Borderlands 3 takes place story-wise several years after the second part. Here is a summary of the events of the previous parts and a first small look at Borderlands 3.
In two weeks it will happen, the long-awaited release of Borderlands 3 is coming – seven years after the second part. Starting September 13, 2019, old and new faces from the series will return to your screens, restoring peace and unrest in the familiar manner on Pandora, and probably not just there. Anyone who is now wondering which characters are involved and what Pandora is all about is exactly right here.
Warning Spoilers: If you haven’t played the Borderlands series and prefer to be surprised, do not read on!
What is Borderlands 1 about?
The first part of the series revolves around the search for a vault key – more specifically, for its individual parts. To do this, one must complete quests on a planet called Pandora and, above all, take down bosses.
What do you need to know about the backstory? Pandora is a planet ruled by bandits and outlaws. After rumors about so-called vaults spread, a true gold rush broke out. These vaults are remnants of an alien race known as Eridians and are said to hold their treasures and valuable materials. However, the initially icy planet did not bring the desired wealth and was abandoned by many.
What happened next with Pandora? As the multi-year winter on Pandora came to an end, the ice melted, and flora and fauna emerged, the settlers and workers who remained faced life and death. Pandora quickly became a lawless place where violence ruled.
How does Borderlands 1 start? At this point, the first game in the series begins. Players are dropped at a location called Firestone as Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, or Roland, who represent your playable classes. There, you encounter the robot Claptrap and Angel, who introduces herself as the protector of the vault.
You now smash your way through some bandits and eventually find an object at the first boss that turns out to be part of the vault key. At the same time, Commander Steele, the leader of the so-called Crimson Lance on Pandora, demands that you hand over all Eridian artifacts.
During the journey, you reach New Haven, the largest civilization left on Pandora. There, you learn from Patricia Tannis about the locations of the other vault key fragments. However, when the last boss has no part, it turns out that Tannis has had it all along and is working with the Crimson Lance.
How does the story end? When Steele opens the vault, however, there are no treasures inside, but a monster named the Destroyer. It kills her, and players must defeat it. The guardian Angel then reveals that she knew about the monster, but it had to be defeated.
What is Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel about?
The Pre-Sequel tells the story of what happened before the second part and what led to Handsome Jack’s views.
How does the Pre-Sequel start? Here you help Jack – without Handsome – as Nisha, Claptrap, Athena, or Wilhelm (later Aurelia and Jack “the Doppelganger” joined) to save the Helios space station. Helios is a station of the Hyperion Corporation, an influential arms manufacturer. It is equipped with a powerful laser that was installed by Jack (then still John). It contains the Eye of the Destroyer, our final boss from the first part.
After you rescue Jack from Helios from Elpis, he devises a plan on how to regain the space station. After defeating the attacker Col. Zarpedon on Helios, he reveals the existence of a vault.
Are the vault hunters playing Jack’s game? Jack, who is now at the top of Hyperion, is determined to find this vault. However, his power trip, already hinted at there, is thwarted by Lilith, Roland, and Moxxi, who stand against him.
What made Jack become Handsome Jack? Ultimately, Jack does get an artifact from the vault into his hands. This artifact contains a vision that shows Jack a powerful alien warrior. However, Lilith destroys it and disfigures Jack’s face. As a result, Jack becomes the masked Handsome Jack and vows revenge on the vault hunters and the planet.
How does Borderlands 2 continue?
The second part of the series reveals the treasure that was in the vault of the first part: Eridium. This valuable material causes power struggles on Pandora, with the Hyperion chief Handsome Jack at the top.
He wants to civilize the planet, eliminate all vault hunters, and strengthen his power – any means are right for him. Therefore, he tries right at the beginning of Borderlands 2 to blow up the players.
How does Borderlands 2 start? Escaping this fate, you meet as a vault hunter Maya, Salvador, Axton, or Zer0 (via DLCs also Gaige and Krieg) with Claptrap, who leads you to Sir Hammerlock. We also meet another old acquaintance, the so-called AI Angel, who again guides us through the story.
At the request of Sir Hammerlock, you kill some bandits to clear the way to Sanctuary. Sanctuary is a city and the headquarters of the so-called Crimson Raiders. A resistance group made up of our vault hunters from the first part of the Borderlands series.
What awaits you in Sanctuary? Upon arrival, however, you learn that the leader Roland has been kidnapped. In search of him, you find the legendary Firehawk, who turns out to be Lilith. Her powers as a Siren have immensely increased due to the Eridium outbreak.
After you rescue Roland, you devise a plan on how to stop Handsome Jack. To do this, with the help of Mordecai and the explosives expert Tiny Tina, a Hyperion train is blown up, which supposedly carries the vault key.
Will you be betrayed by Angel? Unfortunately, the train turns out to be a trap, but you escape it through a won boss fight. Angel then suggests using the energy core obtained to shield Sanctuary against Hyperion. But this also turns out to be an ambush, Sanctuary loses its shield, gets attacked, and must be teleported away.
Angel then asks for forgiveness, she was forced to. She reveals her whereabouts and the plan that Jack is pursuing. He uses her powers to charge the vault key. There, he wants to awaken the warrior he was shown in the vision from the Pre-Sequel.
Who is Angel anyway? In a spectacular rescue operation, Angel’s identity is revealed; she is a Siren and Jack’s daughter. Unfortunately, she doesn’t survive, and Jack manages to kill Roland and kidnap Lilith as a substitute.
How does the story end? Finally, upon arriving at the vault, Handsome Jack has already awakened the warrior. Players must defeat him and kill Jack. Afterward, in the attempt to destroy the vault key, a map is opened that shows other vaults throughout the universe.
Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary as a transition?
How does the Commander Lilith DLC start? After the events in Borderlands 2 and the death of Roland, Firehawk Lilith now leads the Crimson Raiders. Meanwhile, Sanctuary is attacked by Col. Hector and brought under his control. Thus, the vault key also falls into his hands.
The players must now fight through zombie plants that Hector has infected. Afterwards, the scattered Raiders are united in all directions and meet Vaughn, a character from Tales from the Borderlands.
And how does the story end now? After exploring the environment, it comes to finding an antidote against the infection caused by Hector. After some obstacles, the Raiders can produce the antidote and face the fight against Hector, which they of course win.
How does Borderlands 3 connect now?
Several years after the previous events on Pandora – Tiny Tina is now not so tiny anymore – two new sirens come into play. The Calypso twins Tyreen and Troy lead a fanatical vault cult, the “Children of the Vault.” They both bear the characteristic siren tattoos. This is unusual because Troy is the first man in the series to have these features.
What other characters does Borderlands 3 offer? Besides these two new characters, there is also a reunion with many old acquaintances: first and foremost, of course, the robot Claptrap, as well as Maya, Moxxi, Marcus, and Sir Hammerlock, but also Rhys from Tales from the Borderlands. Will Jack also return to our screens? We do not know.
What are the playable classes? What we do know is which vault hunters will be playable. These are soldier Moze, siren Amara, Beastmaster FL4K, and Zane the assassin. The world appears to be more diverse than Pandora; the trailers showcase various environments, but with the usual bang in terms of weapons and vehicles.
What else awaits the player in Borderlands 3? The Borderlands series has always remained true to itself. The graphic style, the quotes, the dark humor, the brutal firepower – one has never been bored. Also, Borderlands 3 seems to follow this manner narratively: you continue to smash bandits and other poor crazy people in the name of the vault. This time, among other things, it is fanatical cultists in a varied environment, which makes you want to dive into one adventure after another.
And why was such a secret made about Borderlands 3, you can find out here:
