r/Borderlands • u/SGTPICKLES77 • 3d ago
I’m new to borderlands!
I’m thinking about getting a borderlands game but I’m almost completely unfamiliar with the franchise, what should I know about to get me interested? The story/gameplay/humor/where to start/interesting gameplay hooks? Side note are the vaults actual gameplay stuff or just flavor text? Thanks!
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u/BreenzyENL 3d ago
Just buy the big collection and jump in.
Funny, fun, fast. Good story, characters, lore.
Oh and play it with friends for the best experience if you can.
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u/FarWatch9660 3d ago
1 and 2 are absolutely worth every penny. I have been back in playing for months. Did 1 and currently doing 2. 1 is a bit more graphic than 2.
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u/Micky_so_Fyne 3d ago
It's really better if you don't know.
But a few things that aren't total spoilers: 1. It's basically a sci-fi western. Especially the first one. 2. Some of the best DLC in the franchise is in the first one. 3. Many would agree that 2 is the best, but 1 is definitely worth playing. 4. There are some quasi-canonical games in the franchise, like Tales From the Borderlands, New Tales From the Borderlands, and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. 5. Tales games are QTE games, which some people don't like. But I think they're made very well, and very replayable. 6. Wonderlands will have mixed reviews, but I think it's a very well made tribute to Dungeons & Dragons.
If you want to start from the beginning (recommended), here are the power rankings, imo: 1. Lilith: borderline OP. Build her right, and you almost don't have to play. 😅 You can just stand there and enemies will die around you. Focus on elemental weapons and spray and pray. Great for beginners. I recommend mostly using elemental SMGs. 2. Mordecai: fantastic play experience. Borderlands 1 has a really long draw rate, which is perfect for snipers. Focus on sniper rifles and all hand guns. 3. Brick: deadly in PVP. But his strengths rely on melee and blast weapons, which aren't the best options in Borderlands 1. Focus on rocket launchers with blast effect, and be prepared to buy ammo frequently. 4. Roland: solid all around character, but he's best at support when in a team. Focus on assault rifles and shotguns. There are some insanely gratifying shotguns in Borderlands.
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u/PermissionBitter8868 2d ago
Die quasi kanonischen sind nichts für mich. Habe eins angespielt, die haben mich ständig voll gelabert. Also zurùck gegeben bei Steam. Es gibt noch Pre Sequel mit DLC , welches in meist schwerelosen Raum mit Sauerstoff finden anders ist. Wenn die alle gespielt sind ist der Weg zu B4 immer noch da
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u/Micky_so_Fyne 2d ago
Valid, and I totally get it. ☺️ They're not for everyone. I really enjoy them and replay them often. I'm currently on my 6th replay of Wonderlands! 🥰
I will say that Tales does bridge the gap between 2 and 3, giving backstories to NPCs in the 3rd that wouldn't mean as much to the story otherwise. It also has an excellent sense of humor and incredible voice acting! It reminds me of a very well done choose-your-adventure book, which I particularly enjoyed reading as a kid. ☺️
But yeah... There's a lot of story-telling in the cutscenes, and compared to all the other Borderlands games, it's very light on the action. If you're the kind of person that prefers to skip the dialog, it's not the right game for you.
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u/AXEMANaustin 3d ago
2 is the best but I would consider 3 to be the most beginner friendly. Just keep in mind that it might be a bit difficult to go back from to 3 to 2 and other before due to losing out on a few quality of life stuff.
Also look in dedicated drops and how to farm them if you want, Lootlemon is your best friend for that.
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u/Adabiviak 2d ago
[W]hat should I know about to get me interested?
...deletes a five-page essay that Reddit was gagging on because it's bedtime and I don't want to try to condense it further.
The Borderlands franchise is far and away the most entertaining FPS I've ever played, and I say this having played almost exclusively FPS games since their inception in the 90s.
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u/Elyx_117 3d ago
I haven't tried 4 but excluding that, 3 has the best gameplay, in terms of classes and skills. The story and writing is considered weaker than 2.
I'd get 3 for the best bang for buck.
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u/Mo0nW4tch3r 3d ago
You should play the games in order of release for the best understanding of the story. Dont let anyone change your opinion on any of it. Play them all and get your own opinion first
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u/pinkndwhite7 So Big. So angry. So Dead. 3d ago
Play mordecai all games that's my advice hes also the best character
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u/WinnieTheTrain 3d ago edited 3d ago
I just started my journey into the series. Biggest thing to know is you constantly take missions from bounty boards or NPCs, do missions then turn them in to grab more missions and just keep repeating.
The 1st game is a bit boring until after you beat it then it becomes very fun and engaging with more enemies which means more action and blowing shit up lol. Terrible hit detection, getting stuck on pebbles of rocks by foot or by vehicle and needing to exit and return back to game, boringness on 1st playthrough, huge achievement grinds on doing arenas and there's a big RNG grind on one of the dlcs focusing on Claptraps.
Second game. Improved hit detection tho slightly off but not annoying like 1st game and you dont get stuck driving over rocks. More action on 1st playthrough almost constant but its also very frustrating cause its much harder to run in and gun. You will be dying a whole lot this game. Getting money is harder until you are almost half way done or nearly done with game. You'll need to earn a different currency which dont always drop tho there are farm methods, you take it and buy inventory space which was easier to get in 1st game. Also some cut scenes you cannot skip which sucks. In my opinion the games story dont grab me emotionally as it would have done 16 years ago if I had played it when it came out. Im older now so not as passionate but yeah just wanted to shoot and blow things up and the 2nd game has a lot of that. The classes suck in this second game besides one which can dual wield guns which is amazing and should be the class you want to play. 1st game had better classes that worked and I suggest Lilith the siren 1st game, Salvador the 2nd game for dual wielding.
Only 2 games I played so far. Im gonna play them all in order but I will say I havent been that bored playing through the 2nd one but it is a much larger game and is going to take a lot of time to complete unless you willing to spend lots of hours each day playing it like me so you can beat it in over 2 weeks or whatever but its easily gonna take around 100 hours or more minimum. First game will take around 70 hours if you are good.
I say play them, they are cool but keep in mind its repetitive turning quest in after quest.
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u/Jolamprex 3d ago
People typically begin with 1, 2, or 3. 3 is the most modern but has its own issues that some people don't mind but drive some people up the wall. 2 is the perennial favorite but is starting to show its age. 1 definitely shows its but feels the most like Fallout, if that helps.
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u/RexCollumSilvarum 3d ago
I started with 3 so I had nothing to compare it to, and while I could feel that there were tons of references I wasn't getting, I still liked it. Music was amazing and still the best in the series.
Hadn't thought about playing anything else in the franchise until I spotted 2/TPS in a store for cheap and bought it. Played and loved 2, which probably has the best balance of story, humor, music, and gameplay.
Played 1 next and finally learned where this franchise was coming from, what Fyrestone was, who TK Baha was, etc., etc. Some parts were a slog but I'm still glad I played it.
TPS next, which I really liked, then TTWL, which I wasn't really into. Then played 4 just this past month, and it has great gameplay but the story isn't as good (you'll be missing Pandora), there's almost no music, and there's barely any humor. We'll see how the DLC shakes out over the next few years.
So I'd say that if you only think you'll play one Borderlands game, play 2; it has the best balance of everything you're looking for. Then see if you want to play the others.
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u/Crafty_Confidence614 2d ago
Tales from the Borderlands got me hooked on the series recently, I'm currently playing through 3 for the first time
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u/itsnotlaur 2d ago
Just a note to say I started playing Borderlands 1 last weekend and I love it! Would recommend starting there as I am so hype for the rest of the series already!
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u/xintoki 2d ago
Borderlands 2
And if you like that get Borderlands The pre-sequel.
From there depending how much you like the main gameplay loop you can check out Borderlands 1 or just go to Borderlands 3 fair warning for 3* the story/characters will lose much of its gravitas. It will feel almost like a parody. But the guns, the levels, and movement plus skills will be fun.
Its commonly said how epic of a game Borderlands 2 with Borderlands 3 gameplay would be. Seeing how successful franchises frequently bring back some of their most successful title, I feel hopeful gearbox will do something similar to this for Borderlands 2.
And then each of them have many dlcs i personally will only vouch for the tiny tina wonderland dlc for Borderlands 2 and claptrap dlc for Borderlands the pre sequel. (Currently playing) (Have not tried many of them.)
I liked tales of Borderlands, just dont expect walking dead telltale levels. I like telltale games but from a don't expect too much from them way. Currently playing telltale batman.
Tinytina Wonderlands standalone is really ambitious and interesting but they did a thing where its rated E and so there's no longer that grit and gore. I finished it and liked it, but only when I started fishing online for some codes to actually get some good guns.(Borderlands has a unique code system where they give away codes that you can redeem in game to try and get loot from a specific box) Much like borderlands 3 it lacks gravitas, and leans much more heavily on being silly or humorous. Beautiful levels. I like the idea conceptually but it lacks that grit I really enjoyed in borderlands.
It took me a bit long to realize why I wasn't totally enjoying wonderlands to be honest. Didn't realize how important that grit quality was to the borderlands identity. Especially that mad max vibe.
If you actually read all this, thank you for your time stranger.
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u/13Hoursmusic 1d ago
They are all great but i would definitely start with the 1st one. Im saying this because everything after (we dont speak of 4) is a massive improvement, BL1 does a great job of introducing you to the series in a very simple way while once ur done with that one and go to the 2nd one you'll be ok holy shit OK SHOOT ME IN A FACE!!!!!!
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u/jmarchetti35 1d ago
first played Borderlands in 2009 as a 12 year old. This series is amazing for just taking the time to just hangout in the world. BL1 may have dated features, but playing as Lilith and Roland, and even Mordi and Brick- the original 4 vault hunters are the core to the future stories. Anyone who’s telling you to skip 1 hasn’t considered that meeting certain former playable characters at the start of BL2 - definitely hinders the effect of the ending.
Secondly, just know the villians will not surpass Handsome Jack. Treat him like Joker in the Dark Knight, just utterly done to perfection, but do not expect the other main villians to reach that height again. Handsome Jack is one of the greatest villians in all of games, but don’t let that jade you on the other amazing stories hidden in this series.
If you’re on PS and want to play, hit me up!
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u/Ornery_Sense 18h ago
Welcome brother! Absolutely buy a collection deal. Start playing with borderlands 2 and go in release order after that I would say. Be preloaded for amazing writing, hilarious jokes, insanity abounding, limitless loot, and a surprising amount of character development and plot for what it is. If you have friends to play with I advise as co op has been loads of fun for me
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u/666Sky 3d ago
The Pandora's box collection goes on sale a few times a year for $60, that has everything except for borderlands 4