Borderlands Series

[Jebus McAzn]

I'm surprised we don't have a thread for this yet (unless this is supposed to go in a general gaming thread or something) but I figured the game was big enough that it deserved its own. With a new playable character and a level cap increase coming within just a few months, now is as good a time as any to make this.

Borderlands 2 is a role-playing FPS game that was released September 18th, 2012. For those who haven't played it or its prequel, the game features a campaign that's split into the typical "story quest / side quest" setup and a multiplayer option that allows up to four people to play the campaign as a team.

The player is a Vault Hunter, on a mission to stop the supervillain known as Handsome Jack. Characters from the original Borderlands such as Claptrap, Dr. Zed, Tannis, Marcus, and many more make reappearances, while the four playable characters from the original Borderlands (Brick, Lilith, Mordecai, and Roland) are NPCs with a significant role in the storyline.

Controls are those typical of an FPS, although the game plays with the quest progression and character development of an RPG. There are four characters in BL2, with a fifth character available to unlock via DLC. Each character has their own special abilities and unique skill trees, which the player can invest in every time their character levels up.

What really sets apart BL2 as a game for me is its personality. It is by far the funniest game I have played, with some of the wittiest dialogue and most memorable characters I've seen so far. It can elicit some very emotional responses, especially if you've played the first game. As a whole, it's one of the best FPS's (if not the best FPS) I've ever played, even including the fact that it lacks a dedicated PvP mode (which wouldn't be all that entertaining, either, given the power of the weapons relative to the players' health pools).


Now that the summary's over, are there any other Vault Hunters on Smogon who play the game? PS3, Xbox, or PC? If anyone wants to team up or trade, I figure here's the place to do it. This is also a place to discuss your builds and your guns, and to talk about any upcoming changes to the game.

 

[shinyskarmory]

I was wondering why there wasn't a borderlands thread too...

I'm playing Zer0 right now, and iirc I'm level 46 or something? Basically going duo with my brother 24/7 (he's playing Salvador) is a ton of fun, and it beats online for me because we can stand over the massive amount of loot we find and debate who can use it better, who deserves it, etc. without worrying about a random stealing it from us.

For Playthrough 1 I used the sniping tree, but it started feeling disappointing by the end of the run-basically, if you were in good position to crit an enemy they were dead, and if you weren't you were dead unless you were so far away that their guns had no way of even being somewhat accurate. In True Vault Hunter Mode (or should we just call it Playthrough 2), I used a build focused on his throwing knives early, but switched to a Bloodshed focused build when I finally scraped together the Law pistol (has a 100% melee damage boost), a decent class mod, and the courage to go balls deep after sniping for most of my Borderlands 2 experience.

Honestly, I don't think I'll ever get tired of Borderlands 2- no doubt I'm gonna want to go back and do another run with each character just to enjoy the different feels, just like I played both Infamous games on good and evil. And I don't even have the Mechromancer or any of the DLC yet, so realistically I have a lonnnnnngggggg way to go before I can say I'm finally done.

In the meantime, what do you guys think about the difficulty of getting orange rarity (legendary) equipment? The only ones I've gotten were the Thunderball Fists on my first playthrough and the Flame of the Firehawk (not technically legendary since you get it from a mission, but it is orange!). In the original Borderlands I got 3 or 4 in just Playthrough 1 without owning any of the DLC.

 

[Jebus McAzn]

I'm on the PC and I have a level 50 Zer0, a level 39 Axton, a level 32 Maya, and a level 22 Gaige. For my first playthrough with Zer0, I also went for the sniping tree, but respecced to Bloodshed for TVHM (True Vault Hunter Mode) - which was a LOT more satisfying. I have to say, though, the Cunning tree with the Kunai is extremely effective at boss fights (especially if you get B0re in the Sniping tree)

The Mechromancer is my favorite class right now. Part of it is probably because my Gaige has really good hand-me-down items from my other playthroughs, but Anarchy just rips through everything.

Legendaries are hard to come by. I've farmed for The Bee (which is basically the best shield of the game) a few dozen times and have yet to get one at all. I did manage to come across a Hellfire from Scorch after hitting level 50, and a Slagga from Tector Hodunk (they're both very good SMGs) but I've yet to get a really really good legendary.

Are you on PC, PS3, or Xbox?

 

[popemobile]

I have a few characters: Level 50 Zer0, Level 40ish Axton and Salvador (both on TVHM but not completed), and a Level 20-something Maya still on first playthrough. Haven't played the game in a while but I loved it to death when I was playing it. Might have to pick it back up and go for some more legendaries soon, but I think I'm gonna wait for the level cap increase to come out first, whenever that happens. Don't have a season pass yet but I think I'll get it soon as well. Also the Mechromancer DLC, because I wanna try a run with Gaige too.

Farming for Legendaries is pretty BS, but I do have a few of them...Besides from the ones I got randomly from beating bosses on playthroughs, I have a level 50 Bee shield, level 50 Bonus Package, and a level 50 Hellfire. All are pretty awesome imo, but farming for them takes way too long especially when the level cap might increase at any time.

 

[Shinryu]

I just recently downloaded for the PC (I recently got a new one and it was a free game included), haven't played too much (or the original) so I don't have a clue what most of you are talking about, but it is pretty funny so far, the dialogue is great.

 

[Jebus McAzn]

To be honest, I haven't played the original either, but I still greatly enjoyed BL2.

If you want some beginner tips, try to finish as many of the side-quests as you can on your first playthrough. After you beat playthrough 1, you unlock something called "true vault hunter mode", which is the same campaign but scaled up to a much higher level (you should be around 30-35 after beating PT1). Beating TVHM or PT2 unlocks something called playthrough 2.5 or simply PT2.5, where all the enemies are scaled up to level 50 (which is the current level cap) but you don't have to beat the campaign again. TVHM is a significantly harder challenge than PT1; most people breeze through their first playthrough of the game, but if you go into TVHM underleveled, you will struggle.

 

[Acklow]

Have it for the PS3, but I'm way underlevelled than most people here. Going through the Bloodshed Tree for Zer0. About level 20.

I'm AckIow on the PSN, so don't be afraid to add me.

Also: 1st game was boss.

 

[popemobile]

I really enjoyed the first game, but the second is way better. Also seconding the "do every mission" advice. The game scales to your level for the most part, but higher level means more skills, faster final skills (some of the final skills absolutely wreck in this game), and better guns. I did pretty much every mission on all of my 1st playthroughs

 

[Nietzsche]

I bought it awhile back but apparently my laptop can't run it (well, technically it can but I either have to play with like 5-10 FPS or turn the resolution down so far the text is either too small or too blurry to read depending on whether I play it windowed or fullscreen, respectively).

Someone told me it had the same system requirements as Borderlands 1 but apparently he was lying.

 

[Shame That]

I don't play much anymore, but I have two level 50's (Siren and Zero) and a level 25~ Mechromancer. ^^

A pretty excellent game; however, I found myself constantly getting pissed off at the power behind explosive barrels. Seriously, if the bad guy shoots a barrel by accident, you can die instantly (or a slower humiliating death by corrosive damage).

 

[Jebus McAzn]

I guess it comes down to not standing by the barrels at that point, although to be fair, Maya and Zer0 both die super quickly. If you're playing Sal, you can just Gunzerk through all the damage.

So far, I've played the first DLC and I'm about halfway through the second. The first has the most content, while I've heard that the second is funniest and the third has some pretty epic fights.

 

[popemobile]

how can Zer0 die when he's 1000 yards away from everyone???

 

[blarajan]

This game is the shit thus far. I played the hell out of BL1 and am not too far in this (only 12 hours in and I do side quests) but it's been great so far. I fucking love the new characters and jokes. I play a sniping / crithunting Zero thus far, only like level 17. I'm a little upset they removed weapon level ups, but I guess it makes it easier to swap between weapons / class setups late game so I'm not super upset.

 

[alamaster]

First one is cool, been playing that a bit (10 hours or so), played about an hour or so of BL2 and I can see where people are coming from with the "over the top" humor but the gameplay is great obviously so who cares :>

 

[FireMage]

I spend the ocasional half an hour on this, and must say i'm really satisfyed with the game. I'm only level 13 (Axton) and am finding it to be a satifying alternative to Skyrim. I do feel the Sniper rifles my main choice of weapon as the amage output is high, and I can take my time going for that sweet-ass headshot.

As a game in it's entierity it's great. The characters are enticing, well created and well voiced (claptrap you nut) and the art style suits the game well ( I own the first one, never got around to playing it)

What sort of perks would anyone reccomend for Axton - So far I've invested in the health/Shield perks - just wondered where else i should be investing in.

 

[popemobile]

when you get to level 31, respec and invest in the tree that gives your turret slag damage. OP as hell

 

[BigZac]

I still haven't beaten the first one yet..will probably go buy the 2nd one once i beat the first at least once.

 

[CPrime]

I was always a pretty big Borderlands buff; I have all four characters at level 69 in the first game, along with nearly every "rare" gun possible.

I got Borderlands 2 maybe a month ago and have a level 50 Axton and Salvador. Axton is just ridiculous if you're willing to farm up a Bee shield for him. I just throw 2 turrets out for the bubble shield cover and slaughter everything.

Salvador is pretty awesome but definitely more challenging than Axton. I'm pretty much a Hyperion whore with him though; I feel like Hyperion is the only reliable manufacturer to use when Gunzerking.

I've also farmed a ton of oranges and E-techs so far, the only things I really want are fire element E-techs just because I haven't found any.

 

[Jebus McAzn]

I spend the ocasional half an hour on this, and must say i'm really satisfyed with the game. I'm only level 13 (Axton) and am finding it to be a satifying alternative to Skyrim. I do feel the Sniper rifles my main choice of weapon as the amage output is high, and I can take my time going for that sweet-ass headshot.

As a game in it's entierity it's great. The characters are enticing, well created and well voiced (claptrap you nut) and the art style suits the game well ( I own the first one, never got around to playing it)

What sort of perks would anyone reccomend for Axton - So far I've invested in the health/Shield perks - just wondered where else i should be investing in.

when you hit level 16 you need to invest in the rocket upgrade for your turret because then you can literally solo entire areas by pressing "F" once and AFKing

the slag turret is really good but the longbow/nuke combination in the middle tree is HILARIOUS and so fun to use

in terms of usefulness the double turret ability in the third tree is probably best because of double shields (you can also combine it with the rockets in the first tree for more damage or longbow technology in the middle tree for long-range shielding if you're doing multiplayer) but the slag turret is the best for raw DPS

CPrime: I prefer the Hellfire to fire e-techs; what's your opinion?

 

[More Cowbell]

I really liked Borderlands, but never got around to finishing Borderlands 2. I don't know, but someone on the road, I just grew bored of it. I left my Zer0 at level 20 or something, and didn't really manage to get back into the game with him. I may restart some time in the future, and play either Gaige or Maya, not really sure which of the two.

 

[Jebus McAzn]

gaige is so much fun but will spoil all the other classes for you besides salvador imo

especially if you aren't the kind of player who'll play through the game five times in a row

maya is probably more useful for multiplayer though

 

[Shinryu]

So, speaking of the characters, is there a general "best" one? Or is it pretty much dependent on playstyle from the sound of it? Also, are there any good guides on these talent trees and which ones are better?

 

[Jebus McAzn]

So, speaking of the characters, is there a general "best" one? Or is it pretty much dependent on playstyle from the sound of it? Also, are there any good guides on these talent trees and which ones are better?

which character are you asking about? i'll provide what advice i can. generally trees will vary based on playstyle but certain trees are definitely better at certain things than others

the borderlands subreddit is pretty good and is very newbie-friendly

 

[popemobile]

imo, Axton is the easiest to use, Salvador is the most fun to use, and Zer0 is the best to use if you can snipe well. All of them, including Maya, are good enough where you shouldn't have too much trouble with the game no matter who you choose. If you're just starting and feel like you might have trouble with the game, I'd go with Axton. The turret can do some serious work, especially with the right skills.

 

[CPrime]

CPrime: I prefer the Hellfire to fire e-techs; what's your opinion?

My beef with both are the slow projectiles. I might just want a fire blaster/caster because I haven't seen one before. I also haven't seen any e-tech rocket launchers, which are awesome apparently.

Maaaaan, you guys are really making me want to start a new game with Zer0...