Starting your criminal career in PAYDAY 2 can feel overwhelming with five skill trees, dozens of heists, and the infamous Infamy system waiting ahead. Smart progression means focusing on core skills first, mastering stealth basics, and building towards your first solid loud build. This PAYDAY 2 progression guide walks you through the most efficient path from level 0 to Infamy 25, avoiding the common pitfalls that waste precious skill points and experience.
Table of Contents
- Early Game Foundation (Levels 1-30)
- Core Skill Development (Levels 31-60)
- First Build Completion (Levels 61-90)
- Infamy Preparation (Levels 91-100)
- Understanding the Infamy System
- Advanced Progression Strategy
- Common Progression Mistakes
- Your Next Steps
Early Game Foundation (Levels 1-30)
Your first 30 levels set the foundation for everything that follows. Focus on Mastermind and Ghost trees during this phase - they offer the most immediate benefits for new players.
Start with basic Mastermind skills like Endurance (increased stamina) and Leadership (team stamina boost). These skills help during both loud and stealth approaches. Grab Fast Hands early for quicker interactions, which saves precious seconds on every heist.
The Ghost tree provides essential stealth capabilities. Invest in Shinobi for basic stealth bonuses and Chameleon for faster lock picking. Even if you plan to focus on loud heists later, understanding stealth mechanics helps tremendously. Check our PAYDAY 2 beginners guide for detailed stealth fundamentals.
Recommended early heists: Jewelry Store, Four Stores, and Mallcrasher on Normal difficulty. These short heists let you practice basics while earning steady experience. Avoid Death Wish difficulty until you understand enemy patterns and have proper skills invested.
Your weapon loadout should stay simple. The AMCAR rifle and Chimano 88 pistol handle most situations at this level. Don't worry about weapon modifications yet - focus your limited cash on skill investments instead.
Core Skill Development (Levels 31-60)
This phase shapes your playstyle preference. You'll have enough skill points to specialize in either stealth or loud approaches, though avoid spreading points too thin across all trees.
For stealth progression: Complete the Ghost tree's stealth branch. Hidden Blade (silent melee kills) and Lockpicking Expert (faster picking) become game-changers. The ECM Overdrive skill turns ECM jammers into crowd control tools, essential for stealth heist success.
For loud progression: Focus on Technician's armor and weapon skills. Bulletproof (increased armor) and Nerves of Steel (steadier aim when hurt) keep you alive during intense firefights. The drill skills also reduce those tedious waiting periods.
Start experimenting with Enforcer skills if you enjoy the tank playstyle. Iron Man provides massive armor bonuses, while Transporter lets you move bags faster. This combination works perfectly for transport and bank heists.
Weapon upgrade priority: Install suppressors on primary weapons for stealth attempts. For loud heists, focus on stability and accuracy modifications before damage increases. A stable weapon that hits targets consistently outperforms a high-damage weapon that misses half its shots.
Practice intermediate heists like Bank Heist and Ukrainian Job. These teach fundamental mechanics without overwhelming complexity. Master these before attempting multi-day heists or higher difficulties.
First Build Completion (Levels 61-90)
Now you're building towards your first complete, specialized build. This period determines your main playstyle for the Infamy grind ahead.
Popular first builds include:
- Stealth Specialist: Ghost/Mastermind combination focusing on ECM rushing and silent approaches
- Armor Tank: Technician/Enforcer build with maximum armor and weapon damage
- Support Medic: Mastermind-focused build prioritizing team revival and medical supplies
The stealth specialist excels at solo play and offers consistent experience farming. Essential skills include ECM Specialist, Shinobi Aced, and Camera Loop. This build handles most stealth heists efficiently, making it excellent for grinding experience and cash.
Armor tank builds dominate loud heists but require team coordination. Max out Iron Man, Bulletproof, and Oppressor skills. This setup survives Death Wish difficulty but struggles on detection-heavy missions.
Your skill point allocation should follow the 18-18-0-0-0 or 18-0-18-0-0 pattern initially. Spreading points across three or more trees dilutes your effectiveness. Specialization beats generalization at this stage.
Advanced heist selection: Try GO Bank, Shadow Raid, and Firestarter. These heists teach advanced mechanics while providing substantial experience rewards. Shadow Raid particularly benefits stealth builds, while Firestarter offers excellent loud practice.
Infamy Preparation (Levels 91-100)
The final push to level 100 requires strategic heist selection and efficient time management. Your goal is maximizing experience per minute while preparing for the Infamy reset.
High-value targets: Cook Off, Hoxton Breakout Day 2, and Election Day (stealth). These heists provide 400,000+ experience on higher difficulties. Cook Off scales infinitely - cooking 7+ bags yields massive experience bonuses.
Spend excess money on weapon modifications and masks before going Infamous. The 200 million offshore cash penalty hurts, but losing spending cash feels worse. Buy all desired weapon attachments and stock up on consumables.
Team coordination becomes crucial at this level. Find reliable players or join organized crews. Solo play works for stealth heists, but loud missions need proper team composition. One medic, one technician, and two enforcers handle most Death Wish content.
Consider your next build direction before resetting. Infamy provides skill point bonuses for specific trees, so plan accordingly. If you enjoyed stealth, the Ghost tree discount helps tremendously.
Understanding the Infamy System
Infamy resets your level to 0 but provides permanent bonuses that accelerate future progression. Each Infamy level costs 200 million offshore cash and provides specific benefits.
Infamy 1-5 offer skill point discounts for each tree:
- Infamy I: Mastermind tree 10% discount
- Infamy II: Enforcer tree 10% discount
- Infamy III: Technician tree 10% discount
- Infamy IV: Ghost tree 10% discount
- Infamy V: Fugitive tree 10% discount
Infamy 6-25 provide experience bonuses reaching 45% at maximum level. These bonuses stack multiplicatively with heist bonuses, making high-Infamy players level extremely quickly.
The progression becomes exponentially faster with each Infamy level. Reaching level 100 takes 35+ hours initially but drops to 8-12 hours at high Infamy levels.
Optimal Infamy order: Match your playstyle preferences. Stealth players should prioritize Ghost (Infamy IV) first, while loud players benefit from Enforcer (Infamy II) or Technician (Infamy III) discounts.
Advanced Progression Strategy
Experience farming locations change based on your capabilities and team availability. Solo stealth players should focus on Shadow Raid, Election Day, and Big Bank. These provide consistent 300,000+ experience with practice.
Loud farming requires coordinated teams but offers higher potential rewards. Hoxton Breakout Day 2 and Cook Off provide unlimited scaling experience. Cooking 10+ bags in Cook Off yields over 1 million experience per run.
Skill point optimization becomes critical at higher Infamy levels. The best PAYDAY 2 builds use every point efficiently. Avoid "comfort skills" that provide minimal benefits. Focus on breakpoints - skills that dramatically change gameplay effectiveness.
Weapon progression follows a similar pattern. Early game focuses on basic setups, while endgame requires specialized loadouts for specific heist types. Silenced Car-4 and Judge shotgun combination handles 80% of content effectively.
Common Progression Mistakes
Spreading skill points too thin kills build effectiveness. New players often put points in every tree, creating weak generalist builds. Focus on 1-2 trees maximum until level 80+.
Ignoring stealth completely limits your heist options and farming potential. Even loud-focused players benefit from basic stealth skills for certain missions. Our PAYDAY 2 tips covers essential stealth techniques.
Poor heist difficulty scaling wastes time and money. Don't attempt Death Wish without proper skills and team coordination. Normal and Hard difficulties provide better experience-per-time ratios initially.
Buying expensive weapons early drains limited resources. The free starter weapons handle content through level 50+ with basic modifications. Save money for skill investments instead.
Solo loud attempts rarely succeed without extensive experience. Loud heists need team coordination, especially on higher difficulties. Stick to stealth for solo play or find reliable teammates.
Your Next Steps
Focus on reaching your first Infamy level efficiently. Choose between stealth specialization for consistent solo farming or loud builds for team-based gameplay. Both paths lead to successful endgame progression, but require different skill investments and playstyles.
Start practicing your chosen approach on intermediate heists before attempting the high-stakes missions that fuel rapid progression.