Borderlands 2 release date and preorder

[n7]

Well I didn't know that.

Did it have the rare item hunters though?

A ton of testing was done, and it all showed that +FRI didn't do anything except boost the chance of finding eridian weapons.

 

[bguile]

Hour long Borderlands 2 gameplay video with Randy Pitchford:

http://au.gamespot.com/shows/now-playing/index.html?event=borderlands_2_with_randy_pitchford20120828

awesome interview.

Heres another one: 1 hour long gameplay, they are micced up with Randy doing commentary.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/08/29/ign-au-pubcast-plays-borderlands-2

 

[skillyho]

Anyone get in on any beta gameplay on this? Wondering if my 6770 will be able to handle this on 19x12...

 

[Aikouka]

I don't recall hearing anything about a beta, but I don't see why your 6770 wouldn't be adequate. I would assume that Borderlands 2 will only be slightly more GPU intensive than Borderlands 1, which means if you can play the original at that resolution/settings, then you're probably fine.

Although, that may not be as truthful for nVidia users depending on how taxing PhysX ends up being.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I am profoundly disappointed that they saw fit to not include 4 player local co-op in a game that is totally based on co-op gameplay. I've actually decided not to buy the 4 copies I was planning on getting because of this.

The biggest problem is they invest in a feature that very, very few people will actually use. I read an interview with Insomniac Games a year or so ago where they included 2/4 player split screen in a game and less than 1% of the people who played it used the feature. It was more practical when we didn't have high speed internet and easily assembled LAN based systems, but now it just seems like a waste of resources that could be used to improve other areas of the game.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

question: I didnt start playing borderlands 1 until recently, and to be honest, im not bored with it at all. I preordered BL2 based on how much i liked BL1, but now im thinking i might just sell my code.

I could easily get a ton of play time with the first one (only about 30 hours in).
I have a million games that i still want to get around to playing
By the time im fully done with BL1, and some of the other games im playing, im sure i could pick this up for <20 (i only paid like 35 to preorder though)

If you were in my position, would you abandon BL1 after 1 playthrough and just play 2 instead, or should i just hold off on 2 for a while, and come back to it later?

 

[OCNewbie]

question: I didnt start playing borderlands 1 until recently, and to be honest, im not bored with it at all. I preordered BL2 based on how much i liked BL1, but now im thinking i might just sell my code.

I could easily get a ton of play time with the first one (only about 30 hours in).
I have a million games that i still want to get around to playing
By the time im fully done with BL1, and some of the other games im playing, im sure i could pick this up for <20 (i only paid like 35 to preorder though)

If you were in my position, would you abandon BL1 after 1 playthrough and just play 2 instead, or should i just hold off on 2 for a while, and come back to it later?

I'd say get as much out of BL1 now while you're having fun with it. In the same vein, I think it's good to reward companies that put out great games (assuming BL2 will be every bit as good as BL1 and then some) with a full price purchase. Whether you buy BL2 now, or later, I'd continue playing BL1 if you're enjoying it. BL2 will still be around when you're ready to move on from BL1, and if there are any bugs upon release, they will most likely be ironed out by the time you do make the transition.

 

[bguile]

question: I didnt start playing borderlands 1 until recently, and to be honest, im not bored with it at all. I preordered BL2 based on how much i liked BL1, but now im thinking i might just sell my code.

I could easily get a ton of play time with the first one (only about 30 hours in).
I have a million games that i still want to get around to playing
By the time im fully done with BL1, and some of the other games im playing, im sure i could pick this up for <20 (i only paid like 35 to preorder though)

If you were in my position, would you abandon BL1 after 1 playthrough and just play 2 instead, or should i just hold off on 2 for a while, and come back to it later?

If you are enjoying the original, then I suggest you keep playing it. Playing video games shouldn't be a chore, if you find one you like then play it. Otherwise whats the point?

As for whether or not to keep the pre-order for 2, well I would keep it for no other reason than to reward a good video game company.

 

[Aikouka]

Gearbox announced today that Borderlands 2 will be getting a season pass for the DLC. Similar to the first game, there will be four DLCs. Although, it is my wish that unlike the first game, none of them are like DLC 2! (The GameStop pre-order exclusive "Creature Dome" DLC is essentially like DLC 2) Anyway, the season pass will be $29.99, which is a $9.97 discount off the usual price of buying all DLCs separately ($9.99 each).

 

[zinfamous]

my biggest gripe with BL is that the community generally understands and accepts the notion that the game does not start, essentially, until your 2nd playthrough, right? (and was it actually play through 1.5, or something?).

To this end, you are "supposed" to wait until rerunning the same character through before you even begin the DLC--it's a loot issue, and the fact that the game is designed to make you preposterously over-leveled for all of it. I certainly understand the need for that--but it was a clear design/development flaw, right? It's not something that we expect to see again?

 

[Aikouka]

my biggest gripe with BL is that the community generally understands and accepts the notion that the game does not start, essentially, until your 2nd playthrough, right? (and was it actually play through 1.5, or something?).

To this end, you are "supposed" to wait until rerunning the same character through before you even begin the DLC--it's a loot issue, and the fact that the game is designed to make you preposterously over-leveled for all of it. I certainly understand the need for that--but it was a clear design/development flaw, right? It's not something that we expect to see again?

What you described is an issue that won't really affect any early adopters of the game. It affected those of us (myself included) that purchased the game with DLC already existing, because it was natural for us to do the content regardless of how high of a level we were. However, if we get Borderlands 2 at release, then chances are we will be max level before any DLC comes out.

However, how do you propose that Gearbox fixes the issue? The only possible suggestion that I can think of is enemy scaling. This did occur in Borderlands 1, but it was at a much more elementary level, and I'd go as far as to argue that it was a poor implementation. In the original, enemies would level when you hit certain points in the main story/quest line. So, when you beat the game, enemies would automagically level to your level. Secret Armory of General Knoxx took this a bit further and once you get the DLC, all enemies (in DLC3) were... I believe +1 (normal mobs) or +2 (badass mobs) levels over you. Just thinking about this gives me bad memories of the Call of Duty arena!

I think there were more issues dealing with the DLC than just it providing too much content, which in turn provided too much experience points. The lack of fast travel without using content mods was a pretty poor implementation. It felt like fast travel within the DLC was excluded to simply make them take longer as you had to run back and forth (DLC 1 and 4) or drive around (DLC 3). Oasis is your friend!

One of the issues that always bothered me was that Gearbox ignored the talents when they tacked on levels. What happened was that you gained 19 extra levels, but the talents remained the same. This meant that you could effectively grab about four more full talents, which lead to some rather powerful characters. Ultimately, talents when implemented in a progression-based* tree-style system need to be designed around balance. You try and avoid allowing players to grab multiple tree-defining talents, because it can make the game experience too easy.

*Note: As a quick explanation since I'm kind of using my own terms, "progression-based" means that you need x points in a tree to get a talent from that tree. The other common talent gating mechanic is level-based (e.g. Torchlight), which means you can grab a talent as long as you're a certain level.

I've tried to ask Gearbox about these possible issues cropping up in Borderlands 2, but I've never received a response. PAX is going on this weekend, and 2K will have another live stream. I'll try to see if they have any Gearbox developers on the stream, and if they do, I'll ask about leveling and talents with the DLCs. Oh, and I'm going to ask where my XCOM poster from Comic-Con is!

 

[Aikouka]

So, I went and pestered the developers during the PAX live stream, and got a few answers. I'm not sure if you'll necessarily like them much...

In regard to out-leveling content, I received two answers on that:
1) Tougher A.I. should make out-leveling not as much of a problem.
2) There are essentially three playthroughs in the game now. The two standard playthroughs are there, but there's also a new Vault Hunter+ mode (I think that's the name) that they described as a Playthrough 2.5. In this mode, everything will be max level.

In regard to too many talent points, not enough talents:
1) Gearbox recognized that there were definitely too many points to spend after the DLCs were released, and while they've only started planning out the DLCs, they haven't made any plans to raise the level cap yet. However, they did state that beefing up the trees was a possibility.

A couple little extra tidbits:

• The Golden Key is a one time use PER KEY. This is one of the pre-order bonus items that will open the special Golden Chest in Sanctuary.
• Bag upgrades and bank upgrades will be purchased through a sort of "black market" lead by Crazy Earl. The currency for this will be the eridium that you find around the world. There are other items that will be available through it, but they didn't really touch on it. Be aware that the bank is not the shared stash as there's a separate Claptrap bank thing that is shared.
• Mechromancer will be coming on October 16.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any footage or more details (other than the Mechromancer release date) about what went on during the Gearbox panel today at PAX. They were supposed to talk about some of the tough "raid bosses."

 

[Borealis7]

the mechromancer doesn't sound too exciting. there is already a "drop-in" pet in the form of the Turret. and the skill tree for "FPS beginners" is a complete waste of space. i don't think i'll be getting it.

but i want the game already! i've seen the gameplay and can't think of anything wrong with this game!

i only wish they'd let you "simulate" client connections so that you could run a 4-player game by yourself and get all the loot

 

[BlueWeasel]

An overclocked 2500k with a 6970 2GB should max out the game, right?

Just pre-ordered off GMG for $37.50.

 

[KaOTiK]

the mechromancer doesn't sound too exciting. there is already a "drop-in" pet in the form of the Turret. and the skill tree for "FPS beginners" is a complete waste of space. i don't think i'll be getting it.

but i want the game already! i've seen the gameplay and can't think of anything wrong with this game!

i only wish they'd let you "simulate" client connections so that you could run a 4-player game by yourself and get all the loot

The Mechromancer with FPS beginners tree was dubbed "girlfriend mode" by one of the devs. Basically it is setup to allow people that don't normally or suck really bad at playing FPS be able to play co op.

It is actually a pretty good idea, say you have a friend who sucks at games or FPS' and playing co op with said friend usually ends up with getting stuck on certain bosses/areas because of the higher difficulty or they die so much and don't do much that they get sick of the game, either way not good, with that skill tree they can at least be effective to some degree and pull their weight more then normal.

 

[Jumpem]

Can I view skill trees somewhere? The character information on their website seems suite limited.

 

[Aikouka]

The Mechromancer with FPS beginners tree was dubbed "girlfriend mode" by one of the devs. Basically it is setup to allow people that don't normally or suck really bad at playing FPS be able to play co op.

I've seen some talk about them, and one talent they showed off was one that allowed bullets to ricochet off walls. However, while it would help your missed shots actually land a bit better (in closed areas), you receive a damage penalty for all ricocheting shots.

They did also say that one of the other trees would be more difficult and geared toward more experienced players. This Kotaku article has a decent write-up on it:

http://kotaku.com/5939962/the-mechr...lets-you-stack-abilities-releasing-october-16

The Best Friends Forever skill tree—a "noobish-friendly" skill tree as described to me by Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford—lets players who aren't great at first-person shooters be of some assistance in cooperative play. The BFF tree essentially sacrifices damage for aim assists. So a missed shot can reflect and hit an enemy 50% of the time. Deathtrap, the Mechromancer's robot, will be more automated, seeking out enemies to deal area of effect damage as well as status effect damage on enemies. On the BFF mode, Borderlands 2 handles the prioritizing of targets rather than asking you to do so.


But if you want to push the Mechromancer to her most dangerous form, you can invest in the Ordered Chaos tree that lets you stack abilities—using a skill called anarchy—for ultimate damage. This skill lets you calculate and plan hits based on your own strategizing. Stacking the Mechromancer's abilities can even involve imbuing Deathtrap with fire damage if you've got the right elemental weapon equipped and decide to include him in your stacked hits. You can invest in skill points in this tree to specify that a certain sequence of hits will give you bonus damage on a certain numbered hit. If you're airborn when you strike with a critical hit, the Mechromancer gets additional stacks of anarchy for more potential damage.

Can I view skill trees somewhere? The character information on their website seems suite limited.

I haven't seen any mock-ups available, but I'm thinking we could easily get some setup since they pretty much showed off all talents during the recent play sessions that they've shown off.

Although, from what I've seen from Gearbox personnel, the official skill trees should be available (online) very soon.

The Wikia pages for each character has (most of) them listed in a table format:
Axton
Maya
Zer0
Salvador

An overclocked 2500k with a 6970 2GB should max out the game, right?

Just pre-ordered off GMG for $37.50.

I don't know your resolution, but I can't imagine that it would stress your setup too much.

 

[biostud]

Just got it from gmg for 37.5&#8364;.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Are we allowed to do group buy-in/preorders on here for steam or no?

 

[ViviTheMage]

Just got it from gmg for 37.5€.

I thought that ended?

 

[Aikouka]

I thought that ended?

It was a front-page deal on Slickdeals a few days ago.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Yeah, so it did end...a few days ago.

 

[Aikouka]

They have a 25% off code ( GMG25-1BW0K-K1A3G ) that's good until 9/10.

 

[tygeezy]

Whoops, I see somebody already beat me to the deal. Can't wait to play this one.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

Anyone looking to organize a group playthrough on Steam? I played BL1 to death on xbox but I don't have many Steam friends and $36 on gmg is too good of a deal.