It’s been a long time, but Gearbox finally took the wraps off Borderlands 3 at this year’s PAX East and boy did it look awesome. And as awesome as it did look, the presentation was unfortunately scant on details. Fast forward a couple of days later and we’ve learned quite a bit more about the newest entry in the series, with details on characters, weapons, platforms and more. Let’s recap.
STORY
There aren’t a whole lot of details available on the game’s story at this point, but what we do know is that we’ll be playing one of four new Vault Hunters tasked with stopping the “Calypso Twins” from uniting the bandit clans and acquiring the galaxy’s “ultimate power”. Whatever that is.
This time around there will be multiple worlds and different biomes to explore. Tons of fan favorite characters are returning as well, including Tiny Tina, who has grown up and is more of a Not So Tiny Tina now.
PLATFORMS, PRICE AND RELEASE DATE
Borderlands 3 will be available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game releases on September 13, 2019. It’s also an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC for six months, which has stirred up quite a bit of controversy over the past 24 hours.
MEET THE TEAM
Four new Vault Hunters (including a new Siren!) make up the Borderlands 3 crew at launch. We wouldn’t be surprised if that number expands once the DLC starts rolling out, but these are the original four:
MOZE: Moze is an interesting take on Borderlands’ soldier archetype. She’s more nimble than you’d expect from the class and she doesn’t sit around hugging a turret. Instead, she’s capable of digistructing an Iron Bear mech that her allies can jump into to manually control its turret.
AMARA: Borderlands’ mysterious tattooed Sirens wield incredible power and only six can exist at any given time. The original game let us play Lilith, a more aggressive Siren with the ability to detonate massive shockwaves with her Phasewalk ability. Maya, the Siren playable in Borderlands 2, focused a bit more on crowd control with her signature Phaselock ability.
Borderlands 3 will feature Amara, a muscular new Siren with the ability to manifest psychic fists, offering up a unique melee-centric playstyle for Siren fans.
FL4K: The Hunter of Borderlands 3, FL4K is a robotic tracker with the ability to summon a number of different pets. These pets appear to include a Spiderant, a Skag, and something new entirely. The rest is left up to speculation at this point, but those of you who liked to play a Bloodwing-focused Mordecai should find a lot to love in FL4K.
ZANE: I wish I had more to say about Zane right now, but the best way to think of him is as Borderlands 2’s Zer0. He’s got a decoy just like Zer0 and he’ll also bring a number of other gadgets to bear in combat, but that’s all we know so far.
IMPROVED CO-OP
We know of two major improvements to the co-operative experience so far. One is the addition of instanced loot, which means no more loot ninjas! Everyone gets their own loot this time around and it’s been a long time coming. I look back fondly on my Borderlands adventures, but arguing over loot (or loot ninjas) were one of the more frustrating aspects of the series. It’ll also be easier to jump in and play with friends who are different levels with the game’s new “level-sync” system that does exactly what it sounds like.
BETTER GUNS
Many of the classic Borderlands series gun manufacturers will return in Borderlands 3, but Gearbox is making them all much more interesting this time around.
VLADOF: These guns are typically known for their low accuracy and high rate of fire. In Borderlands 3, they’ll also feature additional attachments such as tasers, rocket tubes and extra gun barrels.
TORGUE: Torgue’s guns have changed a bit over the course of the series, but their most distinctive trait is a focus on explosions, like Mr. Torgue himself. True to form, Torgue weapons in Borderlands 3 will feature a sticky projectile alternate fire mode.
TEDIORE: I never really enjoyed Tediore weapons, but they had an interesting gimmick where you basically threw them away on reload, which would trigger an explosion dealing damage based on how much ammo was left in the magazine. An amusing, but not necessarily useful gimmick. Tediore weapons have a similar gimmick in Borderlands 3, only instead of exploding when you toss them, they’ll spawn legs and chase your foes while verbally abusing them.
MALIWAN: Maliwan weapons focus on dealing elemental damage. In Borderlands 3, you’ll be able to toggle between two different elements and charge up your Maliwan weapons to deal guaranteed elemental damage.
JAKOBS: Slow and hard hitting, Jakobs weapons are the choice for players looking to put the largest holes in their enemies. They’ll now also come with the ability to ricochet their bullets towards other targets.
HYPERION: Hyperion weapons typically start out with terrible accuracy that improves as you continue to fire the weapon. This mechanic returns in Borderlands 3, but you’ll also gain a weapon mounted shield (think Gibraltar from Apex Legends?) when you aim down the sights.
ATLAS: Atlas guns are some of the most powerful guns in Borderlands, but they tend to be a bit rare. Their new mechanic is the ability fire tracker tags at your enemies which are then tracked by the Smart Bullets you fire.
DAHL: Dahl weapons are accurate with a high rate of fire. Now, they’ll also come with an alternate fire mode.
That’s most of what we know about Borderlands 3 so far. Spot anything we missed? Share it with us in the comments below!
