Borderlands 3 is in a great place, but is it enough to keep players coming back?

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With Destiny 2 in a pretty terrible weird place, I’ve found myself heading back to Borderlands 3 to get my looter shooter fix. Endless guns, fun characters (I WILL make a good Moze build, dang it), and some great DLC content make it worth revisiting the franchise if you haven’t played since launch, but is it enough in the long run?

If you haven’t logged in since launch, let me catch up a bit. Lots of buffs and nerfs have happened making more builds viable. New gear has also helped with that, with many new class mods giving even more ways to play, and changes to the Maliwan Takedown means you can enjoy endgame content without bringing together a group of four.

In regards to DLC content, BL3 has knocked it out of the park with both DLC packs, Moxxi’s Heist of The Handsome Jackpot and Love, Guns, and Tentacles. Both include new weapons, new class mods, and story content that will feel more at home for veterans of the series.

Upcoming changes should be interesting

Image: Josiah Motley / KnowTechie

Even with all of the good things Gearbox is doing with the series, there are some new changes coming that should help shake up the current meta for players that are growing bored with the newer content. The introduction of Mayhem 4 and level cap increases gave us more things to strive for and it was great, but that’s not all.

Upcoming changes could be a big factor in the future of the series and hopefully, we will not have to wait long, with the next limited event releasing this month (no set date given as of yet). Alongside the event (a mafia-themed event with three warring factions), Gearbox is updating Mayhem levels with what they are calling Mayhem 2.0. Mayhem 2.0 brings 10 levels of ahem Mayhem with each one having unique modifiers.

The higher the level, the better the theoretical drops. For me, it sounds a bit like how torment levels work in Diablo 3 and if so, I’m definitely intrigued by the introduction of a new system.

This could absolutely add more replayability and grinding (if you’re playing Borderlands, c’mon, you know you are here for the grinding), but I would still like to see more introduced. Maybe a new raid-like event, but even with new events, raids, and gear, there needs to be more and the answer is actually pretty simple.

Bring in a new playable character

Image: Gearbox

Some of the best updates in Borderlands 2 were the introduction of new playable characters like Krieg. It gave players entirely new ways to play, added tons of replayability, and it gave completionists something else to strive for.

Sadly, Gearbox has made it clear that they aren’t interested in adding new characters, and – besides the main story – it’s probably the biggest letdown of Borderland 3. That said, I think it is a safe bet to say that the team will introduce new skill trees for each character, but it’s not the same.

The base gameplay will mostly remain the same, whereas new characters literally offer an entirely new way to play. Look at Krieg and Gaige from BL2 and how it completely shook up how players built out classes, allowing new ways to play and giving players more weapons to test out and use.

It’s too early to tell, but with the game in a pretty great place right now, I would love to see a new character introduced into the mix. It can be tough to convince players to come back with DLC content, but new characters would basically sell themselves.

What do you think? Still playing Borderlands 3 or are you waiting for something BIG to happen before returning? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here for more.

Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.