The Chase

Lore & Background

The crew's intelligence network flagged a police transport moving a high-value package through the city's commercial district. Word was that the van was carrying evidence and assets tied to a rival syndicate that had been squeezing the crew's operations. Rather than wait for the package to be delivered to a warehouse where it could be locked down behind concrete and steel, the crew decided to take it on the move.

The plan was deceptively simple on paper: track the van's route, intercept it in a parking structure where the road narrowed, and board it before the driver could make the next turn. In practice, that meant sprinting through rows of parked cars, ducking under low barriers, and taking fire from officers who had been seeded along the van's path to slow any pursuers. The crew spread out, some on foot, others in a stolen vehicle, converging on the van at the critical chokepoint.

Once aboard, the van became a rolling combat zone. Officers swarmed the vehicle, trying to pry the crew off the back, while the driver kept the van pointed toward an extraction point. The crew had to suppress the attackers, keep the van's momentum, and reach the drop zone before the police cordon closed around them. It was messy, loud, and exactly the kind of job the crew did best.

In Their Own Story

Hoxton's knuckles were white around the steering wheel as the stolen sedan fishtailed through a puddle, sending a fan of grey water across the lane. Up ahead, the police van's blue lights strobed against the concrete pillars of the parking structure, its tires screaming on the painted arrows. "Two hundred meters, maybe less," he muttered, not taking his eyes off the rearview.

Behind him, the van's driver had spotted them. A burst of gunfire punched through the sedan's rear window, spider-webbing the glass. Hoxton didn't flinch. He yanked the wheel hard left, threading between a row of parked sedans, the mirrors clipping two of them with a shriek of metal. The van followed, its officers leaning out the windows, rifles barking.

"Now," Hoxton said, and the sedan lunged forward, slamming its rear bumper into the van's driver's side. The van lurched. Hoxton kicked his door open, rolled onto the asphalt, and sprinted for the van's rear hatch. One officer swung a baton; Hoxton ducked, drove his elbow into the man's throat, and hauled himself up onto the tailgate. The van roared forward. He locked his arms around the edge and held on as the world became a blur of concrete, sodium light, and the smell of hot rubber.

Reader's Guide

The Chase takes place across an urban corridor that funnels into a multi-level parking structure. The police van follows a fixed, looping route through this environment, and the crew's sole job during the chase phase is to reach it before it completes its circuit and escapes.

Primary objective: board the van. Secondary objectives typically include destroying obstacles along the van's path or eliminating officers positioned at chokepoints to clear a faster route. The van does not stop; it drives continuously, so timing your approach is critical.

Enemy AI places officers at fixed points along the van's route, often elevated on parking ramps or behind parked cars, providing suppressive fire toward the pursuers. Armored units appear at higher difficulties. The van itself is not a killable target during the chase phase.

Layout quirks: the parking structure features tight switchbacks and low-ceiling sections that can clip vehicles, making on-foot pursuit through certain gaps faster than trying to drive alongside the van. The final approach area is a narrow dead-end where the van slows briefly, creating the primary boarding window.

Community-optimal strategy: one or two crew members sprint on foot through the parking structure's interior corridors (faster than driving in tight spaces) while the rest use a vehicle to stay in visual contact. Converge at the final chokepoint. Once aboard, the heist transitions into a standard hold-the-position fight as police swarm the van. Keep the van moving if possible to prevent enemies from flanking; use the van's momentum as a weapon against clustered officers.

Did You Know?

• The Chase is one of the few Payday 2 heists where the crew must actively pursue a moving target rather than defend a static location, making it feel more like a chase sequence than a traditional heist.
• The van's route is fixed and loops, meaning the crew can learn its timing and position themselves at the optimal boarding point rather than chasing blindly.
• On-foot pursuit through the parking structure's interior corridors is generally faster than trying to drive alongside the van in the tight switchback sections, a tip that has been shared in the community since the heist'
• The heist's kinetic pacing and vehicle-chase mechanic set a tonal contrast to the more methodical bank and vault jobs, giving players a breather between slower, wave-based encounters.