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Stealth is a gameplay feature that originated in PAYDAY: The Heist in a very basic form. It was later developed much further with the release of PAYDAY 2, which introduced many more stealthable heists, equipment to aid the player in remaining undetected, and several skills that influence stealth gameplay. Around half of the heists in PAYDAY 2 can be completed entirely in stealth, many without killing a single cop or guard.

PAYDAY: The Heist[]

Casing mode is implemented to a certain degree in PAYDAY: The Heist, as several heists will begin with the players in this state to allow for quick map scouting before beginning. Unless bumping into, or standing too close to a guard, the heisters cannot be detected. As there is little stealth involved, almost every heist in the first game will go loud once a player leaves casing mode. All players will leave casing mode at the same time.

A large number of civilians dot the maps, most usually in heists where stealth is the main approach where they pose hindrances to the crew by way of detection. Unlike guards and cameras, civilians cannot detect a player in casing mode, though will quickly panic at the earliest sight of one with a mask on and weapons out, and cannot be pacified if fully alerted. Panicking civilians will usually either seek out the nearest viable panic button, call the police, or simply run outside the map boundaries where an alarm will inevitably be raised.

Cable ties upgrade

Players may shout at civilians to intimidate them and get them to lie on the ground. A shout is a multipurpose action that both players and AI teammates can perform. It is done by pressing the same button used for interactions. This temporarily gets them to stay down in one spot, keeping them out of the line of fire or delaying their attempts at contacting the police, though if not kept a close eye on they will eventually rise up again and resume their phone call(s) or race towards the nearest source of alarm. Civilians on the ground can be restrained with cable ties to render them immobile until freed by the police. The amount of tied hostages is displayed on the bottom of the screen.

Heisters are discouraged from killing civilians; killing a civilian will deduct funds from the heist payout.

All players originally start out with 2 cable ties but it is possible to get more by getting the respective upgrade(s). This is done by investing in the assault tree.

Some tips to hold in mind when stealthing;

  • The importance of cable ties is dependent on the mission.
  • Although cable ties are of limited quantity, saving them up is also completely useless as they do not give any benefit when kept in inventory until the end.
  • NoMercy civilians

    Cable-tied civilians on the No Mercy heist, where doing such is crucial.

    Cable ties are very important in Counterfeit or No Mercy as civilians who are tied down cannot get up to escape or trigger the alarm, while in Diamond Heist or Slaughterhouse they are less useful as there are fewer civilians. In Undercover they are completely useless as there are no civilians in reach.
    • In First World Bank or Panic Room, tying down the bank manager or Chavez is an option to obtain the keycard or the key without killing them.
  • Tying down civilians in areas off the main path is an option as they will not be released if no law enforcers pass by.
  • In large maps such as Heat Street or Green Bridge, avoid using cable ties on civilians when not intending to stay long, it will be difficult for the crew to reach them later if these civilians are chosen for trade.
  • In any heist other than Heat Street or Green Bridge, keeping some cable ties and tying down a hostage right before performing a trade is not advised, as this is only available when there are civilians nearby.
  • You can shout to reveal the positions of patrolling security guards and to your teammates on Diamond Heist.

Cable tie upgrades:

Upgrade Assault level
Amount increase I 4
Amount increase II 12
Amount increase III 23
Amount increase IV 33

PAYDAY 2[]

In PAYDAY 2, stealth has been given a significant overhaul.

Civilian Mode[]

Civilian mode is the least detectable mode for PAYDAY 2. In civilian mode, heisters simply cannot be detected though they can still set off laser grids if walked through.

There are two key differences between civilian mode and casing mode:

  • The player is completely devoid of any gear. This includes weapons, deployable equipment, and masks.
  • The player cannot spot guards or interact with mission equipment except they can use slot machines and pick up their gear, at which point the player transitions to casing mode.

Civilian mode is available in the following heists:

Casing Mode[]

Casing mode is a gameplay mechanic available in some heists, during which special actions can generally be taken and NPCs respond to players differently than in "loud" gameplay. Typically, heists that use casing mode will have a large civilian population, forcing the crew to try and blend in to gather info first before enacting their plan.

Character-Models

Example of a player in Casing mode.

Certain heists will initially begin in casing mode, with players unmasked. Casing mode can be identified by the lack of a weapon on the player's screen, a mask-on notification and a "casing mode bar" on the top right in place of the hostage counter.

In Casing mode, players may:

  • Move around the map with immunity to detection by civilians and resistance to detection by guards and cameras
  • Shout out guards, civilians, and cameras
    • Actively mark guards and cameras (requires the Basic Chameleon skill)
    • Passively mark guards and civilians (requires the Basic Sixth Sense skill)
  • Pick up "instant" items (keycards, money bundles, crowbars, etc., requires Aced Sixth Sense skill)
  • Put on their masks

However during casing mode one cannot:

  • Duck, jump or sprint (a message will be displayed, indicating that suspicious actions are not allowed)
  • Engage in combat
    • If a player triggers combat (e.g. by walking into a guard) casing mode will end for that player, even if stealth hasn't been broken.
  • Interact with objects that require an interaction wheel, such as packages, loot bags, reviving players, etc.
  • Climb ladders
  • Deploy equipment, such as ammo bags or first aid kits (the "deploy" key being the same key to mask up)
  • Receive damage through any means (e.g. falling a far distance, struck by friendly explosions, touching fire)

Once a player's mask is on, they can still perform both casing and normal actions, except for the mask, which cannot be removed and put on again. However, there are three heists that are a notable exception to this rule:

  • The Alesso Heist; during the stealth escape sequence, players are required to take off their masks in order to blend back into the crowd and exit the level.
  • No Mercy; after setting up the fake sentry guns, players must head over to the locker room and change into medical scrubs to pose as doctors and head over to the ICU.
  • The White House; once after taking all the presidential pardons and going back to the airlock, players must take off their masks to blend with the other Murkywater guards. From there, they have to reach the extraction route before time runs out to escape.

Casing mode can be ended either voluntarily, by holding the secondary interaction key and putting on a mask, or involuntarily, by getting detected or setting off an alarm. Once a player masks up for either reason, assuming an alarm has not sounded, the player enters stealth (see below) and can be detected normally. Whereas civilians will never detect a criminal in casing mode, they will become suspicious of a heister wearing a mask, so care must be taken to avoid civilians.

Casing mode ends involuntarily when the alarm sounds. A message will generally appear, indicating what tripped the alarm, and players will automatically don their masks. There are a number of events that can set off the alarm:

  • Civilians, cameras, guards, or other NPCs detect and report suspicious activity (players detected, un-silenced weapons discharged, dead bodies discovered, etc.)
  • Players fail to respond to the pagers of dead guards appropriately
  • Map-related triggers, such as tripping laser grids

Typically, one's primary objective in casing mode is to perform heist reconnaissance to gather data on current map variations, guards/cameras positions and general locations of objectives.

The rule of thumb when it comes to scouting in casing mode is to maintain a minimal detection risk, so choose your gear wisely. If needed, investing in the Ghost and Fugitive skill trees can help with maintaining a high-concealment but loud-capable build.

Due to different maps having different variations, perfecting the use of Casing mode requires a lot of practice. Certain skills can help make life easier by enabling one to perform additional actions while in casing mode (e.g. Sixth Sense).

Maintain your distance, as cameras and guards can still detect a low detection risk player if they linger nearby long enough. Avoiding guards is also crucial in preventing alarms, as accidentally bumping into one or otherwise getting spotted may cause him to call for backup or open fire, compromising the mission.

It may help to have 1 or 2 crew members masked on to assist with neutralizing NPCs, bagging bodies, answering pagers, etc.

Casing mode is available in the following heists:

Guards[]

When a guard has not detected any suspicious activity, any hit will be fatal, be it from a firearm, melee weapon, or throwable. Guards generally patrols a semi-random route between a set of predetermined waypoints, which are often located in busy or important areas. When a security camera is destroyed, the nearest guard may respond and investigate it. If not killed quickly after spotting the broken camera, the guard will raise the alarm.

If a guard spots a criminal, he will yell at them to stop, pause for about 5 seconds, move slowly to the caught heister, and attempt to cuff them. If he is successful, that player will be immobilized and the guard will then raise the alarm after a moment. This behavior can be exploited by crafty players as they can potentially lead a lone guard into a more concealed location before taking him down, provided the caught player does not shoot or move too much once the guard issues the order to stop.

When a guard decides to raise an alarm, the guard will stop, draw his weapon, and call an operator using his earpiece. If the guard is killed at any point before the call is finished, then no alarm will be raised. It is best to terminate a guard before he draws his weapon however, as he may fire his weapon and alert the entire area.

If a guard is killed during the stealth portion of a heist, then a player will have to answer his pager.

A guard will raise an alarm shortly after detecting any of the following:

  • Unsuppressed gunfire (~45m alert range for player-fired weapons, ~25m for NPCs)
  • An explosion (grenades, RPGs, shaped charges, etc.). Note however that Molotov Cocktails can be used at a distance of 15m away from guards without being detected by anyone.
  • Players (except in civilian mode)
  • Dead bodies
  • Any type of non-body bag within 18 metres or bodybags within 19 metres of a guard's line of sight, though bags that are spawned on set (e.g. Thermal Drills on Bank Heists) or through an event (Cage Parts) will only alert guards if they have been picked up and dropped by a player.
  • Dominated guards
  • Cable tied, panicking, or pacified civilians
  • Broken cameras (on rare occasions however, the guard will simply stare up at the camera, wave at it and then leave it alone. If this happens, other guards will also ignore the broken camera.)
  • Drills (thermal drills waiting to be set up won't cause suspicion, though the bag may cause a brief spike in their alert level until it snaps into place)
  • The noise of a running, unsilenced saw motor or the use of a silenced saw within 10 meters of guards or civilians (Note that running a silenced saw in the air will not cause alarm regardless of proximity to NPCs)
  • A deployed Sentry Gun, regardless of whether it is firing or not
  • Cracked or broken glass in windows and skylights
  • Being affected by ECM Feedback
  • A device that is currently in the process of being hacked (e.g. the voting machines in Election Day Day 2 and the office computers on The Big Bank). Certain devices will still prompt a guard to raise the alarm after it has been successfully hacked (e.g. the server computer on Big Bank).
  • Certain open doors (e.g., the lab door of Big Oil Day 2 or the bookshelves on the Framing Frame Day 3)

If a player intends to intimidate a guard, they must be in close to mid-range. After a guard spots a player, the player must try to dominate him before he draws his gun, in order to maximize chances of him backing down. In stealth, shouting the guard down will immediately make him get on his knees and cuff himself. One player must then answer his pager. Note that you cannot move dominated guards, and Joker doesn't work in stealth. This can be used to pacify a guard without risking him firing his weapon, after which he can be dispatched and put in a body bag, or left alone if no other guards patrol the area.

If a player attempts to intimidate a guard and the guard does not back down, the guard can approach the failed dominator and handcuff them. The player must then take a full minute to remove their handcuffs unless assisted by a crew member. They can also immediately handcuff a player within a second if the guard happens to be alerted within 1 meter of an unaware player. The guard who has successfully cuffed a player will raise an alarm shortly afterwards. A cuffed player is considered incapacitated for nearly all intents and purposes, even incrementing their (non-bleedout) mission summary Downs stat by one, and if it happens in solo play with no AI, the mission will automatically fail in 10 seconds. This is likely, despite them being able to pick their way out within a minute, to avoid players abusing this mechanic in a loud mission, as cuffed players will not be targeted and are completely immune to damage.

To counter a failed intimidation, the player can try to melee the guard and knock him down, then attempt to intimidate him again. However, during this process, the guard may fire his weapon, which will alert any guards or civilians who are in range of the sound.

As in most stealth games, guard behavior in the game is unrealistic, but implemented for the sake of gameplay:

  • Guards have very poor peripheral senses, and can only really see what's directly in front of them. However due to the way Payday 2 handles vision, they have nearly infinite vertical vision range.
  • Guards won't notice when normally locked doors have been opened, with the exception of certain doors.
    • Guards will, however, notice a broken window and immediately call the police, who will respond in force.
  • They cuff players from the front, which allows the captured heister to eventually pick his/her way out of the restraints. This is strongly trained against in reality for the very same reason.
    • In third person captured heisters have their hands behind their back, however.

Pagers[]

If a guard is killed or dominated during the stealth part of a mission, his pager will start beeping after 2 or up to 4 seconds. If it is ignored for 12 seconds, the pager operator on the other side will raise the alarm. To prevent this, players must answer the pager by interacting with it for 10 seconds to complete the interaction, though this can be shortened to 9 seconds by using the Burglar Perk Deck. Any given pager will beep and require attention only once; once it it successfully answered, that particular pager will not be of further concern. The team as a whole may answer up to four pagers during a heist; the operator will not believe a player answering a fifth pager and, upon completing the call, the operator will raise the alarm.

Multiple players can attempt to answer the same pager at the same time. The first player to actually complete the interaction will trigger the appropriate response (successful persuasion or raised alarm, as described earlier), ignoring the partially completed interaction from all other players.

Interrupting an ongoing pager interaction (e.g. starting to answer it, then releasing the interaction button halfway) will cause the operator to raise the alarm immediately, unless there is anyone else answering the same pager at the same time. This potentially allows two or more players to delay a pager response indefinitely by overlapping their interaction durations.

If alarm is raised, all pager activity ceases. Players will not be able to, nor will they need to, answer any more pagers. Likewise, any ongoing answering interactions will automatically be terminated.

Only security guards carry pagers. Law enforcement officers, including street cops, and gang members of all types (excluding Scarface Mansion interior guards) do not.

The operator will raise the alarm if:

  • Players answer more than four pagers, the operator will sound slightly annoyed and/or voice his suspicion as a cue. Note that on some heists (notably those contracted by The Elephant), an additional guard will spawn in to inspect the map after three pagers are answered. However, this does not prevent a fourth pager being answered.
  • A pager interaction is interrupted, though if at least one more player is also answering the pager when this happens, the alarm will not be raised, provided the other player finishes answering the pager and does not disconnect as well. Players can tactfully exploit this to effectively use up their pager counts.
  • The operator does not receive a response within the allotted amount of time.

The pager does not need to be answered fully within the allotted time, only started. Pagers may also be 'juggled' back and forth to buy time in a tight situation with careful exchange of control by players - as long as one player is holding the pager line open, the operator will not sound the alarm.

More gameplay over realism behavior can be witnessed with pagers:

  • Pager operators appear unsurprised by guards' dramatically changing voice.
    • It is never explained why an alarm is raised when the player drop out of a pager call, yet nothing out of the ordinary happens when a guard is killed mid-call when calling for backup. However, the former may be because the pager operator gains suspicion over guards (oddly) hanging up on him.
  • Guards never call in to the pager operator until they die or are forced to surrender.
    • In reality, security guards carrying pagers is unusual, as no security firm would issue their guards with pagers, a more logical and correct device would be a two-way transceiver or even the guards' phones themselves.
      • Conversely, the in-game Metropolitan Police officers, who in real life do carry pagers as well as two-way radios, are not required to be interacted with when killed during stealth.

Cameras[]

Security cameras act as a "stationary security guard" in that they will detect any players during stealth within their line of sight. The rate of detection is similar to that of civilians and guards and is determined by detection risk. Cameras will also spot any of the following:

  • Non-body bags within 18 metres and body bags within 19 metres sight range.
  • Corpses
  • Alerted civilians and guards
  • Hostages, including dominated guards
  • Cracked or broken glass (including display cases; for example, those found on Day 3 of Framing Frame)
  • Broken cameras
  • Drills, though Thermal Drills waiting to be set up won't cause detection. Cameras can however, detect drills that have been set up even if not directly pointed at said drill.
  • Open vaults
  • Deployed sentry guns

If a camera spots any of the above, as indicated by a question mark above the camera and globally heard, high-pitched beeps that increase in frequency over time, players will have a variable amount of time to remove the suspicious object or disable the camera before it becomes alerted, indicated by an exclamation point and a continuous audio tone.

The exact time it takes a camera to detect suspicious activity varies based on the distance and angle of the suspicious object from the camera[1], but it is usually in the neighborhood of 2 seconds. Note that movement speed does not alter the detection rate of cameras, so when you must cross in front of a camera while masked and no guards are around, sprinting is the best option.

As soon as a camera is alerted, the alarm will be raised inevitably after 7 seconds; destroying the camera, killing the guard watching the cameras or placing an ECM Jammer will not prevent this from happening.

Cameras can no longer detect noise, as once was possible. Firing an unsilenced weapon or setting up an unsilenced drill will not alert a camera.

Titan cam

Titan Camera

Titan cameras[]

Titan cameras were introduced in the Death Wish update that came with update #24.

Titan cameras are the improved version of normal cameras. They only spawn on certain heists when playing on the Mayhem (Death Wish prior to the Housewarming party update) difficulty, or higher. Whether or not a heist (or day of a heist) features Titan cameras usually depends on whether or not that map has a security room that can be hit, though there are several exceptions.

Unlike normal cameras, Titan cameras cannot be destroyed. However, they can still be temporarily disabled by an ECM jammer or an active Camera Loop. The same principle of killing the camera operator to disable all cameras still applies.

Drones[]

Hostile drones were first encountered in Murky Station. They are still classified as security cameras but with major differences. Due to the fact they hover in midair, camera loop cannot be applied to them. They have a greater detection range and can travel around the trainyard. On Mayhem, they are upgraded with a Titan camera variant, making their cameras indestructible.

A distinctive audio cue will be heard when a drone is "charging" up, alongside with the red light shining on the ground. After a few seconds, the drone will emit a white light and its camera will then become active. Drones will not stay indefinitely on however, as after a set amount of time, a drone will turn off and retreat back to its original position. While shooting at a drone on Overkill and lower difficulties will destroy the camera, guards may be alerted when they see a broken drone. As such, the only other defenses against them are to jam drones with an ECM jammer or wait until they move.

Avoiding and dealing with cameras[]

Cameras can be destroyed on any difficulty below Mayhem by simply shooting them once, preferably with a silenced weapon, or using a melee or quiet throwable weapon on them. However, any security guard that spots a broken camera will become alerted and attempt to raise the alarm; thus, it is advisable to dispose of any guards that might still be roaming around the area in which the camera has been destroyed. Broken cameras are completely disabled and will not detect anything.

On some heists, breaking a camera might cause the camera operator to send a guard to investigate. This will happen immediately after destroying the camera and can be anticipated by looking for guards that use their in-ear headsets, and listening for nearby radio chatter. This can be exploited by clever heisters to lure guards away from their usual patrol by destroying a camera in a remote place and waiting for the guard to come investigate. Security guards that are sent to investigate destroyed cameras will do one of two things: they will either become suspicious, draw their weapon and attempt to sound the alarm; or more rarely, walk up to the camera, try waving at it and then leave it alone, assuming it to be a technical fault. If the guard becomes suspicious, then even if that guard is dealt with, other guards in the future will also become suspicious when they see it. However, if they suspect nothing, then other guards will also ignore the broken camera, should they pass by it. Civilians and gangsters are never alerted by broken cameras, and so on some heists such as GO Bank, players can pick off cameras near civilians without arousing any suspicion, provided no guards or other cameras notice the destroyed camera.

Security

The security room in Shadow Raid, along with its late operator

Certain heists also include a security room, usually locked behind a very resistant security door but can sometimes be locked behind a simple metal door (e.g. Hoxton Revenge) or even completely exposed (e.g. Election Day Day 2). Once inside, players can disable all cameras on the map by killing or otherwise incapacitating the camera operator, who is usually a guard.

After eliminating the camera operator, players will now have access to the camera feed from inside the security room, which can be used to spot guards or civilians/objects of interest.

Though the cameras themselves do not move and have a fixed field of view, the player looking through a camera may pan with the mouse and zoom with the forward and backward movement keys ('W' and 'S'). When a player looks through a camera, guards and items of interest within the camera's view (whether or not they are visible in the player's view through the camera) will immediately be highlighted for several seconds for all players to see.

A player using the camera feed cannot see their own HUD. Thus, if one only uses cameras to highlight guards and objects, it is more advisable to enter camera feed view mode, quickly "flip" through all the cameras and exit, then repeat whenever the highlight fades. This will allow them to keep an eye on their environment in case a guard or civilian show up. Players can still use the in-game chat when operating the camera feed.

Note that however, any cameras that have been destroyed prior to that will still get spotted by guards and prompt them to sound alarms. Additionally, if a camera has been fully alerted prior to taking the operator down, killing him or destroying the camera afterwards will not stop the alarm from going off.

Guards will not be sent to investigate any additional destroyed cameras once the camera operator has been taken care of. As such, it is advised to use any available camera lure before doing so in order to thin the guards' numbers as much as possible.

Players with Nimble can temporarily disable cameras for 25 seconds by walking up close and applying the loop. Only one camera per crew can be looped at a time. Looped cameras will not raise any suspicion if spotted by guards or civilians and can be identified by their cyan outline, which will begin to blink and play an audible beeping noise when the loop is ending. Once this has happened, the loop can be reapplied to the camera, restarting the 25 second timer without the camera detecting anything. This can be exploited by players who may need extra time to disable the camera completely or removing the object of suspicion. Additionally, placing an ECM Jammer will disable all cameras for the duration of the jam. Because of this, having at least one Ghost in the crew can be highly beneficial when attempting a difficult stealth heist.

Detection risk[]

Your detection risk, which is determined by the concealment of your equipment, can be simply described as the level at which your detection meter starts when you are first spotted. However, other factors are involved in calculating rate of detection, namely the distance and angle from the observer to the player and the type of observer. Detection risk ranges from 3 to 75. Once the player's detection risk reaches 3, continuing to increase concealment will not further decrease the detection risk. Conversely, once the player's detection risk reaches 75, continuing to decrease concealment will not further increase detection risk.

Regardless of whether the player is being spotted by a camera or person, the rate of the increase of the detection meter is determined by the player's distance and angle relative to the observer. Players or objects close to and directly in front of an observer are detected more quickly than those far away from and at wide angles to the observer.[2] Once the meter reaches 100%, the player will be detected and this usually results in an alarm trigger unless the person or device which detected the player is neutralized. In the case of cameras, once the meter reaches 100%, the camera cannot be neutralized. The camera can be broken or an ECM jammer can be placed, but if the camera became fully alerted (indicated by a solid tone), the alarm will inexorably sound seven seconds later.

Detection risk also plays a role in loud gameplay by reducing the distance from which a player can be targeted, from a maximum distance of 180 meters at 75 detection to a maximum distance of 80 meters at 3 detection.

Your total concealment is the sum of concealment values of your primary, secondary and melee weapons, your armor, and the concealment bonus from your skills.

  • Basic Chameleon claims that it grants a 25% bonus to concealment when in casing mode (i.e., before the mask is on). While it does make the player less noticeable in casing mode, it does not alter the concealment or detection risk values at all, contrary to the description.
  • Basic Inner Pockets grants +2 concealment to melee weapons. Given that this applies to all melee weapons and that the player must carry one at all times, this is essentially a flat +2 concealment.
  • Aced Optical Illusions grants rather grand bonuses to concealment for silencer use.
  • The tier 4 bonus of all of the Perk Decks includes +1 concealment at all times.

Detection risk calculation[]

Detection risk is lowest (3) at a Concealment rating of 119 or above.

Concealment 119 118 117 116 115 114 113 112 111 110 109 108 107 106 105 104 103 102 101 100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91
Detection risk 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 14 16 17 19 20 22 23 26 29 32 35 43 45 46 49 52 55 58 63 69 75

Note that the above table can be inaccurate by small amounts in specific cases; the unmodified UAR and JP36, with concealment values of 20 and 19, respectively, will both provide the same detection risk, despite having different listed concealment values. It appears that all weapons with 19 or 20 concealment are indistinguishable in terms of detection risk, and there is no functional difference between the two values. The cause for this is unknown, and it is not known whether this phenomenon occurs at other concealment values as well.

With a Two-Piece Suit, any melee with a base concealment of 30, and including the +2 concealment from having basic Inner Pockets unlocked and the +1 concealment from any tier 4 Perk Deck bonus, it takes +56 concealment combined from primary and secondary in order to reach lowest detection risk.

Before being used in detection calculation, detection risk is converted to a concealment multiplier according to the table below. The minimum detection time in a particular scenario is multiplied by this number, meaning that low detection risk increases the time it takes to be detected. Furthermore, the distance from which a player can be detected is divided by the square root of this number, meaning that a lower detection risk results in a lower detection radius.[2]

Detection risk 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 14 16 17 19 20 22 23 26 29 32 35 43 45 46 49 52 55 58 63 69 75
Concealment modifier 1.55 1.525 1.5 1.475 1.45 1.425 1.4 1.375 1.35 1.325 1.3 1.275 1.25 1.225 1.2 1.15 1.1 1.05 1 0.85 0.825 0.8 0.75 0.7 0.65 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3
Percentage 100% 98% 97% 95% 94% 92% 90% 89% 87% 85% 84% 82% 81% 79% 77% 74% 71% 68% 65% 55% 53% 52% 48% 45% 42% 39% 32% 26% 19%

Civilians[]

A large number of civilians dot the maps, most usually in heists where stealth is the main approach where they pose hindrances to the crew by way of detection. Unlike guards and cameras, civilians cannot detect a player in casing mode, though will quickly panic at the earliest sight of one with a mask on and weapons out, and cannot be pacified if fully alerted. Panicking civilians will usually either seek out the nearest viable panic button, call the police, or simply run outside the map boundaries where an alarm will inevitably be raised.

Players may shout at civilians to intimidate them and get them to lie on the ground, or produce any kind of noise if they have Stockholm Syndrome which gives the same result. This temporarily gets them to stay down in one spot, keeping them out of the line of fire or delaying their attempts at contacting the police, though if not kept a close eye on they will eventually rise up again and resume their phone call(s) or race towards the nearest source of alarm. Civilians on the ground can be restrained with cable ties to render them immobile until moved by the players.

The players are discouraged from killing civilians; killing a civilian will immediately deduct funds from the killer's spending cash (regardless of whether the heist is completed).

Cable ties are used to take civilians hostage. When civilians are ordered to lie down, a player can use cable ties to tie them up. This stops the hostages from running away, possibly alarming the police.

All players originally start out with 2 cable ties but it is possible to get more by getting the respective upgrade. This is done by the Forced Friendship skill:

Forced Friendship

Forced Friendship
Mastermind: Controller Tier 1
Basic (1 pt): Increases your supply of cable ties by 4. You can tie hostages 75% faster.
Ace (3 pt): You and your crew gain 0.5 damage absorbtion for each hostage you have. This effect stacks up to a maximum of 8 hostages. Note: This skill does not stack with other Forced Friendship skills.

When a civilian is tied, they will be unable to alert the police and unable to move, and must wait for a police officer to free them. A number in the top right of the screen will show the number of cable-tied hostages the crew has secured. Maximizing the number of cable-tied hostages will prevent them from triggering an alarm by cellphone calls or panic buttons while stealthing.

CustodySample

Cable Guy used to grant 8 cableties before patches reduced it to 4

Cable-tied civilians can still be moved around by interacting with them, thus enabling the crew to reposition them in an area where law enforcers will have a hard time getting to in order to prevent them from being rescued, or simply to move them out of the line of fire/hot zones where accidental civilian casualties can occur. To order moving civilians to sit down, either move far enough away from them or interact with them again.

Strategies[]

  • The importance of cable ties is dependent on the mission.
  • Although cable ties' quantity are quite limited, saving them up is also completely useless as they do not give any benefit when kept in inventory until the end.
  • Several heists, like Art Gallery and Cook Off, do not possess civilians, making cable ties useless.
  • Tying down civilians (usually Bank Managers) with keycards will make them drop those, preventing the need to kill them.
  • Only three heists require players to control civilians to complete a stealth objective: The Diamond, Hoxton Revenge, and First World Bank. Of these, only Hoxton Revenge requires cable ties, as the FBI Boss must be kept alive until he uses the retinal scanner. In the other two heists, civilians can simply be killed to acquire their keycards.
  • The pathing of hostages is tied to the game's host; if connection is poor, expect to see the hostage(s) walk about back and forth before finally reaching your destination.

Achievements[]

PAYDAY 3[]

Just like PAYDAY 2, stealth is given another overhaul. Players no longer need to worry about concealment or detection risk, as all detection meters will behave normally regardless of what equipment the player uses.

Casing Mode[]

Casing Mode is available on all heists with the exception of Road Rage, which has the heisters masked up at the start. Just like the previous game, the players are unmasked in this mode.

In Casing Mode, players may:

  • Freely walk around Public Areas without being detected by civilians, guards, or cameras
  • Freely walk around Private Areas without being detected by civilians
  • Perform interactions such as pressing buttons, opening doors, using computers, etc. Illegal interactions are marked with a red exclamation point and will cause the player to be detected if they are being observed by employees (without a specific Grifter , guards, or cameras
  • Lockpick doors and cut windows (Both are considered illegal interactions)
  • Pick up items such as keycards, money bundles, etc.
  • Loot and throw bags
  • Shout out civilians, guards, and cameras
  • Duck and sprint
  • Use tools, such as microcams, ECM jammers, or motion sensors. (Guards and cameras will consider players holding out tools to be suspicious)
  • Be treated with less suspicion by the guards if caught, and will result in various responses depending on the area's security level.
  • Put on their masks

During Casing Mode, players may not:

  • Engage in combat
  • Use throwables, such as throwing knives or grenades
  • Jump, vault, or slide
  • Use human shields, intimidate anybody, or take hostages
  • Set out any deployables, such as medic bags

Once the player puts on their mask, Casing Mode ends and they are now considered hostile. If the player takes damage by any means, they will mask up and leave casing mode automatically. While the player can still perform both casing and normal actions, they cannot remove their mask once put on.

Security Levels[]

Security Levels are new additions to the series, which only applies to Casing Mode. There are three types of levels depending on the location of the player, which is indicated on the top of the player's screen.

  • Public Areas - Players are not considered suspicious in these areas and will not be detected by civilians, employees, guards, or cameras.
    • Civilians are oblivious to illegal interactions, but will still be observed by employees, guards, and cameras.
  • Private Areas - Players are not considered suspicious in these areas by civilians, but will be detected by guards and cameras.
    • Employees will become alerted if an illegal interaction is observed, which will cause them to notify the nearest guard to detain the player.
    • If caught by a guard, they will approach and order the player to follow them back to the closest Public Area.
    • If caught by a camera, a guard will be dispatched to the area where the player was seen in order to escort them out. If the guard cannot find the player upon arrival, Search Mode will be initiated.
  • Secure Areas - The highest level of security; players in these areas will be detected by civilians, guards, and cameras.
    • If caught by a civilian, they will notify the nearest guard who will rush over to detain the player.
    • If caught by a guard, they will immediately attempt to detain the player.
    • If caught by a camera, the nearest guard is notified and will rush over to detain the player.

If the player is not in casing mode, they will be detected irregardless of what area they are in. If caught, guards will draw their firearms and cameras will immediately raise the alarm.

Guards[]

Similar to PAYDAY 2, most heists are situated with GenSec security guards that patrol the map in order to deter players from running around and performing criminal activity. In addition to adopting the new Security Levels protocol, guards have been upgraded with better perception and AI pathing. If a player bumps into a guard, they will turn around to face the player. Sounds such as glass breaking and electronic disturbances will cause nearby guards to investigate the source of the noise. Guards are also capable of hearing players sprinting, but will only investigate if they are patrolling a Secure Area. Some guards carry keycards on their belt, which can be pickpocketed by the player. Players can also place tools on guards, should they so choose.

As explained in the previous sections, guards follow a specific protocol for unmasked players, depending on the Security Level or actions performed.

  • Escorting
    • When a guard detects an unmasked player in a Private Area, they will immediately order the player to stop where they are. A yellow circle appears on the ground around the player which they must stay inside to prevent further escalation.
    • After the guard reaches the player's location, they will ask the player to follow them and be escorted out. A new circle appears around the guard, which the player must continue staying inside as it moves with the guard.
    • Once the guard brings the player into a Public Area, they will give a warning to stay out of restricted areas and the player is allowed to roam around freely again.
    • If the player leaves the circle at any time, they will receive a warning from the guard to return to the circle. If the player ignores the warning for five seconds, the guard will proceed to detain the player.
  • Detaining
    • A guard will proceed to detain an unmasked player if:
      • The player was caught in a Secure Area
      • The player was caught during Search Mode
      • The player ignores commands to be escorted out
      • The player was caught performing an illegal interaction
      • An employee or camera detected the player in a Secure Area or performing an illegal interaction
    • A detained player is placed into handcuffs and cannot move until either another player frees them or they free themselves using the appropriate skill.
    • After a guard has detained a player, Search Mode will be initiated to look for other criminals.
    • Players cannot hide from a guard heading over to detain them. However, if the player attempts to avoid being detained, the guard will eventually pull out their firearm and shoot, or call the operator to raise the alarm.
  • Search Mode
    • Search Mode is a new mechanic that acts as an intermediary between stealth and loud, and occurs when guards suspect criminal activity in the area. It is indicated at the top of player's screen with the text "Searching..." Search Mode is initiated if certain conditions are met, such as:
      • If a guard discovers a suspicious object, such as a broken window or camera, or an unbroken Throwing Knife that has not been picked up by a masked player.
      • If a player flips the wrong colored switch in No Rest For The Wicked and Rock The Cradle.
      • If a guard cannot locate an unmasked player that has been caught by a camera in a Private Area.
      • If a guard's radio is hacked as a distraction while attempting to detain an unmasked player.
      • If an unmasked player is successfully cuffed by a guard.
    • During this phase, guards enter a heightened state where they are more alert and will pause less in between rounds. Guards will also proceed to adopt alternative patrol routes around the map.
    • Any unmasked players caught by guards in Private Areas during Search Mode will immediately be detained. However, Public Areas still provide safety from detection.
    • Once Search Mode has been initiated, it will remain in place for the rest of the heist or until the alarm is raised.


Players have the option of disposing guards by either shooting them or performing a takedown. Takedowns can only be performed on unaware guards, where the player sneaks up from behind to grab them as a human shield. The player then has the option to choke out the guard and immediately start carrying their body. Once a guard has been grabbed or is killed by any means, their pager will sound after a few seconds. The player will then be able to answer the pager, either while the body is on the floor or is being carried.

If a guard detects a fully masked player or if an unmasked player attempts to avoid being detained, they will immediate draw their firearm and shoot to kill. If the player runs out of sight, they will proceed to call the operator to raise the alarm. To prevent the alarm from being raised, players will need to dispose of an alerted guard quickly.

Aside from masked players, guards will become alerted and raise the alarm if they detect any of the following, regardless if Search Mode was initiated or not:

  • Gunfire
  • Explosions
  • Dead Bodies
  • Tied Civilians
  • Illegal Equipment

Once the alarm is raised, all guards will draw their weapons and start hunting down players. However after a certain amount of time, they will surrender and are treated as civilians.

Pagers[]

A returning feature from PAYDAY 2 are security guard pagers, however they have been reworked to give the player a better opportunity to play around with eliminating guards.

  • When a pager is sounded, the player has a couple of seconds to answer the operator in order to avoid consequences.
  • Successfully answering a pager will reduce the amount of available pagers by 1
  • Failing to answer a pager will reduce the amount of available pagers by 2, and a nearby guard is sent to investigate.
  • If the player has 1 pager remaining, the next unanswered pager will cause Search Mode to be initiated.
  • If the player has 0 pagers remaining, the next answered/unanswered pager will cause Search Mode to be initiated.
  • If the player has 0 pagers remaining and Search Mode is active, the next answered/unanswered pager will raise the alarm.
  • Players have a different amount of available pagers depending on the difficulty of the heist.
    • Normal & Hard - 4 available pagers
    • Very Hard - 3 available pagers
    • Overkill - 2 available pagers
  • The operator will only sound a killed guard's pager once and won't page them again for the rest of the heist. The only exception is if the Head Guard was killed, in which case the operator will sound their pager endlessly around every minute or two before inevitably sounding the alarm.

Security Modifiers[]

New to the series are Security Modifiers, which alter stealth gameplay in some manner on higher difficulties. One Security Modifier is added on Very Hard difficulty, and two are added on Overkill.

  • Cerberus Core: Hack runtimes are reset after 5 seconds.
  • Head Guard: A lead guard with endless radio spawns.
    • The Head Guard is identifiable by them wearing some kind of hat and having a visible radio on their shoulder.
    • This guard follows a wider patrol range than a normal guard.
    • If a player winds up killing them, then the head guard's pager will periodically go off around every minute. As such, it is strongly recommended to avoid alerting them.
  • Titan Cameras: All security cameras are indestructible.

Trivia[]

24240 screenshots 2013-07-17 00002

Example of a "floating" civilian.

  • When using the cable ties in both games, they are not visible in 3rd person, yet the person tied has their hands close together.
  • Civilians may sometimes clip into level geometry or "float" on top of objects when bound by cable ties. These may obstruct vision and pose accidental hazards to the crew as they can still be shot as usual.
  • If the player leaves casing mode around guards or civilians, there will be a brief period of slow motion to allow them to react. This does not occur when masking up around cameras, though, so beware.
2014-11-04 00001

The Titan "SecuriCam's" specs.

  • If a player were to look at the Titan Camera's inside closely, they could see above the camera part a text that says "I can see you" in newspaper-title text. Another piece of text on it says "Suck It."
  • The GenSec Titan Cameras are apparently bulletproof, "grenade-proof", "saw-proof", and shock-proof, as seen on their undersides.
  • The camera feed always displays the player's current system time, which can sometimes cause issues such as "8:00" being displayed in a night-time heist.
Casingmodebag

Example of a player carrying a bag in casing mode.

  • It was possible, due to a glitch in the earlier versions of the game, that a player could carry a bag in casing mode. The bag would rarely transfer to another heist if the player escaped while carrying it. Strangely, it was only able to be seen by other people, not the actual player carrying it.
  • Somewhat oddly, shining a light or turning on a laser sight will not alert civilians and security guards, even if aimed in their direction.
    • NPCs will not be suspicious upon seeing certain "disturbances". For instance, bank employees are unfazed if they see an opened vault door and civilians will not be alerted if a security camera is destroyed in their viscinity.
    • Security guards will not investigate the crew's escape/loot vehicles despite them being parked nearby (or in) highly restricted areas. However, in Hoxton Revenge, the outside guards may come near the vehicle to patrol.
  • Although heisters can stay in stealth mode in Counterfeit and Undercover in their remake versions, the heists will automatically go loud after a set time and thus, cannot be completed in stealth.

External Links[]

References[]



Gameplay • Heists • Skills & Perk Decks • Weapons & Equipment • DLC

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