Payday 2 Best Akimbo SMG Builds

Dual-wielding submachine guns in Payday 2 offers unmatched rate of fire and massive damage potential for high-intensity heists. Crafting an effective Akimbo SMG loadout requires balancing raw firepower with ammo management and armor or dodge mechanics. By selecting the right weapons and skills, players can comfortably clear corridors and melt special enemies on higher difficulties.
Selecting High-Performance Akimbo SMGs
Choosing the best pair of dual SMGs depends heavily on whether you prioritize raw damage or ammo efficiency. Weapons like the Akimbo CR805B and Akimbo Krinkov excel at tearing through Dozers and heavily armored law enforcers in seconds. However, options like the Akimbo Compact-5 offer better pickup rates for extended fights without relying heavily on deployables.
Weapon mods play a crucial role in stabilizing high fire rates and improving accuracy. Equipping suppressors, extended magazines, and laser attachments helps keep spray patterns controllable during frantic firefights. Balancing stability mods with concealment ensures your weapons hit targets reliably regardless of engagement distance.
Essential Skills for Dual Submachine Guns
The Oppressor skill tree contains vital upgrades that transform Akimbo SMGs into unstoppable killing machines. Body Expertise is practically mandatory for spray-and-pray tactics, allowing body shots to deal significant critical-style damage. Meanwhile, Surefire increases magazine capacity and allows bullets to pierce enemy armor plating.
In the Artful Dodger and Gunslinger trees, skills like Akimbo Aced and Steady Grip provide much-needed stability and recoil control. Speed reload mods and passive weapon handling skills help maintain constant pressure against advancing law enforcers. Combining these talent nodes guarantees maximum damage uptime while minimizing vulnerable reloading windows.
Choosing the Right Perk Deck
Perk decks define how your character survives while delivering heavy suppressing fire across open spaces. Anarchist and Hacker are top-tier selections that combine aggressive offense with rapid armor or health regeneration. The sheer firepower output of dual SMGs triggers armor-gating mechanics very quickly, keeping you alive in intense waves.
If you prefer high mobility, Rogue or Stoic can also support fast-paced SMG playstyles effectively. Rogue grants additional dodge chance to mitigate incoming fire while sprinting between objectives. Stoic converts sudden burst damage into damage over time, letting aggressive players tank heavy hits with proper flask timing.
Managing Ammunition Efficiency
The primary weakness of Akimbo SMGs is their high consumption rate of primary weapon ammunition. Pairing high-damage dual SMGs with an ammo-efficient secondary weapon, such as a grenade launcher or 5/7 AP pistol, helps manage tight resource pools. Taking out utility targets or shields with a secondary weapon saves precious SMG rounds for dense enemy groups.
Deployables like Ammo Bags or skills like Scavenger Aced ensure you never run completely dry during long objective holds. Collecting ammo packs from fallen enemies regularly keeps your magazines full without constantly stopping to reload. Proper trigger discipline remains key to maintaining sustained combat effectiveness across any heist difficulty.