Starting a new game can always be intimidating. Jumping into the third game of an established and beloved series is even worst. Borderlands 3 is a game that is brimming with content. Sometimes, there are aspects that aren’t explained fully on the surface. We know there are tons of guns to acquire and tons of baddies to shoot them with. What about the other things that aren’t fully apparent?
After playing the game for hours, there are some things we missed from the very beginning that maybe would’ve made the transition into the game even smoother. Whether you’re a newcomer or a long-time veteran of the Borderlands series, here are 10 things we wish we know before starting Borderlands 3.
10 10. Don’t Get Attached To One Skill Tree
One thing that Borderlands 2 gets criticized for is how the game’s skills truly don’t get amazing until you beat the first playthrough at around level 30. At that point, you’ll unlock the tree’s capstone skill. The capstone usually changes up your playstyle tremendously, it just sucks that it takes so long to get there.
With Borderlands 3, however, they’ve made it to where the game encourages you to jump around the skill trees. You aren’t required to stick to one to get the full experience. You can spec one action skill in a whole other skill tree. This can lead to some truly unique and OP builds. You can also respec at any point in the game.
9 9. Don’t Get Attached To A Gun Early On
Borderlands pretty much started the looter shooter genre. Their promise of a bazillion guns was quite a bold statement to make back in 2009. Due to the constant showers of loot, you’ll be getting, it makes sense that you shouldn’t get too attached to one particular gun in your first playthrough.
While you may keep getting new guns, you’ll also keep leveling up. The guns you have in your arsenal will eventually become under-leveled. Therefore, it’s okay to let go of that gun you love, even if it is absolutely badass. As Marcus says, “Guns! Guns! Guns!”
8 8. You Can Fast Travel At Any Time
One annoying aspect of the past Borderlands was getting around the map. It is super frustrating when you were heading towards your objective, then you get attacked by bandits and then your vehicle is blown up, leaving you to continue on foot. Luckily, this is no longer the case in Borderlands 3.
At any point in the game, you can travel over to any Fast Travel Station just by opening the map. This is definitely a huge quality of life improvement that the series needed. Additionally, you can automatically travel to your vehicle wherever you left it.
7 7. All Gun Types Are Effective With Each Character
While each character class may be great with certain weapon types, that doesn’t mean that you have to stick with that weapon type the whole game. For example, Amara is great with shotguns since her character is designed to be up close and personal, but that doesn’t mean she can’t do just as damage with an assault rifle or SMG.
Feel free to experiment with all of your guns with different skills, as you may surprise yourself with what combinations you can come up with. You may think that FL4K should be played with a sniper rifle, but FL4K is great with just about any weapon.
6 6. Side Missions Scale To Your Level In The Endgame
There is a trophy/achievement in Borderlands 3 to complete all the side missions, which the game has plenty. For completionists, this itch to make sure all of them are done will dwell on them the whole time they play. Also, the side missions have some secret bosses that players can farm for legendaries.
Luckily, you won’t need to head back to these lower-level areas to do these side missions and get minimal rewards. You can just wait until you beat the game and activate Mayhem Mode, which brings every planet up to your current level. From there, you can go ahead and take on side missions that will grant you the best current rewards.
5 5. The Eridium Will Come Soon
The first thing you’ll notice when you visit Crazy Earl’s shops is that everything is expensive. Heads, skins, and room decorations can range from 50 to 200 Eridium. In the early hours of the game, you’re going to come across this currency sparingly. Don’t worry, the Eridium will start flowing the longer you play.
You’ll be completing so many challenges as you sink your teeth into the combat. Later on in the story, you’ll be granted the ability to smash those Eridium shards around the map, which will grant you 3 to 4. On top of customization items, Earl also has Anointed Gear. You’ll definitely want to wait to get these until you start harder difficulties.
4 4. Wait Until Mayhem Mode To Farm Bosses
The most effective way to get the best loot in Borderlands has always been from farming the various bosses. In your first playthrough, you might be tempted to start taking down those bosses over and over to get those sweet legendaries. It’s recommended that you wait until Mayhem Mode to take on this task.
In Normal Mode, you’ll be leveling up quickly, that legendaries weapons may even drop at a lower level since the bosses don’t scale with you. In Mayhem Mode, all bosses will match the player's level, which means all the gear will as well. Also, each tier in Mayhem Mode ups the loot drop rates, so you’re better off waiting.
3 3. Collect All Weapons Even If They Suck
Yes, you may see some white and green weapons drop early on in the game, which may look gross. Everyone knows blue rarity and above are the ones you want. This doesn’t mean that lower rarities don’t have their value. Go ahead and loot all of them, then sell them to any vending machine in the game.
Money is way more coveted in Borderlands 3 compared to other games since they unlock ammo and storage upgrades. Upgrading these can extremely expensive, so that white rocket launcher could grant you a few thousand dollars. You’ll want all the money you can obtain.
2 2. You Can Full Customize The Controls
For console players, you’ll notice that the controls remain relatively the same, except for the D-Pad. In past games, each of the directions on the D-Pad can swap your weapons to a specific slot, instead of constantly hitting the Swap button over and over again. Instead, they control the active missions as well as the new Ping system.
In the Controls menu, there is the option to switch back to Classic controls for those who prefer the original way. There are quite a few important Accessibility changes available as well, such as holding down the analog stick to vault forward. You can also fully customize each button to do a specific action.
1 1. Check Your Mail In The Social Menu
If you pre-ordered the game, you may be expecting to see those bonuses in your inventory from the start. Don’t worry, it is there somewhere. Borderlands 3 introduced the Mailing system for social features. This is where pre-order bonuses can be accepted and retrieved. In addition to this, loot can be sent to friends.
To top it all of, if you keep using a specific manufacturer, you may end up getting a surprise gift from them. These can weapons can sometimes even be of purple rarity, so make sure to keep constantly checking your mail.