********BORDERLANDS discussion thread*******

[Tempered81]

I'm a lvl 61 soldier on playthrough 2. I've raided the armory a few times and again on Marcus's second quest. Now I just play to beat Crawmerax and collect powerful weapons and pearl items. Very addictive game.

 

[looseratlife]

Its darn difficult to complete .. I barely am in level 7. And I'm being chased all over the place by some wierd mutant dogs that are infinite in number. Damn .. THE GUNS ARE USELESS. I cant kill even a single mutant dogs without unloading all my magazine.Thinking of downloading some trainer.

 

[Aikouka]

I took out the silly hentai monster pretty darned quickly... my soldier's gun is just ridiculously powerful and amusingly enough... it's a green-quality item. I found it on a vendor in Old Haven and each shot I do deals around 500 damage (~90% accuracy) and given it's an Assault Rifle... I can shoot quite often 🙂.

Its darn difficult to complete .. I barely am in level 7. And I'm being chased all over the place by some wierd mutant dogs that are infinite in number. Damn .. THE GUNS ARE USELESS. I cant kill even a single mutant dogs without unloading all my magazine.Thinking of downloading some trainer.

You've gotta be fighting things far above your level. At level 7, there's a chance that you're in Skag Gully, which has some rather annoying quests with some rather powerful adversaries....

 

[pontifex]

i play this less and less. it's the same shit over and over again. not much variation

 

[n7]

I've gotten kinda addicted to farming Crawmerax w/ randoms online.

It's so exciting to see the guns fall from him as he dies.

But then you go thru them, find no Pearls, & only some random crap you don't really need, & so you do it again.

And again...

And it somewhat ruins the fun of it.

I dunno what it is with this game that has me so hooked...i like finding good guns, i like deliberating over what to do in my skill tree.

Everyone i know says it's boring/repetitive, which it is.

But i don't mind apparently.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Its darn difficult to complete .. I barely am in level 7. And I'm being chased all over the place by some wierd mutant dogs that are infinite in number. Damn .. THE GUNS ARE USELESS. I cant kill even a single mutant dogs without unloading all my magazine.Thinking of downloading some trainer.

you might be in too high a level area.

my sniper rifle 1-shots the dogs (scags) that are lvl 7. im like lvl 9.

 

[Aikouka]

Everyone i know says it's boring/repetitive, which it is.

But i don't mind apparently.

It's fun finding good guns and then just being some omnipotent bad ass.

I don't even know how I can manage to level multiple characters in this game either... there's even less incentive than there is in WoW since it's really just run-n-gun regardless of class (except maybe Brick).

Frankly, I can't wait until I can at least max out the shield regeneration talent on my Soldier... I love that talent on my Siren since it lets me just run-n-gun a lot and not have to rely on Phasewalk as much.

But you know what annoys me about the game? It's the little things. How it seems Gearbox did absolutely nothing to make sure everything works properly. If you have a +xx% max health mod, you won't have full health when you enter the game regardless of what you logged out with. Your ammo also won't be loaded up fully, so you'll have to reload them. It does this when you leave menus too (just not to the same extent). For example, my Soldier's AR only has a 12 ammo mag, but it's up to 26 via talents. When I log in, I only have 12/26 bullets or when I leave a menu, I only have 24/26.

Thank god I can reload quickly.

 

[n7]

I found this two nights ago after a Crawmerax run.
I was a very happy guy.

 

[coldmeat]

So I'm playing this game again, and I'm playing as Lilith. I don't know if I've quite figured out how to properly play as her yet, I just play like I'm playing any other shooter.

Anyway I have a question. So I'm using an SMG right now with stats:

36 damage
72.8 accuracy
8.1 fire rate

And I find this combat rifle (just as an example):

51 damage
91.3 accuracy
10.0 fire rate

This combat rifle seems obviously superior right? I know that Lilith is supposed to have a specialty in SMGs or something, but I see no specific skills that backs that up.

Even though she's supposed to be best with SMGs, what's stopping me from using this combat rifle more effectively than an SMG?

And I don't remember if this happened before, but this game never remembers my setting for the scroll wheel direction for changing weapons. If I change guns, it reverts to scroll wheel down going up in the list. It's kinda annoying when I'm in a fight and I keep switching to the wrong gun.

 

[SMOGZINN]

So I'm playing this game again, and I'm playing as Lilith. I don't know if I've quite figured out how to properly play as her yet, I just play like I'm playing any other shooter.

Anyway I have a question. So I'm using an SMG right now with stats:

36 damage
72.8 accuracy
8.1 fire rate

And I find this combat rifle (just as an example):

51 damage
91.3 accuracy
10.0 fire rate

This combat rifle seems obviously superior right? I know that Lilith is supposed to have a specialty in SMGs or something, but I see no specific skills that backs that up.

Even though she's supposed to be best with SMGs, what's stopping me from using this combat rifle more effectively than an SMG?

Nothing much, in the early game it is probably worth switching as you find better weapons, although that combat rifle is probably 3 shot burst instead of constant fire.
You do get skill in your weapons as you use them, and occasionally level up your weapon skill, which gives you bonuses in that weapon. I don't think those bonuses are all that worth specializing. My siren uses repeaters mostly.

 

[Murdoc]

This combat rifle seems obviously superior right? I know that Lilith is supposed to have a specialty in SMGs or something, but I see no specific skills that backs that up.

I found a "Mercenary" mod for her that gave increased damage and ammo re-gen for SMG's, along with some other stuff (don't recall exact stats). It was pretty badass and was very useful for beating Crawmerax. Keep hunting.

 

[Aikouka]

There are two different types of assault rifles in the game... ones with burst fire and ones with auto fire. The majority that I find tend to be the prior, but you may find a Glorious Havoc or two. There are some interesting mods as well. The Destroyer is one of my favorite guns on my Soldier as it allows me to fire my entire magazine while zoomed.

The biggest reason to use a SMG on a Siren is if you have the Mercenary mod. Once you find a Double Anarchy (or other similar Anarchy types), you'll have no problem with them. Although, I'm a huge fan of the Combustion Hellfire... it's so awesome! 😀

 

[Mandres]

How in the hell did I miss this game when it came out? It sounds awesome; like the most addicting parts of the MMORPG formula rolled up into a tasty FPS shell. I think I'll just wait for the sequel at this point since it will probably be hard to find other newbies to play with now.

 

[zinfamous]

I found a "Mercenary" mod for her that gave increased damage and ammo re-gen for SMG's, along with some other stuff (don't recall exact stats). It was pretty badass and was very useful for beating Crawmerax. Keep hunting.

this. she's an smg specialist because the merc mod is specific for SMG, mostly, and her best skills increase damage and efficiency of high ROF weapons (SMG, combat rifles, repeaters). I think it is the most popular build in the game. ...it's almost cheating. :\

find yourself a decent anarchy, and/or a hellfire, though, and you will never touch an AR again. 😀

the thing is, the reload, ROF, and DPS of SMGs is generally the highest in the game. They don't have as much recoil as the combat rifles, either.

a max merc mod that essentially gives her unlimited ammo on SMGs (+29 regen?) makes it a no-brainer.

 

[zinfamous]

How in the hell did I miss this game when it came out? It sounds awesome; like the most addicting parts of the MMORPG formula rolled up into a tasty FPS shell. I think I'll just wait for the sequel at this point since it will probably be hard to find other newbies to play with now.

yup.

shouldn't be too hard to find people. there's always someone working on a new character, even if they aren't new to the game.

 

[DaveSimmons]

So I'm playing this game again, and I'm playing as Lilith. I don't know if I've quite figured out how to properly play as her yet, I just play like I'm playing any other shooter.

Anyway I have a question. So I'm using an SMG right now with stats:
... And I find this combat rifle (just as an example): ...

This combat rifle seems obviously superior right? I know that Lilith is supposed to have a specialty in SMGs or something, but I see no specific skills that backs that up.

I'm only a few hours into my first playthrough, level 11, Siren, fun so far. My n00b advice is: keep both and switch between them so you don't run out of ammo.

Also, be sure to buy the ammo capacity upgrades for both rifles and SMGs, then repeaters, snipers and shotguns. That way you'll leave less loot on the ground and will almost never need to buy ammo.

When I'm traveling towards the objective and it's just scags or random bandits, I might use repeater + shotgun or sniper + SMG. Then when I'm going after the harder guys it might be SMG + assault rifle, or sniper + AR. I just got the 3rd slot weapon unlock so now I can have all 3, w00t!

 

[zinfamous]

I'm only a few hours into my first playthrough, level 11, Siren, fun so far. My n00b advice is: keep both and switch between them so you don't run out of ammo.

Also, be sure to buy the ammo capacity upgrades for both rifles and SMGs, then repeaters, snipers and shotguns. That way you'll leave less loot on the ground and will almost never need to buy ammo.

When I'm traveling towards the objective and it's just scags or random bandits, I might use repeater + shotgun or sniper + SMG. Then when I'm going after the harder guys it might be SMG + assault rifle, or sniper + AR. I just got the 3rd slot weapon unlock so now I can have all 3, w00t!

On a new character, I would suggest only buying every 2 or 3 ammo upgrades if you can stand it. The prices for each upgrade increase substantially, with no increased gain in capacity. (I think the final upgrade class is ~$750k? yes--that's the same amount of ammo increase as the very first one that goes for $600?--so 20 extra revolver bullets, 40 shotgun shells, 1 extra grenade, whatever it is for SMG, etc)

for new characters with no access to gobs of cash, it can really slow down your progression (Worry not, near the end you will be swimming in cash).

as a Siren, once you find a decent merc com with serviceable SMG ammo regen (I used a +11 regen mod well into playthrough 2) ammo won't be much of an issue.


...never buy grenade mods from the ammo machines. You will find far too many as drops that you will end up selling, anyway. DO pay attention to weapon/shield COM items of the day in the machines. you can also find some good stuff in the regular vendor list.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Thanks, the shops aren't offering second upgrades to me yet -- I just meant buying the first $600 upgrade but for all weapon types.

What's the recommended point to stop doing side missions in playthrough 1? I've just opened the road barrier and am being sent after the wasteland boss (Sledge?). The job board just added optional missions to find recorders and gather crystals.

 

[zinfamous]

Thanks, the shops aren't offering second upgrades to me yet -- I just meant buying the first $600 upgrade but for all weapon types.

What's the recommended point to stop doing side missions in playthrough 1? I've just opened the road barrier and am being sent after the wasteland boss (Sledge?). The job board just added optional missions to find recorders and gather crystals.

I would do all of the bounty board missions/other missions available in Arid Badlands.

After you beat Sledge, you get sent to the Dahl Headlands. At that point, I tend to stick to the story missions, crystal side missions, and all of the claptrap missions, of course (for the extra backpack slots).

the problem with the game is that you can become overleveled rather easily. the general idea to keep the game challenging, is to finish play through 1 ~level 31-35, then playthrough 2 ~level 50-51. Then, do Knoxx DLC, which has the hard level start of enemies at level 51, I think.

AFAIK, you don't have to complete the final mission on PT2 for the level scaling to kick in across the game, you just have to activate it. I don't think there is level scaling in Knoxx until you finish the main mission.

but, it's all up to you. I thought it was stupid to have to play the game twice before doing the DLC, but I had enough fun by the end that I just wanted to do it again. :\


and yeah, go ahead and buy the first weapon upgrades if you want. I forgot to mention that each successive upgrade actually gives you the max allowed at that point--so if you skip one upgrade, you will still get that increase in ammo on the next one, without losing the cash from the previous upgrade. That's the real issue with holding off; can't believe I forgot that, haha.
I would stick to the weapons you use the most, of course. Then wait till later and get the single high-end ammo upgrade for your other weapons.

do take the time to search lockers. I often find strangely good loot in those--one of my max merc mods was in one.

 

[Firsttime]

I love this game. I started another run through with a friend last night after being inspired by the Bland 2 thread. Such an addictive game. So good with friends. I wish more games would take cues from their co-op play.

 

[coldmeat]

I don't have any friends that play this game, so this is my 3rd playthrough alone.

I have been using revolvers against skags to try and conserve my SMG ammo though. I found a revolver that does over 250 damage, it seems really overpowered for my level. It kills most enemies in 1 shot.

 

[Aikouka]

A Double Anarchy can easily run past the amount of regen that a Siren's Mercenary class mod provides. I recall fighting Knoxx one time on my Siren, and I had to run around for awhile, because I ran out of bullets. Zin, you need to stop using those low fire rate SMGs. 😉

There's nothing wrong with spending your money as you end up getting a ridiculous amount anyway. Money really starts pouring in once you start fighting the Lance, because they have a ridiculous amount of drops (2-3 per enemy). The only bad thing is that Borderlands is pretty restrictive with your inventory space, which makes fighting the Lance a double-edged sword. When I clear out New Haven, I usually visit one of the vending machines at least 5 times. It's even worse when I found myself keeping good weapons that I wouldn't use, but another character would.

Now that I cheated and jacked my inventory and bank space up to 999, I don't care. 😛 But it sure does take forever to sort through and sell 300+ items. 😛

I don't have any friends that play this game, so this is my 3rd playthrough alone.

I've played all of my characters (69 Siren, 69 Hunter, 55 Soldier, 9 Berserker) alone as well and it's still kinda fun each time.

I have been using revolvers against skags to try and conserve my SMG ammo though. I found a revolver that does over 250 damage, it seems really overpowered for my level. It kills most enemies in 1 shot.

I'm assuming that it's a 2-round revolver? Revolvers gain a ton of damage depending on how big their clip is, and while it may look nice on paper, I highly recommend a 6-round revolver over a 2-round. The constant reloading is not good against a lot of enemies. Although, I think I did switch to a 3-round Defiler (a very good caustic revolver) simply so I could give my older (level 22 😱) Defiler to my Soldier as caustic weapons are godly against Lance and other mechanical units.

 

[coldmeat]

I'm assuming that it's a 2-round revolver? Revolvers gain a ton of damage depending on how big their clip is, and while it may look nice on paper, I highly recommend a 6-round revolver over a 2-round. The constant reloading is not good against a lot of enemies. Although, I think I did switch to a 3-round Defiler (a very good caustic revolver) simply so I could give my older (level 22 😱) Defiler to my Soldier as caustic weapons are godly against Lance and other mechanical units.

Yes it's 2 round. If there's a lot of enemies I just switch back to my SMG. I usually just use the revolver if there's a few enemies, or I'll use it at the beginning to kill off the first bunch of skags before I start getting overwhelmed. When I'm fighting bandits I can use the revolver almost exclusively since they don't rush me like skags.

 

[zinfamous]

A Double Anarchy can easily run past the amount of regen that a Siren's Mercenary class mod provides. I recall fighting Knoxx one time on my Siren, and I had to run around for awhile, because I ran out of bullets. Zin, you need to stop using those low fire rate SMGs. 😉

There's nothing wrong with spending your money as you end up getting a ridiculous amount anyway. Money really starts pouring in once you start fighting the Lance, because they have a ridiculous amount of drops (2-3 per enemy). The only bad thing is that Borderlands is pretty restrictive with your inventory space, which makes fighting the Lance a double-edged sword. When I clear out New Haven, I usually visit one of the vending machines at least 5 times. It's even worse when I found myself keeping good weapons that I wouldn't use, but another character would.

Now that I cheated and jacked my inventory and bank space up to 999, I don't care. 😛 But it sure does take forever to sort through and sell 300+ items. 😛



I've played all of my characters (69 Siren, 69 Hunter, 55 Soldier, 9 Berserker) alone as well and it's still kinda fun each time.



I'm assuming that it's a 2-round revolver? Revolvers gain a ton of damage depending on how big their clip is, and while it may look nice on paper, I highly recommend a 6-round revolver over a 2-round. The constant reloading is not good against a lot of enemies. Although, I think I did switch to a 3-round Defiler (a very good caustic revolver) simply so I could give my older (level 22 😱) Defiler to my Soldier as caustic weapons are godly against Lance and other mechanical units.

Anarchies will certainly eat up some ammo, but I don't use them that often. I still prefer the Malevolent/Stingers whatever with greater accuracy and lower spread. anarchies deal amazing damage, of course, but it's not very concentrated damage. I like criticals as often as I can get them, and the more accurate SMGs give you a higher percentage of those, somewhat negating the difference in damage while preserving your ammo.

 

[zinfamous]

Yes it's 2 round. If there's a lot of enemies I just switch back to my SMG. I usually just use the revolver if there's a few enemies, or I'll use it at the beginning to kill off the first bunch of skags before I start getting overwhelmed. When I'm fighting bandits I can use the revolver almost exclusively since they don't rush me like skags.

is it a 3 or 4x explosive revolver?

I just loaded my hunter the other day-he's level 52 in PT 2 (a bit over-leveled for where he is--just finished Baron Flynt), and I still have a level ~10 revolver equipped that I picked up as an award from that very first Arena quest that you get (the one with 3 rounds of skaags).

I think it's a Justice of some sort, it's 2-shot, 4x explosive, with 260? damage?

it still one-shots some of my enemies well into PT2.

as Aikouka mentioned, some of the mods are extremely helpful with this game--increasing the bag limit, to me, just saves a lot of time and boredom. the game allows a theoretical maximum of 72? slots, which is from all fo the claptrap missions in PT1 and PT2. the problem is, while the PT1 missions guarantee a bag mod, they are a rare reward when you do them again in PT2.

If you start farming for elite weapons at the end of the game--Crawmerax and the Armory, you need a lot more space to make it worth your while.

there is a mod that also adds fast transport to the DLC, which is sadly lacking. Those are the only two that I have used.