Once you finish the campaign in Borderlands 3, there will still be more stuff to do, according to Gearbox.
At a panel at PAX West this last Friday, August 30, Gearbox Software, developer of the Borderlands franchise, revealed some last bits of information on the latest entry in the series, Borderlands 3. With just two weeks left before the September 13 release date, there isn’t much left to show off about the game but post-story game modes and DLC plans, so the panel discussion focused on those topics.
Specifically, the PAX panel announced details on the Borderlands 3 take on New Game+ called True Vault Hunter, a higher difficulty level called Mayhem mode, and the Guardian Rank mechanic. True Vault Hunter mode, activated in the post-game of Borderlands 3, makes the enemies tougher and the loot higher level compared to Normal mode rewards. Whether players select Normal or True Vault Hunter when starting a new campaign, character’s mission progress is unique to each playthrough but, Vault Hunters’ stats and equipment are shared across both modes.
Mayhem Mode also activates after completing the campaign and allows players to operate a mysterious terminal aboard Sanctuary III, Borderlands 3’s hub area, that offers three Mayhem Mode difficulty levels. Enabling one of these Mayhem Modes modifies the game in several key ways: enemies get more health, shields, and armor, while player characters get bonus cash, Eridium, experience gains, and chances for better loot. Mayhem Mode also applies a random selection of modifiers called Mayhem Mods to every planet you visit in the game. One example of a Mayhem Mod given at the panel was “You’re a Wizard,” which reduces the damage players do with normal bullets but increases their elemental damage.
Guardian Rank is essentially a renaming of a mechanic from previous Borderlands titles. As in the previous Badass Rank system, players unlock incremental stat improvements that apply to all their Vault Hunters. As they gain experience, players fill a special Guardian Rank XP bar. Each bar filled unlocks a Guardian Token, which can be spent to unlock bonus stats across three distinct trees.
As for DLC plans, the panel revealed a schedule for some seasonal events, takedowns, new missions and cosmetics, as well as Campaign DLC – here’s just a taste of what’s on the horizon this fall and winter: