Borderlands 2 release date and preorder

[zinfamous]

....and now that I am way late to the party, a few questions:

is the playthrough+DLC similar to BL 1? meaning, is the leveling terrible and I need to wait until 2 playthroughs before even unlocking the DLC to be properly leveled and get proper gear?

also, these keys people keep posting...that is to unlock some loot chest somewhere and get phat gear, right? does it drop at whatever level you are?

 

[Aikouka]

is the playthrough+DLC similar to BL 1? meaning, is the leveling terrible and I need to wait until 2 playthroughs before even unlocking the DLC to be properly leveled and get proper gear?

Yes. The enemies do not level with you just like in the original. Keep in mind that there are three playthroughs now. Normal, Vault Hunter Mode and True Vault Hunter Mode.

also, these keys people keep posting...that is to unlock some loot chest somewhere and get phat gear, right? does it drop at whatever level you are?

Yes and Yes. They're called SHiFT codes, and you enter them in at the starting game menu. Go to Extras -> Shift. You'll need to register for it, and if you do it from the game, you get a golden key.

 

[DaveSimmons]

FYI, You find the loot chest at around level 9, and then can go back to use keys whenever you want to. That's also the time when you get access to a cross-character bank like in the Moxxi DLC of BL1.

Go back 1-2 pages in this thread for a post by Keith that has a link to a site listing honey bunches of oat-codes that can still be used for more golden keys.

The DLC does have level ranges in playthrough 1, but the only ones I know offhand are Scarlet's = 19-30 and Tiny Tina = intended for after finishing playthrough 1, level 29-up

 

[frozentundra123456]

Yes. The enemies do not level with you just like in the original. Keep in mind that there are three playthroughs now. Normal, Vault Hunter Mode and True Vault Hunter Mode.



Yes and Yes. They're called SHiFT codes, and you enter them in at the starting game menu. Go to Extras -> Shift. You'll need to register for it, and if you do it from the game, you get a golden key.

You are correct about their being 3 levels, but technically they are Normal, True Vault Hunter, and Ultimate Vault Hunter. In UVH mode, it is almost impossible to kill anything without slagging it first, which makes it quite frustrating for single player.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I haven't tried UVH yet, but at least the mechromancer, siren and commando classes have skills that can add slagging effects while you use another weapon, that might make single-player work better.

For example Mechro has 2 - interspersed outburst adds a slag attack to your first shot after not firing, and -???- lets you shoot deathtrap to add any elemental effect which I'd expect to include slag.

 

[zinfamous]

hmm, only 2 hours in on Maya (loved Siren in BL1 so there you go). Got me a green level 5 Maliwan fire repeater and the happiness returns so quickly

 

[frozentundra123456]

I haven't tried UVH yet, but at least the mechromancer, siren and commando classes have skills that can add slagging effects while you use another weapon, that might make single-player work better.

For example Mechro has 2 - interspersed outburst adds a slag attack to your first shot after not firing, and -???- lets you shoot deathtrap to add any elemental effect which I'd expect to include slag.

I havent tried mecromancer in UVHM. I knew about the second skill where deathtrap can deal elemental damage, but that is still kind of the same thing in that you have to have slag weapon equipped to shoot him first and then switch to a different type weapon. I wasnt aware that interspersed outburst could do slag damage. Right now, I have only tried UVHM mode with Zero, but will probably try it with the mecromancer next. The most effective combination I have found so far is slag followed by electrical.

I wasnt aware of the slag damage in siren and commando either. I played both through TVHM, but pretty much never used slag, since in the earlier games it didnt seem particularly effective.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Is that for Steam?

Hmm....Just tried it again now and it still works. Strange.

Anyway, thanks for the keys to everyone who is posting codes.

BTW, do you not get weapons in UVHM mode? So far I have redeemed about 7 or 8 keys in UVHM mode and not yet gotten a weapon. Just class mods, shields and grenades, none of which were very useful.

Never had this bad luck in earlier playthrough, even redeeming two or 3 keys, I usually got a nice weapon or two.

 

[Aikouka]

hmm, only 2 hours in on Maya (loved Siren in BL1 so there you go). Got me a green level 5 Maliwan fire repeater and the happiness returns so quickly

I still miss Phasewalk aka GTFOWalk.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I still miss Phasewalk aka GTFOWalk.

Me too! And the elemental damage relics so you can add the element of your choice to your class skill. The elemental stuff we get in BL 2 is much less useful -- like the siren and mechro fire damage when half of the enemies resist fire.

"Your bullets do fire damage in fight for your life", no thanks Willhelm will just laugh harder.

 

[DaveSimmons]

FYI, Amazon has the Pyscho character DLC for $5 - ASIN: B00CORAMDM

Possibly other DLC, I didn't look

 

[zinfamous]

Me too! And the elemental damage relics so you can add the element of your choice to your class skill. The elemental stuff we get in BL 2 is much less useful -- like the siren and mechro fire damage when half of the enemies resist fire.

"Your bullets do fire damage in fight for your life", no thanks Willhelm will just laugh harder.

hmmm, so does this mean I shouldn't trait into elemental damage lines? like the chaotic tree for Siren, and say spending Badass points on the proc and ele damage percentages?

Is corrosive still quite good?

yeah i miss phasewalk. I remember when the BL2 previews came out and phasewalk was replaced with lock. I watched it...was not impressed. I think my toon is at level 8 or 9 now--I can barely think to use that skill. Like in BL1, I almost never used the other class skills...well, I guess Roland's was also quite useful. But the berserker and Hunter class skills were always so meh to me.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Corrosive is great for almost all enemies except the acid / corrosive using ones.

Respecs are cheap so you can try different things and even change skills based on what class mods you find or buy. (to get at least 1 point in whatever the skills the green / blue class mod adds skill points to)

The most useful skills for me in levels 10-25 were the middle tree one that gives you healing orbs on kills, and the left tree to extend the length of the phaselock.

Fire is very useful early in the game, but all the mechs later on resist it so you want corrosion, shock or explosive damage most of the time instead.

 

[zinfamous]

Corrosive is great for almost all enemies except the acid / corrosive using ones.

Respecs are cheap so you can try different things and even change skills based on what class mods you find or buy. (to get at least 1 point in whatever the skills the green / blue class mod adds skill points to)

The most useful skills for me in levels 10-25 were the middle tree one that gives you healing orbs on kills, and the left tree to extend the length of the phaselock.

Fire is very useful early in the game, but all the mechs later on resist it so you want corrosion, shock or explosive damage most of the time instead.

ah, I see. reminds me of BL1, and particularly Knoxx--where corrosion seemed far more effective than others...well, shock as well, against all the armored and shielded raiders and such. so, elemental still really good, just level-dependent on the preferred element.

 

[Aikouka]

ah, I see. reminds me of BL1, and particularly Knoxx--where corrosion seemed far more effective than others...well, shock as well, against all the armored and shielded raiders and such. so, elemental still really good, just level-dependent on the preferred element.

Corrosive is particularly useful near the end because you end up fighting Hyperion practically the whole time. Although, I did use a lot of non-elemental weapons that had a very high fire rate. I've also found corrosive to be nice in the latest DLC.

One of the bad things is that unlike Borderlands, there aren't many super awesome elemental weapons that you have to get. The Defiler isn't in the game, and there is a Hellfire, but it isn't nearly as good.

 

[zinfamous]

The Defiler isn't in the game, and there is a Hellfire, but it isn't nearly as good.

well goddamn it all. Those were the two names I was just trying to remember, the SMG and Revolver that I needed to find again, after spending quite a bit of time trying to find better and better versions of them in BL.


btw--the link that KeithP posted earlier with the golden keys info mentions the cheat to use the same key(s) over and over again by setting the key folder to read only, and it seems confirmed to work as of 2 days ago (though there seems to be an update that has since occurred...)

Anyhoo, is this considered "bad form?" Seems no different to the Knoxx vault exploit, really. :\

 

[Martimus]

You get so many keys that cheating to get more seems completely unnecessary. I have nearly 100 keys, and there is almost no way I will use them all.

 

[bguile]

well goddamn it all. Those were the two names I was just trying to remember, the SMG and Revolver that I needed to find again, after spending quite a bit of time trying to find better and better versions of them in BL.


btw--the link that KeithP posted earlier with the golden keys info mentions the cheat to use the same key(s) over and over again by setting the key folder to read only, and it seems confirmed to work as of 2 days ago (though there seems to be an update that has since occurred...)

Anyhoo, is this considered "bad form?" Seems no different to the Knoxx vault exploit, really. :\

For single player its fine, do what you want its your game.

 

[Harrod]

I don't think I would care about someone using duplicated keys. I've opened the chest a few times and have noticed there are no game breaking weapons in there. I seem to see the same kinds of guns in the chest per level, and sometimes the same item is in there twice.

 

[Aikouka]

well goddamn it all. Those were the two names I was just trying to remember, the SMG and Revolver that I needed to find again, after spending quite a bit of time trying to find better and better versions of them in BL.

Given we've spoken a lot while playing the original, I get the feeling that you will find the sequel a bit lackluster. They've greatly improved on a few aspects, but I feel they've taken a few steps back in some areas and completely ignored others. Back when the game first came out, someone ran the numbers, and Borderlands 2 actually has less guns than the original. The issue is that they removed some of the customizations such as scopes, so you just don't have as many variations. Math's a bitch, Gearbox.

I also never realized it, but TotalBiscuit clued me in to this annoying game mechanic: developers turning the enemies into bullet sponges as a manner of increasing difficulty. That's pretty much all Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode is, and they also increased slag bonus damage to push you to use slag weapons.

I also wish they would fix some of the annoying menu bugs, but given the map in the original still doesn't always open when you hit M, I doubt they'll fix the annoyances any time soon. They're too busy with important things like polishing awful games and nerfing good sources of damage.

btw--the link that KeithP posted earlier with the golden keys info mentions the cheat to use the same key(s) over and over again by setting the key folder to read only, and it seems confirmed to work as of 2 days ago (though there seems to be an update that has since occurred...)

Anyhoo, is this considered "bad form?" Seems no different to the Knoxx vault exploit, really. :\

Eh, there's no competitive multi-player, so no one will really care. Although, I agree with others that Golden Keys are very common anyway. All you need to do is like Borderlands on Facebook and follow Gearbox Software and Randy Pitchford on Twitter and you'll never miss a code.

 

[zinfamous]

Eh, there's no competitive multi-player, so no one will really care. Although, I agree with others that Golden Keys are very common anyway. All you need to do is like Borderlands on Facebook and follow Gearbox Software and Randy Pitchford on Twitter and you'll never miss a code.

heh. well, I don't do facebook nor twitter, and I'm not going to, ever.

I realized that since this game isn't truly competitive, and these are all free, anyway, that it really doesn't/shouldn't matter. The idea is intriguing to me specifically because I just started, and would like to maybe get some good stuff at low level and then have those same chances again when I hit max level to get the good gear.

 

[frozentundra123456]

heh. well, I don't do facebook nor twitter, and I'm not going to, ever.

I realized that since this game isn't truly competitive, and these are all free, anyway, that it really doesn't/shouldn't matter. The idea is intriguing to me specifically because I just started, and would like to maybe get some good stuff at low level and then have those same chances again when I hit max level to get the good gear.

I have played through the two lower playthroughs and have gotten some weapons from the chest that were quite helpful. For uvhm mode though, it is a grind no matter what. Enemies can absorb so much damage no weapon really seems to give you an edge. Only thing that even seems to work at all is slag and electrical, and corrosive on the bots of course. I don't even bother with fire, and that was my favorite in the first game.

 

[bguile]

heh. well, I don't do facebook nor twitter, and I'm not going to, ever.

I realized that since this game isn't truly competitive, and these are all free, anyway, that it really doesn't/shouldn't matter. The idea is intriguing to me specifically because I just started, and would like to maybe get some good stuff at low level and then have those same chances again when I hit max level to get the good gear.

Most of the 'good' gear is either quest reward items (rubi, law and order, hail, etc) or legendaries which you won't find in the golden key chest. The stuff you do get out of there are purples and etechs which can carry you through normal and tvhm, but won't be very helpful for uvhm or raid bosses.

Editted to add:

Once in a very great while, gearbox will release new character skins and sometimes specific guns via golden keys.

 

[KidNiki1]

heh. well, I don't do facebook nor twitter, and I'm not going to, ever.

I realized that since this game isn't truly competitive, and these are all free, anyway, that it really doesn't/shouldn't matter. The idea is intriguing to me specifically because I just started, and would like to maybe get some good stuff at low level and then have those same chances again when I hit max level to get the good gear.

use the link that KeithP provided earlier... it's to a page that lists out the key codes that get posted on both facebook and twitter. it also has some codes from last year that may still work. i used them and got quite a few more keys.

http://orcz.com/Borderlands_2:_Golden_Key

 

[zinfamous]

use the link that KeithP provided earlier... it's to a page that lists out the key codes that get posted on both facebook and twitter. it also has some codes from last year that may still work. i used them and got quite a few more keys.

http://orcz.com/Borderlands_2:_Golden_Key

oh yeah. I referred to this one earlier--it mentioned the repeatable key trick, which is why I was asking

I already have 40 keys thanks to this; about 5 hours in