The Perk Deck Guide

A guide to all the perk decks of Payday 2 and their playstyles.

What is a Perk Deck?

Perk Decks are the secondary build role that your character utilizies within Payday 2, the first build role being Career Skilltrees. As opposed to Skills, which tend to provide active, offensive and utilitarian benefits, Perks are on the whole passive, defensive options for the player. You gain points to advance Perk Decks when you gain normal EXP, accounted for every time you enter the Perk Deck menu.

Perks for everyone!

No matter if you're a Rogue or Armorer, everyone who advances within a given Perk Deck will always have these four basic perks within:

• Helmet Popping: Increases your headshot damage by +25%.
  
• Blending In: You gain +1 Increased concealment. When wearing any form of armor, your movement speed is -15% less affected. You gain +45% more EXP when you complete days and jobs.
  
• Walk-In Closet: Unlocks the Armor Bag Equipment for you to use. Increases your ammo pickup rate from 100% to 135%.
  
• Fast and Furious: You deal +5% more damage with all weapons. Your Doctor Bag interaction speed is increased by +20%.

Defense (Muscle, Armorer, Crook, Infiltrator)

Muscle

"The muscle is called whenever you need to rough someone up, break some legs, crush a skull or remind people who's boss..."
• +80% health
  
• +15% more likely to be targeted over teammates
  
• Disturbing the Peace: Sniper Rifles and SMGs have a 5% chance per shot to cause enemies to go into Panic. LMGs have a 10% chance per shot.
  
• +4% health regeneration every 5 seconds

Pound for pound, Muscle provides the player with the most tankiest benefits in the game. When using this deck, make sure to wear the heaviest armor you have. Muscle-users prefer to use LMGs as primaries and Shotguns or SMGs as secondaries to gain the most out of Disturbing the Peace. Sniper rifles fire too slowly to make much use out of the Panic chance.

Armorer

"Any self-respecting crime syndicate needs someone who can make sure their soldiers have the necessary protection to do their jobs..."
• +35% armor
  
• +20% armor recovery rate
  
• +10% armor recovery rate for your team

The bread and butter of Enforcers, you really can't go wrong with Armorer as an armor user. More armor, fast armor recovery for you and your team. Perhaps a little mundane, but Bulletproof + ICTV + Armorer is a force to be reckoned with.

Crook

"The crook is a jack of all trades and a master of none. The term as as old as old as crime itself..."
• +65% armor while wearing a ballistic vest (LBV, BV, HBV)
  
• +40% dodge while wearing a ballistic vest
  
• +10% armor recovery rate

A hybrid of armor and dodge, Crook appeals to players wishing to move quickly while still having a sizable amount of armor behind them. Paired with Thick Skin (and perhaps even Bulletproof, if you can afford it), one becomes a very speedy little tank. Players should be aware that the dodge provided should not be excessively trusted to defend from sustained fire.







Infiltrator

"The Infiltrator is a close combat specialist who knows how to use the environment in order to get the upper hand..."
• +24% damage reduction when in medium range of an enemy
  
• Each successful melee hit grants a +10% damage bonus to melee which lasts for 7 seconds. Can stack up to 4 times for an +40% damage bonus
  
• +20% health regained for a successful melee hit. This can only occur every 10 seconds.

If you like melee weapons, this is the deck for you. While stacking melee damage, this allows high-damage melees like the Fire Axe to one/two-shot many enemies even on Deathwish. In addition, the overall damage reduction effectively amounts to extra armor that also applies while taking health damage, making you able to survive close to what Muscle and Armorer players have when paired with on-damage substantial health regen.

Offense (Rogue, Hitman, Grinder, Yakuza)

Rogue

"The trademark of a Rogue is his versatility - what he lacks in strength, he makes up for in skill..."
• +35% dodge
  
• -15% chance to be targeted instead of your teammates
  
• +25% armor-piercing chance on all weapons
  
• +80% weapon swap speed

Rogue enables the player to fight effectively on all difficulties while using the fastest moving armor in the game, the Two-piece Suit. Rogue synergies extremely well with fast-shooting, low concealment weapons that enable Sneaky Bastard/Low Blow, such as Akimbos, Pistols and SMGs. The weapon-swap speed helps to juggle your primary and secondary for different encounters.




Hitman

"The Hitman is a professional killer from the criminal underworld who excels at close and ranged combat..."
• You can buy and use Akimbo weapons with this deck equipped
  
• Akimbo weapons have a -50% stability penalty and a +25% larger ammo pool
  
• +45% increase to armor recovery speed
  
• -20% armor

The only perk deck with a major penalty, Hitman promotes a peculiar playstyle based on having large amounts of armor to offset the armor penalty and take advantage of the recovery speed. Akimbo weapons on their own are good, but one may want to spec into Mastermind for more combat effectiveness.




Grinder

"The Grinder is inspired by ice hockey, reflecting a strong work ethic, team play and a willingness to reduce an opponent into bloody fragments..."
• Damage done regenerates health (+40 health over 4 seconds for ever instance of damage dealt from a weapon. Can only be triggered once every second.)
  
• +40% health
  
• +30% chance to pierce enemy armor
  
• Only works with the Two-Piece Suit or Light Ballistic Vest

Grinder gives the user an alternative to the standard defenses of high dodge/high armor: instead, the user takes an active role by regenerating their health over time by keeping a consistent damage output. To make the most out of this deck, try and use weapons with high rates of fire and decent ammo capacities. Sniper Rifles, Battle Rifles and Grenade Launchers often require a slower, more methodical playstyle that doesn't jive with the use of Grinder. Note that fire-based weapons give health regeneration as long as there is a target on fire, so you can utilize the Flamethrower, Incindiary Grenades and Dragon's Breath Ammo to set groups of enemies ablaze for loads of regen.

Yakuza

"An outcast and a dropout from society, the Yakuza knows how it is to fend for himself. While he appears gentle, he is not to be taken lightly..."
• When your health is below 50%, you gain several bonuses. Entering this state negates any health regeneration effects from deks such as Gambler. The bonuses are as below:
  
• +60% armor recovery speed
  
• +20% movement speed

Yakuza trades survivability for massive passive benefits which can only be deactivated upon the use of a First Aid Kit or Medic Bag. The armor recovery speed, paired with the ICTV and even the recovery speed bonus of Bulletproof Aced will allow for almost instantaneous regeneration of armor after it is depleted, without the armor penalty which comes with Hitman, and the movement speed allows armor users to keep up with their less-armored teammates. Berserked Aced is a natural companion to the Yakuza deck, giving a low-health player extremely high damage and armor recovery.

Support (Crew Chief, Gambler, Sociopath, Burglar)

Crew Chief

"When a crime syndicate needs to have someone dealth with, the Crew Chief and his crew make sure it's done..."
• +25% more health
  
• +15% more health for your teammates
  
• +50% stamina for you and the entire team
  
• +25% shout distance
  
• +10% more armor
  
• +5% more armor for your teammates
  
• For every hostage your team has, your team gains 2% more health and 4% more stamina, up to a maximum of +20% max health and +40% stamina at 10 hostages
  
• +8% damage resistence to the entire team if there is at least one hostage taken.

Crew Chief is a situational, but potentially amazing deck. Allowing for additional benefits to be given to the entire team which stack upon what Perk Deck benefits they already have, a Crew Chief user's team can fight longer and harder than any other. That is, if the map contains a decent amount of civilians that can be taken hostage. On maps with less than 5 civilians, Crew Chief is more or less a waste. But on maps with many civilians such as Big Bank, Go Bank, and Golden Grin Casino, Crew Chief is possibly one of the best decks in the game. Naturally, make sure you have Cable Guy Aced so you can obtain as many hostages as possible, along with Dominator Aced at the least. Consider coordinating with your team so that other players bring Dominator, as well as making sure to avoid using weapons that can easily kill nearby civilians with splash damage, such as Grenade Launchers and the Flamethrower.

Gambler

"Heading into the furnace of battle requires skill, hardness and more than a little luck. Some people just have it..."
• Ammo drops you pick up from enemies yield additional benefits:
  
• Every ammo drop picked up will yield health regeneration, ranging from +16 to +20 health. This can only occur once every 4 seconds. Your team shares this benefit.
  
• Your team receives 50% of your ammo pickup for every ammo drop you obtain. This can only occur once every 5 seconds.

Gambler is a well-loved deck by many players. When used properly, it offers consistent health regeneration and ammo pickups for an entire team, making the most out of any Assault Wave and keeping healing/ammunition supplies well-stocked. There are some aspects one must take into consideration though: the health and ammo regen only occur if the Gambler user doesn't have 100% health or full ammo reserves. This means one thing: get out there and fight! Gambler only works when you yourself are using up ammo and taking damage while receiving those ammo drops. Take weapons that consume large portions of ammo like LMGs, and consider obtaining skills like Fully Loaded Aced to really gain large benefits from your ammo drops.

Sociopath

"Bold, disinhibitted and mean, the Sociopath excels in the most violent of jobs. Unable to feel guilt for the crimes he commits, he is a dangerous enemy..."
• +8% damage reduction while within medium range of an enemy
  
• +30 armor regeneration while killing an enemy at medium range. Can only occur every 2 seconds
  
• +30 armor regeneration while killing an enemy. Can only occur every 2 seconds
  
• +10% health regeneration after killing an enemy with a melee weapon. Can only occur every 2 seconds
  
• 75% chance to spread panic to nearby enemies while killing an enemy at medium range. Can only occur every 2 seconds

Much like the game Jacket comes from, the Sociopath deck is all about well-timed kills and striking in a musical beat. Unlike Infiltrator, which is best used with smaller melee weapons, Sociopath requires melee kills to obtain health regen. As such, one should take the necessary melee skills and use high-damage melee weapons like the Fire Axe or Katana, along with close-range weapons like Shotguns and SMGs to destroy enemies near you. A Sociopath user should focus on large groups of enemies: use the Panic chance to distract them for the rest of your team.

Burglar

"The natural dexterity of the burglar has benefits beyond merely breaking and entering..."
• +20% dodge
  
• -20% chance to be targeted over your team while standing still and crouching
  
• +20% armor recovery rate while standing still and crouching
  
• +20% faster corpse bagging
  
• +20% faster lock picking
  
• +10% faster pager answering

Burglar is mainly used as a deck for Stealth missions, although it does have applications for Loud. With the nerf to dodge in the Rogue and Crook perk decks, Burglar offers a fair amount along with many other benefits.The bonuses while standing still and crouching are best taken advantage of while using a Sniper Rifle from remote locations to survey the map, such as Vantage Points or roofs. With a steady shot, Burglar can easily be used as a sniper's deck for those who'd rather stay out of the fray and take out incoming threats to the team.

[SNP]

mmmm how I love how Google fetches me results from ancient times

[Bianca]

This is incomplete

[Unexpected Katz]

Quite unusual formatting, but beside that it is ok guide. I would like to see some rankings, how perks are standing in current meta. This may take some work to prepare, but to be honest - many people would be grateful for such.

[I Darkstar X]

For crew chief, do dominated cops count as hostages?

[OK ZAMN]

Great guide

[Spooky]

you plan on adding anarchist?

[Ho Chi Sock]

nice guide

[r2]

how do you get back your points?

[comrade yui]

@ ^^Q Each part works as soon as you fill a card.

[^^Q]

Can I ask, do the perks work as soon as you fill a card or does the whole deck need to be lit to work?