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This is the list of Enemies in PAYDAY 2, along with detailed descriptions.

Security Guards & First Responders

Security Guard
Description
Enemy Type Security Personnel
Statistics
Health 40 (Normal)
40 (Hard)
40 (Very Hard)
40 (Overkill)
40 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name security
gensec
v·d·e
"The standard security guard, poor schmucks who just happen to get in the way of big bad robbers too often - these guys won't pose too big a threat. A quick blow to the head with your rifle should do it."
—Bain's description

The Security Guard is the weakest enemy in game with only 40 HP on all difficulties, armed with various small arms and a side-handled baton for melee. These guards also have the ability to handcuff a heister for 60 seconds if they are close enough without getting aggressive (which, for a player who isn't cautious, can cause an embarrassing failure if all heisters in game are cuffed) and in quick succession.

There are several variations of the standard security guard:

  • The most common type is the white-shirted Washington Security guards that dots various maps and heists. These guards comes in three sub-types:
    • A Caucasian-Hispanic guard that carries a Chimano 88 handgun.
    • An African-American guard that carries a Chimano 88 and wears ballistic vest. (Pictured) The ballistic vest does not affect his durability. This variant is mostly seen in security rooms, but can also be seen patrolling in some heists.
    • An African-American guard that wields a Compact-5 and wears a cap.
  • In the Armored Transport DLC heists, guards also spawn with the transports. They have the same behaviour and same weaponry, but wear red GenSec uniforms and are slightly more durable than standard security guards. They also appear in GO Bank, either as default spawns or sent in by Hillary, a GenSec dispatch, as part of the level's random events. They also make a brief appearance in the PAYDAY 2 remake of the first game's Slaughterhouse, appearing stunned and dazed beneath the crashed Murkywater convoy truck.
  • A third relatively uncommon variant wears a black suit, sunglasses and uses a flashlight, reminiscent of Secret Service or similar government operatives. These appear in Day 2 of Big Oil, Day 2 of Firestarter, Day 3 of Framing Frame, Transport: Train Heist, and Hoxton Revenge.
  • Big Bank has four unique security guard variants, which can be distinguished with their green-themed suits. They are all armed with the Chimano 88 pistol:
    • A Caucasian-Hispanic guard.
    • A bald African-American guard.
    • A Caucasian guard with visible facial hair and wearing a green jacket. This variant only patrols the vault area.
    • A Caucasian guard wearing a flak vest and a pair of sunglasses. This variant only appears in the security room.
  • The Alesso Heist has new guard models that are different from regular guards. These guards wear a vest with SECURITY written on the back and combat trousers. They patrol the arena as well as the loading dock at the bottom. They wield Chimano 88s.
  • The Golden Grin Casino has a new guard model. This model wears a suit and patrols the front and back of the casino. They are armed with Chimano 88s.
  • The Scarface Mansion has a guard model that wears a red shirt with a flak jacket. They are armed with a Chimano 88 and patrol the inside of the Mansion.
  • At the start of Hoxton Breakout several prison guards can be seen, wielding a Bronco .44 for hosts and Crosskill .45 for clients (bug). These guards also appear on Green Bridge.
  • The San Martín Bank heist has their own unique Mexican guards fitted with full Spanish quotes and a Spanish pager operator.

Cop
Description
Enemy Type Police First Responder
Statistics
Health 40 (Normal)
40 (Hard)
40 (Very Hard)
40 (Overkill)
40 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name cop
v·d·e
"The bread and butter of the police force, normal coppers have standard training and a pretty good aim, though their survivability and firepower are limited."
—Bain's description

Also known as the police officer or street cop, these police officers use either the Chimano 88 pistol, Bronco .44 revolver (as of Update #13), Reinfeld 880 shotgun, or Compact-5 submachine gun. For melee they use a police baton. They tend to arrive at the heist location about 20 to 30 seconds after an alarm is raised, and are the first responders. Like Security Guards, they have 40 HP regardless of difficulty.

There are several variations of police officers, each wielding a different weapon:

  • A Caucasian officer wearing a police hat. He used to wield the Chimano 88 pistol but was later "upgraded" to Bronco .44 revolvers after a patch.
  • A bald African-American officer with a pair of sunglasses. They wield the Chimano 88 pistol.
  • An African-American officer wearing a police hat and a jacket. They wield the Reinfeld 880 shotgun.
  • A Caucasian officer wearing a police hat, sunglasses and a Kevlar vest. They wield the Compact-5 submachine gun. The Kevlar vest has no impact on their health.

All variants of the Metropolitan Police carry nightsticks, which they will employ against the heisters in close quarters.

Street cops, like security officers, have the ability to cuff heisters.

On lower difficulty levels, street cops appear throughout the first assault wave, but are rarely present afterwards. On Overkill difficulty, they do not appear at all aside from the one or two pairs who arrive in police cars on certain heists; the Hostage Rescue Team usually arrives first, 10–20 seconds after the alarm is triggered.

Note that in heists like the Jewelry Store, Mallcrasher, Ukrainian Job and GO Bank, Metropolitan Police officers can occasionally spawn outside of the main objective. One or two of them will be a normal uniform cop, while the other one will be wearing a Kevlar vest. Two of the warehouse guards on Day 2 of Election Day (assuming the correct van was tagged or the entire database was retrieved on Day 1) will be Metropolitan Police as well. They function just like the guards when they see a criminal; the only main difference is that when they're killed, no pagers will need to be answered.

It is worth noting that due to the structure of assault sequencing, aggressively eliminating a significant quantity of first-responder police officers can greatly accelerate the arrival of the first assault wave. Players should exercise caution and, if possible, prolong a 'standoff' state as this will buy them (or their drills) more time to work in relative safety.

Rarely, Bronco .44-wielding Metropolitan Police officers may appear during assault waves on higher difficulties. They should be considered high priority targets as they can deal a lot of damage very quickly. They can easily be identified by their hats (similar to the officer pictured) and the distinctive report of their revolvers.

  1. Metropolitan Police:

Generally, they might be lightly armed and lack armor, but our regulars shouldn’t be underestimated. They are almost always first on the scene, and fight hard to protect their city. Their kit is variable. Most carry the standard issue Chimano, but some will also pack the Reinfeld, the Compact-5 or even a Bronco.

My Notes: MPD rank-and-file. And a light breakfast for the bad guys. These units are poorly armed and armored. They might be the first responders, but being the first response doesn't mean being the best response. I can't fault their spirit. But they need to learn when to hold back, and let the heavier teams get on the scene, 'cos these guys are getting turned into ground chuck.

  1. Security Guard:

Unarmored and very lightly armed, usually with nothing more than a Chimano, Security Guards still pose a significant threat due to their pagers. With the press of a button, a vigilant Security Guard can raise the alarm, which will bring better suited reinforcements.

My Notes: About the greatest threat they pose to the clowns is raising the alarm when they see them, ‘cos they ain’t worth wet paper in a fight. Not that that stops them trying. A lot of these guys are ex-MPD. Maybe pensioned off after being injured in the line of duty, or just gave up their badge hoping for an easier, less dangerous life.

  1. GenSec Security:

GenSec is the biggest private security company in the world, and these red-bereted officers fill the ranks of their footsoldiers. They wear very light armor, and are most often armed with Chimanos, though a few supporting units may carry Compact-5s.

My Notes: GenSec makes a lot of money providing private security, but they ain’t spending it on these guys. They’re nothing more than drivers and baggage handlers armed with a pistol and dressed in t-shirts. They might deter bag-snatchers but they ain’t gonna do squat in a real fight. And those goddamn red berets make an inviting target for a heister.

  1. Bronco .44
    OfficerBronco

    The small laser attached to the trigger-guard.


    The Bronco .44 revolver used by Metropolitan policemen and female FBI Agents has an unobtainable laser mounted on the trigger-guard.
  2. Reinfeld 880
    The Reinfeld 880 shotgun used by NPC shotgunners have an integrated tactical light on the pump.

  • The Metropolitan Police officers are undoubtedly based on real-life Metropolitan Police Department officers, with certain notable differences:
    • Their choice of a Bronco .44 as their sidearm is rather atypical. In reality all police units are generally issued either the real-world equivalents of the Chimano 88 (Glock 17), the Bernetti 9 (Beretta 92FS), Signature .40 (SIG Sauer P226) and the Crosskill (Colt/Browning M1911). Only very few, typically much older, officers still carry revolvers as a primary sidearm, and even then those are primarily .38 special caliber rather than the impractically heavy .44 magnum.
    • They can occasionally be seen rappeling down from ledges like the common SWAT officers, despite not wearing the proper gear.
    • Once an alarm is tripped, or a civilian successfully calls for police help, law enforcers immediately begin arriving in force. Never in real life are police units instructed to behave this way, usually only one or two squad cars are sent to investigate the situation before calling for backup.
      • One possible explanation for this is that there is a special task force on standby waiting for a crime to occur. When the civilian calls in, the police may (somehow) know it is, for instance, the PAYDAY Gang and thus send said hypothetical task force. This is just speculation however, and doesn't explain the police response on a several loud heists.
  • According to their FBI File entry, a large portion of the security guards encountered in the game are former Metropolitan Police officers.
  • It appears that nearly all MPDC police officers are at the rank of sergeant, identifiable by the three chevrons on their sleeve. The only possible exception to this is the officer who wears a Kevlar vest. His sleeve is hidden by the vest, thus his rank is unknown.
  • The Compact-5-wielding officer has shotgun shells on his vest, despite him using only an SMG. This hints at the unit originally being equipped with a Reinfeld 880 before a change in development gave them the weapon they now use.
  • The Golden Grin Casino guards have a small badge on their left lapel. Due to its texture having low resolution, the exact details cannot be recognized. But it does bear some resemblance to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Nevada Gaming Control Board's badges.

SWAT Team

After the Metropolitan Police, SWAT Teams are the second line of law enforcers the crew will encounter once the situation goes south. SWAT units are comprised of two variants, the normal Blue SWAT and the tougher Yellow SWAT.

Blue SWAT
Blueswat
Description
Enemy Type Light Tactical Responders
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name swat
v·d·e
"A common sign of things getting heated are spotting these guys. The Special Weapons and Tactics squads are the guys who arrive at the scene when the normal cops can't handle it."
—Bain's Description of the Blue SWAT variant
The Blue SWAT are armed with a Compact-5 or Reinfeld 880, they will start to appear just prior to the start of the first assault wave and tend to remain the most common enemy throughout the heist on Normal difficulty (Risk Level 0). On higher levels they disappear earlier on. The Blue SWAT represent the first real challenge to the heisters as they employ the use of more advanced tactics such as taking cover and giving suppressing fire. They can use smoke grenades or flashbangs to cover their advance.

Yellow SWAT
Yellowswat
Description
Enemy Type Heavy Tactical Responders
Statistics
Health 160 (Normal)
160 (Hard)
320 (Very Hard)
480 (Overkill)
960 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name heavy_swat
v·d·e
"These guys are the standard frontline heavy response unit. They're field agents with specialist training in counter-terrorism, containment and urban assault. They're well equipped and experienced, so don't under-estimate them."
—Bain's Description of the Yellow SWAT variant

The Yellow SWAT carry the CAR-4 rifle in addition to the same gear as the Blue SWAT, but have considerably more health and durability than their counterparts. Yellow SWAT tend to appear as either a unique enemy alongside the Blue SWAT or as the replacement of the Blue SWAT on Hard difficulty (Risk level I). The arrival of Yellow SWAT can make for an unpleasant surprise on any difficulty, especially as they receive a significant firepower boost on higher difficulties.

Yellow SWAT units stop spawning under normal conditions once playing on Very Hard or Overkill, though they can appear in certain scripted events..

  1. Blue SWAT:

Once the regular cops have determined that the situation is volatile enough to require specialist weapons and training, they call the SWAT, and these boys in blue are the first guys on the scene. Well-equipped with Compact-5’s or Reinfelds, they are fast and work well in groups. Bringing their firepower to bear very quickly often shuts down criminals fast.

My Notes: Yeah, they're well equipped and we've plenty of 'em, but what they're lacking is leadership - need better command. Decent team-players, for sure, but they're tactically inflexible. Their doctrine is aimed at swarming bunkered-down criminals, but that fast 'shock-and-awe' crap is suicide in the face of an experienced crew.

  1. Yellow SWAT:

These guys are the second tier in our SWAT forces. They’re all time-served veterans, enjoying better training with better armor and assault rifles.

My Notes: Made up of men who’ve put in at least two years with the regulars, and had training with better armor and assault rifles. This means they can soak more damage and pack a harder punch. They’re tough but...we lose way too many to bad decisions at a command level. Our loss rate on these guys is unacceptable - maybe look at further upgrades to weapons and armor.

  • The SWAT units are based on their real-life counterparts, however, with significant differences here and there:
    • The quick response time and vast amounts of SWAT units in the game is highly unusual, as in reality, situations warranting actual SWAT response are very infrequent, and as such these trained and equipped officers are often assigned different tasks to carry out until summoned in case of an emergency. Sending out even a remotely sizable SWAT unit is long enough to present a significant lag between the initial emergency and actual SWAT deployment on the site.[1]
      • As previously mentioned, real-life situations requiring SWAT intervention are very uncommon, thus making the excessive amounts of SWAT personnel in the game's many heists a very odd thing from a realistic standpoint. That being said, not many real-world instances of crime in progress would include semi-immortal robbers armed with self-repairing body armor, shouts that can revive incapacitated teammates and/or a multitude of weaponry capable of punching through ballistic shields so the extra amount of firepower is somewhat justified gameplay-wise.
    • The Metropolitan PD has an Emergency Response Team, which is technically a SWAT-level unit but differs greatly from the in-game units in terms of uniforms, dispatches and directives as well as being more commonly referred to by their own designation instead of type. None of the actual ERT personnel or equipments have "SWAT" emblazoned on them, again unlike the in-game law enforcers.
    • The local FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. possesses a sizable SWAT team that can deploy quickly within the capitol, though they wear uniforms different from those in the game and are not associated with the police. A more correct representation of this division is seen in the FBI Heavy Response Units.
    • Blue SWATs have a patch on their right arm which shows a sheet with a eagle on it surrounded by two lightning bolts. It also says that the SWAT team was founded 1870 which is incorrect since most police special units were founded in the 1960's.
    • While SWAT units are trained to stay calm, in-game SWAT units will often panic or yelling something along the lines of them not being trained to handle the player crew. Various law enforcers will also often ask where their commander is, suggesting that they are poorly organized.

FBI

FBI Agents and Hostage Rescue Teams typically appear in between assault waves to attempt to rescue any hostages in the area. Unlike the first game, the FBI in PAYDAY 2 have a far greater presence in game during the later stages because of the game taking place in Washington D.C. bringing in heavier units that surpass standard SWAT units.

FBI Agent
Description
Enemy Type FBI Agent
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name fbi
v·d·e

Field Agent

"All agents have to have a first field day, and these guys have bad enough luck to have to spend it with you. Don't group these guys together with regular cops though, because these guys are specialists."
—Bain's Description of the FBI Agent Variant

The least dangerous of the three are armed with the Chimano 88 pistol and have the same health as a Blue SWAT. They can be recognized easily due to their blue coat and cap, the coat bearing 'FBI' across the back in yellow lettering. They disappear later on during easy heists while not making an appearance at all on Overkill and above outside of certain prescripted scenarios (such as Day 2 of Firestarter). They are also the rarest of the three.

Veteran Agent

"These guys have seen some action - they're prepared, even though they aren't part of assault teams. They're just veterans and you aren't the first criminal they've shot to death."
—Bain's Description of the FBI Veteran Variant

The third type is an African-American variant in a white shirt and light tactical harness, wielding the CAR-4 rifle. Beware of this variant because they deal extremely high damage despite their relatively low health and they can quickly bring down a player due to their assault rifle's high RoF. Fortunately, their accuracy at range is fairly limited, and they have the same health as the least dangerous variant of FBI Agent. Same as the Hostage Rescue Team, they spawn only in rare scripted sequences after Update #109.1.

Office Agent

A fourth type was added in Hoxton Breakout, and appear at the start of both days. In Day 1, they can be seen at the start of the heist after the C4 blows up the courthouse wall, knocking them unconscious. In Day 2, they occupy the Washington FBI Headquarters, and only have their side-arms to defend themselves, the men being armed with the Chimano 88 and the women with Bronco .44 revolvers. Despite this, care should be taken when dealing with them. They appear in large numbers and can easily down a heister with their suppressive fire. They also appear in Undercover, as part of the team attempting to arrest the Taxman.

Hostage Rescue Team
Hostagerescue
Description
Enemy Type Hostage Extraction Unit
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name swat
v·d·e
"Some agents don't come to the party to talk. These agents expected a fight, and dressed for one. Don't expect them to talk; they've already picked violence as their course of action."
—Bain's Description of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team Variant

The second type of Rescue Units are armed with Compact-5 SMGs and have the same health as a Blue SWAT. They can be identified by their balaclavas and ballistic vests. They deal significantly more damage than Blue SWAT units, surpassing even that of the Heavy Response Units and Maximum Force Responders, and will also deploy alongside special units on higher difficulties if hostages are present. That, coupled with their tendency to swarm in large groups makes them especially dangerous and should be taken out quickly and carefully, and possibly converted if the opportunity exists. Since Update #109.1, they only appear in rare scripted sequences.

Heavy Response Unit
Heavyresponse
Description
Enemy Type Heavy Tactical Responders
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name fbi_swat
v·d·e
"These guys are the FBI's special ops. They're trained to take control over hostile situations, they execute a ruthless shoot-to-kill policy and they are faster than their heavily armed colleagues."
—Bain's description

Armed with the CAR-4 and the Reinfeld 880, the FBI Heavy Response Units are far deadlier than the standard SWAT units. They are also colloquially referred to as "Greens" due to their signature green-and-white uniforms.

They can be recognized by the dark green and black uniform, compared to the SWAT's dark blue. HRUs armed with Reinfelds wear night vision goggles attached to their helmets and have shell racks on their armor. HRUs armed with CAR-4's are depicted in the above picture.

In certain heists it is possible for a Heavy Response Unit to deploy tear gas into a building's ventilation system. Once they have done this, visible green clouds of gas will appear, standing in that area will rapidly damage the player. It is possible to quickly run through the cloud, but the player will take significant amounts of damage, so the gas blocks off the area for practical purposes. This can be prevented on any Bank Heist by listening for Bain's verbal warning that a helicopter is landing on the roof, and killing them before they deploy the gas into a ventilation shaft.

These enemies are among the standard enemy spawns on the Very Hard difficulty level upwards, but can rarely appear in Normal and Hard heists as part of scripted sequences. They can also rarely appear on Normal and Hard difficulty in every heist that is contracted by Hector.

Maximum Force Responder
Maximumforce
Description
Enemy Type Armored Strike Force
Statistics
Health 160 (Normal)
160 (Hard)
320 (Very Hard)
480 (Overkill)
960 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name fbi_heavy_swat
v·d·e
"These trained 'professionals' are the only ones coming close to matching the bulldozer but with one difference. They come in packs. They've trained for everything and are a force to be reckoned with."
—Bain's description

The Maximum Force Responder is the second most powerful non-special police unit, equipped with completely bulletproof armor plating covering their frontal body, protecting them from small arms fire taken on all parts of their body except for the head, neck, back, and legs (except for the Murkywater variations, which have their backs protected). Due to their armour colouration, they are commonly referred to colloquially as "Tans" or "Browns" by the playerbase.

They are notable for being far more aggressive and harder to kill than any other non-special Police Unit; they will often ignore moving to cover and push aggressively towards the players. Their heavy armour can catch unaware players by surprise. These units will only spawn on Very Hard and above (mixed with the significantly less durable HRU units), or spawn in pre-scripted circumstances that will come with a verbal warning from Bain. A notable instance of the latter would be the last day of Rats - there is almost always one Maximum Force Responder near the head of the convoy regardless of difficulty.

Due to their tactic of pushing forward quickly and the relative difficulty of suppressing them, it is advised to move around the stage if possible to avoid too many of them crowding into a small area.

It is a good idea to treat Maximum Force Responders as lesser Bulldozers, and as such the most effective strategy is to aim for their heads with a powerful single shot weapon, such as a M308, Bronco .44, or Deagle. It may take several headshots, but the increased power and accuracy of single-shot weapons means that less ammo will be used than if a fully automatic weapon was used. It is recommended to use a scope to assist in scoring headshots, because unlike lesser units that will still receive damage from chest hits, shots against a Maximum Force Responder's torso are completely wasted. Shotguns are also highly effective against them at close range, as shots to the head with even one pellet will cause full headshot damage to them.

A Mastermind with the Joker skill can persuade a Maximum Force Responder officer to fight against his allies. It is recommended to hit him with a melee attack or suppress him with concentrated fire before attempting to dominate him to avoid repeatedly taking return fire from him during failed conversion attempts. Another method is to shoot his legs, as he will likely survive the attacks. If he is successfully converted, he becomes a powerful ally, as the majority of gunfire from his former allies will hit his bulletproof torso instead of his vulnerable head, though enough stray shots will still eventually kill him. He makes a good "meat shield" for this reason.

It is also good to note that, while the Maximum Force Responder unit is considered to be the toughest non-special unit in the game, he deals less damage than the HRU. In Bank Heist, one Heavy SWAT unit will come with the two HRUs in the helicopter and he can also deploy tear gas in the bank's ventilation system as with the HRUs. It is advised to kill the MFR first as they try to deploy gas sooner than the HRUs do, as well as having more health and protection.

As of Update #109, a Gensec Elite model for the MFR was released. This model can be seen in use on Mayhem and Death Wish difficulties, the original still appearing on Very Hard, Overkill and various scripted spawns.

Sniper Rifles and shotguns equipped with Flechette shells or AP Slugs are capable of piercing the Maximum Force Responder's body armor and thus damaging and killing him with body shots. This will take considerably more shots than if a heister shoots at the head, however; the damage is greatly reduced without the headshot bonus. Flamethrowers and shotguns equipped with Dragon's Breath shells are capable of igniting Maximum Force Responders through their body armor, making them potent tools for killing the units without headshots. Explosives are also very effective, likely killing them outright unless they are too far from the blast, or if the player is using the Arbiter, which will instead take two to three hits on Mayhem and above.

The Safehouse Security Guard is an unique variant of SWAT officers which appears only in the Hoxton Revenge heist. They patrol the FBI safehouse as substitutes for the common security guard, and will be among the first responders should the heist go loud.

Like most security guards, they are equipped with Chimano 88 pistols which they will employ against the Payday gang. Safehouse Guards have pagers which need to be answered should the officer be killed or dominated during stealth.

Female cop
Description
Enemy Type Office Agent
Statistics
Health 40 (Normal)
40 (Hard)
40 (Very Hard)
40 (Overkill)
40 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
2 (Very Hard)
2 (Overkill)
2 (Mayhem)
2 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name cop_female
v·d·e

The Female FBI Agents are practically reskins of the Metropolitan Police, having a flat 40 health across all difficulties, and being equipped with powerful Bronco .44 revolvers.

  1. Hostage Rescue Teams:

We see zip-tied civilians increasingly being used as hostages, and these officers are trained with the goal of going in and getting them out. They range from fresh Federal field officers, packing standard sidearms, to highly experienced veterans with Car-4 rifles.

My Notes: We see the bad guys increasingly using civilians as bartering chips, and it works. When the news cameras are rolling, ain’t no way we’re going to risk civilian lives. But we try and get ‘em out, and that’s what these guys do.

  1. Heavy Response Unit:

These men are the elites within the SWAT teams. Each man has served in the regular SWAT for many years, giving them a lot of experience, and are handpicked to serve in the ‘Greens’. These teams are tough, work well together and hit hard, armed with Car-4s and Reinfelds.

My Notes: I’ve heard these men referred to as the ‘Greens’. It comes from their uniforms, rather than their experience, because these guys have been around a long time. Almost all have ten-years or more, which earns them my respect. They’re likely to become the spine of my force. They’re pretty well protected, and pack a decent punch.

  1. Maximum Force Responder:

The Maximum Force Responder is the toughest SWAT team that can be deployed. They wear the strongest armor, offering almost complete protection to the front and sides. They are also highly experienced, and well trained with assault rifles, such as the Car-4.

My Notes: These guys are the toughest team elements I can throw into a situation. They’re heavily armored - the best we can afford - and I hear there’s a rolling sweepstake to see who can dig the most slugs out of those tan vests after an operation. I think with a little creativity with purchase req’s and a review of admission protocols, I can get more of these guys on the street.

  • The FBI do not usually handle offenses related to narcotics or the like, it is usually instead the job of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). They also do not dispatch any kind of armed forces in the event of bank robberies or armed assaults, it is often the job of the local police or SWAT. Real-life cases warranting FBI intervention usually have to be an end-result of a lengthy investigation (as described verbatim in the full name of the organization), and an assault randomly happening out of the blue does not present a chance to "investigate" (with brute force) at all.
    • FBI-armed divisions however, will co-operate with on-site police forces in apprehending assailants during joint operations, though again these activities do not normally extend to common bank robberies or art gallery incursions so the presence of FBI personnel in most heists remains odd.
      • However, seeing as the in-universe FBI acronym stands for Federal Bureau of Intervention, not Investigation, they likely follow directives differently from that of the real Bureau.
      • Another plausible explanation hinted by the tapes in Hoxton Revenge is that the Bureau have been working on the Payday Gang's case for a long time, and sending waves upon waves of armed personnel to the crime scene(s) can be seen as their attempts to bring down the heisters for good.
  • The FBI HRUs and HRTs are both based on the real-life FBI Hostage Rescue Team (with the Heavy Response Team also based on the aforementioned FBI SWAT), with the former derived from their Hostage Rescue duties and the latter from their specialized equipment.
  • According to their FBI Files entry, all members of the Heavy Response Unit division were outstanding candidates hand-picked from regular SWAT outfits, and that the majority of them have served for at least ten years. In order to at least qualify as a recruit, a SWAT officer is required to have served at least ten years in their former regiment.
  • There are no on-site command centers or mobile command units to be seen anywhere during an assault, which is an oddity considering the fact that the game features a heavy FBI presence, who in reality are known to make substantial use of such units.
  • Female agents in Hoxton Breakout do not have their own vocal responses, and will instead use generic male voice clips. This can be heard when dominating or converting a female agent.
  • Male FBI agents draw their sidearms from the right while the holsters on their models are situated on their left.
  • The Maximum Force Responders could be based on the real-life Special Reaction Teams that belong to all branches of the United States Armed Forces.
  • Maximum Force Responders either work with, or for, the FBI, as seen on the patches behind their backs.
    • The helmets worn by them resembles the Russian Armed Forces' Altyn ballistic helmet.
  • The Maximum Force responders, along with the ZEAL units, are the only member of the helmet-wearing enemies whose face can be seen when his helmet is off, revealing a Caucasian man with brown eyes who wears a balaclava with a Headset.
  • The Hostage Rescue agent has shotgun shells on his vest, similar to the Reinfeld 880-equipped Heavy Response Unit. This suggests that the Hostage Rescue Team members could originally use shotguns, but the unit was scrapped during development.
    • The helmets worn by the Heavy Response Units are modeled after the Crye Precision "AirFrame", with all available accessories attached.

Private Security Teams

GenSec Elite
Gensecelite
Description
Enemy Type Private Paramilitary Unit
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name city_swat
v·d·e
"There's the new GenSec Elites: Hard bastards that carry shotguns, SMGs and assault rifles.
And then there's that new "dozer". He's something special, alright. You'll meet him, soon enough.
"
—Official description.

The GenSec Elite SWAT unit, also known by their trademarked name GenSec Fast Tactical Special Unit Task Force[2], is a type of enemy added in the Death Wish update that only appear on the Mayhem and Death Wish difficulties. While they appear similar to the green Heavy Response Units, they are a far more significant threat; GenSec's Elites possess more powerful weaponry than other standard law enforcement units. Additionally, they spawn at significantly higher rates and employ more aggressive tactics than other standard law enforcer units. Unlike normal SWAT units, GenSec Elites can cuff players.

Elites are very accurate and carry either a modified JP36 rifle with the same camo as their uniform and a Compact Holosight - Riktpunkt Magnifier Gadget combo, a Jackal with a See More Sight (no longer after Update #109.1), a Reinfeld or a M1014 with a Tactical Stock (cut). They utilize swarming tactics, assaulting the players in massive numbers and constantly rushing to overwhelm them. It is advised to deal with these units as soon as possible. Their arrival can be signaled by the appearance of black GenSec SWAT vans.

It is also worth noting that Elites do not play heavy hurt/stun animations (they can only briefly flinch) even if hit by heavy, high-knockdown weapons on Death Wish and above. In addition to this, they take 20% less damage from explosives, including weapons such as the GL40 or shotguns using HE Rounds.

Murkywater
Murkywater
Description
Enemy Type Private Paramilitary Unit
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name city_swat
v·d·e

Murkywater Private Military Contractors are an enemy type introduced in Update #29. Their first appearance is in the Shadow Raid heist, who are seen guarding their supply warehouse in DC. They once again appear as enemies when the crew raids the same warehouse again during Meltdown, and when the gang hits a Murkywater convoy in the PAYDAY 2 remake of PAYDAY: The Heist's Slaughterhouse heist. They later appear in the Birth of Sky and Beneath the Mountain, where the crew raids Murkywater's secret interests and bases, taking more prominent roles in those heists, Murky Station, and Hoxton Revenge.

Murkywater PMCs' health and headshot multiplier are identical to Heavy Response Units, which make them quite difficult to deal with once alerted, considering the stealth nature of Shadow Raid. Murkywater PMCs are immune to stun on all difficulties.

In stealth (Shadow Raid, Murky Station, and Hoxton Revenge), Murkywater PMCs behave like heavily-armored security guards, and will attempt to sound the alarm if alerted. Unlike other non-Guard enemies, Murkywater mercenaries DO have pagers that need to be answered during the stealth phase, thus putting additional stress on unprepared players.

Note that despite their high durability, just like every other unit, Murkywater PMCs are vulnerable to being killed by a single hit from any source if they are not yet alerted to a heister's presence during stealth, allowing them to be silently neutralized with any suppressed handgun or melee attack no matter what the damage rating is.

Murkies are armed with the same Jackals as the GenSec Elites and modified Eagle Heavy assault rifle that does noticeably more damage than the police's CAR-4s, especially on higher difficulties. They also possess a distinct helmet that resembles the Alpha Force mask, a heavy armored vest with tactical rigging, and the US Special Forces OCP uniform affectionately known as "Multi-Cam" with a generic pair of sage green combat boots worn by the US Air Force. Overall, Murkies fight like stronger versions of the FBI Heavy Response Units.

The Murkies can be defeated risk-free of them shooting and alerting civilians in addition to other guards by simply running away, behind two walls should suffice. The player should then place an ECM, so the guard cannot sound the alarm. When the Murkies try to call in, the player can quickly eliminate the guard with a few headshots whilst they are momentarily unable to actually make noise. This tactic is very useful on higher difficulties, as players will usually sacrifice damage output for lower concealment ratings.

Just like Security Guards however, Murkies can be dominated, provided they are shouted down before they are able to draw their weapon. Pacifying a Murkywater PMC this way makes it significantly easier to deal with him, as he will not be able to fire his weapon once he's cuffed, allowing players to answer his pager and then safely finish him off, before bagging his body.

  1. Murkywater:

Marketed as private security consultants, but they are capable of everything from simple home security to deploying regiment sized units of fully supported mercenaries. They are all highly trained and drawn from all branches of the world's’ best militaries. Very well equipped with top-grade ballistic armor and Eagle Heavy assault rifles, which is why the top corporations and even state authorities sometimes put them on the books.

My Notes: These guys...goddamn it. What the hell are heavily armed mercenaries doing in Washington? Half of ‘em ain’t even American. We got a look at some of the stiffs shipped out of that warehouse - undocumented Armenians, Germans, South Africans. From all over. Might fancy themselves as bad-ass mercs, and they got the firepower for that, but the clowns still went through ‘em like crap through a goose.

  1. GenSec Elite:

The GenSec Elite are the best GenSec can offer. They are heavily armed and armored, and drawn from former military veterans, giving GenSec some paramilitary capability. They are occasionally contracted by police forces in extreme cases. They are equipped with the finest kit GenSec’s money can supply. Military armor keeps them in the fight, while they are armed with semi-automatic shotguns and JP36 assault rifles.

My Notes: The contracts to bring in these guys will surely take a big damn bite out of my budget but I reckon it’s worth it. What I wouldn’t give to have a couple of these teams on the books around the clock. Packing the finest GenSec armors - top-secret military-grade compound-polymer stuff even the Bureau could never afford. And they’re not just decked out well. I've seen these guys fight. Gotta be ex-special forces. I’d sure love to read their files.

  1. JP36
    GenSecJP36

    A close-up view of the GenSec JP36, showing the unique camo.


    The JP36 used by the GenSec Elite SWAT Team has a white digital camouflage, similar to their uniforms.
  2. Eagle Heavy
    Murky-eagle

    The reskinned Eagle Heavy.


    Murkywater uses a black Eagle Heavy with the Sniper Stock, Long Barrel, and Rail Extension attachments mounted. They do more damage than the police's CAR-4 rifles.

  • The tactics and training of GenSec SWAT Teams suggests that most of them are former FBI responders, as well as perhaps former special operation members.
    • The company's trademarked Fast Tactical Special Forces can be abbreviated to FTSU. In popular media, FTSU usually stands for "Fuck Their Shit Up"[3], befitting seeing how overwhelming their numbers and displayed firepower are compared to the Payday crew.
  • The helmets worn by the GenSec SWAT are modeled after the Crye Precision "AirFrame", with all available accessories attached.
  • The helmets worn by the Murkywater mercenaries on the other hand is a hybrid of the Cyre Precision Airframe helmet with the M-TEK FAST G4 mandible protection.
    • Notably, the mandible protection of the Murky's helmet is attached by strap rather than by proper rails provided by M-TEK or Cyre Percision, showing that it is indeed a hybrid.

Department Of Homeland Surveillance

Zealteam
Zealteam
Introduced during Hoxton's Housewarming Party, these police units are the most powerful of SWAT teams sent to take down the PAYDAY gang for good. They only appear on the Death Sentence difficulty, replacing regular and Heavy SWAT respectively with their own ones, including Bulldozers, and Medic plus Minigun Dozers.

They behave much like their SWAT counterparts, outside of dealing substantially more damage. Their armor is generally black, which can disguise which units are wearing bulletproof body armor. Their chatter is deeper pitched and filtered, as if it was heard through a radio, making it a bit harder to understand amidst the battle chaos. Bulldozer face plates are also redesigned to appear more shielded, although they remain functionally the same.

The ZEAL team has a unique redesign to them, except the Sniper who still uses the SWAT variant and the Medic who has no redesign.

Force Z, the Zulus, or ZEAL (Force Z Elite Assault Legion) - thus named because they are the last resort force deployed when absolutely everything else falls short. They are the top secret strike force of the Department of Homeland Surveillance. Even the FBI only found out about their existence a few days before they were deployed in Washington during the emergency of October 2016 (which ultimately failed to materialize on the scale that the DHS had envisioned). The ZEALs deploy highly efficient SWAT units, including their own tougher versions of special operatives such as Bulldozers and Cloakers.

My Notes: When the goddamn DHS starts meddling in police business, they don’t hold back, do they? I have to admit that these units do know their business. But they should be under police command. It’s not right that a dark legion of secret super soldiers should go stomping around in populated areas with complete impunity.

  • In real life, the Department of Homeland Security doesn't have a standing armed force, much less a black ops-tier battalion-scale detachment. The closest thing it has to armed personnel is related to Customs and Border Patrol, and they are nowhere near this well-armed. This is even more baffling considering that the PAYDAY iteration of the DHS is one of a national surveillance agency (Department of Homeland Surveillance instead of Security).
  • In a certain update, the ZEAL Cloaker was omitted from the Death Sentence difficulty as issues were caused.
    • The Taser also had a ZEAL counterpart included in the game resources, but went unused until Update #183.

Mexican Law Enforcement

SMBH Promo SS07

Seen in San Martín Bank, Buluc's Mansion and Breakfast in Tijuana, The Policía Federal (Federal Police in English) is the Mexican National Police force. They are deployed when the typical metropolitan police cannot detain the threat. They appear to have taken inspiration from the Americans and their policing techniques and have their own combat Medics, Tasers, Bulldozers, Cloakers, Snipers, Shields as well as Turret Mounted Vans.

Their uniforms are a mix of those worn by other factions and don't have variants for reach range of difficulty. The suits of light and heavy units are the FBI's painted dark blue (excepting armor of Maximum Force Responder), the shoulder pads of Tazer are yellow, Cloaker uniform is the Zeal's repainted, Medic's outfit is the Murkywater version but repainted dark blue as the rest of special units, Shields are carried by respective light SWAT and Dozers use russian mercenaries armor, except for the skulldozer, minigun dozer and the medic dozer.

  • The Policía Federal is based on the Police force of the same name. The Policía Federal is the national police force of Mexico.
  • Curiously, the Policía Federal was officially dissolved into the National Guard in October 2019.
  • Because of this, the enemies fought in the game might be based on the Policía Federal Ministerial (Federal Ministerial Police in English).
  • The Policía Federal Ministerial in actuality, acts more like the FBI in real life, that being more investigation than actual armed conflict, but similarly to how the FBI in the PAYDAY universe as an armed force, the PFM may also have their hand in directly tackling crime.

Russian Mercenaries

These are the most basic Russian mercenaries, they are the counterparts of the Blue SWAT, they wield AK rifles, and appear on Normal and Hard.

These mercenaries are black with yellow stripes, and are the counterparts to the Yellow SWAT. They wield AK rifles, and appear on Normal and Hard.

These mercenaries are black with red stripes. They replace the Heavy Response Units on Very Hard and Overkill, and wield AK rifles, Krinkov SMGs and Reinfield shotguns.

These mercenaries replace the Maximum Force Responders on Very Hard and Overkill. They have large tan vests, and helmets that can be shot off. They wield AK rifles and Krinkov SMGs.

These mercenaries wear digital camouflage, and replace the Gensec SWAT on Mayhem and above.

Unique Opponents

"The Commissar"
2014-11-05 00011
Description
Enemy Type Russian Mob Boss
Assassination Target
Statistics
Health 500 (Normal)
1,000 (Hard)
3,000 (Very Hard)
6,000 (Overkill)
9,000 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
2 (Very Hard)
2 (Overkill)
2 (Mayhem)
2 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name mobster_boss
v·d·e
See also: Minor characters (Payday 2)#The Commissar
"The Commissar is an inconvenience, which can no longer be tolerated. His time has come."
—The Dentist briefing the crew on the Commissar.

The Commissar is the boss of his own Russian Mafia family, operating in the DC area. He can be considered the first true non-police enemy special unit due to his stats, but cannot be marked with the shout command like regular specials.

The Commissar is armed with a KSP light machine gun (which is capable of easily shredding heisters at close range) and at least one smoke grenade, which he immediately tosses out once his panic room vault is breached. He is incredibly durable, but wears no armor and can be easily taken down with concentrated gunfire. The Commissar is not resistant to knockback or knockdown effects, it is possible to perpetually stun-lock him, by dealing high damage (causing him to flinch), using high knockback weapons or explosives, in order to prevent him from using his KSP.

Additionally, because criminal and police AIs were programmed to engage each other with the Hotline Miami update; it is also possible to whittle down or kill The Commissar by retreating and having the police fight him. This is not entirely reliable because of his high health and powerful damage output, as he will gun down regular law enforcers quickly unless confronted by multiple Shields or Bulldozers, both of which are capable of shrugging off The Commissar's attacks.

Another easy way to kill him is with the HRL-7. One shot is all it takes to kill him regardless of difficulty.

"The Informant"
2015-03-22 00007
Description
Enemy Type FBI Informant
Cartel Boss
Assassination Target
Statistics
Health 500 (Normal)
1,000 (Hard)
3,000 (Very Hard)
6,000 (Overkill)
9,000 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 1 (Normal)
1 (Hard)
1 (Very Hard)
1 (Overkill)
1 (Mayhem)
1 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name hector_boss
v·d·e
"The Informant" (Armorless)
Hectorat
Description
Enemy Type FBI Informant
Cartel Boss
Assassination Target
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
80 (Very Hard)
80 (Overkill)
80 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 1 (Normal)
1 (Hard)
1 (Very Hard)
1 (Overkill)
1 (Mayhem)
1 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name hector_boss_no_armor
v·d·e
"Hector is the one who is working with the Fed!? That son of a bitch thought he could play us for fools. In the end, he is the one who crushed, that dirty Colombian Rat."
—Bain's reaction after recognizing the Rat.

Encountered at the end of Hoxton Revenge, the informant is responsible for getting Hoxton caught during the time between PAYDAY: The Heist and PAYDAY 2, having worked with the FBI to gain protection and immunity. After the crew discovers his identity, they will need to breach the vault he is residing in and take him down.

The informant as an enemy is very much similar to The Commissar, in that he has a high amount of health and wears heavy armor (an Improved Combined Tactical Vest) with a riot gear helmet. He is armed with an IZHMA 12G, which he will wield against the crew as he sees them. Just like The Commissar, he is not resistant to knockback or knockdown effects, thus it is possible to perpetually stun-lock him, by repeatedly dealing high damage (causing him to flinch), using high knockback weapons or explosives. One shot from the HRL-7 is enough to kill him on any difficulty. The informant will not be wearing armor if the panic room is breached stealthily and instead of an IZHMA 12G he is armed with a Chimano 88 handgun.

Also unlike The Commissar, he is allied with the police, so law enforcers at the scene will not attack him.

Biker Gang Boss
Bikerboss
Description
Enemy Type OVERKILL MC Leader
Statistics
Health 1,000 (Normal)
1,000 (Hard)
3,000 (Very Hard)
18,000 (Overkill)
30,000 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
2 (Very Hard)
2 (Overkill)
2 (Mayhem)
2 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name biker_boss
v·d·e
"Simple. We kill them all."
—The Biker Boss when asked what to do when the clowns breach the train car she's defending.

The Biker Boss is a presumably high-ranking member of the OVERKILL MC and a unique masked enemy appearing on Day 2 of The Biker Heist. She wields a KSP and holds a keycard, which is used to unlock the cage behind her, allowing access to the BCI helmet compartment along with plenty of loot.

Similar to the Commissar, the Biker Boss AI belongs to the same faction as her subordinate bikers, so the law enforcement units on the site will engage her as well as the heisters. While she is decently well-armed and armored, the cramped spaces of the train car she is situated in effectively forms a chokepoint around her, allowing attackers to gradually funnel in and wear her down. She also does not make use of the many cover pieces in the arena and thus makes for a juicy target.

Chavez
Pd2chavez
Description
Enemy Type Local Gang Leader
Statistics
Health 1,000 (Normal)
1,000 (Hard)
3,000 (Very Hard)
6,000 (Overkill)
9,000 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
2 (Very Hard)
2 (Overkill)
2 (Mayhem)
2 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name chavez_boss
v·d·e

Chavez reappears in the Panic Room remake, holding the keys to the panic room. Unlike in the original heist, where he would be defenseless and could even be taken hostage, he fights the heisters with his henchmen, wielding dual Chimano 88 pistols and wearing a Ballistic Vest.

Ernesto Sosa
20161225125141 1
Description
Enemy Type Sosa Cartel Boss
Assassination Target
Statistics
Health 3,500 (Normal)
3,500 (Hard)
7,000 (Very Hard)
10,500 (Overkill)
21,000 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name drug_lord_boss
v·d·e
Ernesto Sosa (Stealth)
Description
Enemy Type Sosa Cartel Boss
Assassination Target
Statistics
Health 500 (Normal)
500 (Hard)
1,000 (Very Hard)
1,500 (Overkill)
3,000 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
2 (Very Hard)
2 (Overkill)
2 (Mayhem)
2 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name drug_lord_boss_stealth
v·d·e

Ernesto Sosa is the nephew of Alejandro Sosa and the assassination target of the Scarface Mansion heist. According to the FBI's top brass, Ernesto is one of the chief leading figures of the Sosa cartel in Miami, whom The Butcher also wants dead due to him sinking one of her freight ships and murdering her men.

Ernesto is located in his office that was repurposed from Tony's old one, and the room itself is situated in a fortified wing of the building that the heisters need to breach before they can take him down. Ernesto uses a Bronco .44 if he is alerted after his office is opened in stealth, and the Little Friend 7.62 if he is reached in loud.

Yufu Wang
Wang armor
Description
Enemy Type Golden Dagger Leader
Assassination Target
Statistics
Health 5,400 (Normal)
5,400 (Hard)
10,800 (Very Hard)
16,200 (Overkill)
32,400 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 1 (Normal)
1 (Hard)
2 (Very Hard)
3 (Overkill)
2 (Mayhem)
1.5 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name triad_boss
v·d·e
Yufu Wang (Stealth)
Description
Enemy Type Golden Dagger Leader
Assassination Target
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
2 (Very Hard)
2 (Overkill)
2 (Mayhem)
2 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name triad_boss_no_armor
v·d·e

Yufu Wang is the leader of the Golden Dagger Triads and the assassination target of the Mountain Master heist. Concerned with Wang's failure to handle the Payday Gang, the other heads of the Golden Dagger hire the Payday Gang to kill Wang.

Wang is located in his penthouse, and flees to the roof to armor up and fight the Payday Gang. Wang uses a Flamethrower if the heist goes loud before his meeting room is opened in stealth.

Wang has additional modifiers:

  • He takes 50% less damage from explosives.
  • Headshots do no extra damage.
  • He is 100% immune to ECM feedback.
  • He is 100% immune to being on fire, poisoned, knocked down, concussed, or tased.
    • He will however still take 1 tick of poison damage.
  • He is 100% invulnerable to bullets from behind.

Gangs

Gangster
Gangster
Description
Enemy Type Gangster
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name gangster
biker
bolivians
v·d·e

They are found on select heists. Although weak health-wise, they often pack rapid-firing or high damage weapons, thus allowing them to inflict a large amount of damage quickly. Like in the previous game, gangsters cannot be forced into submission and have to be killed.

There are currently five different factions of gangs. While they differ in appearance, they behave and function the same. As of Update #37, gangsters and police officers will now engage one another if they should ever cross paths during a heist.

Despite playing the roles of guards in certain heists, all gangsters lack pagers. However, do not make the mistake of thinking this makes heists with gangsters present easy to stealth - when spotted by one, the player has an extremely small time window to silence them, as they will open fire almost immediately, unlike most other guard-type enemies.

These factions are:

  • OVERKILL MC: A biker gang established in 2008 or 2009, appearing in Big Oil Day 1, both days of The Biker Heist and the U.S. side of Border Crossing, wielding Chimano 88 pistols and Reinfeld 880 shotguns. A gang very similar in appearance to the OVERKILL MC appears in the Santa's Workshop heist, wielding identical weaponry.
  • The Cobras: An African-American street gang who wear red clothing. They appear on Day 2 of Rats and have a chance of appearing on Day 1 of Big Oil making a drug deal with the Overkill MC. They also appear on Undercover as disguised law enforcers. They only use the Mark 10.
  • The Mendoza Cartel: A (presumably) Colombian gang who wear civilian style clothing. They appear on Day 1 and Day 3 of Rats and Day 1 of Firestarter. They use the Mark 10. Dead ones also appears on Watchdogs day 2, near the loot truck, presumably the driver who has been killed by nearby law enforcers. They also appear in Cook Off, and a similar gang named the "Honduran Cartel" appear in both days of Goat Simulator.
  • Dmitri's Russian Mafia: Russian mobsters loyal to Dmitri. From their mixed accents, Dimitri's gang appears to be a mix of American and Slavic members. They act as bouncers for the Tasteful Club during the Nightclub heist and are dressed in black leather jackets with dark blue pants, which makes them easy to mistake for civilians while in a crowd from a distance as their clothes' dark profile makes them hard to single out in the club's low lighting. They use the Mark 10. Their voice-overs are generally identical to GenSec guards and they will attempt to call the police if they become alerted. They also appear during the tutorial heist Get the Coke's first day.
  • The Sosa Cartel: A Bolivian cartel run by Ernesto Sosa in the Caribbean, renamed from the Bolivian Cartel when Alejandro was running it. They only appear in the Scarface Mansion heist, patrolling the mansion's interior and exterior in search of intruders. The faction is marked for death by The Butcher after she'd learned they executed a number of her crew and stolen her merchandise, since they couldn't compete with her. The gang utilizes Chimano 88s, while some of the indoor guards (who are equipped with pagers) carry Reinfeld 880s and AK-47s.
  • The Coyopa Cartel: A Mexican cartel who worked with Murkywater in smuggling goods onto Hell's Island. They are guarding the Murkywater compound in Mexico and the building is the target of the Border Crossing Heist, and are centered with their boss being Buluc, which appears in the Buluc's Mansion heist as of 2020.
Russian Mobster
2014-11-05 00010
Description
Enemy Type Gangster
Statistics
Health 80 (Normal)
80 (Hard)
160 (Very Hard)
240 (Overkill)
480 (Mayhem/Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Headshot Multiplier 2 (Normal)
2 (Hard)
4 (Very Hard)
6 (Overkill)
4 (Mayhem)
3 (Death Wish/Death Sentence)
Other
Internal name mobster
v·d·e
  • Commissar's Russian Mafia: Russian mobsters loyal to the Commissar in Hotline Miami, they carry AK.762s, Reinfeld 880 shotguns, Mark 10s, Bronco .44s, and a variety of melee weapons. Unlike Dimitri's mobsters; the Commissar's mobsters are easily identified by their flashy, all-white suits that makes them heavily stand out in both days they are featured in. They can also make jumps into the motel room and board up instantly.
  • Vlad's Hired Hands: The appear on Aftershock, protecting Vlad's transport trucks. They are friendly to players and use the Mark 10. One of these appears as a hostile enemy in the first day of the tutorial heist Get the Coke, and they appear as hostile enemies on Brooklyn 10-10 , though this is probably not canonical and just an asset re-use by Overkill.

  1. Mark 10
The Mark 10s used by the gangsters have integrated tactical light mounted near the trigger guard. These tactical lights are visually and locationally different to the Assault Light, which is mounted to the right side of the weapon.

  • Since the AI behavior was improved following the Hotline Miami DLC's release, law enforcers on the scene will engage in a shootout with Dimitri's mobsters despite them calling for police help in the first place. Law enforcers on Day 3 of Rats would also turn on and shoot at any gangsters who left the bus, contradicting their original intentions to escort them to the airport safely. Likewise, the gangsters would shoot at law enforcers from the bus. This was resolved in Patch #67.

Special Enemies

General Trivia

  • For gameplay reasons, the observed behavior of in-game law enforcers have to deviate heavily from common sense and training:
    • The police forces will assault relentlessly rather than maintaining a secure perimeter and attempting to negotiate.
      • Players can almost always escape regardless of whether an assault is going on or not. This does not happen in real life as possible escape routes are always prioritized, located and blockaded to prevent criminals from leaving (and entering) the crime scene.
        • As observed in the Counterfeit remake, three shields may appear and guard one of the sewer entrances that players must use to escape. Oddly, if they are killed long before escaping, no additional enemies will appear to replace them (though to make up for this, Bulldozers and Cloakers will jump down within the sewers to stop players).
      • The law enforcement in PAYDAY 2 almost never consider disabling the crew's escape vehicles when given the first chance, even after it is observed the crew throws stolen/illegal valuables in it. Some exceptions include Watchdogs in which the escape driver can be killed and Cloakers tend to hide around the escape van in order to ambush heisters.
        • Spike strips could have been used to stop car chases in the game, instead of shooting the crew's escape driver. While the police may use them in Hoxton Breakout Day 1, they leave them unguarded and it only poses as a minor deterrence for the armored vehicle. Otherwise, a law enforcer would attempt to arrest the driver of a parked escape vehicle or shoot the tires.
        • Also, while the law enforcement do deploy police barricades, as seen in Meltdown and Goat Simulator, they do it rather poorly as there is always a route players can take to bypass them. As such, the police force would rather reinforce an assault instead of effectively ensuring heisters cannot escape with ease.
    • Police officers will seemingly shoot to kill (although with players going into custody when they "die", this is not necessarily true).
      • Officers in real life are supposed to give suspect(s) a chance to surrender and/or disarm, if the suspect refuses, the officers will shoot to incapacitate; they will open fire, however, as soon as a gun is pointed at them, or the suspect refuses to disarm after a given amount of time, regardless of shooting it or not. This can be witnessed closely after detection where law enforcers will try to negotiate and take the heister down without a shot by moving up and arresting them, and only react once fired at or moving away.
        • Though on some heists like Rats/Cook Off, a police officer can be heard/seen demanding the immediate surrender of the crew and issues a final warning via loudspeaker. Even then, this would jeopardize the lives of potential hostages.
      • In Day 2 of The Biker Heist, various law enforcement can be seen executing surrendering bikers, possibly in an attempt to keep the classified BCI helmet secret. On higher difficulties, Cloakers can attack bikers while they are still fighting (Though you have to be at least 1 minute and 20 seconds into the heist while it already is a quick heist)
      • Metropolitan police officers will not use tasers, and there are instead specialized units that taze. In real life, a police officer would most likely taze the heister before applying handcuffs.
    • Player-activated surrender aside, all enemies will fight to the death if a heister is within range, without regards to their own safety or survival.
    • The number of law enforcements encountered in a heist is technically unlimited. In reality, the emergency responding units (SWAT, FBI, ESU, etc...) are very limited in number, with on-site personnel numbering in the dozens a rarity.
      • The FBI descriptions for the Blue SWAT mentions that they employ a shock-and-awe doctrine to quickly bring down criminals, which Commissioner Garrett seems to despise. Ironically, even the FBI employs the doctrine as evidenced by their overwhelming numbers on Very Hard and Overkill difficulty, ever so more ridiculous with the doctrine even used by GenSec and the Department of Homeland Surveillance, with the former being composed of ex-special forces and the latter an elite black ops force.
    • EOD units are not sanctioned to deploy during non-specific situations (although the Bulldozer is designed for direct combat in mind, rather than bomb disposal).
    • While real life SWAT teams do make limited use of ballistic shields, they are typically only deployed when the situation would call for them, such as during breaches of buildings, rooms or other cramped environments where the shields act as area denial devices; they are also treated as part of a squad with regular operators mixed in, instead of being an individual special unit. This is completely unlike PAYDAY 2, where shields arrive and act on their own accord and can be deployed in areas where they would be of little effect (e.g, a forest or other wide open areas where the crew can outmaneuver them).
      • In the Death Wish update trailer, one Shield officer was seen leading and protecting a small line of law enforcement officers. In-game however, Shields tend to rush at heisters recklessly even when alone.
  • For gameplay reasons, law enforcement units, especially SWAT teams, all respond alarmingly quickly to any and all emergencies, and are able to show up on the spot within mere minutes of an alarm springing and in massive numbers without any realistically clear explanation of how they managed to do so. In certain cases, their rapid response is made even more baffling as they can appear quickly out of very hard-to-reach and/or obscure locations such as upper floors or roofs of highrises (Framing Frame Day 3) and isolated areas away from civilization (Big Oil Day 2), where significant time and effort must be spent to access. In reality, emergency responders will have to be notified beforehand of the situation(s) happening for them to react that quickly.
  • Law enforcers are also completely oblivious to the safety of civilians in general, seemingly prioritizing to bring down the crew than anything else. They will continue to shoot at heisters leading hostages with reckless abandon and would not relent assaulting the crew, even if civilians are caught in their crossfire and would obviously lead to their deaths. They also will not cover the escape of hostages, and will instead leave them to their own devices to escape, nor properly restrain hostages to confirm they are civilians and to ensure they do not run from the scene (and help criminals like in Bobblehead Bob's case) until the situation is secure. Another prime example is the Taser in which electrocuting a heister, who will very often continuously fire without control, is extremely hazardous.
    • In reality, this is the complete opposite on how a police force would handle a hostage situation, as police forces would prioritize the safe extraction of all hostages first. Getting any of them killed due to their own actions would merit severe consequences for them.
    • Also, in Aftershock, they ignore the homeless civilians instead of evacuating them (unless they are tied down).
    • Another case is The Alesso Heist in which upon going loud, the concert is not evacuated nor placed under lock-down. In fact, the concert continues to perform normally with the crowd being oblivious to armed robbers being present in the location.
    • On the Green Bridge heist and its remake, law enforcers will even free intimidated or tied down prisoners and allow them to escape the scene unattended despite them being incarcinated offenders.
  • With the advent of the AI behavior update, law enforcers can now kill civilians by accident if their shots stray. Aside from the lack of realism, this can lead to a surreal situation as the players, playing as crooks, are trying to keep the hostages alive, while the police do not appear to care for their safety.
    • In real life, most police officers would perhaps face heavy consequences, possibly even career-ending, for injuring civilians, let alone killing them.
    • Converted officers and guards will be shot and killed by their (former) comrades without hesitation or notice. In reality, the termination of compromised personnel must be authorized by a commanding officer before it is to be carried out, or the person responsible for it may be court-martialled for insubordination and murder of their colleague.
  • When an enemy is shot in the head but survives, or struck by an explosion, his hat (if wearing one) or helmet may fly off. Being caught in an explosion is more likely to produce this result, as depending on the type of weapon used to headshot the law enforcer and the kind of enforcer himself, his headwear may remain even after he is killed.
  • With improved AI, the police force will target loot bags and try to take them away from heisters. However, instead of securing them to ensure criminals will not be able to retrieve them, they simply move the bags to a specific location on the map and may not even bother to defend them.
    • Ironically, they may even take them closer to the escape/loot drop-off point for heisters.
    • This is not the case during the Safe House Raid, where law enforcers can now take the money bags out of the map and prevent players from retrieving them.
    • Also on infinite loot heists like Cook Off, White Xmas, and Counterfeit law enforcers can take loot off the map, destroying it. This is not the case for Santa's Workshop however.
  • The Blue SWAT, Yellow SWAT, Heavy Response Unit, and all specials each have a Russian replacement seen exclusively in the Boiling Point heist. These units have custom Russian voice lines and even carry different equipment than normal law enforcers (such as a different model for Shields and a different helmet for the Bulldozer), but do not have a health difference to their DC counterparts.
    • The model used for the Russian Bulldozer's helmet appears to be a modified version of the Vlad Armor mask (similar to the Murkywater PMC's helmet being a modified version of the Alpha Force mask) with its only difference being it appearing all black and the addition of Bulldozer faceplates.
    • The color scheme of the Russian units is black and red, which makes them very easy to see against the white and light grey color scheme of the map, and thanks to the bright red, they are also easy to see in the dark portion of the underground lab. Because of these reasons, the colors are a horrible choice for the area they appear in, and the use of a camouflage pattern is essentially useless because they would stand out either way.
    • Strangely, even though Russian units are never seen in a stealth setting, stealth lines for the Russian units such as spotting a heister, calling the police, or spotting a dead body, bodybag, or lootbag were recorded and can be heard either by the extraction of the game files or by using a mod that puts Russian units into heists other than Boiling Point. When done, it does not replace the Murkywater guards or the normal DC security guards but does have Russian voicelines for said units.

References

Video

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

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