Payday 3 offers several progression systems, from weapon and Skill XP to Infamy Points. You still require cold hard Cash at the end of the day to purchase new primary and secondary weapons, not to mention cosmetics. However, the sequel introduces C-Stacks, a new form of currency that can unlock top-tier weapons and cosmetics as you progress through the game.
First, let’s look at the best ways to farm Cash in Payday 3. You may need specific Skills to pull these strategies off, so keep that in mind.
How to Farm Cash
Complete Tougher Heists at Higher Difficulties
Increasing the difficulty in Payday 3’s heists results in higher payouts, but later heists also award more Cash. It’s best to play through the game and unlock each heist as they appear in the story. When you’ve leveled up your Infamy for some potent Skills and weapons, you can try Gold and Sharke or Under the Surphaze at higher difficulties.
The former awards about $900,000 Cash on Hard difficulty and roughly $1.3 million on Overkill. The latter is a little more random, granting around $600,000 to $900,000 on Hard and about $1.3 million on Overkill. In both cases, you’ll need a solid team to succeed.
Speedrun Dirty Ice and Road Rage
Alternatively, you could do what everyone else does: Speedrun Dirty Ice and Road Rage. The former is best suited to stealth and can be cleared in less than two minutes if your team knows what to do. The best part is even if you play solo on Normal, you can still finish it quickly and amass a decent amount by picking up the minimum required bags. If a run takes three minutes and you earn $60,000, the returns can be higher than playing a longer heist on higher difficulties, and it’s soloable.
If stealth isn’t your preferred style, play Road Rage since it’s all about going guns-blazing. You can earn about $200,000 to $500,000 on Normal within ten minutes if you do everything right, and it’s possible to optimize further.
How to Earn C-Stacks
As you progress through Payday 3, you’ll notice that Cash doesn’t have much functionality, and C-Stacks become essential. They’re used to purchase preset weapons, which can be very strong, and cosmetics like masks, suits and gloves. Even if there’s no interest in the weapons, C-Stacks are still required for unlocking additional weapon slots and some mods. So how do you get them?
You can exchange Cash for C-Stacks by speaking to Setaggi from the main menu, who will present three options – a single, five-pack and ten-pack of C-Stacks. It becomes more expensive as you exchange more Cash for one of these options. You can only purchase 11 of these options weekly, and after the timer is up, their costs reset.
Of course, you can also earn C-Stacks by completing Career Challenges, but they’re tied to your Infamy Level. Hence, you must also complete Challenges which grant Infamy Points to increase your Infamy Level to earn C-Stacks. It shouldn’t be your main method for farming C-Stacks, but more of a bonus as you progress through the game. Check out our guide for earning Infamy Points and weapon/Skill XP.
Payday 3 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. Stay tuned for more details on the co-op shooter in the coming days.