Stealth is one of the most rewarding ways to tackle Payday 3’s heists. Sneaking in and out undetected, without having to mask up, is not only satisfying but can be much faster than a loud approach with enough practice. In this guide, we cover the best stealth build in Payday 3, including the skills and loadout you should choose for an experience so smooth you’ll never need your mask again.
Best stealth skills in Payday 3
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- Infiltrator (Aced) [Infiltrator]
- Quick Fingers [Infiltrator]
- Grifter [Grifter]
- Walk The Walk [Grifter]
- Social Engineering [Grifter]
- Hacker [Hacker]
- Secure Loop [Hacker]
- Glitch Protocol [Hacker]
- Strategist [Strategist]
- Open Mic [Grifter]
- Signal Catch [Hacker]
This stealth build is crafted around keeping the Rush buff active and benefitting from the many skills that synergize with it. Not only will you be able to zoom around like you indulged in some of the product you smuggled, but cameras and guards will ignore you, and you’ll be able to distract guards from catching or escorting you.
Infiltrator provides or refreshes Rush whenever you successfully pick a lock (which you’ll be doing often) or kill an enemy with a throwing knife. When aced, you also gain Rush when a guard begins to detect you so you can get out of there as fast as possible.
To ensure Rush stays up as long as possible, Grifter will apply Rush whenever you’re within 1 meter of a civilian or employee. This is one of the most critical skills in the build, so research it as soon as possible.
With Rush being consistently active thanks to skills like Infiltrator and Grifter, Quick Fingers allows you to unlock locks with a single jiggle instantly. The less time spent picking, the less likely you are to be caught.
In addition, Walk The Walk will cause cameras to ignore you while trespassing as long as Rush is active. Social Engineering also causes employees to disregard any (non-lethal) illegal actions.
Hacker lets you gain access to CCTV, which can be useful for scouting areas but is really serving as a gateway to Secure Loop. This can be used to essentially disable a camera, which can get you out of some sticky situations.
Glitch protocol is another crucial skill in this build. Use this to hack a guard’s radio, completely distracting them from what they were doing. That includes if they were about to detain you or were escorting you. Not only is this incredibly powerful, but you can do it every sixty seconds.
Related: How many heists are in Payday 3?
Strategist allows you to mark an additional target and extend the marks’ length. While not a game-changer, it’s great to have when tracking a guard’s location. Open Mic is also worth investing in, allowing you to answer radios 50% faster if you have to resort to taking an enemy out. Finally, Signal Catch will enable you to respond to radios remotely, ensuring you don’t have to go out of your way to cover your tracks.
Best stealth loadout in Payday 3
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Primary Weapon: Any scoped weapon
Secondary Weapon: Signature 40 w/ Obelisk or Snub Silencer
Deployable: Any
Overkill Weapon: Any
Armor Lining: Standard Lining
Throwable: Throwing Knife
Tool: Motion Sensor
A scoped primary weapon can be helpful for zooming in on details, such as employee numbers, but you typically won’t use either weapon in quiet heists. At least the ones that go to plan. It’s still a good idea to carry Signature 40 with a silencer, just in case.
Likewise, you won’t need to use your deployable or Overkill Weapon on a successful stealth run. When it comes to throwables, choose the Throwing Knife; it’s the only option that doesn’t make noise.
Standard Lining is the best armor choice for a stealth build, granting the fastest possible movement speed. Finally, the Motion Sensor is useful for marking guards and tracking their movement. You likely won’t use it often, but it’s still handy to have.
Ready to test your new stealth build out? Check out our guide on completing a stealth run of No Rest For the Wicked. Don’t forget that you can practice stealth solo before assembling your team for the real thing.
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