Topic: What I'd like to see in Borderlands 2

[MysterD]

GameInformer -> Cool special delivery for someone who wanted Borderlands 2 as a birthday gift.

Reddit user kilod3lta posted a few photos of what has to be the best way to receive Borderlands 2 as a gift.

The gift givers made a custom Claptrap wrapping complete with a Fyrestone tire. You can see the finished product above and you can head here to see the whole creation process.

[MysterD]

Joystiq -> Borderlands 2 will ALSO have Non-Season Pass DLC...
...More Non-Season Pass DLC than just the upcoming Mechromancer DLC.

Borderlands 2 is getting four confirmed slices of DLC as part of the Season Pass, but it has even more planned, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford tells Kotaku. We already know about one piece of additional non-Season Pass content, the Mechromancer.

"We will have other, non-season pass related DLC," Pitchford says. "The additional character (Mechromancer) is one kind of example."

We've heard rumblings of themes for future Borderlands 2 DLC: One may be an expansion on the weapons manufacturer Torgue, and another might involve Sand Skiff-like transportation. Pitchford reiterates a vehicle-focused DLC approach.

"Since we finished the game, we've started with some new ideas that we expect will show up in DLC," Pitchford says. "Some new vehicle types are on-deck – awesome stuff."

All of the Season Pass DLC packs will be "big," similar to the third expansion for the original Borderlands, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx. Knoxx raised the level cap, added 30 new enemy types, new weapons, new vehicles and improved the AI.

"The stuff we're planning and working on for the Campaign DLC Season Pass is big DLC stuff – more like Knoxx," Pitchford says. "We're extremely far along with the first campaign DLC. The second DLC is also in amazing shape. The third DLC is a little farther out and the fourth DLC is just in the pre-concept stages."

[Xessive]

Borderlands 2 is awesome. My Guild Wars 2 character has taken a backseat for now

It's not a perfect game, of course, but it is certainly better than the original and that's saying a lot considering how great the first one was!

[MysterD]

[Ghandi]

Heh.

I haven't had a problem with inventory space yet because I don't need money for anything except for ammo and the occasional vender item. Although, as of late, I have become addicted to the gambling machines so I've been picking up more stuff to fuel that habit. I keep getting *so close* to rolling a legendary out of the slots...

[Cobra951]

Oh yeah.  There are 2 firestorms on the official forums.  One is the unforgivable BAR-reset bug, and the other is the egregious reduction in inventory and bank space.  27 slots is max in BL2, while over 40 were available to be unlocked one way or another in vanilla, and that increased to 72 with all the DLC, along with a generously sized bank.  (I forget what the bank space was.)  The bank in BL2 starts at 6 slots.  Yes, this huge bank-like safe can hold a total of 6 items, and grows to a measly dozen or a bit more, max.  Ridiculous.  A loot-based game where you can't store loot.  This was a long-running complaint with the first game, which is why they added the bank in one of the DLCs.  That they repeated the deficiency in the 2nd game and made it worse strikes me as an intentional setup for a cash grab down the line.  Nothing else makes sense.

I already created a mule character, and she's full.  I'll be making another one soon.  I read that the inventory space can already be hacked to be much bigger in the PC game.  The console game apparently requires some encryption cracking.

[MysterD]

Bluesnews -> Gearbox is already thinking about Borderlands 3 & talking about it.

No surprise to me.

[Cobra951]

The Mechromancer DLC was supposed to come out the 16th, but instead it comes out today.  I get that for free with my preorder, so I will be checking.  Looks like a fun character.  I'm hoping for some bugfixes rolled into the DLC.

[Xessive]

Nice, I'll have to check if I have access to it as well or if it's North American early release only.

Nonetheless, it'll be great to have a new character class to vary up the gameplay, that's not to say the gameplay is not varied already.

Gotta say, I am loving BL2.

[sirean_syan]

Huh. That's cool. I don't know if I'll have time try her before the end of the month but I might load her up just to see.

So I've been meaning to post for a couple of days now about the game. While there's lots to be and has been said about how the game has been improved, but I feel like there hasn't been a lot of talk about how the tone of the game has shift somewhat. I feel like the game is a lot darker than the first. It's still got the irreverence that the first game had, but with more detail about the world and its inhabitants I feel like we're learning just how fucked up (and I use that for emphasis) Pandora is. The reasoning behind a lot of the background, events of the game, and acts committed by your character(s) is often just downright psychotic. The best parallel I can draw would be like from going from Invader Zim to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Both are obviously from the same source and use similar styles, but one just just more raw and willing to take things further.

The strange thing is that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. There was a sort of lightheartedness to the original Borderlands which sort seems to be present in the generally irreverence for pretty much everything in the sequel. However, it is quickly overshadowed when the game sort of starts to make you feel bad for generally being a murderer in a place that seems to breed murderers. While your characters (or all the characters for that matter, especially the original Vault Hunters) might be doing good things in some fashion they're hardly what you'd call good people. A large part of me thinks that it's kind of a subtle move on the part of Gearbox to make the game more subversive but it also makes things a little more uncomfortable than I might want out of an experience like Borderlands. I think in the end I'm glad the game went this route and is probably at least more interesting because of it but it mostly caught me off guard.

Edit: Just a heads up. Word on the street is that the patch might be responsible for some problems which cause things like badass rank or character resents. I'm not sure how reliable the rumor is (or if it's still the old problem that people are running into again because they're making new characters), but it might be worth looking out for/into if you intend to play soon.

[Cobra951]

It's more than a rumor.  I'm not allowing the patch or grabbing the DLC until I learn more about what triggers the BAR reset.  Several people have posted on the GBX forums about how merely updating the game with the DLC-related patch afflicted them with the bug.  Others report that their updates went smoothly.  It's a huge screwup that should have been fixed before releasing the DLC.  Instead, the problem got worse.

The game itself is indeed much darker.  I'm far along into the story, and I was shocked numb by some of the developments.  I don't think I like that direction either.  The goofiness now seems at odds with the plot developments.  Also, SP is much more difficult than BL1's, which is hampering my enjoyment of the gameplay.  Too much frustration.  The first was near perfection for me, and it's not too surprising the 2nd couldn't live up to that.  It is still an excellent game, though.

Edit:

The good news is that the release of Mechromancer and today's update are not connected to the occurrences of Badass Rank being reset -- while the timing may appear coincidental, it's a separate issue that we are continuing to investigate. We ask that players who have experienced this issue to email us at profiles@gearboxsoftware.com with as many details as possible to help us gather additional information on the matter.

I took his word for it, and all was well.  Got the update and new character without issue.

[W7RE]

Hmmm, maybe I'm just not far enough in the game to see how it's super dark? Or maybe my perspective has me perceiving it differently. Yea, you murder a lot of people, and it's fun, and sometimes it's funny. I just finished a quest where scooter writes a poem. If you've done it, that should ring a bell. At the end I laughed my ass off. Also, I love Handsome Jack. The way he's so cheery and nice sounding while he's threatening to murder you or torturing people is hilarious.

[Xessive]

Hmmm, maybe I'm just not far enough in the game to see how it's super dark? Or maybe my perspective has me perceiving it differently. Yea, you murder a lot of people, and it's fun, and sometimes it's funny. I just finished a quest where scooter writes a poem. If you've done it, that should ring a bell. At the end I laughed my ass off. Also, I love Handsome Jack. The way he's so cheery and nice sounding while he's threatening to murder you or torturing people is hilarious.

"... moral of the story is you're a bitch!" haha Handsome Jack is pretty hilarious!

[Cobra951]

Hmmm, maybe I'm just not far enough in the game to see how it's super dark? Or maybe my perspective has me perceiving it differently. Yea, you murder a lot of people, and it's fun, and sometimes it's funny. I just finished a quest where scooter writes a poem. If you've done it, that should ring a bell. At the end I laughed my ass off. Also, I love Handsome Jack. The way he's so cheery and nice sounding while he's threatening to murder you or torturing people is hilarious.

The poem and results were actually funny.  Heheh!  Handsome Jack takes after Knoxx in his demeanor (and is done about as well), but he is much more evil.  If you don't know what I mean by dark, you must not be far enough into the story.  There is a glimpse of it early.  Did you not do the sidequest in Liar's Berg involving stray echo logs?  I found that disturbing.  There's also a communication from Jack where he's laughing so much as he tells you

(click to show/hide)

how he blinded someone in front of his family

that he's having trouble finishing the tale.  " I guess you had to be there."

[beo]

i found that bit hilarious, cobra. my sense of humour is pretty much pitch black though, so i find most of what jack says to be utter gold.

[W7RE]

There's also a communication from Jack where he's laughing so much as he tells you

(click to show/hide)

how he blinded someone in front of his family

that he's having trouble finishing the tale.  " I guess you had to be there."

This part had me almost in tears. One of the funniest parts of the game thus far.

[MysterD]

IGN -> Some info on the upcoming Pirate-theme DLC

[W7RE]

Xbox Live Community Manager Major Nelson tweeted that the Pirate DLC "Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty" will release October 16.



So, with the WoW expansion (which I've already stopped playing), and Guild Wars 2, I still haven't finished the first playthrough of Borderlands 2. I'm on the story mission "The Man Who Would Be Jack" and just arrived in Opportunity. Am I close to the end? I'd like to finish before this DLC hits, but have been playing exclusively when my friend is on.

[Cobra951]

I haven't finished PT1 either.  Haha!  I played Axton till level 31, then Maya for a while, and now I'm playing Gaige (Level 14).  You still have some serious work to do to get to where I got to with the commando, and from the look of things, the final push might be coming up for him in the next story mission.  I'd say maybe 2-3 more long story missions for you (including your current one).

[Cobra951]

Captain Scarlett's Pirate Booty is about to hit.  It's looking sweet.  I'll probably wait a bit because of the BAR-reset bug.  I'm too afraid of getting it to change anything in the game until I get some feedback.

[MysterD]

GiantBomb - QUICKLOOK -> Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett DLC.
It's about 36 minutes long.

[idolminds]

I'm trying to hold out and what do they do? Pirates. Damn it all.

[Cobra951]

Haha!  I thought about that.   

[MysterD]

Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett & Her Pirate's Booty DLC
REVIEWS

Scored out of 100
VentureBeat - GamesBeat -> 85.

Scored out of 10
GamePlanet -> 9.0
Eurogamer -> 9
Machinima - Inside Gaming Daily -> 8.5.
Destructoid -> 8.
IGN -> 7.5.
GameSpot -> 7.0 -- Video Review; Written review.

Scored out of 5
Cheat Code Central -> 4.9.
GameSpy -> 4 stars.

No Score
Forbes -> Part 1.
Rev3 Games.

[MysterD]

Forbes -> Bioshock Easter Egg found in Captain Scarlett DLC.

(click to show/hide)

BIG DADDY shows up as Mr. Bubbles in this DLC!!

[MysterD]

G4TV -> Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage could be next DLC.

It looks like the title for DLC2 is Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage.

There are three PS3 Trophies connected to it and they're all pretty similar to the Achievement/Trophy rewards attached to Captain Scarlett. One Trophy unlocks for completing the "Long Way to the Top" mission (presumably the last in the add-on pack's story), one is awarded for completing all Campaign of Carnage side missions, and one goes to players who manage to find 10 collectible pictures of Moxxi in the DLC.

None of this is officially confirmed of course, but the info certainly suggests that it's possible we'll see a second Borderlands 2 expansion before the end of 2012.

[MysterD]

Expect more CLASS-BASED DLC's too, guys...

From Twitter...

Fujiwara no Mokou ‏@PhoenixNoMokou
@DuvalMagic Are there actually any plans whatsoever for more character classes to be added through DLC?
 
Randy Pitchford @DuvalMagic
@PhoenixNoMokou yes - we're working on it.
8:36 PM - 22 Oct 12

[MysterD]

Rev3 Games -> Hands-On w/ Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage DLC - 23 mins long approximately.

[MysterD]

Borderlands 2: Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage DLC
REVIEWS

METACRITIC -> X360; PC; PS3

Scored out of 10:
IGN -> 9.2
Eurogamer -> 9
GameTrailers -> 8.4
GamerLimit -> 8.0
Metro UK -> 8

Scored out of 5:
GameSpy -> 4 stars.
CheatCodeCentral -> 4

[MysterD]

Rev3 Games -> 21 minute preview hands-on w/ Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC.

[gpw11]

Borderlands 2 is on sale for 50% off and I may buy it.  IF anyone still feels like playing online.  I remember Pyro, Que, Idol, and myself having some fun with the first.  Anyone in?

[idolminds]

It appears I am getting this for christmas. Whether I can play online or not is currently a mystery but I'm willing to try.

[Cobra951]

I warn you that the game is even more skewed toward coop than the first.  True vault-hunter mode (late game) and MMO-like raid bosses in the DLC are way unbalanced solo.  It's not a question of difficulty, but of cheapness.

[Xessive]

I warn you that the game is even more skewed toward coop than the first.  True vault-hunter mode (late game) and MMO-like raid bosses in the DLC are way unbalanced solo.  It's not a question of difficulty, but of cheapness.

Yep. I love the game but I F*CKING HATE monster generators!!

[idolminds]

Oh great.

[gpw11]

Well, I missed my chance.  Also, I'm kinda glad now that I didn't make the impulse purchase.

[MysterD]

Well, I missed my chance.  Also, I'm kinda glad now that I didn't make the impulse purchase.

I'm waiting to see what Amazon DVG will do w/ Borderlands 2 PC next month (Jan 2013), when they do their Editor's Choice sale.
I got a few $5 coupon stacked-up for that sale, so I'm waiting to see where it might go (or not go).

[idolminds]

So I guess they took the complaints of the difficulty in the original being too low to heart, because these are some tough bandits. Many fights end with me basically one shot away from death. Either they made the enemies harder or I just have some really shitty weapons. Its the start of the game so...could be that.

The "Shift Code" thing is kind of interesting. Shift being some kind of Gearbox specific service that for the most part doesn't seem to do much. Except give you gold keys to unlock some special chest in one of the towns. I guess it has good loot. Anyway what makes the Shift code system interesting is it keeps Borderlands 2 in peoples minds. Want more keys? Well follow their twitter or facebook. Even if you don't do that, forum threads on various internet boards get bumped with people posting the codes. And you have to launch the game to input the code...so oh hell, might as well play a little. And the player gets some loot out of the ingenious marketing trick. Everybody wins! I think. I went through a thread on another board where codes were being posted and just went backwards up the list until I was consistently hitting outdated codes. Now I have 18 gold keys.

[Cobra951]

Guns are shitty by default, and finding good ones is much more difficult than in the first game.  To make matters much worse, the difference between levels is dramatically higher, especially in PT2 (TVHM).  So those awesome Level-33 purples you got from a big boss fight at the end of PT1 become obsolete within a few levels in PT2, and you're better off with trashy white weapons you pick up at vendors and off the ground.

The difficulty you're experiencing now is nothing compared to what you'll be experiencing later.  Some of it is very cheap.  For example, a garden-variety rakk can occasionally take all of your shield and nearly all of your health in a single hit.  This mechanic completely ignores things like your level advantage, or huge shield/HP numbers.  Some internal dice roll says "screw the player" and the game code makes it so.

[idolminds]

I was doing ok until I got to this one particular boss, which I then died at about 10 times before finally getting past him. Oh hey, he has a shotgun! Oh hey, so does his bodyguard....who also has a shield that I can't shoot through. Lucky Im a mechromancer and my robot can distract that shield guy so I can shoot him in the back...other wise I was just boned the whole time. As it was I took out the guard and then had to run around until I could send me bot out a second time to distract the boss. Yeesh.

But I did get some better weapons and am enjoying the game quite a bit. Just have to be really careful how you approach fights.