PAYDAY 2: “Enforcer” and “Technician” Explained

Power to withstand gunshots and multiple attacks? Expertise in technology? Strength? Intelligence? Both?

In this next feature of Skill-Roles in Payday 2, we will discuss the Enforcer and the Technician. Remember, you can be both when you have played long enough and earned enough points to unlock all skill sets in both roles. However, if you just started, that’s okay. We can guide you in which set to prioritize. Moreover, focusing on a specific skill set will boost your success rate, especially when you work in a team. Each of you may take a different ability that complements the whole group in finishing your mission’s objectives.

For starters, Enforcers are the tanks of their teams. Their skill set is made for them to be durable during the game. Thus, treating them as the shield. They can take on more damage than the rest of the gang. On the other hand, Technicians are the equipment experts of the group. They are not as durable as the other crew members, but they come in handy in deploying tools, picking locks, and all other tech-savvy requiring tasks. Usually, the enforcer’s job is to protect the technician while the technician is doing their job. It’s reasonable, right? In movies, we see techs who are the key players in breaking in and out of a particular heist. Without them, their plan will be moot. Likewise, without reliable tanks, AKA fighters of the group, to protect their key player, they will not succeed. Here’s the breakdown for each role:

Skill Role #2: Enforcer

Enforcer has three sub-roles: Shotgunner, Tank, and Ammo Specialist. The durability of this special ability owes it to the Tank set. The two other ability sets are made to grant the player more damage even when they try to invest in its defenses.

SHOTGUNNER
1. Underdog – If this skill is acquired, you can inflict an additional 15% damage bonus for 7 seconds when at least three (3) enemies are targeting you. Ace this skill, and you will also receive a 10% damage reduction.
2. Shotgun CQB – Shotgun reload becomes 15% faster. Upgrade these skills to make the reload 35% faster. Additionally, you gain a 125% increased steel sight zoom speed by using Shotguns.
3. Shotgun Impact – Weapon stability with all shotguns is increased by 8, and shotgun damage by 5%. Acing this skill will grant additional 10% more damage with shotguns.
4. Close By – This skill allows you to hip-fire with your shotgun while sprinting. Upgraded, the rate of fire is raised to 35% while firing from the hip using a Shotgun. Shotgun magazine sizes are increased by 15 shells.
5. Far Away – With the addition of this skill, your accuracy bonus while aiming down sights with Shotguns is increased by 40%. If aced, the increase becomes 50%.
6. Overkill – Get this ultimate skill to receive a 75% damage increase for 20 seconds when you kill an enemy with a shotgun or with the OVE9000 portable saw. If you upgrade this, a damage bonus becomes available to all weapons. Additionally, your weapon swap speed is increased by 80%. Note: This attribute does not apply to melee damage, throwables, or grenade/rocket launchers.

Tank with damage? Are you Hulk? What do you think about this set? Impressive, huh?

TANK
1. Resilience – This is the first skill toward becoming a durable character. Adding this skill would increase your armor recovery rate by 15%. When you upgrade this, it reduces the visual effect duration of flashbangs by 75%.
2. Transporter – Throwing bags is now 50% further. Ace the skills, and the movement penalty is reduced by 1% for each 10 armor points. This skill answers your slow movement when you have such high armor points.
3. Die-hard – Adding this skill will give you 50% less damage while interacting with objects. Ace this skill to increase the armor by 20.
4. Shock and Awe – Acquire this skill to increase the armor recovery rate for you and your crew by 25%. Acing this skill gives your weapons a chance to knock back Shield law enforcers when attacking them if your melee weapons’ knockback chance is 100%.
5. Bullseye – Add this skill, and your armor regenerates by 5 for every successful headshot. Upgrading this skill will give additional 20 armor regeneration for each successful headshot.
6. Iron Man – Total armor is increased by 30%. Ace this skill to unlock the ability to wear the Improved Combined Tactical Vest.

To be durable is to endure. To endure is to succeed.

AMMO SPECIALIST

1. Scavenger – When you add this skill, your ammo box pick-up range increases by 50%. Upgraded, an extra ammo box is dropped for every 6th enemy you kill.
   
2. Bulletstorm – With this skill, the ammo bags you placed allow the crews to shoot without depleting their ammunition for up to 5 seconds after interacting with it. This helps replenish your team’s ammunition. Acing this skill increases the base duration of the effect by up to 15 seconds.
   
3. Portable Saw – This unlocks the OVE9000 portable saw as your secondary weapon. Upgrade this skill to gain 1 extra saw blade for the said saw. You may now replace your saw blades with carbon blades, increasing your saw efficiency by 40%.
   
4. Saw Massacre – Skill acquisition reduces the wear down of the blades on enemies by 50%. Ace the skill to saw through shielded enemies. Upon killing an enemy with this saw, you will have a 50% chance of causing panic among nearby enemies. In turn, the panic will experience uncontrollable fear, making them vulnerable.
   
5. Extra Lead – You can place 2 ammo bags with this. Ace this to increase ammo bag ammunition by 50%.
   
6. Fully loaded – Total ammo capacity is increased by 25%. Ace the skill to increase the amount of ammo you gain from boxes by 75%. Additionally, you gain a 5% base chance to get throwable from an ammo box. This base chance is increased by 1% for each ammo box you pick up that does not contain a throwable. When a throwable has been found, the chance is reset to its base value. Use this wisely!

Unlimited ammo? That’s pretty useful!

Developers give their players the option to have strong defenses with strong attacks. In a team, one should prioritize getting this set to protect crew members and eliminate threats such as enemies.

Skill Role #3: Technician

Like the previous roles, Technician has three (3) sub-roles: Engineer, Breacher, and Oppressor. Becoming an expert may seem an easy job to some, but it is a delicate job. In stealth missions, your actions are critical in maintaining invisibility. How you deal with tech tools is as crucial as the game’s success. Here are the sets for this role:

ENGINEER
1. Third Law – With this skill, the cost of deploying sentry guns used and positioned in a designated area to help fight off enemies is reduced by 5%. Ace the skill, and your sentry guns will gain a protective shield.
2. Sentry Targeting Package – Add this skill, and your sentry guns will gain a 100% increase in accuracy. Upgrading this would give your sentry guns a rotation speed increase of 150%. Also your sentry guns will also have 50% more ammunition.
3. Eco Sentry – Deployment of a sentry gun is reduced by 5%. Ace this skill, and your sentry guns will gain 150% increased health.
4. Engineering – With this added skill, you can now select a less noisy version of the sentry guns, making them much less likely to be targeted by enemies. Ace this one, and you can now toggle AP rounds on your sentry guns, lowering the rate of fire by 75% but increasing damage by 250% and allowing it to pierce through enemies and shields.
5. Jack of All Trades – Acquire this skill to deploy and interact with all deployable 100%. With an upgrade, you can now equip a secondary deployable to bring with you.
6. Tower Defense – With this, you are allowed to carry 1 extra sentry gun. Acing this skill will increase your carrying capacity of sentry guns to 2.

A tactician using an extra set of guns to eliminate enemies is one big help to the crew.

BREACHER
1. Hardware Expert – Fixing drills and saws become 25% faster. Trip mine deploy time is reduced by 20%. This equipment becomes silent; only by seeing them will civilians and guards be alerted. Ace this to give your drills and saws a 10% chance to automatically restart after breaking.
2. Combat Engineering – The radius of the explosion of trip mines is increased by 30%. It becomes 50% when upgraded.
3. Drill Sawgeant – Drilling and sawing time is decreased by 15%. Ace this skill to decrease the time further by 15%.
4. Kickstarter – Add the skill for the drills and saws to gain an additional 20% chance to automatically restart after breaking. Upgraded, the chance to fix themselves becomes 50%.
5. More Firepower – With this, you gain 1 more shaped charge and 4 more trip mines. Ace this to gain 2 more shaped charges and 7 trip mines.
6. Fire Trap – The area of effect of detonation of trip mines for 10 seconds is now in a 4-meter diameter. Upgrade this skill to increase the duration by 10 seconds, and they are of effect by 50%.

A technician is a good ally but can be a scary enemy.

OPPRESSOR
1. Steady Grip – Get this to gain a weapon accuracy of 8. Upgrade it to increase it to 16.
2. Heavy Impact – Shots have a 5% chance to stagger all enemies except Bulldozers and Captain Winters. Upgrading this skill would increase your stagger chance to 20%.
3. Fire Control – Your weapon accuracy is increased to 12 while firing from the hip. While the accuracy penalty is reduced by 20% when shooting while moving.
4. Lock N’ Load – You can hip-fire with your weapons while sprinting. Ace this skill so that when you kill 2 enemies with SMGs, LMGs, Assault Rifles, or Special Weapons, you will increase reload speed by 100%.
5. Surefire – SMGs, LMGs, and Assault Rifles gain 15 more bullets. Ace this so your ranged weapons can pierce through enemy body armor.
6. Body Expertise – Headshot damage bonus of 30% is now permanently applied to hitting enemies on the body. Upgrading this skill will make it 90%.

Now that is one hell of damage.

Which of the two do you like better? Are you into brute strength or guns and tools? Share it with us in the comment section.

Did you know that other roles can move quickly? Well, they aren’t called ‘ghosts‘ for nothing. Read the next article to find out more.