PAYDAY 3 Feeding Frenzy Walkthrough: 12 Bags, Two Escapes and One Needy Drill
PAYDAY 3's Feeding Frenzy is a nighttime, loud-only version of Gold & Sharke where you burn through the vault-area doors with thermite, drill the vault handle for 120 seconds, blow the vault open and escape through the sewers. You only need to secure four money bags to finish, but there are up to 12 available. The trick is to move everything near extraction before securing the fourth bag, because that's when the final assault charge begins.
We've tested Feeding Frenzy on Normal, Hard, Very Hard and Overkill. The objectives remain identical across all four difficulties. Once you know where the equipment is, the robbery is fairly straightforward. Unfortunately, Starbreeze has also provided you with a drill that apparently requires more attention than a toddler holding an open bottle of industrial adhesive.
Feeding Frenzy objectives: Full walkthrough
Here's the complete objective sequence from our tested runs:
Enter Gold & Sharke bank and grab the thermite bag near spawn.
Use the thermite to burn through the doors into the vault area.
Reach the vault and drill the door handle for 120 seconds, adjusting the drill regularly.
Find the stashed explosives on the second floor of the vault area.
Place and rig the explosives, then breach the vault door.
Loot the vault, collecting up to 12 money bags.
Head towards the sewer escape and open the elevator door.
Find the second explosives stash and throw the explosives down the elevator shaft.
Find and deploy the zipline, then descend towards the sewers.
Secure at least four bags and escape.
That's your robbery. No elaborate stealth operation, no pretending to be an accountant and no need to memorise the bank manager's daily routine. You've arrived to steal money, and the entire building is about to become painfully aware of it.
Prefer robbing Gold & Sharke without setting half the building on fire? Our original Gold & Sharke walkthrough covers stealth, loud, vault security and the escape. Apparently, breaking into a bank can also involve paperwork and patience.
Getting into the vault: Thermite, drilling and explosives
Right in front of your starting position, you'll find a thermite bag. Pick it up immediately, because you'll need it to burn through the doors separating you from the vault area. There's no point charging through the building only to discover that the one thing you needed to get started is still sitting where you spawned.
One useful habit throughout Feeding Frenzy is throwing equipment downstairs whenever possible. You'll be travelling between levels, and moving equipment in the right direction saves unnecessary journeys through corridors increasingly occupied by people whose job description includes shooting you. You're robbing a bank, not working for a furniture removal company. There's no need to carry everything with the care normally reserved for your grandmother's antique dinner service.
Once you reach the vault, you'll need to drill its door handle. The timer is 120 seconds, but the drill requires frequent adjustments. Ignore it for too long and it gets stuck, forcing you to repair the bloody thing before continuing. Listen carefully while defending the area, because you can hear when it needs attention. Stay close enough to intervene, make the adjustments promptly and avoid wasting time on preventable breakdowns.
There's something wonderfully absurd about this arrangement. You've brought military-grade weaponry, enough explosives to cause structural concern and a collection of heavily armed criminals to rob one of the city's most secure banks. Yet the entire operation is being held hostage by a drill that needs someone standing beside it making reassuring noises. If this thing were an employee, Human Resources would have put it on a performance improvement plan before the first vault opened.
You'll also need the stashed explosives, which we found on the second floor of the vault area. Retrieve them, bring them to the vault door and follow the interaction prompts to place and rig them once the drilling objective is completed. Detonate the charges to breach the vault. Compared with the original Gold & Sharke procedure, it's refreshingly direct. You've identified a valuable collection of money behind a reinforced door, and your solution is to make the door considerably less reinforced.
Feeding Frenzy can also introduce an additional objective: Place More Explosives. During our alternate-route test on Normal, this appeared after rigging the initial explosives and before breaching the vault. Once the additional charges were placed, the heist continued with the vault breach as usual. The significance becomes clear after looting, because this run led to a completely different escape sequence.
Is Feeding Frenzy actually one of PAYDAY 3's better robberies? Our ranking of all 19 heists separates the magnificent criminal operations from those that feel suspiciously like unpaid overtime.
Looting the vault: Don't secure the fourth bag too early
The vault contains up to 12 money bags, although you only need four to satisfy the minimum loot requirement. For a quick completion, that's excellent news. Grab four bags, reach extraction and get out.
However, securing the fourth bag triggers the final assault charge, making the order in which you move your loot rather important. If you're planning to steal everything, securing the minimum too early means triggering the final assault while the other eight bags could still be sitting upstairs.
Imagine organising the perfect robbery. You've breached the vault, found twelve bags of money and somebody decides to deliver four immediately. Congratulations. You've now announced that the robbery is nearly finished while two-thirds of your retirement fund is still in the building. It's the criminal equivalent of telling the removal company you've finished moving house because the toaster and three cushions are already in the van.
The sensible strategy is to move all 12 bags near the extraction point before securing your fourth. You can secure up to three while preparing the rest, but don't cross that threshold until you've positioned everything you intend to take. Once the bags are gathered, secure them and complete the escape. This won't remove the police, but it prevents unnecessary trips across the bank during the final charge.
If you're only interested in the minimum payout, there's nothing wrong with leaving after four bags. Even criminals are allowed to appreciate an early finish.
Don't forget the small lockers inside the vault
Apart from the money bags, the vault also contains smaller lockers that can be opened for additional money bags and loot. If you're clearing out the bank rather than rushing through the minimum objective, check the lockers before leaving. Just remember that opening every last compartment means spending additional time inside the vault.
How to escape Feeding Frenzy: Sewer and alternate getaway routes
Feeding Frenzy has two confirmed escape sequences, both encountered during our own testing. The objectives diverge around the vault breach and become substantially different once the money is accessible.
Route 1: Elevator shaft and sewer escape
After breaching the vault and collecting your loot, the heist directs you towards the sewers.
Make your way towards the sewer escape.
Open the elevator door.
Find the second stash of explosives.
Throw the explosives down the elevator shaft.
Find and deploy the zipline.
Descend using the zipline.
Secure at least four bags and escape.
This route involves more equipment handling, including another explosive charge and a zipline descent. Prepare your loot before committing to the final extraction phase, particularly if you're attempting to steal all twelve bags.
Route 2: Signal the getaway and survive
The alternate route changes the objective sequence before you even enter the vault. After placing and rigging the initial explosives, you're instructed to Place More Explosives before breaching the door.
Once the vault is open, the extraction procedure becomes:
Loot the vault.
Signal the getaway.
Survive until the getaway arrives.
Secure at least four bags and escape.
There's no elevator-shaft demolition or zipline objective in this sequence. Instead, you're required to call in your extraction and survive until it arrives.
Pay attention to your objectives after rigging the vault explosives. If the game asks for additional charges, be prepared for the alternate getaway sequence rather than automatically heading for the elevator.
Still got room in your criminal calendar? Visit the CRIMENET PAYDAY Hub for more walkthroughs, builds, heist recommendations and updates. Because apparently robbing one bank isn't enough to satisfy your financial ambitions.
Feeding Frenzy versus the original Gold & Sharke
Feeding Frenzy uses the familiar bank, but treating it as the original robbery with the lights switched off would be a mistake. The original Gold & Sharke supports stealth and loud approaches, with a more elaborate vault procedure involving drilling, oxygen equipment, a server and at least nine money bags on the loud route.
Feeding Frenzy throws subtlety out of the nearest window. It's loud-only, replaces the vault procedure with thermite, a 120-second drill and explosives, and requires only four bags before escaping through the elevator shaft and sewers.
Feature | Original Gold & Sharke | Feeding Frenzy |
Approach | Stealth or loud | Loud-only |
Setting | Original bank scenario | Nighttime |
Vault access | Original drilling and oxygen procedure | Thermite, drill and explosives |
Required loot | Server and nine bags on loud | Four bags |
Tested escape | Rooftop helicopter | Sewer via zipline |
The original heist remains available separately. For its complete route, see our PAYDAY 3 Gold & Sharke walkthrough.
For Feeding Frenzy, the winning approach is straightforward: collect the thermite immediately, keep that temperamental drill operating, move equipment intelligently and decide whether you're leaving with four bags or all twelve. If you're taking everything, gather the loot before securing your fourth bag. The police are going to make your life unpleasant regardless. There's no reason to invite them to the finale before you've finished stealing the money.
FAQ
Can you play Feeding Frenzy in stealth?
No. Feeding Frenzy is a loud-only heist. Unlike the original Gold & Sharke, stealth isn't an option.
How many money bags are in Feeding Frenzy?
There are up to 12 money bags available, but you only need to secure four to complete the heist.
Where are the vault explosives located?
The explosives used to breach the vault are stashed on the second floor of the vault area. A separate stash is required later for the elevator-shaft escape.
How long does the vault drill take?
The vault door handle requires 120 seconds of drilling. You'll need to adjust the drill regularly to prevent it from jamming.
When does the final assault charge begin?
The final charge triggers when you secure your fourth money bag. For a full-loot run, move all 12 bags near extraction before securing the fourth.
Does Feeding Frenzy change on higher difficulties?
The objective sequence remains identical across Normal, Hard, Very Hard and Overkill. Locks become increasingly difficult, while combat difficulty also varies.
Does Feeding Frenzy replace Gold & Sharke?
No. Feeding Frenzy is a separate nighttime variation. The original Gold & Sharke remains playable.
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