Diamond Store

Lore & Background

The Diamond Store heist is one of the many contracts available to the Payday gang in Payday 2. The game follows the events of Payday: The Heist, with crew members Dallas, Wolf, Chains, and their operator Bain returning. Hoxton, a member from the previous game, has been arrested by the FBI and replaced by Dallas' brother Houston. The gang completes jobs in and around Washington, D.C., for Bain and other criminal contractors, such as bank robberies, drug trafficking, and rigging elections, though some heists take place outside the D.C. area. The Diamond Store heist fits into this pattern of high-stakes robberies, where the crew must navigate security features like guards and alarms to secure their loot. The heist can be played alone with AI or with up to three teammates in multiplayer.

In Their Own Story

The Payday gang, consisting of Dallas, Wolf, Chains, and Houston, targets the Diamond Store as part of their heisting spree in Washington, D.C. The crew must avoid detection by security guards and cameras to maintain stealth, or fight through waves of police if the alarm is raised. Special units like Shields, Tasers, Bulldozers, snipers, and Cloakers may appear as difficulty increases. The heist involves carrying loot to a drop-off point and reaching an escape point under pressure from constant police assault waves. Successfully completing the heist rewards the player with money and experience, with a bonus for stealth completion. The player can then choose a bonus card from three options, which may include weapon modifications, masks, or other items.

Reader's Guide

The Diamond Store heist can be approached in stealth or loud. In stealth, players must avoid cameras, silently kill security guards (without killing more than four with pagers), and prevent civilians from calling the police. If the alarm is raised, players must fight through SWAT units, including FBI SWAT, GenSec private security contractors, and the Department of Homeland Security as difficulty increases. The heist has seven difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, Very Hard, Overkill, Mayhem, Death Wish, and Death Sentence, with higher payouts for higher difficulties. Players can customize their loadout with skills from five trees: Mastermind, Enforcer, Technician, Ghost, and Fugitive, as well as perk decks. The heist may involve multiple days, with an escape level added if the alarm is sounded. If all players are downed or in custody, the job is failed.

Did You Know?

• The Diamond Store heist is set in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, but not all heists in Payday 2 take place there—some are set in other locations.
• The heist can be completed in stealth for a bonus experience and money reward, as stated in the source.
• Special units like the Cloaker, an infiltration and hand-to-hand combat expert, may appear during the heist on higher difficulties.
• The game features eight difficulty levels: Normal, Hard, Very Hard, Overkill, Mayhem, Death Wish, Death Sentence, and Death Sentence One Down, affecting enemy types and payouts.
• The player can choose from 22 perk decks and 15 profiles of skills, weapons, and equipment before starting the heist.