Snowball
Inventory FBI Files
Gameplay
Unlock Level	0
Inventory Slot	Throwable
Weapon Type	Projectile
Statistics
Damage	350
Capacity	6
Extra Statistics Speed 15m/s Throwing Rate 0.3s Throw Delay 0.15s Unequip Delay 1.1s
Other
Internal name	snowball
v·d·e

Snowballs were a throwable weapon in PAYDAY 2, available during the Winter Wonderland update and the Christmas Carol 2022 event.

It is once more available in PAYDAY 2 starting on December 1, 2023.

Overview

Instead of grenades or Perk Deck-tied items, 6 snowballs can be brought, each one dealing 350 damage and recharging one snowball every two seconds, attempting to staggering enemies on impact.

Mechanics

Technically, snowballs are explosive weapons, as there is a very small blast radius on impact, able to hit closely clustered enemies at once with a single snowball while ignoring body armor. Despite this, snowballs are also considered a silent weapon like the Throwing Knife, giving them some utility for killing armored/high health guards on heists like the Shadow Raid Murkywater guards, triad gangsters on Dragon Heist, and battering maximum force responders on body shots.

Snowballs have a noticeable arc to them like the Javelin, requiring the user to account for the drop and travel time if attacking enemies at a distance. They cannot be retrieved from walls or the ground once thrown, as they are destroyed on impact. Each snowball automatically replenishes in two seconds, and killing enemies will not speed up the recharge time.

Like explosive throwables, snowballs cannot be charged or aimed, as the user will throw one immediately upon pressing the throwable key.

Strategies

While snowballs cannot be retrieved, unlike throwables like the Ace of Spades, the two-second cooldown practically provides an infinite supply of throwables, even if the user's primary and secondary are out of ammo. This also makes them independent of grenade case assets, freeing up teammates to restock their more traditional grenades, such as Concussion Grenades.

Enemies that normally cannot be staggered or interrupted, such as Bulldozers, will not be staggered when hit with snowballs. However, snowballs also deal incredibly high damage to Bulldozer visors, similar to High-Explosive Slugs in shotguns like The Judge. One snowball anywhere on a Bulldozer's body will destroy the outer mask, and a second snowball will destroy the inner glass visor, exposing the Bulldozer to headshots. With their swift throwing speed, snowballs can also pair exceptionally well with the Thanatos .50 cal sniper rifle to quickly kill full health Bulldozers at close to medium range with good aim.

Shields take the full 350 damage and are staggered on impact even if the snowball hits the shield itself, and take a maximum of two snowballs to kill on higher difficulties. Snowballs also inflict tremendous damage on the SWAT Turret shield, capable of destroying the turret's shield in four or five hits, depending on difficulty.

Snowballs deal minor damage to the user if thrown directly at the one's feet. In a pinch, this can be deliberately done to trigger Second Wind ace to intentionally break one's armor and speed up the entire crew briefly, or even inch down one's health for greater Berserker benefits, similar to the Molotov Cocktail.

It is possible to push multiple bags slightly with snowballs, similar to pushing them with grenade launchers like the China Puff 40mm, and is most applicable on heists with numerous bags that can be moved, like the Golden Grin Casino.

Snowballs work well in Mallcrasher, as they can break multiple glass panes and other destroyable objects quickly, and are not limited like other explosives.

Trivia

• The snowball is the first non-perk deck throwable weapon that automatically recharges with time.
  • Snowballs were also the first time-exclusive throwable, and is the second weapon no longer available after the surrounding event ended, the first being the Cash Blaster and third being Flintlock Freddy. Despite being removed, the three weapons remain in the files.
• Trying to replenish snowballs with the grenade case asset will result in the message "You don't have a throwable equipped" even if the user interacts with the case with zero snowballs.
• Because snowballs are actually explosive weapons, they are capable of giving players the tinnitus effects on point-blank pelting if thrown at the player's own feet, and can kill nearby civilians even if the snowball itself doesn't hit the civilian. It may also explain their effectiveness against Bulldozers and enemy turrets.
• While in stealth, unlike other ways of dealing damage, snowballs do not guarantee killing unalerted guards in one hit, possibly leaving them alive if they have enough health. If a guard survives being hit by a snowball, they will jump forwards for cover and remain crouched until choosing to go to a different waypoint. Despite being damaged, the guard will not become alerted.

Gallery

Inventory preview of the snowball throwable

Dallas throwing a snowball at a biker on Santa's Workshop.