TheBorderlandsfranchise is famous for many things: lightning-fast gameplay, hilarious characters, and more guns than a person can dream of. However, a topic not as often discussed within the community is difficulty, thoughBorderlands 4could make a significant change to that aspect of the series.
Typically,Borderlandsplayers only have access to a single difficulty type upon starting the game. This means the player will not see a notable change in difficulty until near the end of the game.Borderlands 4could change this by giving access to varying levels of difficulty as soon as players start a new character.
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Starting With a Higher Difficulty in The Borderlands
As most fans of theBorderlandswill likely already know, there already exists various levels of difficulty within the franchise. One of these levels of difficulty is known asTrue Vault Hunter Mode, and it is unlocked after the player beats the main story.Borderlands 3also introduced a new difficulty mode the game known as Mayhem Mode, which offers unique modifiers that shake up gameplay in interesting ways. These modes allow the player to pursue higher levels of difficulty in endgame content, creating a much more varied experience. However, the fact that these difficulty levels can only be unlocked at the very end of the game’s main story poses a problem for those who want a more difficult experience from the beginning.
By the time players reach the end of the game, many may find themselves wanting to put it down. Having to play the entire game in order to be able to change the difficulty to a preferable level can be seen as somewhat of a hassle to many. Allowing for players to access harder difficulties from the very beginning would change the way players interact with the game, possibly having them play for longer than they would have without it.Borderlands 4could change this minor featureinto something that revitalizes the starting experience.
To clarify, the varying levels of difficulty the player would have access to in the very beginning wouldn’t necessarily replace True Vault Hunter Mode, but could function similar to it. For example, changing aspects such as damage statistics and enemy types are things True Vault Hunter Mode already does. But rather than replacing True Vault Hunter Mode, these difficulty levels could be supplemental to it. The players can then stack these difficulty levels the same way True Vault Hunter Mode can be stacked with Mayhem Mode. Players who play at harder difficulties could also be rewarded with better drop rates forBorderlands' best legendary weaponsas well, allowing those who start on higher difficulties to make better builds faster.
The best part about thispotential feature forBorderlands 4is the fact that it would be entirely unobtrusive. For players that want to continue playingBorderlandsgames at a normal difficulty, they can continue to do so. But for players that want a more challenging experience, they can choose to play on a harder difficulty from the very start.Borderlands 3has already leaned into the idea of tweaking various aspects of the game, such as with the co-opetition and co-operation modes, which change how loot drops work for players and their friends. Different starting difficulties could become the next quality of life feature to come toBorderlands 4.
Though most aren’t surehow long fans will have to wait forBorderlands 4, hopefully varying levels of difficulty for the starting experience are being considered by Gearbox Software. After all,Borderlands 4is going to have to go above and beyond in order to outdo everythingBorderlands 3gave players.
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