Constant update

Each time i use the PA launcher, it has to update before starting. Is this normal?

Yes, this is normal.

It happened to me, but I got around it by pressing 'Verify' before launching the game.

I believe it's actually verifying to see if there's a new update. To skip this just go to where you installed PA and run its .exe, you'll be able to skip the launcher altogether. Make a shortcut for pa.exe on your desktop.

PAMM also skips the launcher so if you have that you can just hit the play game button from there.

ok thanks

The only hitch is that I have to manually sign in every time I use PAMM as a launcher, but it doesn't detract from the experience.