Gearbox and 2K Games have announced Borderlands 3 a couple of weeks ago, pulling us back into an addictive franchise that we missed. It will only be a few months before we get to play the game since it releases on September 13th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Many things will be different this time around, the main core though will still be “Borderlands”.
As a franchise, Borderlands always included a vibrant world, a fun character and, of course, a gazillion guns. In this list, we’ll go over 5 things that will be changing in the franchise with Borderlands 3 and 5 that will remain the same.
10 New - Setting
The setting is always a mystery when it comes to this franchise. Borderlands 1 and 2 were set on a planet called Pandora whereas the Pre-sequel is set on the moon of Elpis, bringing Gravity and Oxygen tanks into play. Tales from the Borderlands, on the other hand, took us to both “planets”, showing us those areas from another perspective.
In Borderlands 3, we’ll be traveling to a new planet called Promethea. This might not be the only one though, as we’ve seen many different idioms in the trailer, like a huge neon city, a jungle and more. We know nothing for sure, so we’ll have to wait for Gearbox to announce more information on that matter.
9 New - Change of Platform on PC
Fans were particularly disappointed to find out that Borderlands 3 won’t follow its predecessors on PC. At least, not at launch. According to 2K Games, the upcoming title will release exclusively on Epic Store for PC and won’t be available on Steam. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has revealed that he’s excited about the change of platform since review-bombing was a huge issue with Steam.
If you can wait though, Borderlands 3 will be releasing on Steam after the exclusivity with Epic Store ends in 2020. If you are still skeptical about Epic Game’s platform then you should stick with a console version of the game instead.
8 Old - 4 Playable Characters
Keeping the character of the franchise intact, Borderlands 3 will feature 4 playable characters at launch much like all previous games. Most likely there will be more joining the roster later, at least 2 if we could bet on it.
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In the upcoming game, we have Moze the Gunner, Amara the Siren, FL4K the Beastmaster and Zane the Operative. Each one will come with their own skill tree and special ability, so choose wisely before you jump into action. If you like assassins, Zane would be the best while Amara or FL4K would be better for players that want to depend more on their abilities than pure gunfights.
7 Old - 4 Player Co-Op
What would a new Borderlands title be without its classic co-op? Obviously, we wouldn’t love it as much as we do now. Much like all previous core entries, Borderlands 3 will include couch and online co-op, an essential element of its character.
There will be some changes regarding co-op that we’ll discuss further down on the list, what you need to keep from this segment though is the fact that you will be able to play with your friends. We don't know much about multiplayer getting added but we hope that it won't be coming in this particular title.
6 New (Maybe) - Cross-Platform For Co-op
Gearbox has expressed the hope of making cross-platform a reality for Borderlands. According to a 2K representative, talking to Gamespot: "Cross-play is something we're looking at closely, but we don't have anything to confirm or announce at this time".
Most possibly, this is due to Sony’s policy about cross-platform on PlayStation 4. All parties have made progress on that matter and we might be able to see crossplay available for PC and Xbox One even if Sony doesn’t agree to add it to PS4.
5 Old - A Billion Guns
There’s one thing that we value in Borderlands and it’s the importance of guns. Not only does the franchise include a huge amount of them, both in types and parts but their brands also have a meaningful role to play.
Hyperion, Dahl, Vladof, Atlas, Torque, Maliwan. All famous gun brands in the Borderlands universe will be back for the third core game as well as new ones. The fact that each brand has its own unique character and design is an organic part of it. So does the history behind those brands and the guns themselves.
4 New- No Loot Sharing
Some will say that this is a well-deserved change and some will frown upon it. It all comes down to what kind of player you and your friends are. In any case, we all had that one guy who runs over everything just to grab an epic weapon as everyone else was still fighting.
In Borderlands 3 there will be no loot competition. Everyone will get their own stream of loot, making things a bit more fair for everyone. However, loot contribution was a “bond form” for friends in the game, creating a communication code that everyone understood. We’re sad to see that go but it’s for the best.
3 Old - Season Pass
Much like all modern triple-A releases, Borderlands 3 will feature multiple editions and a Season Pass. Post-launch content was always an important factor in Borderlands, adding more playable characters (like Handsome Jack in the Pre-Sequel), featured areas and missions (like Tiny Tina’s exclusive DLC) and more.
The season pass will unlock "four campaign DLC packs featuring new stories, missions, and challenges" as the publisher announced. We hope we see a character unlock as well though, hopefully, a returning character like Fiona or Moxxi.
2 New - Villains
We all loved Handsome Jack but it’s time Gearbox put him to rest and introduce a new villain to the franchise. Luckily, the developers confirmed that Jack is dead and Borderlands 3 will feature 2 new villains, both of which can be seen in the trailer.
The Calypso twins, as the two villains are called are the leaders of the “Children of the Vault” clan, which will be the main opponents for our Vault Hunters. We don’t know their motivations yet, but their looks are incredible.
1 Old - Sadistic Fun
It goes without saying that Borderlands is synonymous to sadistic characters and tons of hilarious conversations. Psychos are only one of the characters that make players laugh their heart out with their compulsive movement and fast reactions. Combine them with explosives and vehicles and guns and you have a match made in "hell".
The fact alone that characters like Tiny Tina will be NPCs in the upcoming game is evidence that Borderlands will stay true to its name. We expect the third core title to be as funny as the previous entries and it will be. We can say as much.