Highlights
- Payday 3 should focus on improving the stealth gameplay mechanics that were present in previous games in the franchise.
- Stealth in Payday 2 is incredibly difficult, requiring extensive prior knowledge, skill mastery, and teamwork to complete heists undetected.
- Stealthing missions in Payday 2 is currently not very rewarding, with underwhelming bonuses and poor payouts, but Payday 3 has the potential to change this with improved tools and incentives.
Even though Payday 2 is a timeless classic, another sequel is on the horizon for the franchise, scheduled to come out in late 2023. Like the original before it, Payday 2 specializes in offering unmatched heist scenarios and the new sequel will continue to explore the same genre. Even though the series has hit its peak so far in Payday 2, there’s still one aspect that deserves a new outlook in Payday 3.
Alongside tried and true video game gunfights, the franchise also offers players the choice of approaching and completing most heists undetected, using stealth tactics in Payday 2. Unlike the previous games though, Payday 3 should forge its own path with stealth gameplay and make it an equal playstyle compared to typical guns-blazing firefights. Without sacrificing the level of realism achieved throughout the franchise so far, there are still many ways that Payday 3 could build upon the stealth mechanics of the previous games in the franchise.
Stealth in Payday 2 Is an Incredibly Difficult Playstyle
While starting missions and heists in Payday 2 with stealth is a common trend in the game, fully completing missions while remaining undetected throughout is a significant challenge. Players often have the chance to safely scope out the entrance of most mission locations before equipping a mask and engaging with any objectives. Equipping masks in Payday 2, or performing other suspicious activities is a point of no return, so players can’t revert to the initial surveillance state in order to avoid or lose detection.
Completing most heists in Payday 2 without ever being detected arguably requires an extreme level of prior knowledge, mastery of skills, overall investment, and sometimes a proper team of other players. Different missions also allow players to get to varying levels of progress before nearly forcing players to become detected after reaching a certain point, which is where assets and gadgets come in to alleviate the difficulty. In the Payday 2 heists and missions where players are encouraged to use elements of stealth for specific encounters, there are usually some assets for players to purchase that enable or help players to bypass certain obstacles. Even with these particular assets though, stealth in Payday 2 is still a difficult task to accomplish.
A recent trailer revealed that there will be more skills and gadgets in Payday related to stealth in the upcoming sequel, and aside from proper rewards, this may be just what stealth needs to finally be a viable playstyle. Because the franchise is so grounded in realism while motivating players to optimize their mission expenses, this is likely the reason that the older Payday games held out on offering players access to immersion-breaking stealth tools.
Stealth in Payday Games Should Be More Rewarding
No matter how far players progress in a mission, being detected at all generally voids all the bonus rewards for completing a mission undetected. Not to mention, being detected also potentially puts players at a disadvantage when using stealth loadouts in all-out firefights. The only reward for completing heists undetected is a Stealth Bonus, which increases the amount of XP players earn from their next completed heist. The Stealth Bonus is a percentage that increases for each part of a single heist completed while undetected. In order to be a meaningful reward, players potentially have to complete extensive multi-part heists in stealth, and then follow up with extremely difficult heists that offer large amounts of experience in Payday.
Given how much time, effort, and in-game currency can often go into preparing and executing a stealth heist in Payday 2, the rewards can be severely underwhelming. Due to a lack of worthwhile tools, and a poor payout, stealth arguably isn’t worth the effort in Payday 2. With advanced gadgets, meaningful incentives, and other possible changes, Payday 3 can do a lot to change up the current reputation that stealth has in the Payday franchise, while simultaneously making it more approachable for newer, casual players.
Payday 3 is currently in development.