Can This Update Save Payday 3
After almost exactly 2 months, we finally have news about our first real Payday 3 update. No, I don't count the patch of bug fixes as a real one. I suspect the only reason we even got that patch was to fix the 99-box exploit for getting unlimited weapon exp. So the most recent development diary covers all the stuff that we're getting for the first planned update; it's a free update with two old Payday 2 maps.
The Transporter skill tree tweaks the challenge system and makes various quality-of-life fixes. Is this enough to bring Payday 3 back to life because right now Payday 3 is Rock Bottom for their player count, and it's basically a dead game only 2 months after release? Also, there's something big the developers forgot to mention, and I suspect they're hoping you forgot all about it too.
Let's dive right in, so let's first do a complete summary of what the development diary promised for the first payday 3 update. First things first, the developers came out and said that the reason there have been no updates was because they ran into errors that could have potentially wiped out player save data and progression.
So for all of you out there that have been blaming consoles, Sony, and Microsoft, you can stop now; it's not validation, it's not console support, and it's not crossplay. The fault lies directly with the developers themselves; plenty of other game companies have pushed out day-one or week-one updates, even having to deal with multiple platforms.
The developers do say that it's fixed now, but I won't hold my breath on that. As for the actual content, it's free, so it's not part of any paid DLC. There was no release date or time frame given for when it'd come out. It contains two old Payday 2 maps, Cookoff, and a murky station. Cookoff I totally understand why bringing back cooking meth became a staple of the payday universe, and it's a fairly novel objective to do in a article game, at least as far as I know, even if it is a little simple.
I also suspect that if they don't change how cooking meth works, we're getting another meth cooker helper mod that became one of the most downloaded mods in the history of Payday 2: My God. As far as murky stations go, I'm scratching my head over that one; I'm not sure anyone really considers it their favorite, nor is it something iconic like Shadow Raid.
Maybe it was just chosen because it was the easiest one to port over to Payday 3. As far as the ports go, the developers did mention that these maps would have some new mechanics to ensure that they fit in the Payload 3 universe.
I mean, at least he sort of looks like an old lock. You know, all the other contractors in the game either look like AI generator people, or in the case of someone like Vlad, who we already knew and had an image of, he just lost all charm and a hint of personality. In favor of being generic, brown-haired, brown-eyed, and male, another thing they're planning to add is the transporter skill tree.
Not many details were given on it, but we can assume this tree will let you carry two loot bags at the same time. There was also mention of changing the challenge system a bit by giving small amounts of infamy points or exp for completing Heist. And finally, there were a couple seconds showcasing some of the quality-of-life additions, such as new animations.
So first, let me just get this one out of the way. Holy cow, imagine releasing a game that's so Bare Bones it doesn't have animations and you want to patch it postrelease and call that quality of life. I mean, yeah, I'm super glad we're getting it, but the fact that it has to be done like this really shows that the game did not come out with care or love put into it.
In my mind, it could have even been intentional to show goodwill and enforce the idea that they're sticking to the live service part of the game. I don't think this is just a merry coincidence, but I still hope that they actually do put effort into improving the quality of life because it is missing in all aspects of this game.
It's especially apparent with menus and UI and the lack of being able to communicate in game. Unfortunately, we can only hope that they make this a top priority. As far as the maps go, I do have a few things to say about them. Making Remade Heist Free was a smart decision. I mean, if the developers tried to sell old Heist as paid DLC, I'm sure a lot of people would have lost their minds, including myself.
Cookoff, if it retains the spirit of the old Payday 2 map, is probably going to be a good addition for the game right now. Heist and PayDay 3 are woefully boring and uninspired, none of them deviating much from a familiar formula that we already know. Cook-off brings back a type of survival mode, or endless mode, in which you can cook meth indefinitely and try to see how long you can hold out.
This makes the heist happen. Loosely nonlinear in practice, and you can choose the amount of risk before you want to undertake the reward. Unfortunately, this may be at odds with the payday 3 challenge system for leveling up. I'll talk more about that later murky station again. I don't know why they added it back.
I can't really fathom a good reason; it's not like it was a bad heist, but it certainly wasn't that special. I think it might just mesh well with the current state of Payday 3, where it has lots of vents and they can reuse that laser detection system from under the surface. The developers also made a mention that the returning Heist will be getting new music tracks.
I hope they're okay, but hey, we're getting the old lock back. As far as lock making a reappearance to the game, we always knew that old contractors and characters were going to make a comeback just a matter of when. I think this particular situation, though a lot of people are going to be happy about it because Shade is, unfortunately, not a well-liked character.
I am not saying I agree or disagree, but what I will say is that both Bane and Lock have equally cringy and poorly written voice lines of their own. So they didn't mention whether he would be an announcer for the new heist, but you know only that he would be making a reappearance. However, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that he'll do the naration for the next two heists.
And finally, we have the new transporter skill tree. I say new, but this is literally one of the oldest Payday 2 mods in existence. It's also one of the most downloaded ones. I was really hoping that they would try to pursue new ideas for skills and maybe give us something unique or different. I mean.
