The anticipated fourth installment to Gearbox’s epic, chaotic looter-shooter finally draws new, bringing with it waves of exciting details and reveals. While a few revelations — likeBorderlands 4’s seemingly steep price — have brought mixed feelings, the reactions have been largely positive amongBorderlands 4fandom.
It’s understandable, given the many intriguing details — from the huge, vibrant world of Kairos and its tyrannical ruler, to the diverse weapon system of company-specific parts (andall-newmanufacturers). Given its refinements, additions, and creative new twists on the formula,Borderlands 4looks poised to be the coolest, most memorable Vault-hunting journey yet — with the following confirmed details taking center stage.
11Kairos: The Epic New Planetary Setting
Ruled By The Timekeeper And His Synthetic Minions
This fourth mainlineBLgame should take things even further in the direction ofBorderlands 3in some ways, while honing its focus back on a single planet a la Pandora — albeit a huge, diverse one — for the crux of its setting. It takes place on the vibrant planet ofKairos, which is revealed following the teleportation of Elpis into its orbit.
With this unveiling comes the emergence of a new ominousvillain known as the Timekeeper. This planet will feature a handful of seamless (no loading) “mega zones”, which will likely have smaller sub-regions. These lands will add vertical depth, and hold a dynamic weather system that should make the world come to life.
10Bosses Are Larger And More Dynamic Than Ever
…And Easier To Return To
Based on the footage given thus far, it seems the game’s bosses will be larger and more detailed than ever, with various phases, unique weak points, and elements that encourage teaming up.
While it looks as though boss fights will be more drawn-out, Gearbox will bring a new feature to balance this out a bit — allowing players to quickly and easily pull up a completed boss fight at will. With a feature known asMoxxi’s Encore Machine,gamers can replay bosses without needing to travel great distances or reload saves, makingboss farming simpler and more effective.
Players will reportedly be able to pull up completedstory missionsand replay them in the same manner.
9A Darker, More Serious Tone
…Though Subtle Comedy Will Remain
It’s true that one ofBorderlands' most distinctly charming traits is its knack forzany, off-the-wall humor, which arguably peaked in the second mainline entry. And whileBorderlands 4looks to maintain a certain level of silly comedy (Claptrapiscoming back, after all), this titlewill look to take a darker, more serious tonethroughout.
Gearbox has specifically noted that the “toilet humor” and meme cultural bits in particular will be stripped back. Instead, the humor thatispresent will seemingly be more nuanced.
8A (Relatively) Steeper Price
Will Fans Find It Worth The Apparent Higher Price Tag?
Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford recently ruffled some feathers following a comment about “real fans” being able to find a way to purchase this appealing newBLgame, which isheavilyimplied to cost aminimumof $70, if not $80.
While he’s since clarified to present a somewhat softer, more reasonable stance, the notion thatBorderlands 4likely brings a fairly steep asking price has caused many to shift from cautious optimism to skepticism and hesitancy in regard to investing in this sequel.
7Revamped Navigation System
Convoluted Mini-Maps Are Out, Streamlined Navigation Is In
The minimap feature in priorBorderlandsgames brought mixed results — aiding in traversal while often adding to the confusion in the multi-layered locales ofBL3. With the sequel, Gearbox seems to recognize the increasingly convoluted mechanic, tossing it out in favor of a simpler compass akin to the debutBL.
Supplementing this is a new Dahl robot companion named Echo-4. This droid will help players find their footing in this massive world, laying down waypoint pathways, and evenaiding in collecting quest rewards.
6New And Refined Movement Abilities
Adding More Depth And Potential To Environmental Traversal
It’s true that theBLseries is rife with endlessly fun, thrilling gunplay — though it has arguably lacked when it comes to environment depth and interaction. This won’t be the case any longer, as Gearbox will fill out Kairos with more dynamic land formations, structures, and verticality as a whole.
Combined with new mechanics such aswall climbing,gliding, and grappling, this new shooter should invoke vibes akin toaction and exploration-based (and even a bit of platforming) romps. To make this even more streamlined, there will also be no fall damage.
5Streamlined Co-Op
Greater Multiplayer Focus And QoL
Among the most appealing aspects ofBorderlandsis its highly-fun co-op gameplay, and this sequel looks to further expand upon this.Players can drop in and out at any point, scale the difficultyaccording to their skill and level when fighting the same foes, get separate loot allocations, and canfast-travelto one-another.
4Loot, Combat, and Weaponry Changes
…Especially Grenades And Heavy Arms
Loot and weaponry systems are getting at least partially revamped forBL4. Legendary and rarer drop frequencies are being dialedwayback, granting a more rewarding feeling when obtaining them — and likely producing more potent Legendaries in the process.
Grenades and heavier artillery will be held in a separate slot, and requirecooldownsto avoid spamming. Additionally, there’s a new syringe orstimpackfeature which grants health boosts — and elemental buffs down the line.
…And Three New Gun Manufacturers
In addition tofan-favorite brands like Jakobsand Torgue, a few new brands are hitting the scene as well! These include the gritty, Bandit-styleRipper, versatileDaedalus, and energy-weaponOrder.
Players can obtain weapons with separate manufacturer parts, yielding strengths ofmultiplebrands (like an explosive gun that’salsofast-firing Jakobs-style). A new, more unified system of brand-specific “Enhancements” will replace Anointments, Artifacts, and Relics from prior games.
3Elaborate Vault Dungeons
Vault Dungeon Crawling?
Details remain hazy as of this writing, but Gearbox has noted that the Vault system will be overhauled and fleshed out inBL4. Based on therecent gameplay footage, players will be tasked with collecting Vault Fragments, which should serve as quest items and/or keys for unlocking Vaults to plunder.
The Vaults themselves are also reportedly getting a makeover, now serving as expansive dungeons with various goodies, rather than a single large room.
2A Slew Of Distinct New Vault Hunters
With Larger Skill Trees, And Distinct (Yet Some Familiar) Traits
Along with the return of staple characters like Zane, Moxxi, and Amara, Gearbox is bringing ahandful of all-new Vault Hunters— each of which yields a few deep skill trees with active and passive buffs/abilities, and class-specific strengths/weaknesses.
The new heroes are:Vex the Siren, Amon the Forgeknight, Harlowe the Gravitar, and Rafa the Exo-Soldier.While the Siren class is recognizable to fans, the other three look to be more distinct — though the Exo-Soldier appears similar to the Operative/Commando.
