The head of Borderlands 4 continues to accompany the first launch days with posts on social media. His latest post is accompanied by a community survey and a thesis that is hotly debated among players.
What is this option? We are talking about a FOV slider for consoles, which allows you to adjust the “Field of View” on Xbox and PlayStation. On X, Randy Pitchford, the CEO and President of Gearbox Entertainment, writes:
A quick note for console friends: FOV settings: I have some dreams in which a FOV setting could influence fairness. I can’t really talk about it yet, but I see that this is important for you, so we are currently looking into it.
In an attached survey, the lead developer wants to know what the community thinks. So far, 71.6 percent of participants have chosen the answer: “FOV slider or get out of here!” Another 20 percent would find a corresponding option helpful. Less than 10 percent could live without a FOV slider or simply don’t care.
“A FOV slider would work wonders”
How does the community react to the posts? For many players, the question doesn’t even arise. Rather, they wonder what he could mean by the deterioration of fairness.
- dolemitedawiz explains on X: “I have to be honest. I get headaches when I play the intro sections and have to stop. A FOV slider would work wonders.”
- CritsAndCaps writes on Reddit: “Could it influence fairness? PC has it and it’s crossplay. Case closed.”
- JoeChillRust suggests on Reddit: “Randy is hiding that the field of view is locked because it affects performance. Most likely limited by the [Xbox] Series S.”
- yolotrip shares his speculation on Reddit: “Does he mean that there will be some kind of competition in the future where you compete against other players instead of playing together against bots? Or did I completely misunderstand? That’s the only logical thing I can think of why a FOV slider could be considered unfair.”
An effect of FOV options is clear: Those who increase their field of view with the slider can better spot opponents approaching from one of the side areas. In competitive modes, this can be a significant advantage when opponents are playing (must) with a smaller field of view.
But there is an alternative advantage of FOV sliders that you might not be thinking about right now. In an online shooter like Warzone, lowering one’s FOV benefits from a kind of zoom effect that allows you to better aim at distant opponents. The player LUCKYCHAMU demonstrated this in a video on YouTube.
What do you think, does the console version of BL4 need a FOV slider? By the way, Randy Pitchford also commented on the performance of the game on PC a few days ago and what improvements the first update will bring: The head of Borderlands 4 warns: If you have a lousy gaming PC, don’t expect wonders from the Day 1 patch
