Operation Medic Bag: Update #29 – Armor 2.0 & Dev Update 08
Hello Heisters, today we’re talking about some of our upcoming updates to the Armor mechanic, which we’re dubbing Armor 2.0. This feature has been in the works since June/July, and is finally in a state where we can start showing the early design of it.
Armor has been a hot topic since launch and we know that veteran Payday players prefer the classic PAYDAY: the Heist and PAYDAY 2 armor, while players new to PAYDAY 3 are usually more receptive to the current armor in the game. Earlier this year, we released the Adaptive Armor, which proved very popular, and we took learnings and feedback from it with us to develop the next step in the armor system.
This change is currently planned for a December release, do note that we’re very early in its creation, so please be aware it may change.
In this blog we’ll describe the design of the new system as it looks now. While the system itself will look more or less as described, numbers will likely change following testing.
Armor 2.0 is all about building the armor you want to wear, and letting you play the game the way you want to. Think of it as modding your armor the same way you would mod your weapon. With this update, you will buy the armor frame you want from the vendor (one, two, three or four chunk armor) and then fill it out with the chunks you want, in the order you want. In addition to the normal and adaptive armor chunks, we are introducing the third chunk – “shield” (final name to-be-decided).
Shield chunks have no damage resistance, but they will never permanently break. So after your armor regeneration timer expires, any shield chunks you have lost will return. PAYDAY 2 armor is back, in chunk form.
So how does “armor modding” work? Instead of receiving pre-made armor in your loadout (like we do other equipment), you’ll unlock access to “armor frames” at the vendor. These frames come in one, two, three and four chunk variants and you unlock them at the same Infamy Levels as the previous armors. This change is in order to let you have different armor configurations for different loadouts.
Once you purchase an armor frame, it will come with only normal chunks equipped. You can then edit the armor and fill it out with any of the three chunks (normal, adaptive and shield) in any order you like.
How does this affect armor stats? We have two parts here: the frame and the chunks. The frames have certain properties and stats:
| Armor Type | Regen Time | Downs | Speed Penalty | Passive Ability | Ammo Capacity | Consumable Slots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 chunk | 0 seconds | 6 | None | First Aid Kits replenish an additional 20 health points. | -20% max ammo capacity | 4 |
| 2 chunks | 0 seconds | 6 | Light | If you have a tool in your loadout, you start the heist with one additional tool of that type. (This is applied before the Extra Pockets skill.) | No bonus or penalty to max ammo capacity | 3 |
| 3 chunks | 0 seconds | 6 | Medium | If you have no throwable for 10 seconds, replenish one throwable. | +20% max ammo capacity | 2 |
| 4 chunks | 0 seconds | 6 | Heavy | Using an Armor Repair Kit or Armor Bag prevents all armor damage for 3 seconds. | +40% max ammo capacity | 2 |
These “base” stats are then modified by which chunks you equip on the armor frame:
| Chunk Type | Regen Time | Downs |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | +1.5 seconds | -1 |
| Adaptive | +2 seconds | -2 |
| Shield | +3 seconds | -2 |
Some notes:
- If your total number of downs would go below 1, you will have 1 down at the start of the heist instead.
- When your armor regenerates, all chunks that are able to regenerate will. So if you lost your shield chunk and are currently on an adaptive chunk, once your armor regenerates, both the adaptive and shield chunk will be restored.
- The effect of skills is added after armor.
- But downs can go into negatives; if your armor setup puts you at “-2 downs”, and the minimum number of downs is 1, adding a skill to give you +1 down will put you at “-1 downs”, meaning you’ll still have 1 down.
And each individual chunk has its own properties, which only apply to them and not the entire armor:
| Chunk Type | Damage Reduction | Special Property |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | 30% | % of damage taken is applied as permanent trauma damage |
| Adaptive | 10% | Fully regenerates as long as the chunk doesn’t break |
| Shield | 0% | Fully regenerates even if the chunk breaks |
While armor frames are unlocked through Infamy Levels, armor chunks are not. You will have access to all of them regardless of your Infamy Level, including any future armor chunks we add to the game. Additionally, while purchasing armor frames and armor inventory slots will cost in-game cash, modding the frame will not, so feel free to experiment!
We know this is a lot to take in, so we have some examples of different armor configurations.
Example 1
Normal
Normal
A player who picks a 3 chunk frame and adds Adaptive, Normal, Normal chunks (in that order) would have the following stats:
- Regen time: 5 seconds
- Downs: 2
- Speed Penalty: Medium
- Passive Ability: If you have no throwable for 10 seconds, replenish one throwable.
- Ammo Capacity: +20%
- Consumable Slots: 2
Example 2
Adaptive
Normal
A player who picks a 3 chunk frame and adds Shield, Adaptive, Normal chunks (in that order) would have the following stats:
- Regen time: 6.5 seconds
- Downs: 1 (minimum)
- Speed Penalty: Medium
- Passive Ability: If you have no throwable for 10 seconds, replenish one throwable.
- Ammo Capacity: +20%
- Consumable Slots: 2
Example 3
Normal
Normal
Shield
A player who picks a 4 chunk frame and adds Normal, Normal, Normal, Shield chunks (in that order) would have the following stats:
- Regen time: 7.5 seconds
- Downs: 1 (minimum)
- Speed Penalty: Heavy
- Passive Ability: Using an Armor Repair Kit or Armor Bag prevents all armor damage for 3 seconds.
- Ammo Capacity: +40%
- Consumable Slots: 2
Example 4
A player who picks a 1 chunk frame and adds a Shield chunk would have the following stats:
- Regen time: 3 seconds
- Downs: 4
- Speed Penalty: None
- Passive Ability: First Aid Kits replenish an additional 20 health points.
- Ammo Capacity: -20%
- Consumable Slots: 4
The team is working hard on this feature and we’re aiming to release it in December 2024. Long-term, we would like to support this feature with new chunk types and skills that also help you build more around the adaptive and shield chunks, and not just normal chunks.
Let us know what you think! We hope this will allow you to use the defensive playstyle you enjoy. And if that playstyle happens to be “dodge,” don’t worry, your time will come too.
/The PAYDAY 3 Design Team
Dev Update 08
Earlier today, we droppeda a brand new Dev Update, where we talk about what’s coming in PAYDAY 3’s fourth DLC – Fear & Greed as well as free content in the same update.
Have a great weekend, Heisters!
