Borderlands 2 release date and preorder

Page 66 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,488
152
106
Is this a game that I won't be able to beat solo? I know that I can only play at haphazard times, and when I have tried to play co-op on the first game, I was never able to because of my schedule. Mostly I am asking because I see posts about certain enemies being unbeatable solo, and I am not sure if they are required to be beaten to finish the game or not?
 

darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
The only thing a party is 'required' for are the 'raid' bosses that you can't access until well after you beat the game anyway. You'll be fine solo.
 

KidNiki1

Platinum Member
Oct 15, 2010
2,887
126
116
Is this a game that I won't be able to beat solo? I know that I can only play at haphazard times, and when I have tried to play co-op on the first game, I was never able to because of my schedule. Mostly I am asking because I see posts about certain enemies being unbeatable solo, and I am not sure if they are required to be beaten to finish the game or not?

i was able to finish the major storyline basically solo. i grouped up with some friends when the game first came out and killed stuff with them for the first few levels. but i made it through the main story quests all the way till the end encounter by myself with only a few places where i had trouble killing something. but i did not die that much and never felt like there was a quest i couldn't do on my own. and i am mediocre at fps games.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Everything can be done solo except the optional raid bosses and maybe the optional arena battles. I found Moxxi's Underdome not fun to solo in BL 1 so I haven't gotten around to trying Fink's arena in 2.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Everything can be done solo except the optional raid bosses and maybe the optional arena battles. I found Moxxi's Underdome not fun to solo in BL 1 so I haven't gotten around to trying Fink's arena in 2.

Fink's and Ore Chasm are more like the other arenas from Borderlands 1 such as the Circle of Duty at the end of Knoxx. I've never tried Moxxi's since I always played solo, so I can't tell you how it compares to those.

EDIT:

I thought I'd add that I beat the Captain Scarlett DLC last night, and was a bit disappointed when I got screwed out of getting more loot. :| I saw the badass achievement for finding the hidden loot area, and I thought it was on this ledge that looked like it would be accessible from climbing up the other side of The Leviathan. Well, it turned out that his other flipper was not scalable, and I fell through it. Unfortunately, after that point, the gate to get back in was closed and I couldn't access any more of the loot. :( I was going to toss loot over the edge so I could pick it back up and sell it at the vending machine in there.

None of it was really that good, and I took the most valuable stuff to begin with (since I wasn't sure if my idea was... solid :biggrin:), so it wasn't a total loss.

Although, I can't really find a weapon that I like using against Sand Worms. They're highly resistant to caustic weapons, so my super awesome E-Tech Caustic SMG doesn't really work against them and its damage is so ridiculously high for its level (level 30, 800+ damage). Oddly enough, I've been unable to find any other E-Tech weapon that has nearly that much damage on it. I found a Hyperion Incendiary E-Tech of the same level, and it was only about 350 damage, and had the usual Hyperion Michael J. Fox aiming system.
 
Last edited:
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
Is this a game that I won't be able to beat solo? I know that I can only play at haphazard times, and when I have tried to play co-op on the first game, I was never able to because of my schedule. Mostly I am asking because I see posts about certain enemies being unbeatable solo, and I am not sure if they are required to be beaten to finish the game or not?

I finished the game solo on the default difficulty with no problem, and I am not a particularly good FPS player. If you are having difficulty, you can just do side missions to level up and if lucky find some good gear. Also for most of the boss battles, there is usually one spot you can pretty much stay in and not take much damage while you whittle away at the enemy.

The second playthrough is more problematical solo unless you are really good or get lucky and find some nice gear. I was almost through on solo, but went online for the first time last night. If you find a strong party where some have high level gear, it is much, much easier online. I just got sick of the final levels solo, where there are few checkpoints and you have to play through a long level if you quit and restart.The problem with soloing TVH difficulty is you reach the level cap before the final levels, and if you are having trouble or dont have good gear, you cant do side missions to gain levels. I also was not very lucky finding good gear. I only found a couple of legendary items, and that was at lower levels, so they dont help you at all in the second playthrough.
 

Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,488
152
106
Thanks everyone. I wish I was able to play co-op since it looks like it would really be fun that way, but it is good to know it isn't required since I probably won't have the opportunity to play co-op.
 
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
Thanks everyone. I wish I was able to play co-op since it looks like it would really be fun that way, but it is good to know it isn't required since I probably won't have the opportunity to play co-op.

Well, you could always just join a random online game. I did that a few times and it was fun, much easier than soloing, and no one verbally abused me even though I am a mediocre at best FPS player.

Be aware though that if you want the satisfaction of finishing the game solo, you cant go back and solo what you accomplished online.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Golden Keys that will be active all weekend:

K3KJ3-3RT95-KXB3B-BBTBT-CB6KH
W3KTT-ZW39K-56TJ3-J333T-X9FKH
5TCTJ-XC3S5-C6JJT-3JTTT-HFBW9
C3C3J-KFTHW-WX3JJ-3BTJ3-ZR6B9
WTKT3-BSJSK-5XBTT-B333T-963SF
 
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
Golden Keys that will be active all weekend:

K3KJ3-3RT95-KXB3B-BBTBT-CB6KH
W3KTT-ZW39K-56TJ3-J333T-X9FKH
5TCTJ-XC3S5-C6JJT-3JTTT-HFBW9
C3C3J-KFTHW-WX3JJ-3BTJ3-ZR6B9
WTKT3-BSJSK-5XBTT-B333T-963SF

Nice. I have gotten better gear from that chest with the golden key than from the game play. Really hard to get good gear, or maybe I just have not been lucky. Also hard to farm the bosses for good gear unless you have some already to make killing them easier.
 

bguile

Senior member
Nov 30, 2011
529
51
91
Nice. I have gotten better gear from that chest with the golden key than from the game play. Really hard to get good gear, or maybe I just have not been lucky. Also hard to farm the bosses for good gear unless you have some already to make killing them easier.

Since they removed the lockouts on the "invincibles" for the time being, now is a great time to farm them. But you have to find a group that knows what they are doing.
 

bguile

Senior member
Nov 30, 2011
529
51
91
Not sure what you mean by this. Could you explain a bit more?

the invicibles..hyperious, master ghee, and pyro pete all had 24 hour lockout timers on them. i.e. you could run them once per day. Now they removed them for the time being. I heard its because there was a problem where people were being locked out longer than 24 hours but not really sure. Right now you can run them over and over (which is the way it should be imo, but anyway). I've joined a few games where people are doing it, so its a good time to try it if you haven't done so already. If your lucky you will find a group who knows what they are doing, or are already geared up enough to make the fights managable.

Those are the only places you can get seraph crystals from, and pete has a semi decent drop rate for legendaries as well.

The other bosses..warrior, bunker, terra, and vermi (who is very hard to spawn) all dont have lockout on them, and drop legendaries very rarely, but are still a decent source for purples and blues. They are much easier to do though.

edit: terra can be a pain in the ass, but he always drops a legendary slayer mod.
 

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
Golden Keys that will be active all weekend:

K3KJ3-3RT95-KXB3B-BBTBT-CB6KH
W3KTT-ZW39K-56TJ3-J333T-X9FKH
5TCTJ-XC3S5-C6JJT-3JTTT-HFBW9
C3C3J-KFTHW-WX3JJ-3BTJ3-ZR6B9
WTKT3-BSJSK-5XBTT-B333T-963SF

Thanks. Somehow I only saw the last code on Twitter and missed the others. Have over 30 stocked up now.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Thanks. Somehow I only saw the last code on Twitter and missed the others. Have over 30 stocked up now.

I had to check a few times that I got 'em all! :p I think they gave out one per award that they won at the Spike Video Game Awards.
 
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
the invicibles..hyperious, master ghee, and pyro pete all had 24 hour lockout timers on them. i.e. you could run them once per day. Now they removed them for the time being. I heard its because there was a problem where people were being locked out longer than 24 hours but not really sure. Right now you can run them over and over (which is the way it should be imo, but anyway). I've joined a few games where people are doing it, so its a good time to try it if you haven't done so already. If your lucky you will find a group who knows what they are doing, or are already geared up enough to make the fights managable.

Those are the only places you can get seraph crystals from, and pete has a semi decent drop rate for legendaries as well.

The other bosses..warrior, bunker, terra, and vermi (who is very hard to spawn) all dont have lockout on them, and drop legendaries very rarely, but are still a decent source for purples and blues. They are much easier to do though.

edit: terra can be a pain in the ass, but he always drops a legendary slayer mod.

Didnt know about that. Thanks for the information. BTW, if one buys some of the DLC, do they raise the level cap? I am maxed now and havent finished the TVH mode. It almost seems a waste of time to play and not be able to gain XP or level up.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Didnt know about that. Thanks for the information. BTW, if one buys some of the DLC, do they raise the level cap? I am maxed now and havent finished the TVH mode. It almost seems a waste of time to play and not be able to gain XP or level up.

Not yet. I read an interview with (I think it was) a Gearbox developer that said they will be raising the level cap soon; however, they will not simply raise the number and call it a day. My thought of this is that we'll probably see the talents changed/increased.

Given that I played WoW, I was always used to getting more talents whenever I received a level increase. It was mostly so you would still stick to one tree, which kept you in one play-style. If Blizzard didn't do that, you would have messes like Shamans that can heal and DPS exceptionally well because they'd have a heavy mix of both talents. Borderlands talents don't push the classes to be as niche as WoW, but some trees definitely do focus on certain aspects of a class, and I think a few of them could be tweaked to be even better.

Now, the reason why I went into all that expose is that during one of the live streams at some event, I asked a Gearbox developer about talents and the increasing of the level cap. The person seemed to express that Gearbox also had the same feelings over the talent system in the original game. It sounded like they wouldn't let the game fall prey to that again, and that's why I think they will adjust/increase the talents.
 

bguile

Senior member
Nov 30, 2011
529
51
91
Not yet. I read an interview with (I think it was) a Gearbox developer that said they will be raising the level cap soon; however, they will not simply raise the number and call it a day. My thought of this is that we'll probably see the talents changed/increased.

Given that I played WoW, I was always used to getting more talents whenever I received a level increase. It was mostly so you would still stick to one tree, which kept you in one play-style. If Blizzard didn't do that, you would have messes like Shamans that can heal and DPS exceptionally well because they'd have a heavy mix of both talents. Borderlands talents don't push the classes to be as niche as WoW, but some trees definitely do focus on certain aspects of a class, and I think a few of them could be tweaked to be even better.

Now, the reason why I went into all that expose is that during one of the live streams at some event, I asked a Gearbox developer about talents and the increasing of the level cap. The person seemed to express that Gearbox also had the same feelings over the talent system in the original game. It sounded like they wouldn't let the game fall prey to that again, and that's why I think they will adjust/increase the talents.

If I'm understanding what your saying just improvements to existing skills, no extra skill points? I really hope they dont do this.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
If I'm understanding what your saying just improvements to existing skills, no extra skill points? I really hope they dont do this.

Nah, I think we'll see more skill points, but also more skills and tiers to go along with it. Although, I do think the skill trees could use some tweaks.
 

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
For those that purchased the DLC, are you locked in a True Vault Hunter mode with these? I'm having a really hard time at level 40 and would hate to buy DLC and be completely frustrated.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
For those that purchased the DLC, are you locked in a True Vault Hunter mode with these? I'm having a really hard time at level 40 and would hate to buy DLC and be completely frustrated.

Yes, you can do the DLC in either playthrough, but keep in mind that the playthrough 1 instances will only have mobs around level 30. You'll mostly need to do quests to gain modest experience.
 

bguile

Senior member
Nov 30, 2011
529
51
91
Getting close to the 18th again. Wonder if there is a new DLC or char coming out before xmas?