifle.

Knock, Knock Knock, Knock
Kill 50 Shields using any shotgun and slug ammo. Unlocks the Collapsed Stock for the M1014 shotgun.

Police Brutality Police Brutality
Beat a Shield to death using the Telescopic Baton.

Sniper

Bullet Dodger
In the Street escape, complete the escape without killing any enemy Snipers.


I'm not a Crook!
While wearing the "37th" mask, destroy 69 Snipers using the "Commando 553" rifle.


A Taste of Their Own Medicine A Taste of Their Own Medicine
Kill 25 Snipers using only the Rattlesnake sniper rifle. Completing this achievement will unlock the Tactical Aluminium Body for the Rattlesnake sniper rifle.

Let Them Watch
Finish the Train heist without killing any Snipers.


Clay Pigeon Shooting
Kill 10 Snipers using any shotgun and flechette ammo. Unlocks the Long Barrel for the Raven shotgun, "Clint" mask, "Leaf" material and "Monkey Skull" pattern.

Thanks!

Thanks for reading my 2nd guide! I know you may already know about all this stuff but this is to purely help newcomers and who knows? You may have learnt something you didn't already know!

Author

-Joe

Change Log

What's new and what's been added. Find out here!

1.0:

• Added more information about the HE rounds thanks to :That S**t's All ARGYLE And S**t!
  
  

  1.1:

• Changed the guides name do "Payday 2 Guide: Meet the Specials"
  
• Cleaned the sections up a bit
  
  

  1.2:

  
  
• Added another section called "Other Guides"
  
• Added guide "Payday 2 Guide: Meet the common enemies" to "Other Guides" Section
  
  

  1.3:

  
  
• Added information about the Headless Dozer headshot bonus thanks to: Tyrant
  
• Added information about the christmas cloaker added in the "White Xmas" heist
  
  

  1.4:

  
  
• Cleaned up and corrected information about the: BullDozers, Shields and Cloakers thanks to: -IH-Alien Demomocraticy Parasite
  
  

  1.5:

  
  
• Changed information about Skulldozers spawning on day 1 of Hoxton breakout thanks to: [Festive] SilentSlayer
  
  

  1.6:

  
  
• Corrected sentance in the shield section about the dropped shield thanks to: -IH-Alien Demomocraticy Parasite
  
• Corrected sentance in the taser section about how to take one down thanks to: -IH-Alien Demomocraticy Parasite
  
  

  1.7:

• Added more information about how to tell if a cloaker has downed a fellow heister.

Other Guides

Payday 2 Guide: Meet the common enemies

[The Biking Dog]

No problemo man :D! Glad to be a help ^^

[Negan]

Nice guide ! thk's...

[The Biking Dog]

@-IH-Alien Demomocraticy Parasite Updated ;)

[Takosheen]

@Joe It's always fun to do, however, To know if a cloaker has downed your team mate simply look at their health bar, if their health is still their it means they have been downed by a cloaker (kicked by a cloaker).
^--Generally, i look to see if they're down and cant shoot, right after they get downed, but this is partially unreliable in deathwish, as the person downed can shoot once and have all the enemies around them shooting at them. Otherwise, it CAN be a better method than looking at their health.

[The Biking Dog]

@-IH-Alien Demomocraticy Parasite Haha, you love correcting me ^^. Thanks for the help man! Much appreciated :).

[Takosheen]

o forgot about this: The shield drop is client based meaning it may fall differently on other peoples screens screen.
^--Shields section, very last sentence
To take a tazer it is reccomended(To take a tazer down, it is recommended...)
^--Tazer Section, How to take down a tazer + FYI:since the headshot multiplier isnt that high, it's probably better to just shoot anywhere on the tazer, unless you have low blow/high damage dealing guns.

[The Biking Dog]

@[Festive] SilentSlayer I have seen one play dead a few times such as on the FBI Centre in Firestarter day 2

[Personnage non Joueur]

and ive never actually see a cloaker play dead even if ive read about it, pictures or vids would help thnx

[Personnage non Joueur]

skulldozers dont spawn on ovk hox breakout anymore just a heads up

[Takosheen]

Yup you do :D