How to Play Guide for RAID: World War 2

This article covers all the information you need to survive the first hour in  - and hopefully, a dozen more!

Basics
Most players of Payday 2 will be instantly familiar with the control scheme and feel of Raid, except instead of the amoral robberies and manipulations, they will engage in the morally upstanding act of murdering, robbing, and more or less completely destroying Nazis. Those new to the game will have to get used to the slightly slower pace of the game, hordes of Huns trying to corner them, and the general focus on achieving objectives over increasing the kill count.

Classes

 * Choosing the class depends on your play style. For close combat fighting, pick the Insurgent or Demolitions class. If you're more comfortable with a lower rate of fire, but more punch per shot, pick either the Assault or Recon. Weapons can't be swapped between classes at this point.
 * The most important choice is the Warcry. In general, each Warcry has a personal and a team-wide effect. Pick whichever one suits you best. The Assault class' Warcry is universally useful, particularly in the terminal stages of the mission where staying alive counts for everything.

Gear

 * The customizations unlocked for each of the characters don't have an impact on the game beyond making the characters look special and more distinctive. The upgrades to weapons and character proficiencies, however, do affect the gameplay. In general, you will be able to unlock them all in time, but until then, prioritize whatever makes you better. If you're a good shot, more firepower per hit is better. If you're lousy, perhaps more ammo is best.

Missions

 * Missions are straightforward most of the time. Pay attention to the objectives and stay together with your team. Nazis spawn in hordes and isolated raiders are soon-to-be-dead raiders. Furthermore, there's no shortage of the Huns, so expediting mission completion is a good idea.
 * While we're on mission completion, stay on the lookout for olive-green wooden crates. These contain ammunition, grenades, and medical kits. Always open those (lockpicking if necessary) so that you and your team mates can benefit from their contents.
 *  Lockpicking is easy. Just wait until the opening in the circle is above the lockpick and hit F again, repeat as needed.


 * Oh, and do be a good chap and help downed team mates up. Another fighter means more guns, bullets, grenades, and dead Nazis. Even asocial psychopaths talented commandos like yourselves have standards. Yes, even you, Kurgan.

Killing Nazis

 * Straightforward with most classes. Step one is to park your rear end in cover, to reduce the chance of the Hun killing you. Then aim down the sights and let them have it. Only hip fire if you're up-close and can see the whites of their eyes, particularly with the Springfield.
 * When in doubt, reload. Always. Especially when you've got a lull in the fighting. Make this second nature. You never know when you'll need a full magazine or a few extra shotgun shells in your weapon.
 * Prioritize heavy enemies over their lesser brethren. Soldiers armed with flamethrowers are particularly dangerous, so focus fire on the bastards until they go down. Especially on the head.
 * Oh, and do enjoy yourself. Liberating Europe is hard work, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy doing the good work.