Payday 2 is all about getting paid, as the title implies. It is a cooperative FPS that allows a group of four players to rob banks, nightclubs, armored cars, and other locations, stealing as much as they can carry. Of course, no heist is that easy. There are plenty of dangers and obstacles to keep players separated from their goal.
Each member of the player's team can choose a role with its own unique skills. These can be upgraded as the player's Reputation level increases. One of such role is the Mastermind, a multipurpose class intended to survey the bigger picture and ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible. Below are the ten best skills in the Mastermind class.
Forced Friendship
Forced Friendship comes from the Controller branch of the Mastermind skill tree. This branch helps the Mastermind player keep the crowd under control while the rest of the gang pulls off the heist. Crowd control is paramount, as it can keep law enforcement from discovering the group's activities prematurely. It also allows the gang to use hostages strategically.
In its Basic form, Forced Friendship allows the Mastermind to cable tie hostages 75% faster and increases their amount of cable ties by 4. In its Aced version, Forced Friendship grants a 0.5 damage reduction to the team for each hostage taken, maxing out at eight hostages.
Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm Syndrome is another skill in the Controller branch. This powerful crowd control skill, in its Basic version, keeps civilians intimidated 50% longer by the noise made by the Mastermind.
In its Ace version, the Stockholm Syndrome skill makes it so that hostages will not flee when rescued by law enforcement. Furthermore, once per heist, a hostage can be exchanged for a captured member of the heist team. This can be a clutch ability, as losing a member of the team prematurely can be a devastating setback for a heist.
Joker
The Joker ability is an appropriately chaotic skill that also comes from the Controller skill branch. It brings a whole new meaning to the term, "Mastermind."
In its Basic form, it allows the Mastermind to convert one non-special enemy to join in the heist. This can't happen from stealth, and the enemy must have already surrendered to the crew. Furthermore, only one enemy can be converted at a time. In its Ace form, the Joker ability grants a 35% damage increase to the converted enemy and cuts the time it takes to convert them by 65%.
Combat Doctor
Combat Doctor comes from the Medic branch of the Mastermind skill tree. A medic is a much-needed role in a dangerous heist. No matter how well a heist is planned or how stealthy the thieves are, it's almost inevitable that law enforcement will show up before everything is said and done. The crew is likely going to get hurt, and their wounds will need treatment.
The Combat Doctor skill gives the Mastermind a second Doctor Bag in its Basic version. The Doctor Bag allows the crew to heal themselves and lower their Custody Counter. However, it expires after two uses. The Ace form of Combat Doctor grants the Mastermind's Doctor Bags another two uses.
Combat Medic
The Combat Medic skill is built around reviving fellow crew members. If a member of the crew goes down, they'll need help getting back up. The Basic form of Combat Medic gives a 30% damage reduction during and for five seconds after reviving a fellow crew member.
The Ace form of Combat Medic gives 30% more health to the revived crew member, meaning they hopefully won't need more help anytime soon.
Inspire
Inspire is another Medic skill, but it plays more to the leadership role of the Mastermind player. The Basic form of Inspire halves the time it takes to revive another crew member.
It also allows the Mastermind to shout at other members of the crew, to grant a 20% boost to movement and reload speed for 10 seconds. The Ace version of Inspire allows the Mastermind to shout at fallen teammates from a distance of up to nine meters to revive them once every 20 seconds.
Rifleman
Finally, things move over to the Sharpshooter branch of the Mastermind skill tree. The Sharpshooter needs to be accurate, precise, and effective when it comes to engaging with law enforcement resistance.
The Rifleman skill is a good example, as it doubles the speed of zooming in with a weapon and makes it so that movement is unhindered while using steel sights. In its Ace version, the Rifleman skill grants a 25% bonus to zooming in with all weapons. It also increases accuracy by 16 points for assault rifles, sniper rifles, and SMGs.
Ammo Efficiency
Ammo Efficiency helps preserve ammunition during a heist. Ammunition is a vital resource while keeping the law from coming down on the crew and ending the heist.
Ammo Efficiency, in its Basic form, refunds one bullet to the Mastermind when three headshots are made in less than six seconds when using an SMG, a sniper rifle, or assault rifle. The Ace version of Ammo Efficiency reduces the required amount of headshots to two in less than six seconds.
Stable Shot
Stable Shot is a simple skill, but that simplicity is what makes it so useful. The Basic version of Stable Shot grants an additional eight points of weapon stability to the Mastermind.
In its Ace version, Stable Shot grants an additional 16 points of weapon stability while the Mastermind is standing still. This simple yet essential bonus makes any heist a little bit smoother.
Aggressive Reload
Lastly, there is the Aggressive Reload skill. Getting ambushed by the law while reloading is one of the worst-case scenarios during a heist, and Aggressive Reload lowers the chance of this happening.
In its Basic form, Aggressive Reload increases reload speed with SMGs, assault rifles, and sniper rifles by 15%. In its Ace form, a killing headshot will increase reload speed with these types of weapons by 100% for four seconds.