Both: 2,000 (completion)(Turret not set up, investigators not called) 1,000 (completion)(Turret set up, investigators called) +5,000 (find the evidence) +5,000 (secure the prototype) +5,000 (secure the documents) +5,000 (destroy the lab) +500 (per secured bag)
Hostile Takeover is a Heist in PAYDAY 2, released on February 22nd, 2023, contracted by Blaine Keegan. It involves the gang infiltrating a rival corporation's offices and R&D lab for blackmail. The heist, similar to Black Cat, emphasizes the crew doing whatever objectives they desire in any order.
The blackmail objective will play the same regardless of stealth or loud.
Enter the headquarters
Find dirt on Alice Rainey
Find the incriminating email on the office computers
Find Gabriel's phone in the security office
Find the recording device in the CEO office
The prototype objective will play differently depending on the order of objectives completed.
Stealth
Unlock the display case
Secure the prototype
Loud
Obtain the saw
Saw open the display case
Secure the prototype
If "Destroy the Lab Equipment" has already been completed:
Obtain the thermal paste
Melt open the display case
Secure the prototype
The research objective will play differently depending on the order of objectives completed. Stealth
Find the CSO and acquire his tag
Find the research documents
Secure 4 documents
Loud
Hack the RFID panel
Find the research documents
Secure 4 documents
The lab equipment can be destroyed in two different ways. Stealth
Enter the lab via keycard
Shoot the lab equipment
Loud
Enter the lab via hacking
Shoot the lab equipment or blow up the windows
If done as the final objective:
Enter the lab via hacking
Blow up the windows
After all objectives are completed
If the alarm is raised, enemy units will begin to move towards the terrace. Once there they will set up a turret that forces the escape to relocate. The turret must be destroyed before the escape can arrive again.
When preparing for stealth, in order to easily secure bags with research papers, you should choose southern parking lot escape and zipline additional equipment. The northern parking lot is not preferable because the first zipline delivers the bags to the rectangular balcony on the second floor, which is often checked by guards. Or you can choose northern zipline and parking lot if you're playing at least as a duo, and you can attach the bags from first zipline to second at the same moment it lands.
Alternatively, if you are able to play it safe in the research area and the outside, you can keep the default northern parking lot escape and take out both guards on the second floor. While this does require two pagers, which will leave you with 2 left (1 if you also choose to take out the camera operator), it has the advantage of giving you a safe floor for the documents as well as the paintings and the coke.
It is also beneficial to purchase the janitor preplanning asset, which will leave the CEO's door open, making the objective faster and safer for stealth and loud alike.
Delayed wine delivery asset is just easy additional loot for you, located in the white pickup truck at the backdoor of the NEO-2 presentation room. Securing the wine grants more cash/EXP.
Strategy[]
Basic[]
This heist encourages players to split up and do multiple objectives at the same time. A crew of four can split into two pairs: one pair handling the corporate office and the other pair handling the R&D lab, completing the heist faster. Multiple objectives can also be ongoing if playing solo, though it will generally be slower and involves a heightened risk of Cloakers intercepting if straying too far from AI teammates.
Golf carts return from Midland Ranch, allowing easier transportation of players and/or moving multiple loot bags faster. In a pinch, they can also be used to run over enemies in loud.
They also do not confer an increased detection risk if carting around on stealth, though one must obviously be wary of driving too close to, or running over, guards and civilians.
There is a small safe in the corporate office building that holds 1 coke bag. The safe also holds the case code for stealth.
Multiple paintings can be bagged off the office walls to increase the cash/EXP payout. Many of the paintings are found in the meeting room on floor 3's eastern wing.
The number of civilians is greater than most other heists, especially on higher difficulties, which leads to more stealth obstacles and/or longer potential custody time with stray fire in loud.
Blackmail
The blackmail email is found in either the second or third floor computers of the offices. The recording is always found in Alice Rainey's executive office, always on the far western wing of the third floor.
The voice message will always be found in the security manager's office (Gabriel Santiago) via corded phone, but the location of the office itself changes per run. It can be in any of the offices on the east and west side, except for the CEO's office.
Stealth[]
The security room will spawn either in the R&D office next to the lead scientist's room, or on the third floor of the office complex, west wing, opposite side of Alice's executive office. Opening the door requires drilling (not recommended in stealth, nor for opening via Trip mines/OVE9000), an upgraded ECM Jammer, or a keycard. One keycard often spawns in Alice's executive office, meeting room 3E on the third floor in the east wing, always in the security room itself, and rarely on the table in the dining area or the 2nd floor bathroom where the saw/thermite/C4 equipment set is.
Most side rooms on the second and third floors of the corporate buildings have crouch-accessed vents to sneak around with less trouble, much like Murky Station. The side offices are also 100% safe for stowing bags, as long as they are on the corner drawers.
Using the walkie-talkie behind the desk outside of the Development Laboratory will cause guards to come running from across the map and converge outside of the headquarters' main doors.
Inspectors
If the heist is played normally (blackmail first, prototype second, documents third), an "investigation" team will have a 25% chance to spawn. If the investigation team was not called the first time, they will have a 100% chance to spawn after the next objective. They will drive into the parking lot to search the campus. They count as civilians, and must be either tied down or killed for the heist to progress.
They will spawn in either the north or south parking lot.
The amount of investigators spawned depends on the difficulty and if the heist is being played solo.
Singleplayer:
Very Hard and Below: 1 investigator will spawn
Overkill & Mayhem: 2 investigators will spawn
Death Wish & Death Sentence: 3 investigators will spawn
Multiplayer:
Hard and Below: 1 investigator will spawn
Very Hard & Overkill: 2 investigators will spawn
Mayhem & Death Wish: 3 investigators will spawn
Death Sentence: 4 investigators will spawn
Investigators will search various areas that the crew has already been through. Once they arrive at their destination, they will sound the alarm.
If the prototype has been secured, they will search the stage.
If the documents have been secured, they will search the document room.
If the lab equipment has been destroyed, they will search the lab.
Blackmail
The CEO's computer can be interacted with to cause the computer with the blackmail email to beep.
Unlike the computer on The Big Bank, no graphics will be displayed on the screen, and the beep is rather quiet.
After this objective is completed, the marketing director will leave the stage and proceed to the 3rd floor Meeting Room. The CSO will join her, and the two will have a two-and-a-half minute long conversation.
The two directors meeting
After the conversation, the marketing director will loop between having a conversation with the staff at the stage, and taking a phone call in one of the offices.
After the conversation, the CSO will resume his schedule.
If the CSO does not make it to the meeting due to being a hostage or killed, the marketing director will leave shortly after arriving. She will then begin to follow the CSO's scripted pathing, stopping at all the places he normally would.
If the marketing director does not show up for the meeting, the CSO will leave shortly after arriving and loop between outside her office and the stage. He will not sound the alarm if the prototype is removed from its display case.
Prototype
The Marketing Director's office can only be found on the East side of the building. Opening her safe will reveal the code to the display case plus one optional bag of coke.
The curtains on the stage can be shuddered to prevent civilians from witnessing anything. The keys to the backstage control box can be found in the staff room behind the reception desk.
If the curtain is pulled while the marketing director is on stage, she will leave the stage and will loop between having a conversation with the staff at the stage, and taking a phone call in one of the offices.
The display case can be opened by either finding and manually inputting a code located in the Marketing Director's safe, or by escorting the Marketing Director as a hostage to the case, similar to the Secret Sea Safecracker achievement in Black Cat with Xun Kang.
If planning on going loud and/or speedrunning, one can also deploy an ECM Jammer, tie down the marketing director, and lead her behind the case, immediately completing the NEO-2 objective.
The marketing director always wears a black dress, standing out from all other civilians. While typically found on the stage in the Presentation Room, she will move around the campus depending on the order of objectives.
After the blackmail objective is completed, she will move to the boardroom. Afterwords, she will wander around either the office or the south side of the campus.
Her car can always be found in the north parking lot (the red sports car). Shooting the windows will trigger the alarm and cause her to come running. However, one must still account for the other guards/civilians outside.
Like in all other code-inputting heists, inputting the wrong code will instantly trigger the alarm.
Documents
The lead scientist carrying the keytag always has scruffy orange hair. Though he wanders around the map, one can find his route by hacking his computer and checking his schedule in the lab next to the research documents. One must tie down or kill him to get the keytag, allowing access to the archives.
If the CSO is outside of the Research Center, it is highly recommended that the crew does not use the admin building intercom. All the scientists in the lab will walk outside, increasing the amount of civilians walking around. Furthermore, the CSO will then begin to walk over to the group of scientists and have a conversation with them, making it extremely hard to grab his keytag unnoticed.
Lab Destruction
By interacting with the intercom in the admin building, the crew can cause every scientist in the Development Lab to vacate the room. If the player is fast enough, or someone in the crew hasn't masked up yet, they can freely walk in through the open lab door as the scientists leave.
The door will automatically close once the last scientist leaves, unless a player has already made it inside.
In contrast to what Locke says, the crew can freely shoot the lab equipment while the scientists are still present. They will not react to damaged equipment.
Loud[]
The doors of the Headquarters can only be opened by drilling, though saws and c4 can be used on them before the alarm is raised.
The drills required to break the lockdown on the office building still benefit from drill/saw skills like normal.
Players can jump a golf cart from the grassy roof to crash into the Headquarters and bypass drilling the doors.
There will always be a saw, C4, and thermite in the bathroom on the second floor of the corporate building. Preplanning assets will spawn a duplicate set elsewhere. This is useful if the crew hits the lab first, which triggers a lockdown on the office complex, requiring drilling. However, only one set is required to complete the heist.
Purchasing the overclocking preplanning asset reduces the lab hacks to 60 seconds, greatly speeding up the objective. This only applies to loud.
Once every objective is complete, two LMG bulldozers will spawn in from the level 2 elevators and begin moving towards the terrace on the second floor. Once they reach the middle of the terrace, they will set up a turret that forces the escape to leave until dealt with.
Turret hitbox
It is recommended to have every player at the escape location when ready to leave, or have someone ready to kill the bulldozers to prevent the turret from being set up.
Alternatively, a player can place trip mines on the side of the elevator doors. Because no other units are scripted to spawn from the elevators, the trip mines will only activate when triggered by the bulldozers.
One can also quickly destroy the turret by driving a golf cart off the grassy ramp and crashing into the turret. The area the player needs to crash into is much larger than the turret itself.
Blackmail
It is usually recommended that a single player does all the blackmail gathering at the start of the heist, as all three items can be found relatively fast while the crew focuses on much longer objectives.
Prototype
If the alarm goes off before opening the prototype display case, it can be opened via a 3-minute saw. Unlike almost all other drills/saws, it is completely unaffected by Drill Sawgeant.
If the crew completes the lab destruction objective before retrieving the prototype, the loss of power will open the shutter. Players can then use the thermal paste to open the case.
This method is preferred, as the thermal paste takes mere seconds to open the case.
Documents
The documents room can only be opened by hacking the keytag panel. A power box will spawn close to the CSO's office that disables the hack if shut down. Unlike other power box objectives, the crew does not have to interact with the power box to reboot the hack; the crew can simply interact with the hacking device itself if interrupted.
Lab Destruction
Flooding the lab with C4 will also knock loose multiple live wires, constantly electrocuting players who venture into the water. These wires can be disabled with a holding interaction, and can be done safely by standing on furniture. Any civilians that perish from the flooding will not count as being killed by players, and thus not subtract cash from cleaner costs or extend time in custody.
It is recommended to at least bag and move the research document bags out of the lab before placing the C4, otherwise players will be constantly interrupted via electrocution. The archives room itself will not flood, but all other lab space will.
If the crew hasn't completed every other objective yet, they can alternatively shoot the equipment to destroy it instead of using the c4.
This method prevents the research center from flooding, but also stops the shutter on the prototype display case from opening.
Melee attacks will also destroy the equipment, and do so completely silently. The lab equipment destruction is based on the number of attacks: fast weapons like the Nova's Shank and the Wasp-DS destroy the equipment faster than big slow attacks from weapons like the Comically Large Spoon of Gold or Thanatos .50 cal.
If this objective is done last, the two bulldozers that set up the turret will spawn as soon as the first block of c4 is placed. This makes escaping before the turret is set up almost impossible.
This will not happen if at least a single block of c4 is planted before the Lab becomes the final objective. The bulldozers will then spawn once the objective is completed.
Variations[]
The location of the offices for specific personnel in the corporate building varies, plus which computer has the dirty email.
The possible routes taking by the lead scientist differ.
Bad Company Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Normal difficulty or above.
Product Displacement Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Hard difficulty or above.
You’ve Got Blackmail Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Very Hard difficulty or above.
Carbon Captured Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Overkill difficulty or above.
Back to the Lab Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Mayhem difficulty or above.
For a Rainey Day Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Death Wish difficulty or above.
Que sera, SERA Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Death Sentence difficulty.
Corporate Espionage Complete the Hostile Takeover job on the Death Sentence difficulty with the One Down mechanic activated.
Texas Treasures, Part 3 In the Hostile Takeover job, use the USB stick to find and open the hidden safe and steal the content.
System Shocked In the Hostile Takeover job on the OVERKILL difficulty or above, while remaining in the flooded lab, lure at least 50 enemies to a shocking death.
Payday Kart 64 In the Hostile Takeover job, use golf carts to smash every shuttle pick up sign in numerical order in under 1 minute.
Just Passing Through Complete the Hostile Takeover job in stealth within 7 minutes on solo, or 4 minutes on multiplayer, on the OVERKILL difficulty and above without killing any civilians.
The following appeared on February 1st, 2023 and were replaced on February 20th, 2023.
An uncontrolled longing
for increase
in the acquisition
or use of material gain.
It has been
identified as
undesirable throughout
known human history
because it creates
behavior-conflict
between personal
and social goals.
The Teaser phrases are directly lifted from the Wikipedia entry for Greed.
Trivia[]
In the back of the exposition room, near the exit, there is a newspaper talking about the Midland Ranch heist.
Bugs[]
Incorrect collision brushes are used around the pools:
Pager guards shot near the pools will fall into them and fall out of the map, setting off the alarm.
While bags have proper respawn logic for falling into the pools, the collision brushes used block bags from entering the pools to begin with.
The east office area on the second floor will delete any ECMs placed down.
While the investigators are meant to investigate the lab equipment, there is no possible way for that objective to be completed before the investigators arrive.
The two outer doors of the headquarters can not be blown open with c4 if the alarm has been raised.
There are fish swimming in the pool at the Research Center, however the player is unable to see them as the glass stops them from rendering.
When spawning, sometimes players can only see a black screen. Can be fixed by restarting.
The achievement System Shocked is impossible as of Update 240.3 as enemies no longer properly take damage from the electrocuted water.
