Payday 3 players slam new armor system as “un-fun” and “broken”
Starbreeze StudiosPayday 3 players are calling out the game’s new-look armor mechanics, labeling them as “fundamentally unfun.”
Payday 3 has been under heavy fire ever since its release on September 21. The problematic launch saw the game heavily criticized for constant server issues, matchmaking problems, and a mandatory online requirement that ultimately meant players were struggling even to play the game. Unsurprisingly, poor reviews rolled in, which ended up sinking Payday 3 to a “Mostly Negative” score on Steam.
While these initial problems were enough to deter many players, those who persevered have found more reasons for disappointment. Players are still finding issues with the actual gameplay being quick to call out the controversial new challenge-based progression system, the heavily-nerfed money bags, and more.
But the latest uproar is centered around the game’s new armor system. A Reddit post titled “New armor system is fundamentally un-fun” delves into the mechanics of the armor in Payday 3 compared to its predecessors.
In the previous games, armor provided a brief advantage against the police. If players didn’t respect this advantage, the armor would break, leaving their health vulnerable. This dynamic allowed for thrilling gameplay moments where players could make last-minute escapes.
However, in Payday 3, both health and armor are finite, leaving players with no room for error. The post summarizes the sentiment of many players: “the new armor system simply doesn’t work and, worst of all, less fun.”
The community’s feedback on the armor system has been overwhelmingly negative. One player noted, “It seems that the intention is to more heavily punish solo play… It’s one of the reasons I went back to Payday 2.”
Many players feel that the game discourages active engagement with enemies and overvalues certain in-game items, like the armor bag. Suggestions for improvement have also been plentiful, with players proposing mechanics like enemies dropping armor or health slowly regenerating.
Heisters. We're extremely sorry for this, but we've chosen to delay today's planned patch to ensure its stability. The patch needs some changes that would require us to go through console certification again. We hope to be ready to deliver this one for mid-October.
— PAYDAY 3 (@PAYDAYGame) October 5, 2023
Despite the backlash, Payday 3 developers have shown resistance to making significant changes to the game. They have firmly stood by their new challenge-based progression system, stating they have no plans to change it. This stance has only fueled the community’s frustration. One player reacted, saying, “Saying they have no plans to change how progression works is nuts. It’s so blatantly unfun.”
To add to the list of complaints, a crucial patch that was supposed to bring quality-of-life fixes has been delayed, with the developers now hopeful for a mid-October release.
It remains to be seen whether the update will also bring improvements or changes to the controversial new armor mechanics, however.