Payday 3 players can finally download the game’s first major patch. Update 1.0.1 is officially live on servers today, following a month-long delay that compounded with the game’s launch issues.
The first major patch was slated for Oct. 5, and the Payday 3 team discussed it extensively on developer streams the week after the game’s full launch. The patch would mostly fix bugs, though the developers also used those broadcasts to outline changes that were in the works and talk about possible changes to progression.
Since its month-long delay, however, the Payday 3 patch also incorporated minor balancing adjustments and bug fixes, according to the patch notes. You can’t use the Battering Ram skill to bust through some locked doors that require keycards, which may have been due to a buggy interaction. This method was the go-to for speed-running the Rock the Cradle heist since it let players bypass a chunk of the objectives.
As for balancing changes, Dozers will need to be closer to use their deadly shotguns on heisters, making them a bit less lethal. Keen-eyed players can also throw knives through broken shield visors. Those seem to be the core of the actual gameplay changes shipped so far, but the team teased nerfs to Last Man Standing and Armor Up in an upcoming patch and reiterated that armor and health are under the microscope for future releases.
“We are happy with how armor itself works, but we want to put in a few more ways for players to restore it in the game,” the patch notes read. “We also think health is underperforming right now, but addressing that will be a gradual change over the first year of updates, rather than one sweeping update.”
The patch notes list a litany of fixes, including solutions for crashing issues, achievement completion bugs, and other gameplay-related glitches.
Payday 3‘s Patch 1.0.1 was scheduled for Oct. 5, but saw multiple delays. Developer Starbreeze pushed its release to mid-October, then delayed the update a second time. An Oct. 25 blog post revealed the delays were due to a “critical issue” that jeopardized players’ progression and shared the patch was undergoing certification, culminating in today’s launch date.
The problems with the patch process followed a turbulent launch for Payday 3, marred by week-long matchmaking issues that caused the game to be practically offline for days on end. Between the issues after its full release and the multiple delays, Starbreeze saw a resurgence in Payday 2, which beat its more modern sibling in player count.
With Starbreeze seemingly reining in the issues with its update progress, seeing more patches more frequently may not be out of the realm of possibility for Payday 3 players. The game also has a DLC slated for Winter 2023, according to its official post-launch page, though its official date is not final.
