In PAYDAY 2, players can customize masks to personalize their character. A custom mask consists of a color scheme, a pattern, and a material.
Masks in PAYDAY 2 are either randomly given by the 'pick a card' screen at the end of each heist or are unlocked and granted to the player for free for completing certain achievements, joining the community group, or reaching a new level of infamy. Card masks can only be used once, however granted masks can be re-used by sending the mask back to your inventory (you will lose any colors and non-achievement patterns and materials though). You will not be able to customize it any further once you have finalized it. Even if you leave any of the 3 slots empty, you won't be able to fill it later.
Each player is only given a specific amount of mask slots, but masks can be sold or returned to free up a mask slot. Additional slots can be bought for $800,000 (up to 72 slots).
- White items are dropped from cards, with some exceptions.
- Blue items are unlocked by default.
- Light Blue items are community items.
- Yellow items are from a DLC.
- Orange items are from a special event.
- Magenta items are "Infamous" (rare) items.
There are 6 tabs in the Mask purchase screen (default does not appear, but are the first slot in the inventory when selecting the mask tab); Community, Normal, DLC, Event, Collaboration, and Infamous.
Any masks not possessed will be shown greyed out, with the exception of the Event tab which does not appear if no Event masks are owned or no Event masks can be obtained by achievements, and will not display masks you do not own, except for achievement masks. DLC items from DLC you do not own will have a red cross with DLC through it, infamous items you need to unlock have a red cross with a card on them. Items locked by achievements will be greyed out like others without any cross displaying the requirement, even those in the Normal tab.
Introduced in Update #176 were masks with night-vision capabilties, putting a green filter over the screen and making it easier to see in dark areas, activated by holding down the firing mode key ([V] by default). The update introduced the night-vision capable PNV - BriteNite, and gave night-vision to the Cloaker-san and Batshit Crazy masks.
Default (Preferred Character)[]
Masks unlocked by default. They cannot be sold or unlocked via card drops. When you equip this mask, it changes depending on what character you are.
Note: All default character masks also exist as standalone versions.
- The Collateral glasses are a reference to the 2004 film of the same name, the mask resembling the glasses worn by Max Durocher throughout the movie, and the description referencing Vincent's mode of transportation to his hits.
- Duke's mask is based on the statue of David by Michelangelo, only wider and altered into a mild scowl.
Community Masks[]
PAYDAY 2 Community[]
These masks are available by joining the PAYDAY 2 Community Group. Once you join, you will unlock 1 of each mask in your inventory. You will also be able to obtain the Mark, Hockey Heat and Happy Santa masks via card drops. The other community masks can't drop during a PAYDAY and can't be sold. Instead, they can be returned to your mask stash for free, but any pattern, color or material as well as the customization fee to put these together will be lost.
- The Mark mask was added in PAYDAY 2 as a reference to Mark from Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, which the developers of the game were able to play a very early build of.[1]
- The Overkill bomb logo can be found in the eyes of the mask.
- The Hockey Heat masks were worn by the main character's crew, most notably the heister McCauley, in the 1995 film Heat. The same character wearing the same mask in the screenshot on the right is likely the inspiration of the Armored Transport DLC splash card as well.
- The Peter mask is based on the Hotline Miami mask of the same name.
- The Terminator glasses are a reference to the 1984 film of the same name. They are based on the glasses worn by the eponymous antagonist throughout the film, with the description referencing the Terminator's origin ("an assassin from a distant land", "built like a machine").
- The Reservoir Dog glasses are named after the 1992 film Reservoir Dogs. The glasses resemble those worn by the main characters, who had indeed all worn the same clothing and had codenames.
- The Conquest, Death, Famine, and War masks are all rather obviously based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Dead by Daylight Community[]
These masks are available by joining the Dead by Daylight Community Group. Once you join, you will unlock 1 of each mask in your inventory. They can't drop during a PAYDAY and they can't be sold. Instead, they can be returned to your mask stash for free, but any pattern, color or material as well as the customization fee to put these together will be lost.
- The Killer mask is based on that of the Trapper.
The Solus Project Community[]
This mask is available by joining The Solus Project Community Group. Once you join, you will unlock 1 of the Planetary Tomb Guardian mask. It can't drop during a PAYDAY and it can't be sold. Instead, it can be returned to your mask stash for free, but any pattern, color or material as well as the customization fee to put these together will be lost.
Twitch Drops[]
These masks are unlocked by watching Twitch streams playing Payday 2 with drops enabled. You must have a Starbreeze account linked to your Twitch account in order to acquire masks. Masks only drop for a limited time, and the currently available drops can be viewed here.
Normal[]
Normal (Card Drops)[]
Normal masks are unlocked via card drops. The chance of getting a mask ranges from 9.8% at level 1 to 15% at level 90+.
- The Alienware mask is a promotion from a computer hardware company called Alienware, Dell's subsidiary; the mask is the company's mascot, the Alien. It must be found like the rest of the masks in PAYDAY 2, unlike in PAYDAY: The Heist where it's given exclusively to anyone with an Alienware computer.
- The Brainiac mask is an homage to Jason Voorhees' look in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
- The Calaca mask is from the Mexican Spanish word Calaca, which is a skull or skeleton commonly used for the Mexican Day of the Dead.
- The Doctor Crime mask is a homage to Doctor Doom by Marvel Comics.
- The Greek Tragedy mask is derived from the masks found in Greek tragedies, a form of theater from Ancient Greece and Asia Minor.
- The Hockey Mask was worn by the character "Waingro" in the 1995 film, Heat.
- The Hog mask is a homage to Hotline Miami, a game developed by Dennaton Games.
- The Jaw mask is likely a reference to Trap Jaw from the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series.
- Kenneth is credited as "Janitor" in the Payday 2 credits.
- Mr. Smooth is based on singer David Bowie, bearing a strong resemblance to the his Ziggy Stardust persona. The masks' description of merging beings is likely an homage to Bowie's many different characters and personas.
- The Mummy mask is based on Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie from the Powerslave album.
- The Oni mask is from Japanese folklore, Oni meaning "demon".
- The Outlander mask is a reference to I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a short story by Harlan Ellison, published in March, 1967. It later turned into a point-and-click adventure game in 1995 by The Dreamers Guild. The story was based in a post-apocalyptic future set 109 years into the future after the Cold War escalated into a World War controlled by a Super Computer named AM in which it nearly wiped out the human race in a massive genocide. The mask represents the ending of the protagonist turning into a gelatinous blob creature wanting to scream of the horrors it suffered but cannot due to its lack of a mouth, forever condemned to its thoughts.
- The Shrunken Head mask is from a practice that includes severing and shrinking a human head that is used for rituals, trophies, or for trade.
- The Vampire mask is based on the iconic vampire Count Dracula.
Normal (Achievement)[]
These masks are an achievement reward. They can't drop during a PAYDAY and they can't be sold. Instead, they can be returned to your mask stash for free, but any pattern, color or material as well as the customization fee to put these together will be lost.
- The Strinch mask and its associated achievement ("Stealing Christmas") are references to the Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
- The piece that is supposed to resemble a nose is has a fleur-de-lis on it, a symbol associated with the PAYDAY Secret ARG.
- The Krampus mask and its description are references to the mythical Germanic entity of the same name.
- The Mechanical Santa mask is based on the murderous Robot Santa Claus from Futurama.
- The Mrs. Claus, Strinch, Mechanical Santa, and Krampus masks were designed by community members that defeated Almir in the "bull challenge" in Los Angeles.
- The Tids is a reference to The Stig, a recurring character in the British TV show Top Gear. The helmet is based on a Simpson Diamondback helmet which The Stig wears.
- Three of the four masks introduced on the final day of the 2015 CrimeFest are based on internet memes: While the Dawg and No Me Gusta masks are based on the Doge (and name probably a reference to Yo Dawg) and Me Gusta memes respectively, the Rageface mask is a mix of the LOL, Rage, and Y U NO memes.
- The Funnyman mask was originally named Baitface, and its original appearance and description was based on the Trollface meme, but the mask's appearance was changed to what it currently is in Update #90, and its name and description were changed later on. No official reason has been given but it's likely because the creator of the Trollface put a copyright on the image.
- The Funnyman mask is from an unused version of Dallas' Troll mask from PAYDAY: The Heist.
- The Funnyman mask was originally named Baitface, and its original appearance and description was based on the Trollface meme, but the mask's appearance was changed to what it currently is in Update #90, and its name and description were changed later on. No official reason has been given but it's likely because the creator of the Trollface put a copyright on the image.
- The Rudelf mask is a reference to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and the mask's name is a pun on "Rudolph" and "Elf", and could be interpreted as a pun on "Rude" and "Elf" as well.
- According to the achievements required to unlock the Greedy the Elf and Rudelf masks, they were originally named "Christmas Cap" and "Rudolph", respectively.
- The Paycheck Chains and Paycheck Dallas masks are based on unlicensed Payday Gang masks by the Neon Nightlife store, specifically the "Glowing Angry Clown Mask" and "Glowing Clown Mask With American Flag". Curiously, while the store also sells a Wolf mask, it is not available in-game.
- The Canis Lupus mask's description references the Three Little Pigs fable.
Normal (CrimeFest 2015)[]
Masks unlocked by default. Upon launching the game, you will unlock 1 of each mask in your inventory. You will also be able to obtain these masks via card drops. They can't be sold. Instead, they can be returned to your mask stash for free, but any pattern, color or material as well as the customization fee to put these together will be lost.
- The Baba Yaga mask is based on the supernatural being from Slavic folklore of the same name.
- The Tiara mask is apparently Dimitri's fiancee's tiara that the Payday Gang stole in the Ukrainian Job.
- The Vlad Armor mask is based on the Maska-1 helmet, a Russian Spetsnaz combat helmet.
- The Eggian mask is a reference to the Alien film and is based on the Chestburster.
- The Fatboy mask is based on the mascot of Big Boy Restaurants International.
- The Oliver mask is based on the Academy Awards "Oscar" statuette.
- The Pirate mask is a reference to the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, the mask being based on the films' logo.
- The Groucho mask is based on the novelty disguise glasses of the same name.
- The Groucho mask was named Perfect Disguise on the website, the same name of the unlock hint for the mask.