It took a whole lot longer than anyone expected (or reasonably thought possible), but the first Payday 3 patch is finally here. Developer Starbreeze says the update makes “a massive amount of fixes to make your heisting a smoother experience,” and that the instability issues players have been dealing with since the game launched in September are finally fixed.

It’s been a long, rough road getting here. Payday 3’s launch was a catastrophe: Players strongly disliked the game’s progression system, and worse, its demand for an online connection even for solo play meant that matchmaking woes were a big headache even for people who wanted to play by themselves. A presumed fix didn’t pan out, and a more comprehensive update planned for early October was delayed multiple times as Starbreeze discovered and struggled to fix numerous problems.

The net result is visible on Steam, where the user rating almost immediately tanked to “mostly negative” and concurrent player numbers remained a small fraction of Payday 2’s. That situation is slowly turning around: The user rating has managed to climb up to “mixed,” although with just 40% positive user reviews it’s at the absolute bottom of that scale. Still, it’s progress in the right direction, and this patch will hopefully go a long way toward lifting it up further.

The first patch makes a wide range of fixes and balance changes, including to a number of connection-related problems: Issues preventing the social list from filling, that prevented matchmaking when a former party leader leaves, and a non-specific “crash related to IP address,” are all reportedly addressed by the patch. Several other crash issues have also been fixed.

“After some instability, we’re finally up and running as things should be!” Starbreeze wrote. “Heisters heisting, civilians screaming and cops floundering! We’ve got a lot more cooking, keep letting us know when you find bugs and sending us your suggestions!”

Naturally, some players aren’t happy that it took this long for the first Payday 3 patch to arrive, and there’s a multitude of complaints about issues that remain unaddressed on Steam and Reddit. The weapon charm and death wish reward that were offered in the cross-promotion with Payday 2 still haven’t been granted (Starbreeze said it hopes to have that straightened out in time for the next patch), and there’s also no word on the studio’s earlier musing about a possible offline mode: The Payday 3 FAQ still states that “we haven’t ruled it out as a possible safeguard to ensure Payday 3 will remain always playable,” but as of now no work has begun on that front. There also doesn’t appear to be any of the promised changes to Payday 3’s progression system.

Still, it’s a step in the right direction, and in the few hours since the patch went live, Payday 3’s concurrent player count has seen a bump—a small bump, yes, but it seems that despite all the doubt and despair, at least some players are eager to see just how much this patch really improves things. If it delivers as promised, maybe Starbreeze can finally start taking meaningful steps toward turning its fortunes.

The full patch notes are below.

GENERAL

Added pre-order and edition specific items to everyoneLast radio call will now provide a last warning before alarm goes off, and will not be interrupted by other radio dialoguesPlayers can now not turn the camera during the full tased effectAdded a fix for the “Cleanin’ It Out” achievement to pop up when the criteria is metFixed an issue where the player doesn’t gain “Rush” when masking up while sprintingFixed an issue where the player could bind “Throw item” and “Request overkill weapon” to the same keybindUpdated the aim assist function for PS5 controllersClosing or opening doors will no longer push/move players in close proximityFixed a crash caused when answering a radioFixed a crash that could happen when vaulting near the heist endFixed an issue where players got stuck in crouch when playing with high pingAdded a fix so Overkill weapons don’t fall through vehiclesFixed so the tutorial scroll box is scrollable the second time you open a tutorial popupAdded a fix for a crash caused by multiple explosionsFixed an issue where the “Closing the Account” trophy didn’t unlock properlyFixed so the achievement “Cleanin’ it out” needs to be done on OverkillFixed issue with marking though some windowsAdded a fix to prevent players from getting stuck when using a human shield that diesFixed a DLSS related crashFixed an issue where the player can get stuck and not proceeding to menus after failing a heistRemoved a state check to fix issue with AI placed bags having wrong rotationAdded a fix so game won’t crash when joining another player through social or shellFixed an issue with the social list not filling upFixed an issue where a party couldn’t matchmake if the former party leader had left the partyFixed an issue where social list didn’t populate after reestablishing an internet connectionChanging languages should now workFixed a crash related to getting a random character when joining a gameFixed a crash related to IP addressClosed the weapon experience exploit in 99 Boxes

BALANCE

For this patch, we wanted to primarily address minor fixes.

We are aware that Last Man Standing and Armor Up are performing a bit too well, so we plan to give them a few tweaks that keep them effective, but require a bit more setup compared to the benefits they offer. This will be in the next big patch. Outside of these two skills, we don’t expect any big nerfs coming to skills in the next patch, but given players are still getting used to the game, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the meta.

We are also aware that armor is considered the most desirable resource compared to ammo and health. 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. 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.

SKILLS

Using Manipulator Basic Skill will no longer cause an interaction interference when players do multiple interactions in a row“Battering Ram” skill can no longer be used to open blue keycard door on “Rock the Cradle”“Battering Ram” skill can no longer be used to open the front door on “Touch the sky”

WEAPONS

Added ability for knives to be thrown through broken shield visors.Fixed an issue where throwing knives couldn’t be picked up when the equipped primary or secondary weapon had full ammoAdjusted the Vertical Grip spawn point on weapon PC9Moved the magazine release lever on SA A144Fixed an issue with weapon recoil in lower FPS

ENEMIES

Dozers will now get closer before engaging heisters with their shotgunUpdated the enemy flashbangs to apply flash effect more consistentlyPlayer can no longer open doors leading to enemy spawn locations

TECHNICAL

The real meat of this update, the tech stuff! There’s a wide variety of fixes and changes on this list. Continue to let us know if you find any bugs and we’ll keep smashing them!

UI

Added a “Keep these display changes?” message after changing screen resolution.Fixed a minor typo in the loadout sectionUI update for favor reward in result screenReduced description text size, in skill line menusAdded ability for players to review the EULA again after creating their accountsFixed an issue causing player names, and infamy levels, to not load correctly and displaying wrong informationFixed translation issue related to the whiskey bottle in “Touch the Sky”Fixed overlapping text in heist overviewAdded icons for when buffs are blocked due to certain skillsDropdown for offline friends in social screen should now be displayed correctlyAdded a fix for the camera zooming out of screen when inspecting an item from the vendorsFixed an issue showing an incorrect amount of remaining radio calls when a player joins an ongoing heistAdded a fix for overlapping weapon mod names to make them more readablePlayer stats are now shown in result screen when failing a heistAdded a fix so a joining player’s name is displayed in the chatAdded a button prompt showing how to exit the safe cracking mini-gameThe phone hacking visualization should now always reach full when completingFixed locked story videos to properly reset color values when initializedAdjustments made to fonts in settings menuFixed an issue with the “report player” option not appearingFixed an issue where the user could interact with the menus when the report text box was openAdded a fix for stock mods “TQ” and “HQ”, their titles are now aligned in the loadoutTool input is now shown as blocked when interacting with lootResized the loadout selection barFixed an issue with joining a friend in the social menu when spamming the join buttonFixed an issue on with friends not to appear properly

AUDIO

A sound of dropping a dead body onto the ground will now be played when players drop bodiesThe sound effect of sliding will now stop playing when players stop slidingAdded sound effect for closed windows being destroyedCinematic audio volume is now also affected by master volumeRemoved “break” VFX from throwing knives that don’t break when Retriever skill is equippedAdded a fix for smalltalk between civilians and employees not triggeringAdded more small talk conversations between civiliansShade voice over will no longer play, when players return to the main menu after canceling matchmakingImproved the sound effect for opening cratesDisabled the Shade VO about file clues when the actual documents have already been picked upWolf now whisper instead of screams for medic bags during stealth gameplayFixed an issue where dye packs would loop the audio when breaking while being disarmedFixed an issue where civilian cellphone ringtones would loop foreverFixed an issue that could cause eye scanner to play incorrect VO when scanning the correct NPCAudio balancing for enemy VOsAdded more door soundsAdded sound effects for NPC animationsFixed an issue where the human shield takedown sound effect would not stop if you reload your gun while choking someone out

VISUALS

Fixed a visual issue with deployables placed on moving objects that wouldn’t sync up for players joining an ongoing heistFixed deployables floating in the air when placed on a surface that then moved, deployables will now fall to the ground.Fixed an issue with deployables floating when placed on certain doorsFixed multiple minor graphical issues on the front part of the bank on “No Rest of the Wicked”Fixed weapon animation issue when looking upwards and using toolsAdded a fix so that switching between sprinting and placing tools wouldn’t cause issues when sprinting.Fixed animation issue when SWATs are freeing hostages appearing as taking damageFixed an issue on lower graphical settings causing the door of the escape helicopter to appear broken. (PC)Fixed a bug where the player could get inside the transport van in one of the pot holes in “Road Rage”Fixed a bug where standing on the van would cause the player positions to glitchRealigned The Butcher’s contractor image with the bottom of the screenSubtitle fixes for story videosFixed a animation issue when using microcameraIn-game heist info screen now scales properly across aspect ratiosAdjusted enemy sabotage animationOptimized foliage LODs

HEIST

Melee damage no longer affects environment details that should only take damage from explosions/gunfire in Gold & SharkeFixed missing collision, in a small area on the bank roof, on “No Rest for the Wicked”Removed an area that was tagged as “public” on the roof in “Under the Surphaze”Fixed a bug that led guards to sometimes walk through a closed door on “No Rest for the Wicked”Added a fix for the Security Door that was openable without a Blue keycard on “99 boxes”Added a missing out of bounds screen filter in “Under the Surphaze”Deployables no longer disappear when thrown through vents on “Touch the Sky”Added a fix for canceling sliding into panic room’s door on “Touch the Sky”Fixed the texture of the panic room’s door on “Touch the Sky”“Favors” and “Difficulty” are no longer visible in tutorials when holding TabPlayers will no longer stutter when jumping and sprinting inside the truck on “99 Boxes”Added collision to block players from getting stuck behind a curtain on “Under the Surphaze”Added collision to prevent bags from being thrown outside of the playable area on “Road Rage”Fixed a vent navigation issue in “Rock the Cradle”Fixed an issue where bags would get stuck in the forklift on “Road Rage”Fixed an issue where loot bags would disappear when throwing them into the zipline on “Touch the Sky”Fixed an issue where AI crew could get stuck in “99 Boxes”Fixed issues where you could throw bags out of reach on “Dirty Ice”Fixed an issue where some jewelry trays are clipping in the VIP room on “Dirty Ice”Added so the drill option appears during Stealth on “Touch the Sky”Disabled all interaction for placed planks once all four have been placed on “Road Rage”Added a fix for where the Escape Objective sometimes didn’t appear on “Dirty Ice”The “Enter the Workshop”-objective will get disabled if players secure maximum lootFixed an issue where Mason gets poisoned despite not being delivered the poisoned drink on “Touch the sky”Fixed an issue where the armored truck would get stuck before the final ramp on “Road Rage”Fixed an Overkill difficulty issue where the bouncer wouldn’t let you proceed after showing him the VIP invitation on “Rock the Cradle”Adjusted the ambush setup timer on “Road Rage”Added collision to prevent cage bags falling through the ground on “Rock the Cradle”Added a fix so players cannot throw the zipline bag in the escape van on Gold & Sharke

KNOWN ISSUES

Challenge stuck at 1/1 can now be unlocked by completing the challenge again or completing the highest difficulty challenge in the sequenceThe weapon charms and death wish reward from the PAYDAY 2 to PAYDAY 3 cross promotion campaign haven’t been properly granted. We hope to have this issue fully resolved by the next patch