I could go into Payday 2 builds all day, but I'd have to look at my character. There are points in all 5 trees that are essential to EVERY build, regardless of what you do, such as throwing bags further, running faster while carrying bags, using iron sights while downed (not for stealth), and so on. I suggest going fully into a tree first though because the end tier stuff in your tree costs a LOT of points, (last 2 tiers are 4 and 8 points a skill) and leveling is way faster below level 60 than above level 60, so it's easier to get those high tier skills then using your high levels, which you level slower, to get the smaller skills.

Knowing the mechanics and maps is more essential than build. Build only means you can play on harder difficulties, but without knowledge even the best build won't help ya. ^^

You do bring up a good point. The maps change slightly each time and each will take a few tries, I do know that it is almost impossible to stealth a map on your very first try.

Though some skills I know you definitely need that just make things easier no matter the build, is having more zip-ties and throwing the bags further while moving quicker with them too.

More zipties is stealth only. Even then it's mostly for the maps with a lot of civilians, like the bank heist. Moving faster with bags, longer bag throwing, bag interacting time. Those are important. But again, I say focus on your main tree until you get all your high ability points that cost 4-8 points, then you can go nuts on the extra essentials. You'll level fast with good groups so hitting 60 isn't that hard.

Yeah I got a group of friends that are pretty good at listening, so leveling shouldnt be a problem.

Learn the maps and all the game mechanics, from how pagers work, detection, the gun mechanics, because that'll be what make and breaks you in Hard and higher. Definitely play Very Hard nd Overkill if you wanna level at a decent rate past 45. Normal and Hard are practically tutorial difficulties.

The Steam servers are down so I can't link you to my build, I'll get back to you on that XD

Thats fine

Here's my builds, first one is my stealth build: http://pd2stats.com/stats.php?conv=Fenrakk101 not fully maxed out since I haven't got back to 100 on this Infamy cycle, but the most important stuff is there. Take the Burglar perk deck with it.

Some notes on some of my decisions:
-Endurance not aced because 99% of the time you play online, someone on the team will have it, since almost everyone Aces it. Even if no one else has Aced it, the difference isn't significant enough to justify the 3 points.
-I got Dominator just to keep guards' bodies from flying around. You can Dominate them and deal with them in place, rather than risk shooting them and their body getting spotted; and you can always kill them afterward.
-I will Ace Transporter in time, it's one of the things currently missing.
-I will get Silent Drilling in time, it's the only major component missing from the build.
-I have everything I need from the Ghost/Fugitive trees; the remaining stuff is basically completely useless for pure stealth. The only thing that might have some use is acing the camera feedback, but I've never, ever been in a situation where I actually needed the extra time (and if I did, I was close enough to just re-loop the camera and not lose anything)

Here's a very beginner friendly loud build, you're basically the guy everyone needs you to be. Revive down teammates with Inspire, carry 2 upgraded doctor bags or 2 upgraded ammo bags as needed, clear lots of enemies with shotguns and the 75% damage boost from the Overkill skill, and marking special units will make you and your crew do more damage to them. You can even take hostages for trading. It's a very standard MasterForcer build and will be useful in any loud mission, and even a handful of DeathWish difficulty missions. You'll be using the Armorer perk deck, unless someone already has it equipped, then you can either go with Crew Chief or Gambler.
http://pd2skills.com/#/v3/mSLHJFGBC.....A8::w10:s32:a7

When using a shotgun build, 9/10 your "primary" weapon will actually be a shotgun in the secondary slot: The Locomotive 12G Shotgun. The weapon in your primary slot will usually be for utility (Killing snipers/long ranged targets/targets you don't wanna get close to), so, following the standard-ness of the build, the CAR-4 rifle is pretty much the "does it all" weapon. This is a no-infamy-needed, no DLC build.

Armor will be the ICTV, which will be unlocked due to the Iron Man skill. A lot of survivability and you'll have even more with the armorer perk deck.

I can give yah a stealth build, or different loud builds such as the Player-Dozer build I use, but I don't want this post to be to long.

Thanks for the loud build, will definitely help in some of those more annoying missions.

Go ahead and give me the stealth build too. Personally I prefer stealth when I can, just goes quicker.

Stealth is a little bit more difficult to give advice on because there is no standard stealth build, picking locks faster will be useful in 1 missions and a total waste of points in the next. There is a skill that is absolutely needed for all build variations and that's either Shinobi aced in the ghost tree or Hidden Blade aced in the fugitive tree, 95% less noise when a unit is killed is needed or you might as well start the mission with going loud in mind.

Here's build 1 with fast lock picking, this one is more solo friendly:
http://pd2skills.com/#/v3/mHjEBDa:e.....6-46-20:s49:a7

Build 2 with Silent drilling:
http://pd2skills.com/#/v3/mHjEBDa:e.....6-46-20:s49:a7

Build 3 is usually for bank jobs where there are Safe-boxes:
http://pd2skills.com/#/v3/mBDa:eSPL.....6-46-20:s49:a7

For build 2 and 3, note that Silent drilling isn't aced, it is almost always better to have it at basic due to its ability to lure guards toward it, allowing you to kill them easily and out of sight. You'll only want it aced in 1 mission that comes to mind and that's Election day.

For build 3, if you activate the Berserker skill (by jumping off of a high place a few times or if you have the dlc, throwing grenades at your feet), it'll take 1 saw tap to open 1 deposit box, otherwise it takes 2 saw taps if berserker is not activated.

I like the silenced Judge as my weapon of choice. Due to it being a shotgun, it has the launching mechanic of one, allowing you to shoot guards/civs into rooms or in positions where the body won't be seen immediately, letting you answer pagers or bag bodies unworried. A stealthed CAR-4 build is the best rifle you can have to keep your detection level the lowest, otherwise, just use the starting rifle or the highest concealment weapon you have, you won't be using your primary much anyways.

You'll be using the 2 piece suit of course, and for the perk deck, if you have the dlc, it'll be the Burglar perk deck, if not, then it doesn't really matter which one you use. Most people go with Rogue.

Thank you for all this. I do like that they added the different saved specs so you can use different ones for different situations

Oh man, I love playing Payday 2, so let me help you out!

So here's build 1: http://pd2skills.com/#/v3/mSPLmHJEG.....39-10-11-35:a6

This build is meant for loud heists. As you can see, I opted for presenting mastermind skills with a mixture of the other various trees available. The mastermind tree, as I sadly see a lot of when I play Payday 2, is often neglected by teammates, whether random or otherwise. A build like this not only allows you to optimize the amount of time it takes if you ever come across a drill, it also optimizes the amount of time spent fumbling around from flashbangs or the time it takes for your armor to regenerate properly.

Inspire is a must in that build, instantly raising someone up is more than useful in a lot of tight situations. For the gun I've chosen the Lion's Roar Assault Rifle. It's a personal favorite with virtually no kick, a fast fire rate and decent damage. The side arm is your choice, but I personally prefer the old styled SMG. It's good damage and the kick isn't too bad either.

The perk deck is Crew Chief. Crew chief is INCREDIBLY helpful if you're going to be in a group. Especially if no one else has it. The stats on it alongside the other benefits from the Mastermind perk tree are way too good to pass up. And this is without any infamy points, so there's no need to worry about that.

Build 2: http://pd2skills.com/#/v3/mHEBDa:eD.....:w40-8:s7-2:a1

This build is quite the opposite from the first one, benefiting from stealth play.

We're opting primarily for the Ghost skill tree this time around as the benefits are quite obvious. Not only will we got a lot of stuff that allows us to stealth with relative ease, it will also enable us to minimize the amount of costs if say...you have to kill someone (given that this uses Winston Wolfe as a skill in fugitive). We also have drill skills here to reduce any drilling times. I for one don't prefer using silent drilling, as with proper civilian management you will never have to use it. It's a convenient skill, regardless, and if at any point you want to use it, feel free to. The other skills are convenience, fast hands for faster interaction times, pack mule for easier carrying and a few mastermind skills for nice little purchases pre-mission and extra cable ties for civilans (which I believe is a must if you're going to be stealthing a heist).

Raven Shotgun is a nice, NICE stealth weapon as it has a relatively low concealment time and a proper shot will kill most guards in your way in one hit. Put a suppressor on it to make it viable for stealth.

Bernetti 9 is a wonderful little pistol that I would highly recommend with a standar suppressor, it's a got a decent fire rate and usually has no problem killing common guards.

Two Piece suit is there for ease of access; greater concealment score.

Build 3 is my personal favorite, but I wouldn't opt for using it until your newer friends have a bit more experience: http://pd2skills.com/#/v3/mSOLhIJGB.....8-23:s26-18:a1

This build can be played as either stealth, or loud, although it does not optimize for either situation as I would consider it a "jack of all trades" sort of build. It primarily uses pistols and is a build I don't rarely give out to people because I love it so much @.@

With this build, you're not going to be soaking up damage, but instead, you're going to be using dodge. You or your friends might think, "Why the hell would I do that." When RNG is actually super favorable in Payday 2 and you'll dodge more bullets than you can count. With the rogue perk deck alongside that one fugitive skill, when you crouch, you'll be receiving a crazy bonus to your dodge, going far above fifty percent. In addition to this build giving you a crazy amount of dodge, you'll also be getting an insane amount of damage on your pistols, as we've optimized for the pistol skills in the Mastermind tree.

Increased reload speeds, accuracy, fire rates, switch times and critical shots? Everything makes your pistols as lethal and significantly damage-y, even more so in my opinion, than assault rifles or shotguns. Your pistols have an insane amount of range, and gain a great amount of damage with the gunslinger perk.

In addition to dishing out great damage, you also have the ability to either use first aid kits, or Doctor's bags. Depending on the situation, you could very well use either or. It really depends on how you and your fellas play. The weapons are optimized in that build to reduce concealment while also giving you an insane amount of damage and dodge at the same time, and I have to say after playing hours with it, it's supper fun.

Let me know if you have any questions whatsoever. Cheers!

Oh man I thought you were playing with a group of people my bad.

But a lot of my points on these builds still stand.
They're all good in group play!