PAYDAY 3 follows the story of the previous game with the inclusion of both new and old characters.
For more information on characters originating from PAYDAY: The Heist or PAYDAY 2, click here or here.
open/close all folders
The PAYDAY Gang
Pearl
Voiced by: Rebecca LaChance
Coming from downtown New York City, Pearl is an expert con artist and infiltrator, as well as a perfectionist in her art. She was "alleged" of being responsible for stealing ten million dollars from Harvest & Trustee in a single heist, but never faced legal repercussions for it.
Similarly to the PAYDAY Gang, she hails from a team that suffered a sudden attack, hers coming from a betrayal, which ended with everyone except Pearl herself killed in one night.
As the crew found itself on the run and with few members, Shade offered to make her its first new addition since reuniting.
- Action Girl: Like her predecessors, this goes without saying.
- Audience Surrogate: To new players of the franchise, as she is present in all cutscenes involving old contractors which the rest of the gang already know, with one of them even having to introduce himself for that exact reason.
- Boyish Short Hair: Sports one in contrast to Joy's new longer hair style.
- Brooklyn Rage: Born and raised in the Bronx. She was also part of another criminal organization in New York City before joining the PAYDAY Gang.
- Con Man: Noted for being one.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Pearl used to be part of a local criminal crew to whom she had grown close, which was entirely wiped out after a betrayal, with her as the only survivor, leaving Pearl alone and grief-stricken until the game's events.
- Final Girl: Of her backstory. She used to run a crew of criminals until they suffered a betrayal that left Pearl as its Sole Survivor.
- Lady Swears-a-Lot: One of the most foul mouthed female heisters in the franchise, and that is saying something.
- New Meat: The first new addition to the PAYDAY Gang since it's reunion.
- The Sneaky Gal: Comes with being an infiltrator, especially one good enough for Shade and Dallas to accept into the gang.
- Sole Survivor: Of her previous crew.
Contractors
Shade
Voiced by: Kosha Engler
An old associate of Bain, tasked with reuniting the PAYDAY Gang after a conspiracy against the lives of its members forces them out of retirement.
- Affably Evil: She is very friendly and even casual towards the gang, arguably being more able to connect on a human level, best exemplified through some dialogue from the Under the Surphaze heist, which includes Shade asking the crew to grab a painting of dogs for her, and her open critical opinions about the artists celebrated by the target building.
- The Cracker: Shade worked with Bain in managing Crime.net and her computer skills are used whenever the gang needs to hack into things like the Gold & Sharke Bank's computer network or an armored truck's auto driving system.
- Crazy-Prepared: Always appears to have a backup plan in mind for bad scenarios. A good example of that is during the Rock The Cradle heist, where even if the crew goes loud and thus lose access to the club's cryptocurrency, Shade will tell them that they won't leave without something, and improvises the gang a new target in the form of the building's physical vault.
- Foil: To Bain. Bain is a mysterious figure whose face was always cloaked in shadow until Hell's Island, an event very late into PAYDAY 2's timeline. Shade is an upfront character who the gang immediately meets face-to-face in the first cutscene of PAYDAY 3.
- Greed: Like Bain and Locke before her, she will encourage players to get as much loot as they can possibly get, even beyond what is required. Shade's greed might also be affecting her very standards, as unlike her predecessors, she only seems to see civilians as resources, to the point the gang is allowed to use them as human shields, which if killed will cause her to merely warn the crew of how they're being wasted and costing their profits, contrasting to Bain's visible anger and Locke's disturbance in the same position.
- Mission Control: She has assumed Bain's role on his behalf after he took over the 46th US President's body at the end of PAYDAY 2's storyline.
- Mysterious Past: Beyond the facts that she was an associate of Bain and is known by Dallas, not much else is known about her, something that Chains lampshades throughout the story.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Shade sees the killing of civilians as unnecessary, due to it being a gross waste of valuable resources, and also because it cuts on their profits through additional work costs, which she has to handle as a consequence. Though she isn't against their use as human shields if it benefits the heist.
- Putting the Band Back Together: Charged with doing this to the PAYDAY Gang by Bain, and succeeds with five of the heisters.
Beckett
- Voiced by: Osy Ilkhile
Mac
Portrayed by: Ice-T
The Conspiracy
In-General
A mysterious group of corporate leaders that had their companies hit in the past by the PAYDAY Gang and thus have joined forces to hunt its members.
- Anti-Villain: They can be interpreted as such, due to their actions being done as retaliation against a criminal organization which has caused them great financial and emotional problems in the past. This is Downplayed however, as they are all morally dubious at best.
- Revenge Before Reason: A common trope among its members, as the PAYDAY Gang went out of operation years before the events of PAYDAY 3, with some members even having reformed from their past, and by hunting its members, they not only forced them out of retirement but ensured they would once again cause them trouble.
John Concord
Click here to see Concord's appearance in ''Syntax Error".
- Voiced by: Eric Loren
Syntax Error revealed a couple of details about him: he was the CEO of the now-bankrupt Murkywater, and is now the CEO of Scry Digital and owner of a new defense contractor - Treaty.
- Big Bad: Of PAYDAY 3's storyline, as he is the apparent leader of the conspiracy against the PAYDAY Gang.
- The Faceless: While exposed, his face is always covered in shadows. His full face is revealed in the Syntax Error DLC.
Ralph Garnet
- Voiced by: Shai Matheson
- Ascended Extra: Ralph was a consistent special civilian in the Diamond Heist, which took place on his birthday. With his father Nathan dead, Ralph is now the Garnet CEO and a major adversary as one of Concord's conspirators.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: While his reasons are understandable outside of a legal perspective, he is still a CEO who's collaborated in the hunting of several legally pardoned ex-criminals (not counting those who have returned to the criminal underworld) for crimes and other events they caused in the past.
- It's Personal: He joined the conspiracy to avenge his father, after the PAYDAY Gang robbed their company, Garnet Group, leaving him bankrupt, indirectly leading to the latter's suicide.
- Revenge Before Reason: Had he not tried to take revenge on the PAYDAY Gang, which had ceased to be for years, Garnet might never have been robbed, nor killed.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: By the end of the base game's story, he suffers a fake suicide by one of Concord's agents.
Patricia J. Sharke
- Voiced by: Katherine Fenton
- Car Fu: When her reputation has been tanked beyond repair after the PAYDAY gang is done with her, Concord ensures that his people put her on the receiving end of this.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Responsible for at least one case of bank fraud and corruption, actions whose hidden records are leaked to the public by the PAYDAY Gang, ruining her reputation.
- Deadpan Snarker: Her attitude towards Garnet, who has proven himself to be too stressed to think rationally about how their targets have come out on top of their attacks.
- Revenge Before Reason: Had she not tried to take revenge on the PAYDAY Gang, which had ceased to be for years, Sharke's bank might never have been robbed, and her reputation and life could also have remained intact.
- Stealing from Thieves: She was the one who blocked away the PAYDAY Gang's members bank accounts and stole their money.
- Villain with Good Publicity: One of Shade's voicelines in Gold and Sharke suggests this:"Patricia Sharke has won awards for ethical business practices three years runningnote . Once we get a hold of her secrets, she can kiss that award goodbye."
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: By the end of the base game's story, she gets run over with a car by one of Concord's agents.
Law Enforcement
Agent Rebecca Stone
- Voiced by: Jill Winternitz
- Attack Its Weak Point: To force her out of the area, players must destroy the antenna in her van, which will prevent her from calling more reinforcements.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Was first mentioned in PAYDAY 2's "Lost Tapes".
- Mean Boss: Will berate the rest of the force if an escape is triggered, moreso should the players succeed at escaping. Conversely, she showers praise on Special Units that manage to take a player down.
- Mook Maker: When her FBI van is operational, it will prolong the Assault Wave indefinitely until its radio dish is destroyed.
- The Voice: You can't see her through the van's tinted windows, only hear her announcements.
Grenadier
A new grenade throwing Special enemy introduced in PAYDAY 3.
- Blinded by the Light: Grenadiers are also equipped with flashbangs to stun the heisters.
- Deadly Gas: They toss out gas grenades that quickly drain health in an area, impair sight, and prevent sprinting.
- Gas Mask Mooks: They are gas mask-wearing specialists. Justified, as they are handling gas grenades.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Their belt of grenades on their chests can be detonated by players when shot, taking out both the Grenadier and those around him.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: They are only called by an abreviation of their name, "Nader".
Zapper
A new version of the Taser, bearing the same style, but this time also having the ability to mine areas with electrical traps, managing to stop heisters before even coming face-to-face.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- Like Tasers from PAYDAY 2, whoever they're stunning can still shoot back at the Zapper to kill them, albeit with an accuracy penalty and being limited to short bursts.
- Unlike Tasers, they have a bright yellow battery pack on their hip - shooting it will cause an electric blast will stun them and anyone nearby.
- Static Stun Gun: Their more direct way of handling heisters than their mines is using a stun gun to cause the heister to erratically shoot, before they get downed.
Techie
A new drone-deploying Special enemy introduced alongside the Syntax Error heist in Update 1.1.0. Initially exclusive to Syntax Error (stated by OVERKILL due to drone pathing being a complex task), they will be added to other heists as time goes on.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Added in the same update as the Techie is the Scrambler skill line, which allows heisters to hack their drones and turn them against the cops.
- Interface Screw: Moving near a Techie's hiding spot will cause the HUD to glitch out.
- Invisibility Cloak: The Techie's shield will cloak her when deployed.
Vendors
Setaggi
The PAYDAY Gang's money launderer, who sells C-Stacks to the crew, a currency exclusive to Crime.net members.
- Bilingual Bonus: Setaggi's name can mean "launder", "laundry machine" or "washing machine" in Korean. A fitting name for the vendor who helps launder the PAYDAY gang's ill-gotten gains.
