I will be making a guide to loud and will be having perk deck information in it so when the time comes, this will be merged/removed.

Thank you all for reading this guide.

Now I'm in between both video and text.

If you're checking out my guide from time to time, you may notice that I change my information here and there. It's mostly due to my playtests, which gives me new insights. So forgive the inaccuracies and point them out to me when you do find them!

Current focus: reworking on some information in this, mostly the suit dodge comparisons, will go BV and armour after.

13th March 2016: Updated some formatting and begun work on the comparisons
27th February 2016: Finished up on Point Break and Perfect Line
26th February 2016: Begun work on Point Break (regeneration) perk. Added deck stats.
23rd February 2016: Added video guide

Some quick bookmarks for the hasty:
00:00 - Introduction
02:09 - Point Break Perk
08:25 - Perfect Line Perk
13:30 - Deck Passive Stats
14:10 - Build comparisons

Just wanted to share a bit before you start reading on the guide, it's important and relevant to how I do my guide or choose the information in it.

Some background; I started being active on Payday 2 during the pre Hoxton (Hox break) days, where dodge was non-existent, the bigger armour the better and Hostage Taker was the only regeneration available and no perk decks either.

Deathwish was already available back then so you can imagine the difficulty compared to today. I'm not trying to prove my veterancy or moan about the game play it has evolved to today. In fact, the game play should remain the same but regeneration has sort of spoilt it.

A player should never rush out like Rambo or Wolverine healing with X-Factor. For that, I blame Grinder and Muscle, spoiling players in Overkill and below, who tend to believe such is the standard and attempt the same in Deathwish.

Ditch that notion. Hide behind cover and pop some helmets, regardless of the armour you've donned.

Stay alive, look before you leap, ensure that it's clear before you rush out (snipers/cloakers) and you'll do well in Deathwish.

That's the way I roll, and that will be the way I'll cover this guide.

I made this guide mainly for purposes of Deathwish viability.

Most of my observations are made for use with vanilla/community weapons. Everything else just adds another factor into the mix and blurs the comparison/information.

Part of the free Bodhi character pack, the Ex-President has been said by some to be a poor man's Grinder and even compared to by the Payday Wiki but it's not so.

Jack of all trades. Ex-Pres is like the common cousin of all the perk decks. A bit of health bonus, some dodge bonus, some regen, some armour recovery but only excelling in armour recovery, which is almost useless to the lower tiers.

Regeneration works well for all armours below ICTV, while armour recovery works well for armours that can take on a burst of shots. In Deathwish, ICTV is your friend for armour recovery.


The theme of the perk deck pretty much follows (somewhat) the back story and will make a bit of sense with their perks.

Mainly in this guide we will be looking at:

• Deck stats
  
• Point Break (regeneration) perk
  
• Perfect Line (armour recovery) perk
  
• Build comparisons (roles it can fill)
  
• Builds

The Ex-President deck gives the following bonuses:

• 5% dodge (for all armour types)
  
• Additional 20% dodge for ballistic vests
  
• 40% health boost (Same as Grinder)

The Point Break perk is the regeneration perk part of the deck and works differently from all the other regeneration types we have seen so far.

Here are the basic points that you need to know:

• While your armour is up, you will store 4/8/12 health per enemy kill. When recovering from broken armour, all stored health will kick in as regeneration and the store will be emptied regardless of amount used (extra is wasted).

• Maximum storage differs from armour to armour. Simply, less armour more storage.

Each and every armour has its own storage capacity. At different cards of the perk deck, the storage values will be upgraded.

Here's a table of storage values when the perk deck is maxed out:

You can find the storage values in game in both the load out screen and inventory when the Ex-President perk deck is equipped.


With the storage chart, we can see that getting to full storage is manageable.
With a full crew you can expect to fill your storage quickly, since cops spawn in groups of 2 to 4, provided you don't take huge risks like charging straight into groups.

For the ICTV, it's more like a bonus rather than a reliable regeneration option, as your armour will be harder to break and your storage is only at 60, which is a measly 18%.

The inner circle moves as your health is depleted. It will align with the health bar to show you amount restored upon regeneration.

It's a perk that rewards you for surviving encounters/assaults/downs, having your armour broken but still with your health intact so that you can move on to the next fight.

Not overly powerful nor weak, respectable on its own yet requires the user to take risks responsibly.

Not as useful for soloing without assistance like crews/bots/sentries since you can't rack up the kills fast enough. Also gradually becomes more and more unreliable when you are the sole survivor trying to trade your crew out of custody.

It's mostly for decoration on the ICTV as well, since in armour your aim is to keep your armour up always.

Q: Other than crew kills, does Joker, sentries and trip mines contribute
A: Yes they do. All manner of kills contribute. I do notice that throwables and DoT can be a little wonky but it can pretty much be ignored.

Q: What if I have more in storage than needed?
A: Any extra is wasted.

Q: What if my armour is broken but my health is full
A: Similarly, it's also wasted.

Q: Which armour should I pick?
A: The storage values for all the armours are very close, except for the ICTV. If you're relying on Point Break for regeneration, any armour will do.

For the ICTV, it should be treated as a bonus rather than a reliable regeneration.

Q: What's the point of 60 health in ICTV? It doesn't regenerate much.
A: As mentioned, it should be treated as a bonus because your armour will be less likely to break. If you're getting hit a lot as a Techforcer, you should probably play more defensively.

Q: What's the best way to break my armour?
A: If you have explosive weaponry (DLC), shooting at your feet is a good way to break armour if your health is not near 0. Otherwise if you don't have Cat Burglar (Ghost tree), fall damage can work for you.

You can use Bullseye from the Fugitive tree to force the regeneration since of waiting.

Q: But what about near death or just revived in Deathwish?
A: Unfortunately, Point Break is quite lacking at this area. Either use an alternate regeneration (FAK, Gambler crew, Hostage Taker) or try to get shot at. Your best bet is to isolate an enemy, peek slightly out of cover to get hit and withdraw.

The Perfect Line perk boosts your armour recovery when you make a personal kill.

Here are the basic points that you need to know:

• Killing an enemy speeds up your recovery time, differs from armour to armour

• More armour, less recovery bonus (Negligible)
  
• To activate, kills must be obtained by your weapons or trip mines. Jokers and sentries do not

To understand more about how the bonus works, we must first understand the armour recovery formula. Credits to the Payday 2 bible, The Long Guide.

3 (1.75 for offline) x multipliers, then divided by 1 (recovery speed) and then adding 1 (bullet suppression) to the final result

3 (1.75) x 0.75 x 0.85, divided by 1 and plus 1 = 2.9125 (2.115625) seconds

List of in game multipliers

• Bullet Proof (aced), to self and crew - 25% (0.75)
  
• Die Hard (aced) - 15% (0.85)
  
• Armourer (self) - 10% (0.9)
  
• Armourer (crew) - 10% (0.9)
  
• Hitman - 45% (0.55)
  
• Crook - 10% (0.9)
  
• Burglar - 20% (0.8)
  
• Yakuza - 60% at full beserker (0.4)

3 (1.75) x multipliers, divided by 1 + bonus, add 1 to final result

Here's a table for the bonus and final recovery speed, without multipliers:

In comparison, we will use the worst value (ICTV, 1.45s) against the best 2 decks with all the extra bonuses they can get.

Hitman with bonuses (0.75/0.85/0.9/0.55) = 1.94s
Yakuza, full berserk with bonuses (0.75/0.85/0.9/0.4) = 1.68s

Clearly, even without bonuses, the Perfect Line is much faster than Hitman and Yakuza, with the condition that you must get a kill and is considered active rather than passive like Hitman and Yakuza.

In conclusion, the Perfect Line acts like a variation of Bullseye.

Shows more potential with heavy armours as it recovers very quickly, use ICTV with Bullet Proof for best results.

Not a good pick for berserker builds since Point Break will most likely ruin the effect.

My personal favourite, if not for the fact that I run with Armourer/Gambler to train for my Deathwish challenge runs and support.

Q: Do crew kills contribute, like Point Break
A: No, not this time round. Only your weapons and trip mines.

Q: Can I use Bullet Proof and Die Hard with this?
A: Yes you can, but it's pretty much redundant unless you can't get kills. It's better to use the points elsewhere.

Q: Theoretically speaking, with ICTV/Bullet Proof, I have enough armour to tank. Why can't I use Berserker?
A: You can, but other decks will probably serve that purpose better, like Armourer and Yakuza.

Q: Which armour should I pick?
A: Techforcers definitely ICTV.

Anything else, LBV to CTV works well. Remember to get Thick Skin and basic dodge (Duck and Cover) if you're going Ballistic Vests.

If you're going Tech, definitely get Bullet Proof. That way your CTV will be closer to stock ICTV, have better regeneration and recovery.

For suits, you'll only have enough to tank 1 shot so you're better off relying on dodge and regeneration.

Q: Why recommend the ICTV when it has the worst recovery?
A: Strictly speaking it's better than Yakuza, Hitman and Armourer. The difference between armours is very negligible. Recovering 20 armour for the suit isn't much to look at either.

In this section, we will be comparing Ex-President against other perk decks (with builds that make sense of course).

Some information might be debatable based on my choice and understanding of the decks so try it out for yourselves and tweak it to your liking.

Here's a list of the build types that we will be looking at for comparisons:

• Suit dodge (basic)
  
• Suit dodge (sneaky b@stard + low blow)
  
• Ballistic vests (dodge)
  
• Ballistic vests (armour)
  
• Ballistic vests (dodge + armour)
  
• Generic CTV
  
• ICTV + Bullet Proof

Still being finalized.

Before we begin the comparisons, here are some terms and skills that I will be using to make comparisons.

Basically, it's the combination of armour and health, added together to give you a total value of how much punishment you can take before going down. Bear in mind that armour absorbs the full blow before health takes damage (sniper is the exception), when leaning on this term.

Some other guides also give dodge an EHP rating, but I don't/won't use that here because I choose to refer to dodge as a RNG factor.



The basic dodge build of suit (10%) and Duck and Cover, aced (15%) combined to get 25%, before deck bonuses.

Again, like basic dodge but tacking on Sneaky B@stard, for an additional 10% to have a combined 35%, before deck bonuses.




I will not be comparing some skills, decks or builds because they are either obsolete or don't relate to our comparisons:

• Sprinter (dodge); since we're mostly shooting while crouched
  
• Daredevil (dodge); again, ziplining while shooting isn't common
  
• Decks like Crew Chief and Gambler are either obsolete or irrelevant
  
• Berserker build, because regeneration defeats the purpose

Let's skip the salt on this deck and do this objectively. The Grinder has a very good regeneration mechanic but has limitations set on it, namely the armour types, so it can tend to be a one trick pony.

The 40% health boost helps to tank a Deathwish sniper hit on suit, which sets it a little higher above Rogue and Sociopath in this aspect, where downs are a valued commodity.

The chance to pierce tan armour isn't much to boast. Players should learn or have learnt how to headshot upon being proficient on Overkill difficulties.

Overall, both decks are quite different. Ex-President provides a myriad of ways to play and customize your build while Grinder is pretty much set in suit (unless you're willing to do LBV).

Grinder is a good way to get initiated into dodge builds before you move on to other decks.

Grinder has 5% less than Ex-President in dodge, it's not a big number and should not matter much.

Here is where the disparity lies. Assuming you're not familiar with either deck, Grinder's regeneration far outclasses the Ex-President because it heals in ticks, the ticks stack and are generated by hurting enemies alone, not killing. Compared with Ex-President having to build up storage and breaking armour, Grinder is definitely much easier to use.

At the same time, with the regeneration mechanic, Grinder can save a bit of points by skipping out on self healing like Hostage Taker, and First Aid Kits can be utilized by crew mates instead.

Granted that suit only has enough armour to tank 1 shot, it is still as good as a 1 time 100% dodge. Ex-President can consistently provide this, assuming you met the conditions of making a kill plus out of suppression, while Grinder has to take it to the flesh.

This is very apparent on Deathwish.

Grinder's regeneration works very well in all situations and far outclasses Ex-President's unreliable healing. I'd chalk a point in Ex-President's favour for the armour recovery where 1 shot can make a difference on Deathwish.

Definitely a win for the Grinder due to the priority of healing for dodge builds.

Grinder works on LBV as well to a lesser extent and many will not pick this route. To make up for the lost dodge, one is almost forced to pick Thick Skin and to get Bullseye basic/aced to help recover that armour loss.

Otherwise, you'd be in a race to regenerate more health than your enemies can inflict.

With full dodge, Grinder is looking at a measly 5% when compared to the Ex-President's 30%.
This forces Grinders to go for other forms of survival like Bullseye or Bullet Proof. And that means less skill points to go into places you might want it to.

When more armour comes into play, regeneration becomes less of a factor, albeit slightly. Grinder still takes superiority here.

Granted that LBV is not much and only tanks 1 to 2 shots, it is still a fact that should be presented.
Just like in the suit comparison, taking a shot to the armour is akin to a 100% dodge and Ex-President can perform it more consistently than Grinder.

With Ex-President's dodge and armour recovery, it tilts the odds better in its favour. Grinder still holds superiority with its regeneration but I'm giving my vote to Ex-President because it utilizes the LBV better.

The Yakuza is primarily a berserker deck that further enhances the Enforcer's berserker skill.

A berserker effect also means bringing the heaviest, thickest armour available and that locks it to a very niche Techforcer build.

The DLC melee complements it perfectly and is currently the best melee available (discounting the Point Break ice pick for concealment).

Obvious effect, even more so since we're comparing in ICTV. Assuming both running a berserker build with the katana, Yakuza players will have an easier time reaching an enemy and hiding back in cover again.

Yakuza's recovery is passive and doesn't rely on kills so it functions better in extended fights. The Ex-President's recovery is faster, even without skill boosts so 3/8 points from Die Hard aced/Bullet Proof aced can go into some other needed areas.

The only reason I can think of anyone using Yakuza as a defensive ICTV build is that Hitman HAD armour reduction. So you can either go to Hitman or Ex-President.

I love the Armourer. It's my go to build whenever I pack a Techforcer with ICTV.

Unlike the Yakuza, Armourer can function effectively both as a defensive/berserker ICTV. The extra armour also makes better sense as a ranged berserker while keeping melee as a backup.

With the recent deck update, Armourer can utilize the 2 second invulnerability as a 100% dodge window (which I guess is most likely is coded that way) or as an alternate form of Swan Song.

With an extra 59.5 armour, it helps to tank incoming shots better, even when Ex-President has more EHP from the 40% health boost, due to the way armour/health works. And with the little regeneration that Ex-President offers in ICTV, armour is the way to go. We do have to keep in mind the recovery that Ex-President offers though.

Ex-President's recovery is almost half the time taken for Armourer, even when without boosts. So you save some skill points in your build.

Armourer also does have it's upsides, when paired with Bullet Proof aced one will provide a 10% and 25% boost to your crew's recovery.

The invulnerability is a huge boon, helping players to sprint across danger zones dodge-like. When used properly it can avert a down when swarmed, getting back to your crew or getting through escape sequences. 15 seconds is also a pretty short cooldown.

Consider that having more armour will save your skin, since the regeneration on Ex-President is nothing to boast about on Deathwish, where mistakes/slower reflex can cost you a down.

The armour recovery on Ex-President does help to make up for that, assuming you play cautiously or survive making the mistake.

The 2 second invulnerability is a very useful tool which can help Armourer do things other armour decks can't.

It's a close call here, you'll have to choose which perk you like better, the armour recovery (Ex-President) or the invulnerability/more armour (Armourer).

As Sociopath came out after Infiltrator, where it was a period of pumping out character packs, it felt a bit gimmicky because there isn't any new mechanics added. Most perks are variants of other skills/perks.

The armour recovery mechanic is great and works as a variant of Bullseye. It allows you to jump from kill to kill and have your armour replenished.

Panic, although a little limited due to the 9 metre radius, works very well in confined areas like Hotline Miami day 2's rooms. Combined with a heavy threat weapon it can help to reduce damage sustained.

Melee regen on the other hand is very dependent on damage output. The common Deathwish tan and GenSec elites can take some punishment while the weak cops need to be taken out immediately. GenSec elites don't have heavy hurt either.

Assuming you own only the vanilla game and the Jacket character pack, you're in for a bad time. The hammer is a heavy knockdown weapon and does only 20 damage per uncharged swing while the best vanilla melee goes to 30 damage with quick stabs. Best to have Pumping Iron and a quick/mean weapon like the katana/pick axe or ice pick.

A fun deck, more so than Infiltrator I would say. Self sustainable and is more suited for armour builds though it can function in dodge as well.

Play style is different from Ex-President, close up, personal and aggressive.

Just like Grinder, Sociopath has no bonus to dodge and thus has 5% less compared to Ex-President, with 35% against 40%.

This pertains mostly to sniper fire. The 40% boost gives a bit of leeway when you're caught unawares, either taking you down immediately or leaving you with 10 health and no armour while Ex-President will usually be left with one third health.

With consistent kills, you gain a 1 hit shield every 2 seconds and Sociopath does it better. It's a free and better version of Bullseye and it also helps to negate the vanilla dodge value.

For a dodge build where armour is thin, Panic helps to prolong your survival dramatically, albeit within a short range. Gives a bit of breathing space where cover is scarce or when you're swarmed or need to sprint through. Ex-President on the other hand really needs the cover or to clear out a route before moving.

The regeneration for Sociopath is a hit and miss, for reasons described in the general section. Just like the Ex-President, both suffer from taking risks for regeneration. Sociopath can isolate enemies to get that heal but loses in potential because Ex-President fills storage from crew kills and can get that regeneration from any distance.

Imagine a sniper shot and both decks survive. Sociopath needs to hunt while Ex-President can drain it's entire storage to recover a decent amount.

Taking the analogy of "Prevention and Cure", Sociopath fares better in preventing damage, but Ex-President displays better potential in curing/healing the damage.

Both have their drawbacks and require skill points to negate it; First Aid Kit for heals, threat for less enemy fire, Bullseye for aided armour recovery. You'd have to pick your poison.

Just like Grinder in LBV, Sociopath has no dodge and has to rely on the light armour but fares better because of Panic/armour recovery.

Here are the possible armour/skill combination and values for ballistic vests. Going up Tech tree for Bullet Proof is not everyone's cup of tea but I added it there for possible comparisons.

Basic dodge refers to just Duck and Cover while Full refers to Duck and Cover + Sneaky B@stard.


And again, here's the perks comparison:

Conclusion:
Unlike the Grinder, Sociopath in ballistic vests is still in good control of the situation.
Tension and Overdose (30 + 30) armour recovery works well even with HBV, restoring to almost full armour every 2 seconds, while trading in some speed. Same long distance disadvantage.

Ex-President, just like the suit comparison, doesn't have crowd control and needs to quell enemies before any recovery but has an edge with dodge.

Still very much on personal preference and play style.

In all fairness, some players swear by Sociopath Techforcers. There is nothing wrong with that, you can pick your own play style. In fact, I just tested a Yakuza stealth build in Shadow Raid.

And again, here's the perks comparison:

Conclusion:
Ex-President allows 100% recovery in 1.45s though you need cover. Sociopath, at best case recovers 60/255 (23.5%) in 2 seconds which is underwhelming in comparison, combined with the fact that you cannot charge your melee while sprinting, making it harder to chain melee kills in an average situation.

Looking at the big picture, both have its woes in regeneration. Sociopath needs a melee kill while moving slower, Ex-President needs broken (although Deathwish breaks it easily as well) but Sociopath does have an easier time without being exposed to risks.

On the whole, a strange mix of pros and cons here but definitely leaning towards Ex-President because Ex-President supports heavy armours better.

Rogue, arguably outdated or untouched for some time (even Crew Chief got an update), still holds the throne for best suit dodge. It also has a few unique perks that keeps players coming back.


Comparison table:

Conclusion:
Rogue comes with unique perks but requires skill points in regeneration while Ex-President comes in an all-rounded package. Still largely a personal preference but I prefer Ex-President for more choice in skill points.

This is one of those odd comparisons that will hardly be mentioned but I'll put it here anyway, just food for thought.

Conclusion:
In ballistic vests, Rogue has the same amount of dodge as Ex-President, 20% to 30%, depending on vest. Rogue still brings its unique perks, but relies much more on armour and regeneration.

Swinging a vote here in favour of Ex-President for survivability.

Since Hitman's specialty is armour and akimbo, we will build Ex-President to do the same.

With the recent buff, Ambidexterity (akimbo) is now better than Fugitives' basic (but still inferior to the aced version) and there's no armour reduction.


Conclusion:
If you're hankering after heavy armour (ICTV/Bullet Proof) and akimbos (build here[pd2skills.com]), Ex-President is sorely limited, take Hitman instead. It will be heavy enough to not need regeneration, just like Yakuza/Armourer.

In other armours, Ex-President is down by 40 skill points just to get akimbos (though you get some Fugitive skills) and limits the types of builds you can have, with only points left to get 1 other full skill tree and 3 basic trees. So either you forego pistolling with Mastermind which leaves you with vanilla akimbos or you're forced to go Mastermind armour.

Hitman on the other hand has a lot more skill points to play with, even if you decide to go in CTV.

If you'd still want to take Ex-President, I recommend ballistic vests, basic/full dodge since we're already in Fugitive. Check out the BV comparisons/build recommendation for stats.

In summary, for armour and akimbos, definitely Hitman.

Just like Rogue is the king of suit dodge, the ballistic vest equivalent belongs to the Crook.

Here are the skills that we will be using in comparison:

In this table I will present information in 2 lines:
Armour: Base / Base + Thick Skin / Base + Thick Skin + Bullet Proof
Dodge: Base / Base + Duck and Cover / Base + Duck and Cover + Sneaky Bastard

Sidenote:
If you've never seen these values for Crook before you may be wondering how the hell does Crook have so much armour, almost reaching stock ICTV of 170. Well, now you know :)

And the comparison:

Conclusion:
Again just like Rogue in suit, Crook utilizes ballistic vests way better but trades in the Ex-Presidents' perks. With some form of regeneration, Crook definitely wins.

Sidenote:
By now, you should start to see a pattern. Ex-President works like an all rounder with a bit of everything but doesn't excel like the dedicated decks does.

One of the original decks, being unique with Panic, it's a favourite with LMGs and later, the regeneration.


Conclusion:
There isn't really much to say here. Muscle has better EHP from it's 80% health boost.
Panic helps to control the crowd though being targeted more is the downside.

Ex-President's regeneration pales so badly in comparison that I didn't even list it. Muscles' regeneration helps to recover from a bad mistake, though a full recover from a Deathwish down needs almost 2 full minutes.

A personal preference vote here, but I recommend Muscle to newer players and Ex-President for careful players because I believe keeping your armour up works better then letting your health go down.

The Infiltrator is the counterpart of Sociopath in armour, with some similar perks. That being said, the biggest difference is that while Sociopath still functions (albeit less effectively) for long distances, the Infiltrator is equivalent to no perk deck when out of medium range.

Note: I cannot verify if the exact range for Infiltrator's "medium" is the same as Sociopath's "medium" of 18 metres.


Conclusion:
The medium range issue has already been mentioned above.

Infiltrator uses armour better than Ex-President due to the reduced damage but without a recovery boost you'll have to make the armour count. Even if there is health loss, Infiltrator recovers it very easily because regeneration is on a melee strike.

Ex-President fairs better as an all rounder and recovers armour fast, consider it for maps where Infiltrator is lacking, like Meltdown/Aftershock/Watchdogs and other similar open areas.

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but situational and personal preference here again.

Before Burglar came along, everyone stealthed in Rogue so hybrid builds can consist of other decks. But since Burglar has became the go-to deck for stealth, we'll compare against it.

The reason for choosing to compare a hybrid is also due to the variation in heists.
Some heists do not have any changes in objectives (point of no return) so despite going loud midway, a hybrid build can still function.

For comparison purposes, I will be using suit dodge instead of armour case.


Conclusion:
Despite the superior dodge, Burglar lacks regeneration and survivability, which will begin to show in long drawn loud objectives, like Bomb Dockyard, Framing Frame, Election Day etc.

Burglar also works better for heists where the loud parts remain relatively unchanged, being able to have ECMs delay the inevitable, like a 5th pager waiting to go, or not enough time to bag everything (Jewelry Store/Diamond Store/Ukrainian Job).

In short, Burglar works better for heists where the loud parts remain relatively unchanged and Ex-President, for Pro jobs where there's no point of return/restart.