Payday 3 vs Payday 2

[Packratic]

Honestly, I like what I am seeing out of Payday 3 and I think it sets a good foundation for more content but Payday 2 is by far the superior game with all the years of content. I think it's honestly going to take a couple years for Payday 3 to get on the same level. I'm a huge PAYDAY fan, discovering the game on console before Steam and decided NOT to purchase the gold edition. Payday 2 just seems like the better payday for now..

[Modest Mauser]

I'm excited to see what Overkill comes up with to wring as much money out of people as possible. If they put as much creativity in their games as they do fleecing people, they'd probably have...hell, I don't know. A timeless classic, maybe.

[Haskacz]

(in my country ) Pay Day 2 30pln vs Pay Day 3 300pln. Yeah Payday3 have much better gameplay and better graphics, but in my country the price difference is huge. Well in my opinion currently Pay day2 is better then Payday3 but i'm annoyed by the error with epic. *If something i wrote it wrong please correct me , i m bad in english.

[CyberDNIWE]

Payday 3 feels like Payday 1, a huge step back in complexity and originality. It also lacks variety since all you can adjust is difficulty on a scale of 1-4.
The graphics are also worse in many cases and the performance is crap even on top end PCs.
The only thing that's good about 3 is that it doent have lootboxes... yet.

[Kain Mightyena]

Pd3 is such a huge step back it’s pathetic. SO many features just cut from payday 2 for absolutely no reason other than sheer ineptitude. That and the game is a stuttering nightmare from what I’ve played of the beta and lo and behold it’s still there on launch day. Also the fact this game is launching with LESS content than pd2 did on its launch day combined with the rate they will be releasing content it will take years for the game to come even halfway close to what payday 2 has to offer.

[FlemiFøx]

Fun game and amazing looking maps on both games, can't wait to play PAYDAY 3 when my friends get theirs tomorrow for many years to come.

Gustavo did an amazing job again with the music on both games, both games run well too

[Kompenschnitzel]

Originally posted by Packrat:

Honestly, I like what I am seeing out of Payday 3 and I think it sets a good foundation for more content but Payday 2 is by far the superior game with all the years of content. I think it's honestly going to take a couple years for Payday 3 to get on the same level. I'm a huge PAYDAY fan, discovering the game on console before Steam and decided NOT to purchase the gold edition. Payday 2 just seems like the better payday for now..

It's way too shallow for the asking price IMO. I'll just wait until they dump a hundred DLC and buy it on a sale. Plus there's a credit system in PD3 and I'm not sure how to feel about that since it looks to be the game's version of COD Points.

[Packratic]

Originally posted by Kain Mightyena:

Pd3 is such a huge step back it’s pathetic. SO many features just cut from payday 2 for absolutely no reason other than sheer ineptitude. That and the game is a stuttering nightmare from what I’ve played of the beta and lo and behold it’s still there on launch day. Also the fact this game is launching with LESS content than pd2 did on its launch day combined with the rate they will be releasing content it will take years for the game to come even halfway close to what payday 2 has to offer.

I was really about to purchase the GOLD edition but after looking into Payday 3 I couldn't see enough to warrant the purchase. I have game pass so just considering playing Payday 3 on it for a bit until we get some more content..

[saucison78]

I refunded Payday 3 gold, it was a big disappointment. Payday 2 is a pc game where as Payday 3 is a console game, the interface is simplified and does not offer many features.

-No safehouse
-No payday loot screen (one of the major reasons for refund)
- No addictive skin unlocks or safes through the loot screen (probably one of the best features in Payday 2, all games should do skins like this in a CS way if you ask me).
-Interface is heavily simplified and lackluster
-No prestige
-No infamy levels (xp is called infamy now)
-Skillpoints is like perk decks now just nowhere near as good and meaningful. Payday 2 had meta skills and perk decks,(nobody forces you to use them though, think for yourself).
-No perk decks
-Weapon mods is nowhere near as good but Payday 2 also lacked in this department when it was released.
-No crimenet (one of the major reasons for refunding) the matchmaking system is just horrible, it's your average console matchmaking system which is not a good thing, you spend more time trying to get into a populated game than actually playing, if you do private or friends only then you're still matchmaked, i had 200-300 ping in private, i'm living in the Philippines.
-No server filters, i don't believe Payday 2 had this when released if i remember correctly or atleast not as it is now.
-Heists are more or less remade versions of Payday 2 heists, but still good enough.
-Progression is a challenge based system that depend on you completing them to progress at all, if you keep doing the same heist without challenges then you're basically wasting your time.


+You can hold civilians hostage in an animation, it basically works like Payday 2's intimidation where you use Q to throw them and tie them up.
+There's new jewelry cases and lockboxes you open rather than just smashing the glass.
+They added a lockpicking minigame, personally i find it a bit repetitive after the first heist, but some might like this.


I have yet to see any new stealth mechanics that was one of the major selling points, to me there's more stealth mechanics in Payday 2. Keycards, Computers, Vents, Cameras, Servers and so on, all this was already added in Payday 2.

Payday 3's Gunplay a lot of gamers claim to be better which i don't agree with at all, reloading while sprinting and more is basically locked behind the skillpoints, other than that there's no major overhaul like claimed.

Overall Payday 3 is more like Payday 1.5, Better than the first game but certainly not better than Payday 2, the graphics is slightly improved, but nothing to warrant you purchasing a new game though.

I basically just listed the most important features missing, there's too many to list in one post.

The biggest reason for refunding is probably Payday 3 being a live service game, where as Payday 2 is offline where your offline progress is also saved globally, which is a great system.

[Birdd]

After beating the story of PD3 and coming back to 2 to finish a couple unlocks

This game is insanely dated comparatively, people are having a hard time understanding PD3 is a brand new game and doesn't have the mountain of content this game has yet, but it will, and it'll rock, it feels great and the 8 heists that exist atm are top tier content compared to this game

Every single system is better and improved (Other than skill trees missing)

There's a massive amount of cope and denial around the game, but in a few years it's going to be the go-to game without a doubt


The game runs flawlessly for me, the stealth is a million times more fun, the gunplay feels slightly better (still a weakpoint in both games imo), the graphics are significantly better (probably why people can't run it)

My ONLY gripe with the game is the progression, which was my favorite part of PD2.. but if I can get over that, anyone can

[NIkto Barada]

sigh, if overkill doesnt have cashflow from something guess how much support pd2 will get? volition was already done in. im kinda thinking i should reward em just for ditching denuvo. put my money where my mouth is and wait.

[AurumPhloem]

Online only though, that's big minus for pd3. Plus, they've clearly demonstrated they intend to leave Payday 2 in a broken state with a half-baked EoS that nobody wanted. This doesn't bode well for them keeping pd3 running properly in the long run. Big pass for me til they demonstrate a commitment to the people who buy their products by fixing pd2 and adding enough to pd3 to make it feel like a worthy upgrade purchase.

[Oboi]

Originally posted by Modest Mauser:

I'm excited to see what Overkill comes up with to wring as much money out of people as possible. If they put as much creativity in their games as they do fleecing people, they'd probably have...hell, I don't know. A timeless classic, maybe.

How is 10yr of 20k+ CCU not already a timeless classic? Fleecing or not - PD2 outlived most it peers.

[Unreal]

i bought payday 3 gold edition when it became available for pre-order in the same week. i played both the beta and the game. payday 2 is better, all day.

[CrOnA]

Originally posted by CyberDNIWE:

Payday 3 feels like Payday 1, a huge step back in complexity and originality. It also lacks variety since all you can adjust is difficulty on a scale of 1-4.
The graphics are also worse in many cases and the performance is crap even on top end PCs.
The only thing that's good about 3 is that it doent have lootboxes... yet.

payday 3 has more content then payday 2 did at launch

[Pixie Demon Queen]

Originally posted by CrOnA:

Originally posted by CyberDNIWE:

Payday 3 feels like Payday 1, a huge step back in complexity and originality. It also lacks variety since all you can adjust is difficulty on a scale of 1-4.
The graphics are also worse in many cases and the performance is crap even on top end PCs.
The only thing that's good about 3 is that it doent have lootboxes... yet.

payday 3 has more content then payday 2 did at launch

PD2 had a very rough launch and first couple of years... If we are being completely critical, PD2 had a very rocky and controversial history with THAT GUY that kept making terrible investments and abusing the community just as much as their own employees. THAT GUY finally got removed, vowing PD3 would happen in some form or another which personally left a bad taste.

Having recently given PD2 another go after a while, the PD3 banner triggered PTSD with Borderlands 2 getting a last 'QOL Update'. Having 2K try and push players to Borderlands 3 with how it broke multi-play and scaling. I am hoping that is NOT the case, yet the evidence of recent experience is stating otherwise.

FTR:
No I don't use mods with PD2 and I never have. If a game is not enjoyable/playable without mods, I am better off playing something else. Being at the mercy of mod authors got old very fast in the past, one of the many factors that had me leave numerous games.