What happens when you complete the story in Borderlands 3? Fresh details reveal what to expect in the endgame of this loot shooter. In addition to the Mayhem Mode, the developers have also introduced Guardian Ranks and True Vault Hunter – a kind of New Game Plus.
The conclusion of the story may represent the beginning of a long journey for many players in the hunt for better gear. Only then does the endgame of Borderlands 3 unfold. What it has to offer has now been explained in detail by Gearbox Software.
In this way, the mix of
- the Mayhem Mode
- the so-called Guardian Ranks
- and the “True Vault Hunter” mode
is intended to provide more variety and additional challenges in the long run.
We have already explained the Mayhem Mode separately: The new Mayhem Mode is set to provide an exciting endgame experience.
You can now learn what Guardian Ranks and True Vault Hunter are all about.
True Vault Hunter – the New Game Plus of Borderlands 3
What is True Vault Hunter? The “True Vault Hunter” mode is the so-called “New Game Plus” feature in Borderlands. Just like in Borderlands 2, this feature will also be available in the latest installment of the Borderlands series.
How does True Vault Hunter work? This optional mode is unlocked after completing the story campaign of Borderlands 3 on normal difficulty and can be activated at will.
With True Vault Hunter, players can tackle the campaign again at a higher difficulty level, retaining their previous level progress, XP, skills, and weapons and gear, meaning they do not start completely from scratch.
What makes True Vault Hunter unique: The enemies in the “True Vault Hunter” mode are tougher, and the loot is better than in the normal run. The mission progress is actually separate for the normal and the “True Vault Hunter” mode, but your stats and gear from Vault Hunter are shared between the two modes.
The Guardian Ranks – An Evolution of the Badass Rank Mechanic
What are Guardian Ranks? This is an additional progression system in the style of the Badass Ranks from Borderlands 2. You can gradually unlock smaller stat improvements that are always active for all your characters. Additionally, you can now also unlock some powerful buffs and cool rewards. This system is activated after the completion of the story.
This is how Guardian Ranks work: You level up these ranks after completing the story by earning experience points. Your progress can be read on a separate bar above the regular XP display.
For each filled bar, you receive a Guardian Token, which you can then use to unlock various bonus stats within three different stat branches. You select an improvement option from six randomly selected stats – two from each branch from a list of a total of 17 useful options.
Enforcer Branch
- Critical Damage
- Grenade Damage
- Weapon Damage
- Weapon Rate of Fire
- Melee Damage
- Vehicle Damage
Survivor Branch
- “Fight for Your Life” Duration
- “Fight for Your Life” Movement Speed
- Maximum Health
- Shield Capacity
- Shield Recharge Delay
- Shield Recharge Rate
Hunter Branch
- Precision
- Action Skill Cooldown
- Luck (Rare Drop Rate)
- Recoil Reduction
- Reload Speed
These stat improvements are already significant on their own. But there’s more. For a certain number of invested tokens, you will receive Guardian Rewards – specifically for the three categories of Enforcer, Survivor, and Hunter.
These special rewards are spread over 6 tiers. You receive them as soon as you have spent 10, 15, 25, 35, 50, or 75 tokens in the respective category. The rewards then include weapon and character skins with which you can showcase your achievements and persistence, as well as passive bonuses that can greatly boost your power.
Here are some examples of such bonuses:
- additional damage for all shots while you are in “Fight for Your Life” mode
- you recover from “Fight for Your Life” with full health and fully charged shields
- extra ammunition from all picked up ammo packs
What do you think about these mechanics? A cool idea to make the endgame more attractive? Or do you find nothing appealing about these features?
