Payday 2 Summary
Payday 2 is a first-person shooter developed by Overkill Software, released in 2013. The game takes place two years after the events of Payday: The Heist. Players will team up with friends or go in alone as they perform heists. The heists consist of robbing jewelry stores, banks, armored trucks, or drug trafficking. While completing a mission, players can choose their method of entry. With Payday 2’s new stealth system, heists can be completed without alerting the police or firing a single shot. Players use rewards and money they earn to buy new customization options like masks or upgrade skills and equipment.
The game was a commercial and critical success and had its own web series produced to promote the game. While the AI was criticized for its strange behavior and ability, fans admired the co-op gameplay. The dev team has announced a third game in the series that will release in 2023 under a different publisher.
Payday 2 Regular Ending
Payday 2 is unique in its gameplay and story. While players can follow a story, most will only focus on the heists and drug production. Some players may put hundreds of hours into the game without ever reaching the “end” or knowing the plot. Critics have criticized the game for having an overly complex and uninteresting story. However, there is an ending players can achieve.
Start The White House heist to get the “ending” in Payday 2. You do not need to complete other missions before starting the heist to get the ending. Once inside, you’ll need to enter the White House, the West Wing, then the Oval Office, and find the hidden safe. Once the safe is opened, go to the library, access the P.E.O.C., and investigate the vault. Hack the mainframe, steal the presidential pardons, and escape. Escaping will trigger a cutscene to play, and “Somewhere in Mexico” will appear on your screen.
The ending shows the funeral of the crew’s operator, Bain. Each member of the 22-man group throws their mask into the grave. You’ll still be able to do heists after the cutscene, but it is the final heist, lore-wise. It will not affect gameplay moving forward.
Payday 2 Secret Ending
To get the secret ending for The White House mission, you’ll need to complete a series of tasks, which can be done with any difficulty. Complete each mission listed below and find the required objects in each one.
- Henry’s Rock (Golden Chest)
- Breaking Feds (Golden Chest)
- Golden Grin Casino (Golden Chest)
- Shacklethrone Auction (Black Plate)
- Brooklyn Bank (Overkill) (Medallion)
After completing each mission and obtaining items, go to your safehouse and find Duke’s desk. Grab the medallion and unlock the three golden chests. The chest will have an item that must be assembled. It should start spinning once assembled.
Then go to Scarface’s room and find the piano. Shoot the nine specific keys on the keyboard in order. When you go back to the artifact you assembled, it will be interactable. The tablet will show a bunch of strange shapes and letters, with each character representing a letter in the English alphabet.
Use this photo to translate each of the twenty messages on the tablet. The messages will correspond with an achievement in the game. Those twenty achievements must be completed to progress further.
White House
Once those steps are completed, you can now begin the heist for the secret ending. Start the White House heist on Overkill difficulty. It cannot be completed in stealth, so you’ll have to go in loud. While the ending used to require four players, with each completing all the previous steps, it now only requires one person, meaning you can do this solo.
Do the mission as normal until you reach the P.E.O.C. room. There should be a painting on the wall on the left-hand side, down the stairs. If all the steps have been stratified and completed properly, the frame of the painting will be glowing. Note: Sometimes, the painting frame can be buggy and not allow you to progress despite meeting the requirements.
Take the painting off of the wall, place the C4 explosives, and blow it up. You’ll travel until you reach an elevator shaft; use it to travel down. A large circular door with more characters are in the room. Use the cheat sheet to decipher the messages. There are four riddles to solve before you can move on. Be aware that shadow cloakers will be attacking you the entire time, so you and your team need to survive while solving the riddles.
The outer ring of the door will be the riddle, with the inner three rings being used to answer. These can be controlled by the four levers on either side of the door. One section of the door will have an outline with a golden frame. Your answers will need to be spelled out inside that empty frame on the door. You can find the answers to the doors here.
Finally, when the door opens, it is straightforward what to do next. The story plays out, and you’re told what items to grab and where to put them. You’ll be rewarded with the “Offshore Payday” cutscene showing you an alternate ending from the funeral.
Payday 2 Tips and Tricks
The best tip for Payday 2 is to find a playstyle that suits you. Every gun, skill, and item is viable to beat any mission. Learning one or two weapons and maximizing your skill tree will help you perform better in heist since you’ll know your limits and capabilities. Since you’ll need to complete missions and twenty achievements to reach the secret ending, you have time to pracitce and prepare. While going stealth can be fun and give more rewards, learning how to play loud is beneficial for the final mission. You’ll need to know how much you can handle and should bring ammo bags with you.
Payday 2 FAQ
Can you do the secret ending solo Payday 2?
Yes, the secret ending can be completed solo in Payday 2. While the game required four players to beat the White House, with everyone completing requirements, it has since been removed from the game. In fact, doing the secret ending solo can be much easier and gives players with no one to play with a chance at doing it themselves. However, be aware that it can take quite awhile to get to the secret ending since you need to complete twenty specific achievements.
How do you do the secret ending in Payday 2?
You’ll need to complete various steps before entering the White House mission on Overkill. These steps include stealing items and artifacts from multiple missions, playing Scarfaces piano, completing twenty unique achievements, and deciphering four riddles. While the secret ending can take a while to complete, the ending is easier, with the game telling you what to do and when to do it. Plus, the ending is completely optional and isn’t required to progress in the base game.