Gearbox Software has been making amazing games for years but as they are creating new content for us to play with there are also things that don’t play out very well or don’t make it into the game. In some cases, the developers can adjust the game according to the community’s feedback, however, in some cases, the systems in place are not equipped to facilitate such a change, and rewriting a system that interacts with other systems is asking for more issues, therefore, Gearbox Software should get these things right from the start when they release Borderlands 4.
Table of contents
New Loot
I want Borderlands 4 to have fresh and exciting loot because one of the things I didn’t like about Borderlands the Pre-Sequel was that the loot felt very familiar to that of Borderlands 2. Yes, they added laser and cryo weapons but I believe that Borderlands 3 did a much better job at redefining the weapons.
One of the first things that comes to my mind is that Gearbox Software should introduce new weapon manufacturer traits. The ricochet effect made Jakobs guns even more awesome but I wasn’t a fan of the weapon charge time they added to Maliwan weaponry. Maliwan was my favorite manufacturer in Borderlands 2 but my least favorite in Borderlands 3 due to the fact of this new weapon trait, therefore, I was always searching for Maliwan gear that didn’t have a charge time.
With Borderlands 4 taking place on a new planet that has been hidden from the galaxy for ages, I think this opens up the opportunity for Gearbox Software to introduce new manufacturers to the Borderlands franchise because who has been selling the weapons in that corner of the galaxy or are you going to tell me all the weapon manufacturers knew?
The Borderlands Community has been asking for the return of Eridian weapons from Borderlands 1 and early Borderlands 4 fan speculation has Eridians all written over it.
Target Dummies
Borderlands 4 should have Target Dummies at launch and while this might sound silly, did you know they are actually very important to the community?
Borderlands 3 had no Target Dummy at launch but after community feedback Gearbox Software implemented the Handsome Jack cardboard dummy in the shooting range. Target Dummies are crucial to the community as they inform us how the math behind the mechanics in the game works. There is a group of heroes in the community who reverse-engineered the damage formulas in Borderlands 3 which helps us understand the systems at play, optimize our loadout, and create the best character builds.
So if you want to have the best Borderlands 4 character builds we need target dummies so the 1% can inform the rest of the community.
Farmable Bosses
So we have new loot and a way to test them but we also need a way to obtain them and that’s through dedicated loot drops. The Borderlands community loves farming bosses for that one special item.
Borderlands 4 needs to have dedicated loot drops and a way to re-farm that boss without save-quitting.
As mentioned in Episode 5 of Echoes from the Borderlands; Gearbox Software saw the feedback about Borderlands 3 not having dedicated loot drops and how the community couldn’t organize another The Hunt event this way. This resulted in the fact that Gearbox Software patched the dedicated loot sources into the game, however, there was more loot than named enemies to assign dedicated loot to and therefore a lot of named enemies have multiple legendary items assigned to them.
Gearbox Software eventually did get it right with Borderlands 3’s Bounty of Blood DLC where each named enemy has only 1 legendary item in their loot pool. This should be the standard for Borderlands 4.
The Redux Mod for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands added the ability to respawn bosses if you had the funds. I think this is an awesome idea and Gearbox Should implement such a feature. Personally, I have another idea that makes bosses interesting for the dedicated Borderlands fans.
Save Builds
Switching builds should be easier in Borderlands 4 and I’m not just talking about being able to reset your skill tree in your Echo Device at any place in the game. Why do we need to find a quick change station in order to reset your skill points?
I want to try out new builds but also would like to easily go back to the carefully optimized skill tree that I was rocking. Gearbox Software already showed us in the Borderlands 3 Behind-the-Scenes content that they experimented with build loadout slots.
Sometimes different gameplay scenarios mean that you rather rock a different loadout. The Vault Hunters in Borderlands 3 have a lot of build diversity. If I look at Zane; most of the time I prefer my Clone-Drone build but there are moments when a more defensive barrier build or offensive MNTIS cannon build would be better.
It would be great if you could switch your build on the fly. This would also help with trying out different builds as you can easily try that niche setup your favorite content creator is rocking.
Increased Loot Drop Quality
I hear a lot of feedback that folks don’t want to see Loot Luck from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands appear in Borderlands 4, however, I think the concept of Loot Luck is great but it wasn’t ideally executed in that game.
The legendary word drop rate in Borderlands 3 is very high. You can easily get a legendary weapon early on in the game and then use nothing else than that item. It undermines the natural weapon progression of the game as those weapons will carry you for many levels.
Gearbox Software tried to fix that by introducing Loot Luck in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. You start low and as you level up and interact more with the game, you gain more Loot Luck and therefore better loot. The concept is good as the game rewards you for playing and you won’t initially stumble upon a ton of legendary world drops as you play through the campaign. However, the Developers also tied Loot Luck to dedicated loot drops which basically destroyed farming bosses for their dedicated loot pools which is a core part of the Borderlands franchise.
The legendary drop rate in Borderlands 3 was too high but this was somewhat needed due to the number of anoints in the game and lack of control over them. Yes, Borderlands has always been about millions of weapons but I think there is an extent to which you can increase it in order to keep quality loot. The reroll machine offered a solution, however, that was also not perfect.
I think Crazt Earl’s Reroll machine should have offered multiple options and removed the anoints that are not related to your character. The 500 Eridium pricetag was also too high in Borderlands 3, Gearbox Software did a better job with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands where the cost starts off low and increases with each re-roll.
End Game Content Beyond Raid Bosses
Yes, Borderlands 4 should have End Game content like Raid Bosses and Takedowns, however, I would also like to see some other features to support that. Yes, Gearbox added an endless progression system with their Badass Rank in Borderlands 2 and that system has been augmented with each game after that, however, I would like to see something that tailors to hardcore players that gives you a bit more complexity and end-game build diversity.
I think the Developers should bring back the +6 Skill Points on Blue Class Mods like we had in Borderlands 2. End Game is usually all about Legendary Class Mods that add a bunch of skill points into various skills, however, being able to drop a bunch of skill points into a single skill allows you to create a specialized build.
Battleborn did a similar thing with lower-tier items they allowed you to get the most out of a single stat. Creating a focused build instead of a general more powerful build. The Borderlands community is all about finding creative ways to manipulate the systems to create the most effective thing.
Conclusion
The things I mentioned above all tie into each other and lean toward the gameplay, however, I do like to have a quality story that keeps me entertained and questioning what’s next. Personally, I’m not looking forward to seeing 100 mayhem levels as they did with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Some Mayhem Modifiers can return but I don’t like jumping through hoops with spicy water and cryo novas you can’t destroy.
Let me know what things you want to see in Borderlands 4 in the comments below or on social media.
