The stochastic approach to calculating scalar correlation functions in de Sitter spacetime is extended beyond the overdamped “slow-roll” approximation. We show that with the correct noise term, it reproduces the exact asymptotic long-distance behavior of field correlators in free field theory, thereby demonstrating the viability of the technique. However, we also show that the naïve way of calculating the noise term by introducing a cutoff at the horizon does not give the correct answer unless the cutoff is chosen specifically to give the required result. We discuss the implications of this for interacting theories.