The Gamescom showcased new content from the endgame of Borderlands 3. There are familiar modes, but also a few innovations.
The Gamescom has started, and with it, a lot of new information about the big games of the coming months is flowing out. Leading the way is of course Borderlands 3, whose developers present plenty of new features and now talk more specifically about the endgame. In particular, two game modes were discussed: The Circle of Slaughter and the Trial Grounds.
What is the Circle of Slaughter? The Circle of Slaughter is likely familiar to fans of the series. These are various arena modes organized by the weapon manufacturer Torgue. In various arenas, players must defeat opponents in a total of 5 rounds, each consisting of several waves. Those who go down cannot be revived, and only those who survive all 5 rounds continuously will earn a reward at the end. If you want to impress the audience, you meet additional goals, such as melee kills, headshots, or kills via explosions. Torgue certainly appreciates that.
What is the Trial Grounds? At launch, there are 6 different Trial Grounds that players must first discover. Here, the “Overseer”, who belongs to the alien race of the Eridians, assigns players a task. Within a time limit, they must cleanse three areas of enemies for “testing for their master.” If successful, there is a large chest of loot at the end.
However, the quality of the loot can be drastically improved if certain bonus objectives are met. For instance, if you never go down in the Trial Grounds, have a large amount of time left, or take down a particularly tough opponent, you enhance your reward at the end of the round.
Both the Circle of Slaughter and the Trial Grounds place a strong emphasis on “Replayability,” meaning the ability to play these contents repeatedly. Whether they will be engaging enough for players to want to tackle them multiple times remains to be seen.
Is there more to come? In addition to these modes, there are expected to be more endgame contents, which will be discussed in more detail in the coming weeks. There is definitely something like a “Guardian System” which has been referred to as “Badass Ranks 2.0.”
The Badass Ranks were a system in Borderlands 2 where players could complete achievements to earn points. These points could then be distributed to permanent character bonuses that applied to all characters across an account. Raids against particularly nasty monsters are also expected. However, there has been no new information about those.
What do you think of the current plans for the endgame of Borderlands 3 and what you have seen so far? Is that enough for you, or do you need more to buy the game?
