Borderlands 3 was first playable on April 30 in Los Angeles at a major gameplay reveal event. Our author Leya was there and found 7 things from gameplay and features that make the game much better than its predecessors.
Borderlands 3 stays true to its roots and will not change the loot shooter at its core. There will again be a classic season pass and several DLCs that expand the base game.
Borderlands 3 does not rely on an extensive live service like Destiny 2 or The Division 2.
However, there will be some modernizations and quality-of-life improvements that will definitely enhance Borderlands 3. Overall, I was able to play the loot shooter for 180 minutes, and the following improvements stood out to me.
Borderlands 3 vs Borderlands 2: What’s new, what are the differences?
Our character has more personality
The character now has many more voice lines. What is said adapts to the respective situation in the story or when we encounter NPCs.
I played among others the Siren Amara and encountered the Siren Lilith. In Borderlands, Sirens are mysterious women with special powers and glowing tattoos. My Amara and Lilith talked about their tattoos during our encounter.
This means that when I play as Amara, she will react differently to Lilith than the other three characters, Moze, Zane, and FL4K.
In the predecessor titles, the character could already speak. However, in Borderlands 3, there are more voice lines that fit the character and the events around them. This subtle change helps to immerse oneself deeper in the game because the conversations feel more real.
There are 3 skill trees with switchable action skills
Each character has three skill trees with different abilities. In Borderlands 2, you unlock a first skill with each character, and then there is a specialization with the skill trees.
In Borderlands 3, there are now three action skills for each character that they unlock at level 3. The three action skills can be switched at any time, with one being equipped.
The exception is the character Zane. He can have two action skills active at the same time, but will then lose his grenade slot. Later on, there are also passive abilities and modifications to the skills in the skill tree.
Overall, there will thus be more options for builds and experiments than in previous installments. This gives Borderlands 3 more depth in gameplay.
The map is three-dimensional and that’s just great!
This adjustment may seem small at first, but it is a true blessing for orientation-challenged birds like me. The map of Borderlands 3 is now three-dimensional and can be viewed from any perspective.
In the predecessor, it often happened that I followed the quest marker but still couldn’t find my way. The objective is sometimes above or below me, and I just don’t notice it. This is no longer a problem with the new map.
The map can be rotated and shows the exact “floors”:
Loot can no longer be lost
There is again a home base like in every Borderlands. This is now called Sanctuary 3 and is a complete spaceship that takes you to different planets. That’s already a cool novelty in itself.
What I particularly liked here is that there is a box where all the loot can be found. Everything you might have overlooked in previous encounters jumps out of this box. This way, you won’t miss out on any epic weapons anymore.
Especially a loot shooter like Borderlands thrives on its special items. The “lost-and-found box” is therefore a practical addition.
The sounds have been significantly improved
Borderlands 3 has 25 times more unique weapon sounds than part 2. This is clearly audible. Some weapons or shot types can now be recognized by the sound.
However, the improvement in sounds does not stop here. While playing, I had the impression that overall more sound nuances were introduced. There are no more metallic sounds. Even picking up money was even more enjoyable than usual because the cashing sound just sounds richer.
Anyone watching gameplay material should pay attention to the sounds.
The controls are smoother – driving is now easier
During our hands-on, we played on a PC, but an Xbox controller was connected. At least with this, a noticeable improvement in controls can be felt.
This applies to the use of weapons, but especially with vehicles it is noticeable. In Borderlands 2, driving is a challenge in itself, as the vehicles react quite sluggishly and clumsily. How often I got stuck there and fell off cliffs was sometimes quite frustrating for me.
In Borderlands 3, driving has become much smoother, and I’ve heard the same from other testers.
NPCs can now revive you
It has always been common for other players to revive you in Borderlands. In Borderlands 3, even NPCs have this ability.
When you are traveling with characters that are relevant to the story and accompany you on the mission, they help in combat. Just as we, as players, can also revive the NPCs.
Borderlands 3 is an absolute co-op game, but some players also enjoy experiencing the campaign for themselves. This feature is particularly practical for solo players.
It’s also not like it makes Borderlands 3 easier. The NPCs do not revive you every time, and I have also died a few times.
Borderlands 3 is even smoother than its predecessors: These 7 changes stood out to me particularly while playing. Other testers might have made a different selection. But especially the subtle adjustments, such as the sound or that the character now speaks more and “intelligently”, make the difference for me.
Another adjustment is the shared loot, and this is also an improvement:
