Looter shooter” and Borderlands have often been synonymous, but it’s interesting to note how many other games have successfully laid claim to that title over the years. After the fan reception to Borderlands 3, Gearbox Entertainment is pulling out all the stops to ensure its next game, Borderlands 4, is a grade above. Launching on September 12th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC (with the Switch 2 version arriving at a later date), it includes a new setting, enemies, and, of course, new Vault Hunters. Here are ten new things that may just pique your interest.
Not $80
Fans – and those who probably weren’t going to buy it anyway but didn’t want another triple-A title setting a bad precedent – rejoice: Borderlands 4 is not $80. Instead, it’s $70, which, if CEO Randy Pitchford’s claims about it costing more than twice to develop as Borderlands 3 are true, isn’t the worst. Of course, there’s still the Deluxe Edition for $100 and the Super Deluxe Edition for $130 if you want all the post-launch content. Is all of that – which we’ll get into – worth the extra $60? Right now, it’s difficult to say, but the barrier for entry is slightly less annoying. Slightly.
Bigger Zones, Seamless Loading and No Minimap
With all the new hands-on impressions and gameplay, we now have a clearer idea of the world design. Borderlands 4 unfolds on a brand new planet, Kairos, and Pitchford has touted it as the “biggest universe” that Gearbox has ever built. The zones are most definitely the largest they’ve ever been, and the seamless loading is no joke. With the shift to Unreal Engine 5, there are more random events and activities than ever before, and familiar collectibles like Vault Symbols are more rewarding. The lack of a minimap is throwing some for a loop, and though ECHO-4, your new robotic drone companion, can guide you, it still needs some work. Features like objectives falling within a light blue dome are a nice quality-of-life change, though.
Vex and Rafa
There are four new Vault Hunters – Vex the Siren, Rafa the Exo-Soldier, Harlowe the Gravitar and Amon the Forgeknight. There have only been details on Vex and Rafa thus far, and these impressions have revealed the full extent of their skill trees. We won’t go over everything here – each character has over 100 each – but Vex’s trait, Phase Covenant, changes the damage of her Action Skill and melee attacks to the currently held gun. Her Action Skills include Phase Phamiliar, which summons Trouble, who can evolve and deal more damage when you teleport to it; Incarnate, which damages enemies with an explosion and allows her to fire Eldritch Blasts; and Dead Ringer to spawn Phase Clones, a melee-focused Reaper that taunts enemies or a Specter who fires at them while remaining stationary.
Rafa enters Overdrive upon using an Action Skill, which grants increased damage and movement speed. His Action Skills encompass Arc Knives, a melee damage skill that also marks enemies, increasing the damage they receive (and even has unique moves like Blade Fury to damage all marked enemies); Aphonis Lance, an offhand arm cannon that fires charged shock blasts that pierce enemies; and Peacebreaker Cannons, which automatically fire upon targeted enemies (but can be commanded to attack other targets). Each character can equip an Augment and a Capstone from their skill trees, further improving their effectiveness.
Repkits
One of the other big changes with Borderlands 4 is Repkits, used to heal anytime they’re off cooldown. In typical Borderlands fashion, they can function as much more, providing increased damage, fire rate, reload speed, and movement speed at the cost of healing less (which could come in handy for Vex given her other means of sustain). Other examples include Repkits with double charges and even one that activates a surrounding Cryo explosion.
Instant Boss Respawns and Mission Replays
Ever wanted to replay a story mission without starting a brand new character? How about rematching against bosses to farm their loot without save reloading? Gearbox has finally provided an option to do both with Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine. The actual costs associated with both have yet to be revealed, but considering these are some of the biggest requested features over the years, it’s nice to see the development team incorporating them.
Throwing Knives
Instead of equipping a rocket launcher and grenades separately, Borderlands 4 gives you the Ordinance slot. Heavy weapons and grenades now passively recharge over time, meaning more opportunities to unleash massive damage while keeping a weapon slot free for something else. But if you’re in the mood for something more precise and Hunter-esque, there are throwing knives. These also fit into the Ordinance Slot, scaling off of grenade damage and come with perks like grenades critting when hitting weak points.
Enemy Modifiers
The preview build was seemingly tuned for veteran players, with some commenting that it feels like the most challenging Borderlands yet. Things may pan out differently in the game (end-game is a different can of worms that has yet to be outlined), but what’s worth noting are enemy modifiers. Elites can have different kinds of modifiers that affect their damage or survivability, like extra shields, which are another shield bar on top of the existing one.
The Primordial Vault
One of the more interesting new activities to note is the Primordial Vault. As Game Informer mentioned in its preview, one of the locations, the Fadefields, has one such Vault that requires navigating platforms and slaying numerous enemies. They eventually went up against a Primordial Guardian boss known as Inceptus, using the grappling hook to expose weak points and deal maximum damage. That’s only one part of the fight, and it honestly sounds a lot more involved than expected. Based on the fact that players will have to collect Vault Key Fragments, this may be only such Primordial Vault and others await. Nothing yet about how the larger Vaults factor into the story, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Primordials tie into Kairos’ main Vault in some way or another.
Darker Tone than Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 is loathed for its story and writing, especially the dialogue that leaned too heavily on outdated memes and terrible humor. Borderlands 4 is mercifully going for a darker tone, with IGN noting “the beginnings of what seems to be a significantly more grounded story.” This doesn’t mean that there’s no humor at all – even the State of Play presentation had its share of quips, but they’re significantly dialed down compared to its predecessor. Of course, it also remains to be seen how the entire story and characters shake out, humorous or not, and while they’ve yet to receive more details, it seems players will deal with a largely new cast this time around.
Post-Launch Plans
Gearbox hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface of what Borderlands 4 has to offer in terms of content, but it’s already confirmed extensive post-launch support. The Bounty Hunter Pack, included in the Deluxe Edition, offers four smaller DLC with new areas, missions, bosses, gear, cosmetics, weapons and vehicles. It also includes Vault Cards, which function much like in Borderlands 3 – complete some challenges and receive rewards. Of course, given how Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands had fairly similar-sounding DLC, it’s probably best to wait and see how content-filled these DLCs will actually be.
The Vault Hunter Pack is where the real meat seemingly is. Included in the Super Deluxe Edition, it adds two new Story Packs, complete with a new map region each, alongside new story and side missions, cosmetics, gear and weapons. They each also contain a new playable Vault Hunter, which hasn’t happened with DLC since Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (unless you count the Blightcaller class from Wonderlands). Gearbox also touts “plenty of free updates post-launch to incorporate community feedback and further balance the game” and even teased “sizable free content drops we can’t talk about yet.”
