It seems Borderlands 3 is a little more stingy than previous titles when it comes to ammunition and med vendors.
Borderlands has always been a series about looting and shooting and not survival. Earlier games in the franchise might have made it feel like you were running out of ammo on occasion, but that was just to encourage you to upgrade your ammunition stockpiles. Once you get established, you can carry ammunition in quantities that almost guarantee you’ll never run out of ammo in any given engagement.
That’s apparently not the case with Borderlands 3. We’re getting reports that some players are finding themselves counting their shots in certain boss fights due to a lack of ammunition vendors.
According to Reddit user Stoner_Worm who posted on the Borderlands subreddit last weekend, there's a certain lack of ammo vendors in Borderlands 3 and especially before crucial boss fights.
"In Borderlands 2 there would always be an ammo/med machines just outside the area for the next boss fight,” they wrote. “I’m constantly finding myself either low on ammo or with a completely full backpack."
Borderlands 2 never had this problem. At the beginning of every level was a handy ammo vendor, and just before every boss fight, there would be both an ammo and med vendor to make sure you head into battle at full strength.
Other users chimed in to complain about this problem, too. Lectra City was mentioned as a spot where a few players found themselves running back to ammo stores 3 or 4 times per zone. Moxxi's Bar, a location that typically is filled to the brim with vendors of all sorts, was also devoid of ammo vendors in Lectra City.
The problem with lack of ammo can be further exacerbated by entering a zone under-leveled. Since you suffer a damage penalty against higher-level targets, it takes more bullets from already stretched ammo stores to down your opponents.
Gearbox posted an update on your Twitter page that said they’re listening to feedback and planning on implementing a patch that includes quality of life improvements. Hopefully, more ammo vendors at critical junctures will be at the top of the list.