Payday 3 Favors, explained

Payday 3 does a great job of combining simple and complex missions in the sense that every heist lets you decide if you’re going to do things the easy way or the hard way. Whether you’re a guns-blazing kind of robber or a subterfuge specialist, using Favors in Payday 3 will help out tremendously.

There are two types of Favors in Payday 3, general Favors and Heist-Specific Favors; how you get and use each is totally different, so we’ll break them both down below.

What are General Favors in Payday 3?

These Favors are the more (wait for it) general ones in Payday 3. General Favors are designed to be applicable to any heist and suit any play style. These favors can be purchased and selected in the heist lobby where you select your loadout and ready up. Currently, available Favors are:

• Ammo Bag
• Armor Bag
• Medic Bag
• Zipline Bag

How to purchase Favors in Payday 3

To purchase new Favors, go to the Vendors tab in the main menu, and scroll all the way down to the bottom of Gage: Arms Dealer. That’s right, a Zipline Bag is a weapon, apparently. Favors cost $10,000 each.

How to equip and use Favors in Payday 3

Once you’ve purchased a Favor, you will see it in a list of available Favors while in the heist lobby. There are four slots, labeled as assets. Asset means Favor in this case. The four slots are so that each player in the lobby can select a Favor, and you’ll be able to see what Favors (if any) others are using so that you don’t double up.

If a Favor is selected in the lobby, it will automatically be available once the heist is started. You do not have to complete any special tasks to activate it.

What are Heist-Specific Favors in Payday 3?

These are the more elusive and beneficial Favors in Payday 3. Heist-Specific Favors cannot be purchased like other Favors. In fact, it is currently unknown exactly where they come from—and it seems it may just be a matter of luck.

Sometimes, when you enter a heist lobby, you will have a Favor added to the list that mentions that specific heist by name. For example, you might see in Dirty Ice that suddenly you have a Favor that will allow you to see the locations of both the red and blue keycard at the start of the heist.

Nobody knows as of now where these Favors come from. Some have theorized they are rewards for max looting a heist that will be available the next time you enter that heist, but I have personally disproved that theory.

I believe they are truly random, and have a low percentage chance of becoming available at the time that the lobby is created. Players are waiting on Starbreeze to confirm why these Heist-Specific Favors sometimes appear, and this guide will be updated as soon as we find out. For now, I guess we just shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.