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Fresh from announcing that its release date has been brought forward – yes, forward – Borderlands 4 has just shown off loads of gameplay footage and released some new info during a PlayStation State of Play livestream. With new movement mechanics, a new weapons system that lets you mix and match manufacturers, and a lineup of new abilities for its Vault Hunters, things are looking pretty good. However, today’s showcase also addressed one of the biggest complaints from Borderlands 3 – the drop rates of high-rarity loot. Confident that Borderlands 4 won’t suffer from the same issues, Gearbox promises that it has “added the magic back to our loot chase.”
I love a good looter shooter – Destiny 2 is my main vice – but I didn’t gel with Borderlands 3, despite the series’ years of experience. I’ve got high hopes for Borderlands 4 though – not only does it look stunning, but it takes us to an all-new planet while still weaving in cameos from some iconic characters. There’s already been a lot of hubbub this week about the Borderlands 4 release date being bumped up a couple of weeks (potentially to make way for the GTA 6 release date) but this new showcase gives several more reasons to get excited.
The main takeaway for me is Gearbox’s comments on Borderlands 4’s loot system. While any good looter shooter should be showering you in gear, Borderlands 3 went a bit overboard when it came to dishing out desirable items. “We’ve heard your feedback and overhauled our drop rates and loot across the game,” Gearbox says. “We’ve worked hard to make sure all our gear feels better than ever while also making rarity matter again. This makes for our most satisfying loot chase ever.”
Specifically, it says that Legendaries dropped “too often” in Borderlands 3, which “devalued” these highly prized and unique weapons. While it doesn’t explain exactly how it’s achieved this and what the Legendary chase will look like in Borderlands 4, Gearbox promises that these gold-tier items will feel genuinely special to obtain. “We’ve added the magic back to our loot chase, and we know you’ll love grinding all that great gear on Kairos,” the studio assures.
Today’s livestream also ran through some of the new combat and loadout iterations coming to BL4. A new system called Active Skills loads each of the game’s four Vault Hunters with loads of different abilities and playstyle variations, and each Active Skill comes with its own separate skill tree.
In the guns department, manufacturers return to give weapons distinct features and traits. There are three new ones – Order, Ripper, and Daedalus – which is great to see. What’s even better though is that the combination of weapon variants is going through the roof with a new mix-and-match Parts system, which can see weapons drop with individual components from multiple manufacturers.
A new Ordnance slot in your loadout also lets you use explosives much more frequently – instead of being tied to limited ammo, which would see you save up grenades and rocket launchers for only the trickiest encounters, it now works on a cooldown timer. With the fear of wasting precious ammo and throwables removed, this means that you can treat yourself to some explosive action outside of those key moments too.
Movement looks to be more dynamic than ever, with sliding, dashing, slamming, grappling, and gliding all present. For traversing the expansive and “seamless” open zones of Kairos, you can also hop into a new vehicle called a Digirunner, which seems to share a lot of similarities with Destiny 2’s Sparrows. Only these have guns on them. Nice.
It’s not jaw-on-the-floor, revolutionary stuff, but Gearbox has compiled what looks to be a really solid suite of combat and gameplay mechanics here. I’m excited to see if they all work well together, and more importantly, if the studio’s confidence around rejuvenating its loot chase is well-founded.
Borderlands 4 is set to launch on Friday, September 12, but Gearbox teases at the end of the showcase that a hands-on event will take place in June. I can only imagine this will tie into Summer Games Fest, but that’s an educated guess on my part.
While you wait for Borderlands 4 to arrive, here are some of the best co-op games and best FPS games you can jump into instead.
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