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![Payday 2: [TOP 5] Best Tank Builds](https://gamingreaper.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Payday-2-Tips-758x426.jpg)
Payday 2 is a game that is heavily focused on different builds in order to deal with various scenarios. One of the most important and useful builds to have in your Payday 2 team is the tank build. This build is important if you expect to tank damage and survive against waves of enemies while still managing to complete objectives.
Table of Contents
- Build 1: Tank – Armor Build (skills, perks, weapons)
- Build 2: Tank and LMG Build
- Build 3: Shotgun Armorer (fluid build)
- Build 4: Loud and In Charge
- Build 5: The Hulk
- Final Note
There are many ways to go about making a tank build and with the choice of perks, weapons, and skills that you can have, it makes it very hard to come up with builds that are effective in both single-player and multiplayer. The 5 builds down below are for that purpose alone. To give you builds that will function as a tank in every scenario and make you nearly indestructible.
If the tank build is not your play style, check out our stealth builds and shotgun builds for Payday 2 gameplay!
Build 1: Tank – Armor Build (skills, perks, weapons)
This build is the beefiest of them all because it allows you to go around blasting everyone without taking much damage at all. If you are looking for a build that ensures that you stay alive the longest and help your team with tank capabilities then this is the build for you. The first thing that we are going to look at is the skill trees.
Skill Trees for the Tank Build
| Mastermind Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Controller | Forced Friendship |
| Sharpshooter | Stable Sho |
| Sharpshooter | Rifleman |
| Sharpshooter | Aggressive Reload |
For this skill tree, you are going to completely ignore the Medic branch because there is nothing that really contributes to you being a tank and it takes away from other better skills that you can have on.
In the Controller branch, on the other hand, you should invest in the Forced Friendship perk which allows you to carry more zip ties so that you can tie up more people and ensure that every situation remains under control.
In the Sharpshooter branch, there are a few perks that you should definitely grab if you want to be an effective tank. These perks are Stable Shot, Rifleman, Aggressive Reload. You will also want to Ace Aggressive Reload so that you can have greater accuracy with the weapons that you use and can get a faster reload speed when you get headshots with weapons in a single fire.
| Enforcer Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Shotgunner | Underdog |
| Armorer | Resilience |
| Armorer | Die Hard |
| Armorer | Bullseye |
| Armorer | Iron Man |
| Ammo Specialist | Scavenger |
| Ammo Specialist | Bulletstorm |
| Ammo Specialist | Extra Lead |
| Ammo Specialist | Fully Loaded perk |
This skill tree is the one where you are going to want to put most of your points in. The first branch is the Shotgunner and you should invest a single point in the Underdog perk so that you deal more damage when enemies are nearby.
The second branch is going to be the most important one out of all the ones that you put on, the Armorer. The first perk that you want in this branch is called Resilience and you will want to Ace it so that you can recover armor faster and reduce the effectiveness of flashbangs used against you. You should then grab Die Hard and Ace it.
This will allow you to take less damage when doing things like fixing the drill and will also increase the armor value of Ballistic vests by 20.
Keeping in the same branch, you will also need to get Bullseye and Ace it so that every headshot that you get gives you back a lot of armor. Then you should move on to the Iron Man perk and Acing it will allow you to wear the Combined Tactical Vest which is an absolute godsend for difficult heists.
The Ammo Specialist branch is also one that you are going to want to invest heavily in as that will give you a lot of good support and make it so that your team can rely on you as the tank. You should get the Scavenger perk and Ace it so that you can regularly get Ammo Drops from enemies.
You should also get both Bulletstorm and Extra Lead and Ace them as well. This will allow you and your team to get more ammo and spend less of it immediately after replenishing.
You should finish off this tree by Acing the Fully Loaded perk so that you can get even more ammo, and get more out of the ammo boxes that you put down.
| Technician Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Breacher | Hardware Expert |
| Oppressor | Steady Grip |
| Oppressor | Surefire |
You aren’t going to invest much in the Technician skill tree so you will mainly want to focus on the Breacher and Oppressor branches. From the Breacher branch, you should pick up a Hardware Expert. From the Oppressor branch, you should get an Ace the Steady Grip perk. You should also get Surefire just so you have more bullets to go around.
| Ghost Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Artful Dodger | Duck and Cover |
| Artful Dodger | Pockets |
| Artful Dodger | Parkour |
| Artful Dodger | Shockproof |
| Silent Killer | Second Wind |
| Silent Killer | Optical Illusions |
The ghost skill tree has some good perks that you need to grab in order to make sure that you take less damage from attacks and aren’t bogged down by stuns. From the Artful Dodger branch, you should get Duck and Cover and Ace both Inner Pockets and Parkour. You should also grab Shockproof just to have some protection against tasers.
From the Silent Killer branch, you should just grab Second Wind and Optical Illusions.
| Fugitive Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Revenant | Nine Lives |
| Revenant | Ace Up You Go |
| Brawler | Martial Arts |
| Brawler | Bloodthirst |
| Brawler | Berserker |
From the Fugitive skill tree you should get Nine Lives and Ace Up You Go from the Revenant branch. From the Brawler branch, you should just get Martial Arts, Bloodthirst, and Berserker. That should round out all the skills that you need to get for this build.
Gear and Perk Deck
Primary: Blackmarket: M308 Rifle
Secondary: Blackmarket: China Puff 40mm Grenade Launcher
Throwable: Concussion Grenade
Equipment: Ammo Bag
Armor: Improved Combined Tactical Vest
Perk Deck: Muscle
Build 2: Tank and LMG Build
This build is a lot different from the other one as it focuses more on damage than tanking although you can still take a lot of hits. Just make sure to take cover with this one as it will allow you to stay alive much more easily.
Skill Trees for the Tank and LMG Build
Here are all the skills that you are going to need for this build.
| Mastermind Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Medic | Combat Medic |
| Medic | Quick Fix |
| Medic | Painkillers |
| Medic | Combat Doctor |
| Medic | Inspire |
| Sharpshooter | Stable Shot |
For the Medic branch, you need to grab Combat Medic and Quick Fix. You will also need to grab Ace Painkillers, Combat Doctor, and Inspire. These skills are going to be necessary for higher difficulties and will make you a good part of any team that you are in.
You don’t need to get anything from the Controller branch but you do need to get Stable Shot from the Sharpshooter branch just so that your weapons can be a lot more stable and you don’t miss as much.
| Enforcer Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Shotgunner | Underdog |
| Armorer | Resilience |
| Armorer | Transporter |
| Armorer | Bullseye |
| Armorer | Iron Man |
| Ammo Specialist | Scavenger |
For the Enforcer skill tree, you are going to get just one skill in the Shotgunner branch which is Underdog. It will help you out with crowded situations so that you can hold your own. In the Tank branch, however, you are going to get Resilience, Transporter, Bullseye, and Iron Man.
You should also Ace all four of these skills so that you can take more hits, gain more mobility, and make sure that you are able to deal with any situation that comes your way.
You should also invest some points in the Ammo Specialist branch and get Scavenger. It will help you to keep up your ammo count and ensure that you never run out of bullets.
| Technician Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Breacher | Hardware Expert |
| Breacher | Drill Sergeant |
| Oppressor | Steady Grip |
| Oppressor | Fire Control |
| Oppressor | Lock N’ Load |
You don’t need to put any points in the Engineer branch of this skill tree. You should, however, put points in the Breacher branch and get a Hardware Expert and Drill Sergeant. This will help you make drilling less painful. In the Oppressor branch, you should get an Ace Steady Grip, Fire Control, and Lock N’ Load.
These 3 skills are going to help your aim and accuracy, and ensure that you don’t get penalized much when firing when moving.
| Ghost Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Artful Dodger | Duck and Cover |
| Artful Dodger | Parkour |
| Silent Killer | Second Wind |
| Silent Killer | Optical Illusions |
| Silent Killer | The Professional |
In the Ghost skill tree, you can ignore the Shinobi branch as it really doesn’t have anything for tanks. The Artful Dodger, on the other hand, has some skills that you should grab. The first is Duck and Cover and the second is Parkour so that you have additional movement in order to dodge attacks and stay away from danger.
The Silent Killer branch is one that you will want to invest in as that will help you remain undetected for as long as possible. The perks that you are going to want to get are Second Wind, Optical Illusions, and The Professional. You should also Ace The Professional so that your silencer is likely to be detected.
| Fugitive Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Revenant | Up You Go |
| Revenant | Nine Lives |
| Revenant | Swan Song |
| Brawler | Martial Arts |
From the Fugitive skill tree, you can ignore the Gunslinger branch. In the Revenant branch, you should get Up You Go, and get and Ace Nine Lives and Swan Song. In the Brawler branch, you should just get Martial Arts.
Gear and Perk Deck
Primary: Any LMG although Brenner or Buzzsaw are recommended
Secondary: Krinkov (Any SMG with good range should do)
Throwable: Concussion Grenade
Equipment: Electric Brass Knuckles
Armor: Improved Combined Tactical Vest
Perk Deck: Anarchist
The builds mentioned above are best used as they are because they have been tried and tested to ensure the best results in every situation. The rest of the builds listed below are more fluid as they allow players to mix and match skills, weapons, and equipment so that they can land on something that suits their playing style.
Build 3: Shotgun Armorer (fluid build)
This build is focused on being up close and personal with the enemy while still tanking through an insane amount of damage.
Skill Trees for the Shotgun Armorer
Here are all the skills that you will need for shotgun armorer build.
There are some general skills in the Mastermind skill tree that are good for all players. You should pick these skills according to your playstyle but if you want to be a tank for your team then you should focus on skills that help draw fire and ensure that you can revive teammates as easily as possible.
The Enforcer skill is the one skill tree that you want to heavily invest in. You should get as many perks as you can in both Shotgunner and Tank as this build relies heavily on them. You can also spec into a little bit of Ammo Specialist but that can be overcome with other teammates acting as a support.
If you have spare skill points then you can dump them into some helpful Technician skills although the choice is yours.
Ghost and Fugitive Skill Trees are other skill trees you should look at. These skills only require one point in them each. You should get Artful Dodger and Martial Arts so that you can stay alive longer and can have more mobility.
Gear and Perk Deck
Primary: Akimbo Goliath Shotguns
Secondary: Goliath Shotgun
Throwable: Incendiary Grenade
Equipment: Doctor Bags
Armor: Improved Combined Tactical Vest
Perk Deck: Armorer
Build 4: Loud and In Charge
The skills for this build are easy to manage and will beef you up without a doubt.
Skill Trees for Loud and In Charge
Following are all the skills that you will need for loud and in charge.
| Enforcer Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Shotgunner | Underdog (Ace) |
| Tank | Resilience (Ace) |
| Tank | Transporter |
| Tank | Bullseye (Ace) |
| Tank | Iron Man (Ace) |
| Ammo Specialist | Scavenger (Ace) |
| Ammo Specialist | Bulletstorm (Ace) |
| Ammo Specialist | Extra Lead (Ace) |
| Ammo Specialist | Fully Loaded (Ace) |
| Technician Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Oppressor | Steady Grip (Ace) |
| Oppressor | Fire Control (Ace) |
| Oppressor | Surefire (Ace) |
| Oppressor | Body Expertise (Ace) |
| Fugitive Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Revenant | Nine Lives (Ace) |
| Revenant | Up You Go (Ace) |
| Revenant | Swan Song (Ace) |
| Revenant | Messiah |
Gear and Perk Deck
Primary: You can use any rapid-firing ranged weapons like an LMG or an Assault Rifle
Secondary: Any SMG with good range or a good shotgun like Goliath
Throwable: Concussion Grenade
Equipment: Ammo Bag
Armor: Improved Combined Tactical Vest
Perk Deck: Muscle
Build 5: The Hulk
This build is heavily focused on tanking damage for your team and completing objectives while under fire.
Skill Trees of the Hulk Build
Here are all the skills that you will need.
| Mastermind Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Medic | Combat Medic |
| Medic | Quick Fix (Ace) |
| Medic | Uppers (Ace) |
| Medic | Inspire (Ace) |
| Controller | Forced Friendship |
| Controller | Joker (Ace) |
| Controller | Partners in Crime (Ace) |
| Controller | Hostage Taker (Ace) |
| Enforcer Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Tank | Resilience (Ace) |
| Tank | Die Hard |
| Tank | Transporter |
| Tank | Shock and Awe (Ace) |
| Tank | Iron man (Ace) |
| Technician Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Oppressor | Steady Grip (Ace) |
| Oppressor | Lock N’ Load |
| Oppressor | Surefire (Ace) |
| Oppressor | Body Expertise |
| Ghost Skill Tree | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Perk |
| Artful Dodger | Duck and Cover |
| Artful Dodger | Parkour (Ace) |
Gear and Perk Deck
Primary: Any Assault Rifle with high damage and a good range
Secondary: Any good range SMG to take advantage of skills.
Throwable: Stoic’s Hip Flask
Equipment: Trip Mines and Shaped Charges
Armor: Improved Combined Tactical Vest
Perk Deck: Stoic
Final Note
The best thing about Payday 2 is that you can mix and match stuff according to how you play the game. That means that each of these skills, weapons, and gear can be changed according to your specifications so feel free to custom tailor and fine-tune them according to your needs.
