5 Hidden Weapon Mechanics in Payday 2
Payday 2 has one of the most expansive rosters of firearms I can think of in gaming. Pretty much every type of real-world ordnance has at least some representation in a complete heister’s inventory. But this does lead to a lot of odd or un-intuitive things happening under the hood in the game’s code. Today, we’re covering 5 Hidden Weapon Stats in Payday 2 that I think every player should know about. These either drastically change how you use the gun or they’re a useful feature you should be taking advantage of if you don’t already know about it.
1. Shotguns will ragdoll bodies
Killing an enemy with a shotgun will propel them backwards on a killing blow. This is most important for stealth, as you can blast guards into less-visible locations for easy pager-answering. This is one of the reasons the silenced Judge is considered the best Stealth weapon in the game. Speaking of shotguns:
2. How shotguns work
Shotgun pellets in this game behave a little differently from how you be may be used to in other games. The pellets are not dealing individual damage. Instead, if you land even a single pellet on an enemy, you deal max damage. If any of the pellets hit the target’s head, that blast counts as a headshot on that enemy. This means that you want to mod your shotguns for the lowest accuracy as this gives you the widest spread possible. Since you’re technically wasting any additional pellets that hit the same cop.
3. Renaming weapons
This one’s not really a weapon stat but I felt like bringing it up, you can actually rename your weapons to something other than their default name. Click on the chosen weapon in your inventory screen and then double-click on the gun’s name. I’m ashamed to admit how long I’d played the game without knowing you could do this.
4. Melee weapons can’t headshot
Payday 2‘s melee weapons behave a little differently from ranged weapons. Melee weapons can never headshot, instead dealing the same damage no matter where on the target’s body you hit them. It’s also impossible to deal melee damage to a Bulldozer’s body armor, but on the plus side, melee goes right through tan cops’ body armor. Speaking of piercing armor,
5. Sniper rifles can penetrate walls
Weapons with penetration, like Sniper rifles, slug shotguns, and the 5/7 pistol, are actually capable of piercing through a single map entity to damage enemies on the other side. This includes walls, chairs, whatever, but the object in question needs to be less then 35cm thick. This is a situational but useful method for targeting dangerous enemies without putting yourself in harm’s way.
Bonus #6 is a fun fact: in the original Payday the Heist, you can actually swap your weapon attachments in the middle of a heist, as many times as you like and with any weapon mods in your inventory. The weapon editing menu is freely available at all times. But since the mods are all permanent boosts that never turn off, the only practical use beyond cosmetics is to swap scopes at will. Certain scopes are better in different situations. For example I always preferred the M308’s iron sights for close-quarters or brightly-lit maps, whereas the red-dot scope excels in dark or wide-open areas. I understand why they removed this capability in Payday 2, but just imagine how crazy it would be if we could still completely reassemble our firearms without even leaving the heist.
Hope you learned something from this article, If you want to discover more about the underlying mechanics behind Payday 2‘s programming, I encourage you to check out Frankelstner’s “Long Guide,” it’s far-and-away the most expansive breakdown of Payday 2‘s backend available to players. In addition, make sure to go do some research if you have any questions about Payday 2‘s not-hidden weapon stats. Do you know the difference between accuracy and stability? Or what it means if your weapon has high Threat? They change how the guns perform, so you definitely want to have these basics covered before wading into battle. Wishing you luck in your future heists and keep those helmets flying!