PAYDAY 3
PAYDAY 3 runs on Unreal Engine 5. Modrex installs all four of the shapes its mods come in.
Launchers
| Launcher | Support |
|---|---|
 Steam |  |
 Epic Games | |
 Xbox App | |
Mod targets
| Target | Path under game folder | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pak mods | PAYDAY3/Content/Paks/~mods | Primary target for pak files, including the .ucas and .utoc a container mod ships beside its pak. Disabled files are kept under disabled with a .disabled suffix. |
| PDML mods | PAYDAY3/Mods | Each mod is one plugin folder named after its .uplugin. Disabled mods move to Mods.disabled beside it, because the game still loads a plugin anywhere inside Mods. |
| UE4SS mods | PAYDAY3/Binaries/Win64/UE4SS/Mods | Used for Lua mods, inside the UE4SS folder the loader reads. Modrex excludes bundled UE4SS framework modules from the installed list. |
Mod formats
Section titled “Mod formats”PDML mods are folders, each holding a .uplugin file and its packaged content. They load
through PDML, the PAYDAY 3 Mod Loader, which is itself one of these folders. Modrex installs each
one under PAYDAY3/Mods, in a folder named after its .uplugin, whether the download puts that
file at its root or inside a folder of another name. A download that holds only an author’s
uncooked source project is refused, because the game cannot load it.
A PDML mod lists PDML as a dependency, so installing one offers to install PDML too, and PDML then appears in your Installed list like any other mod, with its updates. An update keeps files you added to a mod’s folder, such as your own images for mods that read them from there, while files the new release ships replace their old versions.
Installing the PDML release of a mod removes that mod’s older loose paks from ~mods. The game
mounts those ahead of plugins, so a leftover copy would keep overriding the new one. If an earlier
Modrex release installed a PDML mod as loose paks, the Installed page offers to repair it, which
installs it again as a plugin and removes the loose paks.
Extract a PDML mod into a folder of its own, never straight into PAYDAY3/Mods. A .uplugin
sitting directly in Mods makes the game treat the whole folder as that one plugin and ignore
every other mod in it, and the Installed page warns when it finds one.
Container mods ship three files that belong together: a .pak, a .ucas and a .utoc
sharing one name, usually ending in _P. They replace the game’s own art, models and interface.
Modrex keeps the three together through every install, move and removal, and keeps the name the
author gave them, because the game reads that name: a container renamed away from its _P stops
overriding anything.
Single pak mods are one .pak on its own, most often replacing sounds. Still current, and
nothing about them changed with Unreal Engine 5.
UE4SS mods are folders of Lua scripts. They need the UE4SS loader, and Modrex installs them into the folder that loader reads.
If you copy a container mod in by hand, copy all three files. Two of the three is a mod that silently does nothing.
UE4SS is needed only for Lua mods. Since Update 3.9 the game loads pak and PDML mods without it. Install it from its mod page like any other mod and Modrex recognizes it.
UE4SS then appears in your Installed list. Installing a different UE4SS release replaces the one already there. Removing it deletes only the files it installed, and your Lua mods stop loading until you install it again.
A launch option is no longer part of this. Unreal Engine 5 ignores the -fileopenlog argument
older guides ask for, and nothing needs to be set in Steam, Epic or the Xbox app.
Disabling and priority
Section titled “Disabling and priority”A disabled PDML mod moves to PAYDAY3/Mods.disabled, outside Mods, because the game would still
load it from any folder inside Mods. PDML has no load order of its own yet, so Modrex sets none.
For pak mods, Modrex writes numeric filename prefixes so your visual priority order is reflected on disk. Directory-based UE4SS mods are not renamed for priority.