The Sentry Turret build in Payday 3 introduces a unique and fun aspect to gameplay and builds to what the game usually offers. You will see Stealth builds, Support builds and even Loud builds but what most of them lack is a touch of uniqueness.
Sentry Turrets are only available to Engineer skill users and only benefit from the skills under this specific Skill Tree which may make it a bit niche or restrictive for some.
You will be able to deploy a destructive piece of machinery that will take care of your enemies for you. Whether you want someone to watch your back or defend chokepoints for you, there is no better choice than the auto-targeting military-grade tech at your disposal.
It will shine through during Loud heists, and short-ranged combat so that is something to keep in mind before you start investing.
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Best Payday 3 Sentry Build Loadout
Primary Weapon Slot: Reinfeld 880
Secondary Weapon Slot: Signature.40, Signature 403
Overkill Weapon Slot: Marcom Mamba MGL grenade launcher
Engineer: Engineer (Aced), AP Turret, Cooling System, Detonation, Spin Cycle, Double Sentries, Targeted Fire
Enforcer: Enforcer (Aced), Combat Reload
Mower: Mower, Ammo Funnel, Replenish
Deployable: Sentry Turret
Armor Lining: Heavy Ballistic Lining
Throwable: Frag Grenade
Tool: Infrasonic Mine
Best Sentry Turret weapons in Payday 3
The Reinfeld 880 is such a reliable shotgun that it is hard to recommend anything else for Sentry Turret build in Payday 3.
Not only it is accessible as early as Infamy Level 2, but it is one of the best weapons Payday 3 has to offer for close combat scenarios.
You can deal impactful damage which can one-shot most enemies with upgrades and attachments. Since you can get it pretty early on in the game, it is also a future-proof choice to grab.
The Signature.40 is also an early-game weapon, in fact, it is the default pistol you get to start your journey. Besides its accessibility, it deals decent damage with high accuracy quickly which contrasts perfectly with your shotgun primary.
The Signature 403 is an excellent upgrade to its predecessor but requires you to reach Infamy Level 59 before you can get your hands on it. It is hard-hitting, with a low recoil and high accuracy, basically, just take the Sig.40 and make it even better.
For the Overkill weapon, we recommend the Marcom Mamba MGL grenade launcher since you will be dealing with enemy clusters that will try to overpower you. The grenade launcher is accessible to everyone from the start, and with its high AoE damage will synergies nicely with your Sentry Turret build.
The reason HET-5 Red Fox Sniper is a worse choice is because your build focuses on close-quarter fights and additionally, it does not need another source of single target damage.
Best Sentry Turret skills in Payday 3
The best skills for the Sentry Turret build starts with the Engineer skill in Payday 3. The turret is inaccessible without the skill making it the heart of this build.
The Sentry Turret targets and shoots enemies after being deployed within a certain range. Over time, it will build up heat and require resetting by the owner to function again. Upon unlocking the skill, you will get the 20% increased heat build-up for the turret as a base to work with.
Once the Engineer skill is Aced, you will get an additional 20% max heat build-up which almost doubles the time it has on the field.
To make sure the heat build meter fills up slowly, grab the Cooling System skill. This will reduce build-up caused by damage, explosions, or hacks by 30% which may stay as a permanent buff during overkill heists.
Do you know what is better than one turret? Two turrets. This can be achieved by getting the Dual Sentries Skill which increases area coverage as well as damage output. There is however a trade-off that makes these turrets build heat 50% faster. You can counter this with the aforementioned skills for reducing the rate of heat build-up so as long as you pair them, there shouldn’t be an issue.
Now that your turrets are set, it is time to polish their damage so they can fulfill the purpose you picked them up in the first place.
The AP Turret skill will increase the armor penetration rate by 1 for all turrets. Additionally, you can grab Detonation which explodes the turret after it overheats. This not only adds an AoE attack to your kit but you can also regain them back as soon as the skill cooldown ends.
The last addition to your turret to perfect your Sentry Turret build is to increase their range. Start by getting the Spin Cycle which makes them rotate 360 degrees as opposed to the limited range before. Your Turrets will now be able to cover your back, front, and sides which we believe is a pretty significant upgrade.
If there is someone in particular you want to target first, like an elite enemy that you need help with then you can actually mark the enemy with Targeted Fire skill. The Sentry Turrets will prioritize your manual marks over others which just makes it a fifth party member at this point.
With much investment in your sentries, we recommend still investing a little into your personal damage to complete the Sentry Turret Build in Payday 3. Your turrets will take care of most of the enemies, but what limits them is their single-fire nature. When in a crowd, you still need to fend for yourself.
We suggest sticking close to your Sentry Turret so most of your fights will be close-combat scenarios. For this Enforcer is an amazing skill to grab as it provides Grit after killing 2 enemies within 4 seconds of each other in a 5-meter radius of you. Once Aced, you can activate Grit as well as Edge after taking down 1 enemy within 5 meters of you.
You can also increase your reload speed when Grit and Edge are active with the Quick Reload skill under the same Skill Tree. We advise grabbing it because it does not require additional setup to activate but also the rate at which enemies surround you in higher difficulties can become overbearing pretty quickly. If you are not quick on your feet, you will put yourself in a vulnerable spot.
The Mower skill is itself useless here but it will be needed to unlock other useful skills in the same tree. Since you will not be running an ammo bag, you will need to fund your ammo through other sources.
We highly recommend pairing your Sentry Turret build with Ammo Funnel skill. It will automatically pick up enemy ammo drops when Edge is active and directly to your magazine so you can shoot without worrying about bullets. With the close combat focus, enemies will die pretty close to you so it ties very nicely into your kit.
To further improve ammo collection, you can pair Ammo Funnel with Replenish skill which automatically grabs any ammo drops after an enemy is killed. You can essentially create your ammo farm while making your last stand in these heists, getting rid of your ammo problem entirely as long as there are enemies to kill.
Best Sentry Turret equipment in Payday 3
The Sentry Turret is a no-brainer choice for your Sentry Turret build in Payday 3. This deployable forms the core of your entire kit and without it, the build will not exist.
Though armor choices almost always depend on what your preference is, however, specifically for this case, we highly recommend going with Heavy Ballistic Armor Lining.
This is because you will be up close and personal with enemies during combat where not only you are exposed to enemy fire but a few friendly hits as well. To make sure you make it to the end of the heist, prioritizing survivability is paramount here.
The throwable choice is more flexible than others on this list which mostly depends on what you feel will fit your Sentry Turret build better. We advise choosing Frag Grenades because the build lacks more area of effect damage, especially if you don’t have Detonation skill unlocked.
Lastly, just to add a bit more utility to your kit we think Infrasonic Mine will be a perfect fit. Normally it requires a set-up but in this case, as long as you place it where your turret is facing, things will work out. These mines stun the enemies caught in its radius which blinds them for you and your turret to pick apart.
