Payday 2 Best Weapons Tier List

Updated:

02 Dec 2024

With over a decade's worth of updates, guns, and heists. If you are just logging in for the first time or have been out of the loop for a while, it's easy to feel lost or confused from the extensive weapons, skills, and perks this game has to offer. In today’s tier list, we rank the best guns the Payday Clowns can get their greedy, homicidal fingers on.

What are the strongest and weakest weapons in Payday 2?

S Tier: (The best of the best Payday 2 has to offer, these weapons excel on every difficulty even being able to breach the breakpoints on Zeal Enemies on Death Sentence):
Lions Roar: 90/100
The Judge: 89/100

Akimbo Krinkovs: 88/100

Akimbo Goliaths : 88/100

Grimm Shotgun with Incendiary rounds: 87/100

A Tier: (Powerful and Reliable weapons, if you don’t like the style or specific quirks of the weapons in S-Tier, these bad boys are perfectly fine alternatives)

RPK: 83/100
Akimbo CR 508b: 82/100
Ak-5: 82/100

Five-Seven : 81/100
Akimbo Stryk 19c : 81/100

B Tier (Although these guns may not be very powerful,they are still very reliable and easy to use weapons in a pinch. Great for beginner or returning players)

AK-17: 77/100

Valkyria : 76/100
Buzzsaw : 75/100

OVE9000 Saw : 74/100

Arbiter : 70/100

C Tier (Not very special or remarkable weapons, but still deadly nonetheless)
Everything else

With over 240 weapons in Payday 2, the game has a very large and wide variety of weapons to choose from...

If you are not on any difficulty higher than Overkill, then your weapon choice will not make a huge difference. With enough grit, bullets and skills, you can make it to the getaway van in relative ease.

Lions Roar (S Tier 100/100

The Lion's Roar is an Assault Rifle with high damage output and a deep ammo reserve. With the skills “Stable Shot, Aced Steady Grip and The Professional, this gun can achieve perfect accuracy. If you are just getting into Death Sentence for the first time and are lost, this gun will erase any badge wearing dunce out of your path.

Can reach 100 accuracy and 100 Stability with proper build
6 bullets per pickup
high damage (78 base damage)
Works wonderfully in tandem with Crit Builds
Can exceed the breakpoints for Death Sentence

» See the Lions Roar in action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7th8MCgjpsI

2. The Judge (S Tier 90/100)
Large clear image

The judge is a back pocket cannon that shares one of the highest dps of all shotguns in the game.The only Shotgun pistol in-game is a must have for any stealth build, along with its high concealment, it has the ability to launch guards when you shoot them, allowing you to send them into a corner or a hidden place without having to bag them slowly. Dragons' breath rounds can also be attached, which makes this gun viable and effective as a crowd control device on loud, or equip AP Slug rounds for its ability to penetrate walls and shields. But beware, it has a low ammo pickup rate and can shoot as fast as you can pull the trigger, this secondary is amazing with any primary with a high ammo pickup rate.

Best stealth weapon in game
High concealment
Tied for having the highest damage in the shotgun category
Dragons' breath rounds can be attached
Second highest ammo reserve in the shotgun category
Can launch guards' bodies into easier to hide areas
» See a full Judge build in action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3I3NZwmixM&t=346

Akimbo Krinkovs S Tier 7/10

What's better than one really good gun? One in each hand. The Akimbo Krinkovs are very easy to use SMGs with low recoil and high damage. Stand in front of any dozer with these bad boys and watch their helmets melt! The Akimbo Krinkovs exceed breakpoints in both Heavy Zeal enemies and the rainbow of Dozers payday 2 has to offer.

Can be modified to do 99+ damage
Insanely powerful with a crit build
High fire rate,
Best weapon to destroy swat turrets
Average 4 bullets per ammo box

» See the Akimbo Krinkovs in action in this Grinder build! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL-CAgAGIXc&t=762

4. Akimbo Goliath 12g S Tier 7/10

Although it's a shotgun, with the AP Slugs' ammo modification this gun becomes more of a two shot DMR. With skills like Berserker Aced these bad boys can one-shot most enemies even in the higher difficulties. Get face to face with a Dozer dumb enough to try to fight you with these in your hands, they’ll be dead before you can even feel bad about the closed casket funeral his family will have.

Rapidly kills Dozers
Available to unlock and equip right after starting the game or going infamous
Berserker Aced allows this gun to one shot most enemies even in Death Sentence
AP Slugs attachment allows you to shoot through body armor, shields, thick walls and multiple targets.
Fast reload

» See the Akimbo Goliaths in action in this Grinder Perk Deck build! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_WQy7hJkjg&t=288

5. Grimm Shotgun (with incendiary rounds)

Although it's a secondary, has the lowest damage in the shotgun category, and it's not even the akimbo version. Why is this gun here? DRAGONS BREATH ROUNDS!!! If you are playing on any difficulty under Mayhem, this gun will allow you to walk through every objective, cop and shield officer with your brain off.