I purchased Payday2 a couple of weeks ago. I really like it and it's really fun, but I'm having difficulties when it comes to playing solo on some of the missions.
Why I want to solo:
- Stealth: It is (in a sense) easier to stealth a mission in solo, as the AI do absolutely nothing until you're discovered. So you have no chance of being discovered due to anyone but yourself.
- Single-Player: I often just want to be and play alone.
- Practice: Simply to practice improving my accuracy, (which I've always found to be an important aspect of any FPS) which is harder to do in multiplayer since you could shoot at an enemy that was just shot by an ally and you hadn't noticed.
- People are Jerks: Especially if you are the one to mess up a stealth mission.
I realize these are minor reasons and you could just argue that I should play multiplayer. Aside from that…
How can I stealth missions solo at a lower level when there are so many obstacles in my way? I know it's supposed to be challenging but seriously it's nearly impossible on some levels (The Framing Job) in particular.
- Body-Bags: You only get one body bag. You can get more with perks but I am not a high enough level yet.
- Pagers: You can only answer 4. Typically this is fine, but on the Framing job it's pretty difficult not to have to kill more than 4 guards when you only have one body-bag.
Is there another strategy I can do?
I'm currently running the shotgun with a silencer, and a pistol with a silencer. I can patiently do the Framing Job if not for there being like 8 Guards and I only get one body-bag. It frustrates me that you can't even drag the bodies else-where.
Question(s):
1) How can someone solo a stealth mission at a relatively low level? If not possible at a lower-level, how can I level quickly as the missions I'm good at and enjoy give me -50% -> -100% Exp due to how often I play them.
2) Are there any other ways to keep stealth on a mission? Framing Job in particular?
Best Answer
Stealth at low level is all about concealment and learning the map and using it to your advantage. Learn where the guards go and don't go. Learn which objects you can hide behind. Learn loot shortcuts, such as the tiny side windows on Framing Frame day 1. Learn how long things take (or install a mod that gives you a timer). Perhaps the most important thing is: consider, but don't hesitate.
Equipment
You need to get your visibility down as low as possible. Having it under 10 should be fine in most cases. Most of the time you shouldn't need a silencer on your main weapon. You won't be shooting much, especially before you get more body bags. There's no reason you should run out of bullets on your pistol. Just pick a primary weapon that has the best concealment. Melee is recommended if possible: one hit while undetected will do the trick. You'll want to use something concealable with long range, like the telescopic baton.
Mission
Select a mission where it's difficult to get trapped by guards or civilians coming from multiple directions at once. Framing Frame is one of the worst missions to do alone nowadays as it's very easy to get trapped. You need a friend, or preferably many friends, to keep an eye on the guards' movement.
Missions like Bank Heist (if you're willing to "manage" some civilians), Ukrainian Job and Election Day are one of the easiest to finish alone in stealth. You can usually keep an eye on the people around you yourself.
Skills
Once you have fast hands, sprinter and transporter you're good to go. The rest is up to you. Cat burglar is extremely useful in many cases.
Assets
Assets can be useful in stealth, but honestly, I usually save the cash and ignore them. Buying an extra keycard is something I usually do just to save an ECM for bad situations though, or to avoid drilling.
Nothing is impossible (as long as it's marked stealthable), but some jobs simply get a lot easier with more unlocked skills. Also remember easier difficulty means less guards in most cases.