Borderlands 3 bids farewell to a weapon element from its predecessor. Slag is replaced by a new element and has a new effect.
Weapons in Borderlands 3 have different elements. However, one element from the predecessor does not make it into the third installment. “Slag” disappears and is replaced by the new elemental type that acts like nuclear radiation. It is supposed to be quite different and logical, but it’s still not entirely clear.
This was Slag in Borderlands 2: Those who have played Borderlands 2 will surely remember the element “Slag”. It didn’t deal much damage itself, but it applied a nice debuff to enemies. This, in turn, caused opponents to take increased damage from all other sources for a while.
This allowed even large enemies to be quickly defeated. Other battles, however, were nearly impossible without Slag, and only the saving debuff on the boss made them manageable.
Randy Pitchford explained that “Slag is gone” and has been replaced by something “more meaningful”. Now there’s the new elemental damage type that acts like nuclear radiation. It weakens the opponent and makes them susceptible to other attacks while also applying a DoT effect (damage over time).
Where the major difference from Slag is now, apart from the DoT, is not entirely clear from Pitchford’s words.
Community is confused: Even on Reddit, fans are puzzling over this statement. While they are happy that Slag is gone, they still don’t see the significant difference to the new “nuclear” elemental type. They hope that they won’t have to constantly switch weapons again. In Borderlands 2, it was necessary to first apply the Slag debuff to enemies and then properly wound them with another weapon. If Slag was simply renamed, that would not be progress.
How exactly this nuclear element differs in effectiveness from Slag or whether it is just a name change with an additional “damage over time” effect remains to be seen.
Cortyn says: Personally, I enjoyed being the “Slagger” member of the team, coloring enemies purple to make it easier for teammates to rack up their kills and advance the group. It had something of (very effective) support abilities. I hope that the new element also offers a similar utility.
Do you think it’s good that Slag is a thing of the past? Or did you enjoy constantly switching weapons to apply the debuff?
