How can you quickly level up your weapons in Payday 3?In Starbreeze’s shooter, leveling up your weapons has no effect on their raw stats. It does, however, grant you access to a wide range of modifications, such as barrel extensions, sights, grips, stocks, magazines, vertical grips, and barrels. When these are bought and installed, they somewhat modify the weapon’s operation.
Payday 3 currently has 17 non-preset weaponry available. This comprises two shotguns, two revolvers, two marksman rifles, four assault rifles, four pistols, and three SMGs. Although they cannot be altered, preset weapons can be leveled up. You can purchase duplicates of any common primary or secondary weapon in Payday 3. In this manner, you can get many changes and visual customization possibilities for the top Payday 3 weaponry and guns. Thankfully, since guns of the same model share level progression, you won’t have to waste XP on these copies.
How to level up weapons fast in Payday 3
Weapon leveling in Payday 3 can be accelerated by:
- Checking your active loadout
- Taking on a higher difficulty
- Prioritising escaping in heists
- Varying your heist methods
- Choosing heists with high XP output
Checking your active loadout
Every gun you have in your chosen loadout will grant you more experience points, regardless of whether you ever fire or even draw your weapon. So, after you enter the lobby, it’s wise to reconsider what you equip.
When you have access to higher-level choices, the idea of carrying around a level-one pistol definitely makes you unhappy. However, keep in mind that newer equipment will remain progressively underleveled the longer it is left to gather dust. Feel free to stick to your specialization if you’re dead set on it and want to get the most experience points possible on a specific loadout.
Taking on a higher difficulty
Payday 3 offers four different levels of difficulty: Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Overkill. There will be rewards if you decide to take up the challenge more challengingly. Although it’s not easy to do on a regular basis, playing on Overkill mode can yield nearly twice as much experience points as playing on Normal difficulty.
Prioritising escaping in heists
If a heist fails, you will still gain experience points. But, as you might anticipate, if you are able to get out safely, you can maximize your gains. Just concentrate on getting yourself and your crewmates to the escape if you find yourself in a dangerous scenario and have the option to go after loot.
Varying your heist methods
If you’re itching to level up your weaponry, consider taking a different approach to tasks. Play that is subtler tends to perform better in this area. It appears counterintuitive because you would think that increasing your weapon level would be best achieved by maximizing kills. Oddly enough, a covert theft done right is a much more effective tactic.
Choosing heists with high XP output
Heists are not all created equal. The difficulty, completion time, and amount of experience points you can get vary amongst them. Select a heist that strikes a balance between a high level of complexity and a low XP output in order to maximize the effectiveness of your weapon leveling.
The following is the sequence you wish to commit heists:
| Heist | Estimated XP at Normal difficulty | Complexity |
| Dirty Ice | ~900 XP | Low |
| No Rest For The Wicked | ~550 XP | Low |
| Gold & Shark | ~1200 XP | Medium |
| Rock The Cradle | ~650 XP | Medium |
| Under the Surphaze | ~1000 XP | High |
| 99 Boxes | ~500 XP | High |
| Touch The Sky | ~500 XP | High |
| Road Rage | ~350 XP | Low |
The simplest method for leveling up your weaponry on Dirty Ice is to farm experience points. It takes about three minutes to speedrun if you know what you’re doing. Even though it can be very easy, making out with about 900XP is not unusual. This ratio of time-to-XP is quite valuable.
That concludes the topic of how to quickly level up weapons in Payday 3. See our list of the greatest Payday 3 builds and skills if you’re still trying to figure out your ideal loadout. Would you like to acquire some weapon charms or preset weapons? Check out our guide to learn how to obtain and earn C-Stacks in Payday 3 as well.