Each heist inPayday 3is a complex scenario with several moving parts. As a new player, you might be surprised at just how much detail goes into each mission. You also might be surprised by the sudden spike in difficulty once the alarm is raised and a police assault begins.
Related:Payday 3: What Are Rush, Edge, and Grit?
Payday 3 is all about adaptation and preparedness, but it’s hard to account for every possible scenario. By keeping a cool head and remembering these basic tips, you’ll significantly increase your chance of survival - and the amount of money you get away with at the end of the heist.
7Take As Many Hostages As Possible
When an alarm goes off, it’s only a matter of minutes before the first wave of enemies arrives. At that point, it’s essential that you stop what you’re doing andtie up as many civilians as possibleto use as hostages. Naturally, anyone that you don’t subdue will flee at the first opportunity, so you won’t get a second chance at this.
It’s always worth releasing at least one hostage for an extra ten seconds during the Negotiation Phase. That gives you extra time toprepare defenses, move the remaining hostages, and breach security.
Related:Everything You Need To Know About Hostages In Payday 3
As tempting as it might be to recreate the scene in every bank robbery movie where the criminals fire their guns into the air to get attention, it’s much better tosimply shout at civilians to intimidate them.If the police hear gunshots, the Negotiation Phase may end early, robbing you of extra setup time.
If you only have a few hostages,move them to a hard-to-reach locationout of the line of fire. You need to be able to trade them for medkits and revives as the heist progresses.
6Use The Buddy System
While it’s possible to play Payday 3 solo, with support from AI bots, the game is built around teamwork. If you’re playing with others,try to stick together with at least one teammateas often as possible. Whether you’re spotting guards and cameras for one another or distracting a Shield to provide a firing angle, having a buddy makes everything easier.
There are even situations where a lone player can be rendered completely helpless. Getting cuffed by a security guard ortackled by a Cloakerboth require a teammate to rescue you, as does being downed when you’re out of health. If you’ve strayed too far from the rest of the team when something like this happens, you’re likely to wind up in custody.
5If Something Looks Important, It Probably Is
Payday has always been full of secrets, hidden routes, and Easter eggs. The franchise is famous for its attention to detail, and the community for its meticulousness. Whenever you see something just a little more conspicuous than the average set piece,make a note of it.
Related:Payday 3: Dirty Ice Heist Guide
Most heists have hidden passcodes and hints hiding in plain site. Once you’ve found them, you can use them on subsequent runs to make things go much smoother. Note that every heistrandomizes these important details, meaning you’ll never be able to get through a job on memorization alone!
4Move Loot Between Assaults
Particularly on later heists and higher difficulty settings, you’ll find yourselfpinned down by the cops.As tempting as it might be to make a break for it, it’s usually better towait out the current assaultand move the loot when the police pull back to regroup.
Most mission objectives are in a vault or other secure room with limited entrances and sight lines. Use this to your advantage! Once the loot is bagged up,hunker downby placing your deployabaleammo, armor, and med bagsand fight as a team until the assault ends.
If you’ve entered theFinal Chargephase of the heist, this won’t be an option any longer - try to have the loot bagged and ready before this happens!
3Get Out When You Can
Tenacious players can score big payouts bytaking the time to secure all the loot on a heist. A lot has to go right for this to happen, and even skilled players can find themselves at risk of failure if they stay too long.
Related:Payday 3: Road Rage Heist Guide
If you’ve secured the minimum required amount of loot and unlocked the escape route,assess the situationand decide whether it’s worth it to go back for more. Remember, if theheist fails then you get nothing!
It’s a good idea to take a quick vote with your teammates on whether to stay or escape.
2Communicate
Communication with your teammates is essential for getting the most out of each heist, and on any difficulty above Hardyou will not survive without teamwork.Plan out with your team how to approach each heist - who is spotting guards and cameras, who is picking locks, and what to do if the alarm is raised.
Even if you don’t have a mic, you can still useemotes and pingsto give basic information to your teammates.
Communication is especially important when it comes to keycards and other mission items. These canonly be used by the player that picked them up.Be sure that the player who takes an item will be able to use it; for example, a masked character will have a much harder time walking through a civilian area to unlock a door than one who is still unmasked.
1There’s No Right Or Wrong Way To Play
The heists in Payday 3 are designed to be open-ended; while there are both stealthy and loud routes available for most, the exact approach to each scenario is ultimately up to the players. If you like sneaky infiltration, go for it! If you prefer to just go in guns blazing, that’s perfectly okay as well - the game is designed that way.
Knowing how you and your team like to play the game makes it easy toassign team rolesandselect the best skillsfor your chosen approach. Whichever way you choose to go about your life of crime, just be sure you’re having fun with it!
