Template:Infobox special unit
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These guys are not technical warriors of the modern war on crime. They're big, they're armored, and they're armed with Reinfeld 880's. It all just means that when these guys come onto the field you work together to bring them down fast or they will quickly down you.
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The Bulldozer is a special unit with extremely heavy armor, similar to that used by explosive ordnance disposal personnel. Similar to its previous counterpart, the Bulldozer is near-indestructible, possessing an inordinate amount of health and headshot immunity until its faceplates are destroyed. The outer faceplate has 150 health, and the inner visor possesses 160 health. Requiring excessive quantities of firepower to kill, the Bulldozer can inflict massive damage against heisters.
For Update #24, a new variation of the Bulldozer was introduced solely for the Death Wish difficulty. This variation has a digital camouflage uniform with a faceplate decorated with a skull. He wields a KSP capable of very high damage output.
Behavior
Template:Infobox special unit
- "Bulldozers are the heavy armor of the SWAT. They wear military-grade para-aramid suits common to bomb disposal squads, making them capable of soaking up enormous amounts of damage. They can also pack serious firepower. Even the most regular ‘dozer carries a pump-action Reinfeld, while more advanced units carry semi-automatic shotguns.
My Notes: Application for this program has the highest percentage in the force, but acceptance is the lowest. That tells me a lot - everyone wants to be a dozer, but very few meet the requirements. Physically huge, and they need to be able to move around in that suit of armor. They're the toughest line we can draw." - —FBI Files Description
From left to right: A Black IZHMA 12G Bulldozer, a KSP Skulldozer, a Reinfield 880 Green Bulldozer.
Unlike PAYDAY: The Heist, Bulldozers hesitate to engage in a firefight immediately. Upon deployment, they will approach a player, attack, and camp around the last location the player was seen. This grants the player a short moment to take cover or run around a corner to reload, heal, and regroup with others. Bulldozers usually tend to alternate between aggressive, close-quartered engagements and defensive tactical withdrawal. However, they have been known to aggressively rush the player until they're taken down. They are especially dangerous in pairs, and frequently spawn in pairs on higher difficulties, occasionally even threes on Death Wish, with a maximum of four possible active bulldozers on a map at any given time. This limit can be exceeded through scripted event spawns on several heists, including the Transport heists, Hoxton Breakout, and others.
Like all specials, they have their own set of tells or warning signs; the Bulldozers have a loud, energetic voice, and love to taunt players while engaging or incapacitating them. Even if you can't make out what they're actually saying, alert players should keep an ear open at all times anyway. For a complete list of their quotes, refer to this video link. They also have unique, heavy footstep sounds, though these can be hard to hear over general combat sound. Finally, Bulldozers have one unique indicator of their presence that no other unit possesses; when caught in the radius of an explosive, there will be a loud metallic clanging sound.
Because of their unpredictable behavior and immense health, Bulldozers can be challenging to even the most experienced of players. They may suddenly break off an engagement and hide around a corner, or stand around in the open doing nothing before suddenly charging.
As of the Housewarming Party event, Bulldozers have gained an immunity to stun effects and fire, and can sprint after nearby heisters while firing at them.
Variants
Currently there are eight different variants of the Bulldozer, six of which are encountered during normal gameplay. Each is more dangerous than the last. One can distinguish between different types of Bulldozer depending on the suit. If a Bulldozer has a green suit, he uses a Reinfeld 880 shotgun. If he has black armor, then he is equipped with a IZHMA 12G. Digital camo and a skull decal on the faceplate indicates a KSP wielding Skulldozer. Each variant of the Zeal-force Bulldozer uses a Reinfeld 880
Green Bulldozer
Wielding a Reinfeld 880 pump action shotgun, these behemoths are the most basic and form the staple of the Bulldozer. They are worthy opponents but also the weakest Bulldozer variant, especially due to the Reinfeld's long reload time, which leaves the user open to counterattacks. Green Bulldozers are the most damaging of the two basic types on a shot per shot basis as their Reinfeld is very powerful, but this damage is balanced out by the weapon's low rate of fire and short effective range.
There is a 50% chance that a spawned Bulldozer will be a Green Bulldozer on Overkill and below. The Green Bulldozer also appears on Death Wish mode as a rare and/or map-specific spawn during special scripted events.
On higher difficulties, Green Bulldozers may spawn with the same gorget as seen on the Black variant, though it will be coloured green to match the rest of their suit.
Black Bulldozer
Also known as the "Saiga Dozer" , the Black Bulldozer wields an IZHMA 12G semi-automatic shotgun instead of a Reinfeld 880 pump-action shotgun. These Bulldozers are more dangerous than the more common green variant and can easily pin down heisters thanks to their range and firepower. Despite common misconceptions, however, this variant has no more health than a regular green Bulldozer. The Black variant also possesses a rather pronounced neck gorget that can be damaged and knocked off; it does not provide a significant defensive advantage, but may make their visors slightly harder to hit from the side and flank. Compared to Green Bulldozers, the Black variant has slightly less firepower - but a much greater ammo capacity and much higher rate of fire, faster reload speed, and greater effectiveness over long range.
There is a 50% chance for a spawned Bulldozer to be a Black Bulldozer on all difficulties.
- "The Skulldozer is an elite unit that the MPD sometimes contracts from GenSec, and represents the toughest asset that can be legally deployed. The armor utilizes GenSec’s cutting edge alloy, Vivinite, and these men carry KSP light machineguns. This gives them incredible durability and also a devastating attack - all in all, a highly effective assault unit.
My Notes: These guys….I first saw them deployed in Boston. I’m still not even sure they’re fully human. Part of the GenSec specials we sometimes call in. When I see the size of these operatives, and the devastation they leave behind, I wonder if we’re letting GenSec test-drive some new piece of drug-enhanced cyber-warrior. I’m damn glad they’re on our side. Hell, I almost feel sorry for the clowns when this guy gets on the scene." - —FBI Files Description.
Skulldozer
Also known as the "Elite Bulldozer" or the "GenSec-Dozer", it is the single most devastating non-map specific police unit in the game; it brandishes a KSP light machine gun and is clad in urban camo armor. They have incredible health due to the difficulty setting and can down a heister in seconds with sustained LMG fire. They also boast a generous ammo capacity, but fortunately, this is compensated for with a sluggish reload time.
The "Skulldozer" (so named for the decal on his faceplate) is truly a force to be reckoned with. Cover and/or a significant range advantage is highly recommended when dealing with these enemies as their KSP light machine guns are capable of dealing tremendous amounts of damage at close range. Skulldozers also tend to deploy in pairs, doubling the threat.
Although the Skulldozer is a formidable opponent on the battlefield and a force to be reckoned with, players should also be advised not to overestimate the threat they represent. Their KSP's huge magazine and rapid-fire capability are offset by the weapon's lengthy reload time, which is the perfect opportunity for heisters to pop out of cover and take him down, as Skulldozers will not attack and will remain stationary while reloading. It is worthy to remember that, because of Death Wish's difficulty tweaks, getting the dozer to actually empty his KSP is a very tough and even suicidal maneuver. With an ammo count of 255 rounds and a chance of spawning in pairs, they will almost always have enough ammo to take the entire crew down.
High-caliber weapons like the Thanatos .50 cal rifle and the Desert Eagle pistol will bring down Skulldozers quicky. The former will drop the juggernaut in three shots to the faceplate or four shots to the body, making this an extremely useful weapon in Death Wish heists.
The Skulldozer only appears on Death Wish difficulty, alongside the GenSec Elite SWAT Team. There is a 50% chance that a Bulldozer spawned on the Death Wish difficulty will be a Skulldozer. These units formerly spawned on Overkill difficulty as a map-specific spawn in the Hoxton Breakout heist but the spawn has since been replaced by the Black variant.
Skulldozers will use the health and headshot multipliers of regular Bulldozer variants if they are ever spawned on Overkill or below, but with the removal of the special spawn noted above, this can only occur if they are manually spawned using modifications.
The Zeal-force Bulldozer, or "Zealdozer" for short, is the Department of Homeland Security's answer to the FBI's Skulldozer, sporting slightly different armor platings and all 3 variants carry a Reinfeld 880.
These units only appear on the new One Down difficulty setting alongside other Zeal-force combatants.
Headless Bulldozer
A headless variant of the Bulldozer appears exclusively during the 2013 Halloween event. The Headless Bulldozer looks similar to the Black Bulldozer and uses the same IZHMA 12G shotgun. The Headless Bulldozer varies from the Black Bulldozer in that his head is absent, leaving an exposed neck stump, and he carries a sword on his back.
The Headless Bulldozer was much harder to kill because his head was removed, making him immune to headshots. However, his health remains the same as the normal Black Bulldozer.
The Headless Bulldozer appeared during the 2013 Halloween event, replacing the normal Black Bulldozers. They were the sole law enforcement opponents in the 2013 Safe House Nightmare Halloween special.
This model appearance is no longer available due to the 2013 Halloween event having finished.
Titandozer
The Headless Titandozer From Hell was announced on October 28th, 2014, as a new enemy to be introduced in the 2014 Halloween Event. He is essentially a white-armoured Headless Bulldozer, but wears a heavy, FBI-variant Shield on his back instead of a sword. Though shown wielding a giant hammer made using Titan safes in the promotional art, the in-game weapon is significantly smaller in size and is not actively wielded, only used as a melee weapon.
Like the Skulldozer, he wields a KSP LMG. He is also the toughest variant yet. He is immune to conventional weaponry from behind thanks to his shield, though weapons like Sniper Rifles that can normally penetrate shields can still deal damage. He is also virtually immune to head shots due to lacking a head; however, he does have a headshot multiplier, which can only be activated by striking a tiny, needle-in-a-haystack spinal cord/neck stump.
A new Russian variant of the Bulldozer can be encountered during the Boiling Point heist. They are virtually identical to their American brethren in all aspects save for appearance. Russian Bulldozers are clad in Spetsnaz EOD armors and their equivalent of the Skulldozer has an RPK.
Damage Output
The following table details damage dealt by the three core 'types' of Bulldozer over various ranges. Death Wish damage values are given in parentheses (curved brackets) where appropriate.
| Bulldozer Damage Output | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | 0-1m | 1-5m | 5-10m | 10-20m | 20-30m | ||||
| Green (Reinfeld 880) | 455 (630) | 315 (560) | 140 (490) | 70 (70?) | 28 (28?) | ||||
| Black/Headless (IZHMA 12G) | 150 (400) | 87.5 (375) | 75 (350) | 62.5 (250) | 50 (175) | ||||
| Skull/Headless Titan (KSP) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | ||||
It is important to note that whilst these damage numbers are very high, the Bulldozer is - like every enemy except the Sniper - incapable of breaking through player armour in a single attack. For instance, against a player wearing a suit that offers only 20 points of protection, a single shot from a Green Bulldozer at 8 meters still deals only 20 damage, with the remaining 120 being wasted.
Also note that these are only for their ranged weapon attacks, and do not count their close combat punch attack (or hammer attack, in the case of the Headless Titandozer).
General strategy
Though it looks sturdy and bullet-proof at first glance, the EOD suit worn by Bulldozers can be penetrated and damaged by gunfire (unlike the Maximum Force Responder's vest). However, under most circumstances this is not a terribly effective way to attack a Bulldozer due their extremely high health (used to reflect the extremely resilient nature of their armor); see below for some circumstances where this strategy can work.
Treat the Bulldozer like a beefed-up Maximum Force Responder, in that the faceplate should be the most common point of attack; once shot off it allows you to take advantage of the Bulldozer's substantial headshot damage multiplier. After a Bulldozer is spotted, players should concentrate fire on the faceplate and attack one Bulldozer at a time, if possible. Termination of a Bulldozer is much easier with teamwork. Additionally, explosive weapons like grenade launchers or weapons loaded with explosive ammunition will stun Bulldozers and rapidly strip off their armor. However, their Halloween counterpart, the Headless Bulldozer, lacks the head hitbox. This forces the crew to shoot their durable armor (or use trip mines or other explosives). Keep in mind that a Bulldozer's head health is only slightly higher than that of a Taser.
Bulldozers have four visual appearances which can tell you at a glance how close they are to going down. They start with a solid black face-shield covering their faceplate. When it gets shot off, the suit's transparent faceplate is exposed. After taking enough damage, the clear faceplate cracks. Taking more damage will shatter it, exposing the Bulldozer's now-defenseless face, at which point hits to the head will quickly kill it. Each change seems to correspond to ~25% of a Bulldozer's overall durability. It should be noted that Bulldozers can be killed with body shots, but given that they possess 5500 health (9350 on Deathwish), this should only be attempted with high damage weapons, like the Thanatos .50 cal rifle or the HRL-7 Rocket Launcher. Any weapon paired with the Fugitive's Low Blow skill can deal critical hits, which will provide sufficient damage to kill a Bulldozer with body shots. However, the most efficient method to kill a Bulldozer is still to aim for its face-shield and faceplate, as detailed above.
Bulldozers are surprisingly fast despite their heavy EOD suits, and can easily keep up with an escaping heister while gunning him down with heavy firepower. They can even jump 10 feet high to climb walls and surprise heisters by appearing suddenly from a window on the second floor of a building. Be aware of Bulldozers rappelling in from windows or dropping through skylights. It is commonly advised to gang up on a lone Bulldozer to confuse him over which target to pursue, as he only pursues the nearest player; the Bulldozer may break pursuit if someone else attracts his ire. However, caution should also be used if attempting to surround and confuse a Bulldozer, as making him constantly change direction will make it difficult to land any shots on his faceplate. Keep your distance, as a weapon-butt melee attack from a Bulldozer can down you instantly.
Bulldozers occasionally team up with shields, though in most cases by accident, this allows bulldozers to fire shotguns and light machine guns without having to worry about any player resistance. The police, special enemies and A.I. in general, do not deal any team damage, which makes a Shield-Bulldozer attack all the more deadly.
Akimbo
Akimbo weapons on their own are relatively ill-advised to wield against Bulldozers due to their low damage. With the proper builds (most usually a Fugitive-Rogue dodge build and a few higher up Mastermind pistol skills), though, one player with a Detection Risk value of 5 wielding two pistols can take down a Skulldozer alone, with most of the shots dealing critical damage in the thousands.[1]
Assault rifles
Because of their versatility, assault rifles are reasonably effective against Bulldozers at all ranges, although their generally-mediocre damage per second ratings can make them somewhat less effective at close range (but see below for exceptions).
The range of engagement largely dictates firing mode and tactics - at longer ranges, all rifles are best off using precise semi-automatic fire or short bursts (depending on recoil), with modifications and skills being less of a factor. In closer engagements, tactics will be dictated more by the specific weapon in question and the user's individual skills. Lower-powered rifles may wish to stick to firing bursts from cover (unless they have particularly high rates of fire) or let another teammate finish the job. Higher powered rifles, on the other hand, can engage cautiously or recklessly depending on user preference - though risky, treating the rifle like an LMG and going for a point-blank kill can end a Bulldozer's rampage swiftly and effectively. For obvious reasons, this tactic should only be used against Green or Black Bulldozers - the GenSec Elite Bulldozer is best engaged from as far away as possible.
Notably, there are seven main exceptions to the mediocre DPS situation that most assault rifles find themselves mired in; the M308, the Eagle Heavy, the Falcon, the Gewehr 3, the AMR-16, the Lion's Roar, and the Clarion are all particularly devastating against Bulldozers; any one of them can easily kill one of the basic types of Bulldozer within the space of 1-2 magazines depending on user skills and weapon modifications. On top of this, they remain very effective against Bulldozers at longer ranges if used in a high-accuracy configuration, and are all effective at dispatching the tougher opponents faced on Overkill (such as Maximum Force Responders and other special enemies).
The CAR-4, Gecko 7.62, and Clarion also deserve special mention; all can attain quite respectable damage levels. The CAR-4's low fire rate can be a liability, but also means that its recoil is easy to compensate for, whilst the Gecko has a much higher rate of fire and thus may prove more effective. Magazine capacity is also very valuable as a distraction with weaker assault rifles. Finally, the Clarion's 1000 RPM allows close-range mag-dumping; whilst this may require skills to increase the weapon's stability (as it has few mods that help in that regard), the sheer rate of fire allows the magazine to be emptied in record time - which can very easily wreck a Bulldozer thanks to the Clarion's ability to also reach 40+ damage.
Some players may rush up to a distracted bulldozer and unleash a barrage of bullets at the metal platings. This suicidal tactic is not a stranger to "high-risk, high reward" scenario but if done right, it can eliminate a bulldozer very quickly without too much trouble.
Explosive Weapons
Grenade launcher
Whilst it can be a somewhat challenging target to hit with a slow, physical projectile (compared to the 'hitscan' mechanics of the other ballistic weapons), the GL 40 or Piglet can prove devastatingly effective against Bulldozers. The explosive area of effect almost guarantees that the faceplate will be destroyed, and the explosive rounds are capable of knocking off around a third of their health in one hit. Two grenades on Overkill and below are enough to completely remove both visors of a Bulldozer.
Frag grenades
After the One Down update, Bulldozers can no longer be stunned by grenades. However, this doesn't mean that frag grenades are now obsolete against them as their explosions may still cause enough damage to knock off their face plates. Take special caution with frag grenades, as their large area splash damage in missions like Bank Heist and Diamond Store can prove counter productive, owing to the fact that dispatching substantial hordes of civilians may increase police activity and the amount of specials that spawn.
Shotgun HE rounds
Similar to grenades above, shotgun HE rounds are somewhat poor for actually dealing damage to a Bulldozer, but can very easily remove the Bulldozer's faceplates, even with mediocre aim, but other weapons are recommended to land the killing headshots.
HRL-7
There isn't much strategy involved when a Bulldozer meets the HRL-7. Aim for the center of mass for the best result as the HRL-7's raw damage alone is enough to kill up to a Skulldozer in a single shot.
This is easily the best way to take out any Bulldozer as it'll only take one shot, though carrying the HRL means the player is denied of a capable secondary to back them up in the event of their primary weapon running dry. The large blast radius is also a concern as it runs the risk of self harm and/or friendly fire, exacerbated by the launcher's huge damage. Finally, as it does not replenish ammo via pickups, an ammo bag will always be a necessity.
The splash radius, however, can also be used to eliminate nearby enemies. On Death Wish, Bulldozers are likely to be accompanied with at least one Shield unit which are significantly dangerous threats as they can cover their allies.
Fire Weapons
While Flamethrowers and Molotov Cocktails aren't terribly damaging, the flame patches they create can stun-lock a Bulldozer in place, rendering him harmless. Toss a Molotov Cocktail or spray the Flamethrower in the path of a Bulldozer and he will be unable to move or attack once the fire caught, thus leaving him open to shots while suffering from continuous burn damage. Because of this, players with these two weapons are best suited for support roles, slowing or locking the Bulldozer down entirely for the rest of the crew to pound him into submission.
Do note that, however, the Flamethrower's afterburn will only slow the special unit down rather than locking him into place, so constant burning must be guaranteed for this tactic to work.
Light machine guns
Light machine guns mostly share the same traits with large magazine and high fire rate submachine guns when used against Bulldozers, although light machine guns are further handicapped by high recoil and slow reload speed. As such, player will need to take full advantage of light machine guns' high damage per second ratings by charging into close range and quickly shredding through Bulldozer's faceplate before being forced to reload. The Buzzsaw 42 is the most effective at taking out Bulldozers, thanks to its extreme fire rate of 1200, and decent damage. With the addition of Bipods, it is possible to dispatch a Bulldozer at range, though accuracy mods are recommended if you are attempting this.
Pistols
The Deagle and Bronco .44 are all very effective against the Bulldozer at long range, as they are highly accurate and deal some of the highest damage per shot out of all weapons in Payday 2. It is inadvisable to use these weapons against Bulldozers at close range due to their low fire rate and small magazine size. At closer ranges, pistols with a higher rate of fire can be used to effectively kill bulldozers.
The Low Blow skill works especially well with pistols because their reasonable concealment, accuracy, and rate of fire allow for frequent and accurate critical hits. Even critical bodyshots will deal massive damage to a bulldozer, though headshots are ideal.
The STRYK 18c has the potential to unload a full magazine in under a second (with basic Equilibrium). With such a high rate of fire, this gun can be used to quickly shred through a Bulldozer's faceplates and land a fatal headshot. With Low Blow, even body shots will suffice as the sheer volume of bullets all but guarantees massively damaging critical hits.
The Peacemaker .45 deserves a special mention as, with a base damage of 151/shot (166 with Gunslinger Aced), it's a viable anti-Dozer weapon; provided you can surprise or outmanoeuvre him, it's possible to kill even an Overkill Dozer very easily with three quick shots to the face. Longer ranges are ill advised however, as the very high recoil and lack of mods means hip-firing can be unreliable beyond medium range.
Low caliber pistols without large magazine size and high fire rate are generally ineffective against the Bulldozer because of their short range and low damage per second, although weapon mods and skills such as Gunslinger or Equilibrium can easily counterbalance this.
Player Dozer
The common "Player Dozer" build is designed to beat Bulldozers at their own game, using a hybrid Enforcer/Technician build containing both offensive and defensive abilities specifically to counter the Bulldozer. Defensively, the Enforcer/Technician combination allows the player to take advantage of the Man of Iron and Bulletproof top-tier skills, granting a player over 270 points of armor, allowing them to take the straightforward approach of going face-to-face with a Bulldozer and kill it with repeated close-range shotgun headshots, capable of firing while sprinting on the approach (due to Man of Iron Ace) and sustaining fire due to Mag Plus. The Enforcer's shotgun skills provide the offensive firepower to down the Bulldozer rapidly. If desired, further benefits of the Enforcer's Overkill, Berserker, and Bullet Storm skills can be activated (by killing a nearby normal enemy, having lowered health prior to assaulting the dozer, and/or placing an ammo bag respectively), which massively increases the player's damage, easily shattering the Bulldozer's faceplate and killing it before it even manages to breach the player's thick armor. Additionally equipping and maxing out either the Muscle or Armorer perk deck provide substantial boosts to either health or armor depending on which one is equipped, further increasing the durability of this build.
Note that this tactic is not as effective in Death Wish difficulty as Bulldozers have massively increased health, deal greatly increased damage and are easily capable of shredding the player's armor and health in a few seconds at close range (particularly so with the Skulldozer variant). Unless the dozer is stunned or has his attention focused elsewhere, the player is very likely to be downed or have their health severely depleted while trying this tactic. Staying out in the open and going face-to-face with a Bulldozer is generally an easy way to get downed in Death Wish.
Shotguns
Even at shorter ranges (before the damage starts falling off at 9-12 meters), most shotguns are not terribly effective against Bulldozers due to their low damage per second ratings. This is compounded by the fact that all Bulldozer variants are very dangerous foes at close range. Most shotguns' low fire rate or low damage and small magazine size means the Bulldozer will usually out-shoot the player in a close range match. However, using the Enforcer's Shotgun Impact and Overkill skills can turn this around, either by increasing the damage of weaker shotguns (such as the IZHMA 12G or Street Sweeper) to more useful levels, or by increasing the damage of the slower-firing shotguns to the point they require only a single shot to break through the Bulldozer's faceplates.
Additionally, with the new enhanced ammunition from the Gage Shotgun Pack DLC, shotguns can now be made more effective against Bulldozers by using 000 Buckshot ammunition or slug ammunition to greatly boost their base damage. Combining this with the enforcer's aced Shotgun Impact skill allows players to easily shred through a Bulldozer's faceplate at close range. HE Rounds, as always, are a viable option to stun a Bulldozer or damage its armor.
The Street Sweeper with 000 Buckshot is extremely effective against Bulldozers thanks to its high capacity, rate of fire, and controllable recoil - even without Overkill active, it should possess just enough firepower to rapidly smash through the faceplate. If the entire drum can be landed on the dozer's faceplates, one or two more followup shots should be enough to finish them off.
A shotgun equipped with HE shells can be fired at the Bulldozer or underneath them, and the shot will stun the Bulldozer, as if a grenade went off by them. This can allow other players to quickly swarm and pelt the Bulldozer's faceplates without sustaining serious retaliation damage, provided the player with the HE Shotgun fires another shell at the Bulldozer once they recover from the previous shot. The Judge loaded with HE rounds is especially effective thanks to its high rate of fire and high per-shot damage, which enable it to expose a Bulldozer's head with just two quick shots (one to remove the faceplate, and one to shatter the visor) while simultaneously stunning him.
Slug ammunition is able to both damage the faceplate or visor and penetrate it, making possible to damage the Bulldozer's face without necessarily removing his face protection. Alternatively, it is possible to shoot through walls, thus not exposing yourself to the Bulldozer's fire, but there will be a damage reduction when shooting through walls.
Skills
The Bullet Storm skill, combined with an automatic weapon can quickly end a Bulldozer under nearly any circumstances. However, when employing this tactic, the player should make sure to have a fairly unobstructed view of the Bulldozer, and also plan ahead by not deploying the ammo bag in an inconvenient location. In addition to this, caution must be advised as close quarters encounters with Bulldozers can easily end in the heister's demise.
Additionally, the use of aced Swan Song with any high damage per second weapon allows players to, at the very least, take a significant chunk of health from Bulldozers. Since the aced perk grants nine seconds invulnerability and a bottomless magazine when health is empty, players can easily turn the tide by either: a) taking several risky shots and using the skill to retreat when dying; or b) suicide-rushing the Dozer, nullifying their massive damage whilst continuing to deal damage.
ECM Feedback
A timed ECM Feedback can disable a Bulldozer for much of the feedback's duration. While it will not remove the faceplate or crack the visor, the ECM feedback can disable a Bulldozer for about 20–30 seconds, not to mention any other nearby support it has (apart from cloakers). This gives players ample time to get up close and use whatever weapons or trip mines they have on the dozer with little fear of being downed.
Whilst quite effective, it should be noted that this is not a failsafe or foolproof disabling tactic, as the stun effect is not guaranteed to last for the full duration of the feedback loop.
Trip mines
Before Update #19, a single trip mine could instantly kill any Bulldozer within its blast radius. However, the update provided Bulldozers with a significant resistance to explosions, rendering trip mines less effective. Although, by carefully placing trip mines that they explode directly to a Bulldozer's head, they can still inflict massive damage that would deplete a large portion of their health or outright kill them after taking only a bit of damage. Trip mines will also stagger a Bulldozer for about 3 seconds regardless of where they hit, giving players a good window to deliver the killing blow or get away.
One way of using trip mines, specifically for anti-dozer duties instead of laying them as traps, is by sneaking to a dozer, planting a mine near him, and setting it off with gunfire the moment it's planted. Another particularly effective tactic is to plan a Bulldozer's path, lure him to your location, then plant a mine on his projected his path once he is near. Once placed, set it to sensor if he's a bit too far away and quickly shoot the mine to set it off, which will most likely kill or severely damage the dozer. In most cases, a single, close-range mine explosion is enough to kill or seriously wound a dozer (and remove his faceplate); so even if the mine does not kill him, you have a window of opportunity to kill the dozer easily.
Do note that in both tactics; the mine will do some damage to yourself and kill any other civilians nearby, so weigh the risks involved.
With the changes introduced by the Hoxton's Housewarming Party event, Bulldozers are now capable of sprinting, thus making trip mines less effective, especially if they have the Fire Trap ability. They can simply sprint through and avoid the fire in most cases.
Joker
Converted officers are unlikely to kill a Bulldozer. However, they are invaluable assets in distracting them, thus giving players a chance to eliminate Bulldozers or escape from them. However, it is imperative to gain skills to boost their health and damage otherwise, they may not be able to survive for a sufficient period due to Bulldozer's high damage output.
SMGs
Submachine guns with large magazine size and high fire rate (Mark 10, CMP, Kobus 90, SpecOps) can quickly shred through Bulldozer's faceplate in close range matches due to high damage per second ratings when compared with other weapons. However, this requires the player to have a steady aim during the engagement. High stability is ideal to improve aim. The high damage per second rating of these weapons can even allow players to kill Bulldozers with body shots in a reasonable amount of time if the player can maintain a steady ammo supply (such as when using the Bullet Storm skill) or can land critical hits using Low Blow.
Slower-firing and low-damage SMGs, such as the Compact-5, should be avoided.
Sniper rifles
Sniper rifles are ideal for dealing with Bulldozers at long range due to their accuracy and high per-shot damage output, but can suffer if improperly used at shorter ranges due to their low rate of fire and slow reload. Whilst the Thanatos can kill a Bulldozer with two body hits over any range on lower difficulties (attempting to punch through the visor may have mixed results), the Rattlesnake and R93 must punch through the Dozer's faceplate and visor in order to achieve an effective kill, requiring a minimum of three hits. With the Angled Sights, accurate shots can be placed even at closer ranges; however, at close range it is recommended to either take cover, call for help, or retreat, as a single missed shot at close range can easily result in being downed.
Javelin
A good way to kill Bulldozers is to use the Javelin. If the player manages to attain a low enough Detection Risk while using Low Blow or just hits the dozers head, a single Javelin would suffice.
Special
OVE9000 saw
The OVE9000 saw can saw through the Bulldozer's faceplate in less than a second, making it an extremely effective, albeit risky, option at close range. Even a non upgraded saw blade will allow the player to kill a Bulldozer, an upgraded saw can take out two with less than 150 units of "ammo" (1 blade). With Berserker active, it will further decrease the kill time and ammo needed. This can be combined with the high-durability player build discussed above to allow the elimination of multiple Bulldozers in short order with a high probability of success.
Note that this is more effective towards the Green Bulldozers, as the other variants are more capable of dealing lethal amounts of damage in a shorter amount of time that can down a heister before his saw can kill them.
Vulcan Minigun
The Vulcan is a powerful asset to wield against Bulldozers due to its blazing rate of fire and high capacity. Hosing down a Bulldozer should be trivial at most if one aims directly at the face shield and use the proper tactics to eliminate the recoil.
This method is far from foolproof, however, as the fact that it operates like a light machinegun (low accuracy, high recoil and no sight) rules out most long-range engagement possibilities. The Vulcan also lacks most of the modifications available to LMGs which makes it even harder to wield correctly. Finally, due to its exceedingly poor ammo economy, sustained use will become difficult, especially so if engagements with ammo-burning targets like Bulldozers are unavoidable.
English Longbow
The English Longbow is a valiant enemy of all Bulldozer variants. Combining the Explosive Arrow's headshot multiplier with the increased special enemy damage from Spotter basic and the oddly concealable bow's ability to accept Low Blow critical hits makes it possible to one-shot headshot a Skulldozer.
Outside of that, the Longbow and its explosive arrows functions similarly to all other explosive ammunition, in that it stuns and damages the Bulldozer's faceplate significantly.
Quotes
Quotes spoken when a Bulldozer sees, engages and downs a heister.
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Achievements
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Are You Kidding Me? Kill a Bulldozer in a knife fight. |
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The Man With the Golden Gun Kill 6 Skulldozers using only the golden AK.762 rifle. |
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Surprise Motherfucker Kill 10 Bulldozers using only the Thanatos .50 cal sniper rifle. Completing this achievement will unlock the CQB Barrel for the Thanatos .50 cal sniper rifle. |
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Bang for the Buck Kill 10 Bulldozers using any shotgun and 000 buckshot ammo.* Unlocks the Long Barrel for the Street Sweeper shotgun, "Steven" mask, "Sparks" material and "Chief" pattern. *This achievement is bugged; Can be obtained by killing 10 Bulldozers with shotguns regardless of ammunition used. |
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Precision Aiming Kill 25 Bulldozers using the Gewehr 3 Rifle. Unlocks the Sniper Barrel for the Clarion rifle, Sniper Stock, Sniper Grip and Sniper Foregrip for the Gecko 7.62 rifle, Precision Stock, Precision Grip and the DMR Kit for the Gewehr 3 rifle as well as the “Black Death” mask. Also unlocks the Precision Foregrip for the Gewehr 3. |
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Knockout! Knock out a Bulldozer using the OVERKILL boxing gloves. |
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OVERGRILL Set a Bulldozer on fire. Unlocks the "The Chef" mask, "Toast" material and "Hot Flames" pattern. |
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Hedgehog Get 10 or more arrows stuck in a Bulldozer at the same time. |
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Black Knight Kill a black Bulldozer with the Great Sword melee weapon. Unlocks the "Mason Vanguard Veteran" mask, "Forged" material and "Checkered Out" pattern. |
Trivia
- Bulldozers do not appear to be a police-only program as hinted by Commissioner Garrett, given that Murkywater was able to station a few of them in one of their supply planes carrying questionable contraband (hinting that they may have a program to train their own), GenSec were able to train Skulldozers and station them as elite guards inside their armored convoys, and the US government assigned some to guard a train carrying top-secret experimental weaponry. Also, a unique Russian variant can be found on the map Boiling Point, and are mentioned to be mercenaries, suggesting that the idea has caught on elsewhere in the world.
- The Bulldozer's suit resembles the EOD 9 Bomb Disposal Suit.
- The Bulldozer bomb suits, rather strangely, have protective braces and gloves covering their hands. In reality, all bomb suits are specifically designed without gloves to maximize precision during disarmament of explosive devices. This might imply that the Bulldozer's suit was not solely intended for bomb disposal use; the suit could've been additionally modified for combat purposes.
- In real life, EOD suits aren't actually bulletproof. The kevlar weaves and foam padding that composes the bomb suit are only designed to protect the wearer from the shock-wave and small shell fragments resulting from an explosion, and not repeated high-caliber gunfire; in that sense the EOD wear is more akin to a full-body flak jacket sans the armor plate inlays. Interestingly, in a real EOD suit, the helmet would actually be the most reinforced part, though high-velocity projectiles such as a 7.62x39mm round from an AKM would still be able to punch through without much effort.
- To make an EOD suit bulletproof would require adding ceramic ballistic plates into the suit, which has a major side effect of making the suit weigh an ungodly amount, considering its already cumbersome weight. Despite this, bulldozers are still able to sprint, run up walls, rappel from a helicopter or even jump long distances between buildings without any difficulty at all.
- Bulldozers also lack any form of breathing apparatus attached to their suits. A real-world EOD suit helmet is usually hermetically sealed to the chest piece to protect the wearer from hazardous biochemicals, but also makes the compartment airtight, thus will require an integral oxygen source to protect the operative inside from suffocation. This further hints at extensive combat modifications made to the in-game suits.
- The Bulldozer is one of the two special enemies that speak when they arrive on the field. The other enemy is the Taser.
- The Bulldozer is the only special unit in PAYDAY 2 to receive two separate entries in the FBI Files depository, one for the basic Reinfeld (Green) unit and one for the Skulldozer variant.
- According to the FBI Files, Skulldozers were first deployed in Boston. Also, their high-strength armor suits are made from the GenSec-patented Vivinite alloy, the same type of materials used to construct the advanced shields carried by Captain Winters and his subordinates. Unlike the latter, though, the Skulldozer armor cannot withstand high-explosive shockwaves and are susceptible to being penetrated by sniper fire.
- The FBI Files also mentioned another Bulldozer variant supposedly equipped with semi-automatic shotguns, though the only shotguns wielded by the Bulldozer types encountered in the game operate either in pump-action or fully-automatic, though seeing as the Black Bulldozers do in fact fire their IZHMA 12G shotguns in single shots, it is safe to assume that those units are the ones described.
- The Skulldozer and event-exclusive Headless Titandozer are the only special unit types in the series to utilize DLC weapons, in this case the KSP from Gage Weapon Pack 02.
- The Skulldozer used to be the only Death Wish-exclusive enemy to appear in a lesser difficulty level, as a semi-random spawn during the first day of the Hoxton Breakout heist, if played on Overkill difficulty.
- They have since been replaced by the Black IZHMA 12G variant and will no longer spawn on this mode.
- The Skulldozer used to be the only Death Wish-exclusive enemy to appear in a lesser difficulty level, as a semi-random spawn during the first day of the Hoxton Breakout heist, if played on Overkill difficulty.
Suck It!
- The Titandozer is the only Bulldozer-type enemy to wield a melee weapon. Upon closer inspection, the Titandozer has an exposed jaw where the rest of his head should be; however he also has a visible mouth which seems out of place seeing how the equally obvious tongue is much higher than itself.
- Despite lacking a large portion of his head (and more importantly, a brain), a Titandozer from Hell can still speak.
- Painted on the back shield of the Titandozer from Hell are the words "Suck It!".
- The in-game Titan safe hammer is significantly smaller in size compared to the two-handed one seen on the Halloween event site, though large enough for the Headless Titandozer to smack the player with. The Headless Titandozer is the only Bulldozer variant that uses a melee weapon in close quarters instead of the usual punch.
- The Bulldozer is the only special unit to reuse the voice clips of their PAYDAY: The Heist counterpart, in this case the old Bulldozer's death screams.
Bobblehead Bob and his Senpai-dozer bobblehead
- "Senpai-dozer", a Steam community joke Skulldozer is featured as a bobblehead in The Big Bank trailer, at 1:11. Unlike in-game Skulldozers, the "Senpai-dozer" is depicted wielding a pump-action shotgun, similarly to Green Bulldozers.
- A box which, according to its label, contains 1500 of these bobbleheads can be seen in the Hotline Miami trailer, at 0:26 and 0:29.
- In the White Xmas heist, Senpai-dozer bobbleheads like the one featured above can sometimes be found in the dropped presents.
- A real life Senpai-dozer bobblehead can be bought on the Overkill Merchandise store. Doing so will also reward you with the ingame Senpai-dozer mask.
The "regular" IZHMA 12G shotgun dropped by a Black Bulldozer.
- The Black Bulldozer variant used to carry an IZHMA 12G shotgun equipped with a Skeletal Stock and cut drum magazine. It has since been replaced by a regular version of the weapon. The Dozer's new weapon has a solid stock, which is visually identical to the IZHMA-compatible Classic Stock, albeit a synthetic one instead of wooden.
- If a Bulldozer is killed before his faceplate is shattered, it can still be broken by shooting his corpse.
- On the art of the Hotline Miami DLC Announcement Page, a Bulldozer is seen wearing green armor. However, it has an IZHMA 12G with a drum magazine and black solid stock on it.
- The bulldozer makes an appearance on the 6th day in the Official PAYDAY Christmas Carol video, saying "Six dozers charging."
- The bulldozer makes his live action debut in the Hoxton Breakout Trailer, where he ambushes Dallas and Wolf in the control room of the parking lot, and successfully incapacitates both. Before being able to finish them off, Wolf recovers and, after a struggle, manages to kill him using a drill through the eye hole of its armored faceplate.
- It is shown that the Bulldozer, whilst physically imposing, is actually impeded by the suit, having to turn sideways to get through doors, and being easily wrestled and thrown off balance by Wolf.
- The black armored faceplate worn by a Bulldozer, as evidenced in the trailer, appears to be made out of solid metal with only two tiny eye holes for the wearer to see through. Such a setup in real life would severely restrict the wearer's visibility (their head will have to be positioned all the way forward, facing the shield directly in order to see; turning their head would potentially not provide any visibility at all), on top of which the extremely small eye holes would impart a tunnel vision effect, even further limiting situational awareness.
- "Titandozer" was originally an April Fools joke. The made-up unit from GenSec is allegedly "taller than most buildings in Washington D.C.", which is false as the image comparison only shows him being nearly thrice the height of an average person; due to his height and physical strength (to support the massive armor set he wears), the April Fools Titandozer is likely a robot. He carries a likewise upsized KSP[2].
- This is the only known version so far of the Bulldozer to not wear the standard-issue EOD suit. It is also the only Bulldozer type to lack a faceplate.
- The Titandozer bears the Skulldozer's faceplate decoration on its left shoulder.
- Destroying a Bulldozer's faceplate will reveal a Caucasian man with blue eyes.
- The Hoxton Breakout trailer featured Wolf drilling into a Bulldozer's faceplate with a cordless drill, however this was never implemented into the actual game after the DLC's release.
- The Bulldozer's quote "It's clobbering time!" is a reference to Marvel comics character The Thing.
References
Gallery
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