A new Payday 3 video has been released, shedding some light on how weapons and combat systems will work within the game. The video sees Starbreeze staffers talk about difficulty, movement, and damage modeling, as well as lots of other systems that contribute to the way Payday 3 will feel.
After some time in the oven, so to speak, it looks like Payday 3 is nearing completion; a September release date was announced during this year's Xbox showcase, so it shouldn't be too long until the next iteration of the iconic multiplayer heist-'em-up is in your hands. In that spirit, Starbreeze is releasing a series of dev diaries detailing different parts of the game, and the third episode is simply titled "Combat".
The trailer begins with senior designer Miodrag Kovačević discussing the four difficulty modes in the game: Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Overkill. Contrary to what you might expect, Normal is essentially the tutorial mode of the game, while Hard will be the standard difficulty and Very Hard is probably where veteran players will begin. Overkill, meanwhile, is described by Kovačević as "brutal" and "unfair". Yikes.
Senior designer Jimmy Karlström and lead gameplay programmer Martin Waern then discuss how armor and weight will work in Payday 3. Movement systems will include mantling and sliding, but the more armor you're wearing, the slower you'll move. Armor can also be shot off you in shards, and special enemies can ignore armor and hit you straight in the health bar, so to speak, so you'll need to be careful as you play.
Starbreeze then goes into detail regarding enemy types, including special enemies. The Bulldozer enemy is back, for instance, and he'll have some new behaviors, including the ability to "bullrush" the player and knock them down. If you really hate a certain kind of enemy like the Dozer, though, Starbreeze says you'll be able to create a build that "basically deletes" them from the game, but this will leave you weaker elsewhere, which is where co-op play comes in.
When it comes to weapons, Starbreeze says that modding - picking your own components to add - will work similarly to Payday 2, but that acquiring those mods will be a little different. Each gun now has its own progression path, and you'll have to play with that gun in order to unlock new parts for it.
Another new element to weaponry in Payday 3 comes in the form of Overkill Weapons, which are intended as a massive power spike and which can be used after a certain amount of progress within a mission. Together with gadgets like mini-cameras and jammers, they should ensure that your team has everything it needs to tackle the game's heists.
It's well worth watching this Payday 3 dev diary in full if you want the lowdown on what's new and what's returning when it comes to the game's combat. Payday 3 is launching for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on September 21st.
