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Overview

Borderlands 2 is the sequel to 2009's Borderlands. Like its predecessor, it will offer cooperative play for up to four players, it will also include split-screen for all platforms. The game will also contain new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons, and equipment. The new set of characters are tasked with killing Jack and restoring chaos to Pandora. The original cast of Mordecai, Lilith, Roland, and Brick are set to make cameos as quest-giving NPCs.

The game will take place on Pandora, five years after the events of the first game.

Plot

The first game was generally considered by it's critics and audience not to have a very deep or engaging story, but Gearbox is promising a more developed plot this time around, with a story written by Anthony Burch.

Borderlands 2 takes place after the events of the original game and retains the setting of Pandora. Handsome Jack, the primary antagonist, has taken over the Hyperion Corporation and is proclaiming himself the Dictator of Pandora. He is also claiming credit for discovering the Vault and defeating the Destroyer.

The game opens as the player character is fighting in a gladiatorial arena for a priceless cache of loot and for the viewing pleasure of Handsome Jack. The character wins, but Jack, fearing the growing popularity of the gladiator, decides to cheat him/her and leave him out in a tundra to die. The character survives and teams up with 3 others in order to rid Pandora of the ruthless tyrant.

Gameplay

General

Gameplay will be similar to the original, with many new additions. The player starts the game by picking a character class, and then proceeds to complete quest for the corresponding quest giver, which results in a monetary reward, exp reward and sometimes equipment. In combat defeating enemies gives the player experience points and loot in the form of weapons, ammunition, grenade mods, shields etc. Another way to get loot is to search objects, such as gun chests, safes and cabinets. The loot received is completely random, and getting equipment is never guaranteed. The player has a health and shield value (the value depends on the quality and level of the shield). Should the player's shield deplete and health reach zero, they will have to kill an enemy to receive a "second wind" or they will have to be revived by their teammates. Should the player fail to kill an enemy or be revived he or she will die in battle, they will then be revived at the nearest checkpoint.

As the character gains exp, he also gains levels, which grants the player skill points that they can distribute among the skills of their character class. Each class has unique skills and skill trees, each tree favors a certain play style. When a character reaches a new level, they also gains an increase to health and an increase of damage dealt and decrease of damage received from lower level creatures.

Weapons

Weapons, like enemies and characters have a level, this determines their stats, as the players gain levels they will find better, higher level weapons. Weapons dropped or found as loot are always random, in their appearance, quality and stats. However, there are certain unique weapons that are given to the player after certain quests, and legendary weapons that can drop from lootable objects or defeated enemies. Depending on the aspect of the weapon in question, it can have a certain pre-fix.

Weapon stats include:

• Damage
• Firing Speed
• Magazine Size
• Reload Speed
• Zooming Power (if scoped)
• Stability (scoped weapons)

Due to the Diablo-esque nature of the game, and loot, weapons and equipment in general have colored names, in order to identify their rarity.

• White - average or common
• Green - a little above average
• Blue - uncommon
• Purple - rare
• Orange/Gold - legendary

Unique weapons that are given as quest rewards can never be white, legendary weapons can only be orange/gold. It is yet unknown if the colored by rarity system will be implemented in Borderlands 2.

Apart from that, weapons can have certain abilities such as increasing damage, or firing speed, or magazine size etc. Weapons can also have an elemental modifier, that deal fire, shock, acid, or explosive damage. A new elemental modifier is slag, which covers enemy in a green goo-like substance that directly increases the damage other elemental modifiers do.

The more a character uses a weapon, the greater their proficiency with a certain type of weapon will be. Proficiencies will gain an increase once a character kills an enemy. The exp gain forwards a characters level progression, but also increases a weapon proficiency as well. Proficiencies will increase damage, reload speed, stability, accuracy etc in the form of a percent. The higher the proficiency the higher the benefits. As of yet, it is unknown what the proficencies will be, but in the original game there were 7 weapon types or proficencies.

1. Combat Rifles (fully automatic and 3 round burst)
2. Sniper rifles (semi-automatic or bolt action)
3. Shotguns
4. SMG (small machineguns)
5. Pistols (semi-automatic or revolver)
6. Rocket Launchers
7. Eridian (alien weapons with infinite ammo)

The players can choose from shotguns, semi automatic pistols and revolvers, combat rifles, machineguns, rocket launchers, SMGs, snipers. Each class has a specific melee attack (Zer0 has a sword), which cannot be changed or upgraded, but the damage done increases with higher levels. A good way of finding weapons is to loot weapon chests, finding a weapon is guaranteed, but the type of weapon as well as its stats, appearance and level are random. In Borderlands 2 a new type of weapon chest is introduced. It is determined by a weapon manufacturer, the type of weapon and its quality are still random, but the manufacturer is guaranteed. Each manufacturer excels in a certain area.

Also, a new addition is that Tediore weapons can be thrown once used, instead of reloaded. If the weapon still has ammo in it, it will explode on impact.

The World and Transportation

Borderlands 2 will feature an open world with main quests and side quests. The player will need to go to a quest giver, receive a quest and then complete the given task by going to a certain location and/or doing a certain action. So, it comes as no surprise that the world will be very large. In the original game the player could use vehicles or fast travel or a combination of both. It is unknown as of yet if fast travel will be possible in Borderlands 2, but there are vehicles. In the first game the only vehicle available was the Runner, it has 2 seats, one for the driver and one for the driver. In Borderlands 2, in addition to the Runner there will be a truck with 4 seats, driver, gunner and 2 back seats. The players seated in the back can use their weapons.

Vehicles have a turbo boost, that increases the speed at which the vehicle travels, they also have shields, once the shield is depleted the vehicle explodes. There is a new type of flying vehicle, that is unfortunately only available to enemies.

Weapon Manufacturers

Bandit weapon concept art.

The weapons of Borderlands 2 will have distinct visual characteristics, allowing the player to recognize a gun's maker through sight alone. The game will feature different weapon manufacturers that design and produce all kinds of weapons, ranging from semi automatic pistols and revolvers to rocket launchers and heavy machineguns.

• Bandit - In the five years after the first game, bandits have taken to making their own weapons. Bandit weapons will have a makeshift look, Instead of iron sights, for example, a Bandit weapon might have a bolt screwed into the top of the gun. Bandit weapons have the largest magazines, replacing S&S Munitions from the first game.
• Dahl - " Dahl's guns absorb a lot of recoil, allowing you to stay accurate throughout the fight!" Dahl weapons will stick more closely to the weapons seen in modern military shooters. Dahl weapons have the lowest recoil and seem to be marketed as mercenary weapons.
• Hyperion - "Hyperion asks, what good is a gun that doesn't shoot where you point? Get a gun that's as accurate as you are!" Hyperion weapons will have a similar aesthetic to the Claptrap robots from the first game (which are also manufactured by the same company). Hyperion tends to focus on accuracy, making the most accurate guns on Pandora.
• Vladof - "Want to shoot a lot of bullets really fast? Vladof has your needs covered!" Vladof weapons have the highest firing rate of any other firearms manufacturer, and their weapons tend to have very large clips. It would appear that Vladof is a Russian manufacturer, judging by the name of their weapons.
• Tediore - "Cheap, reliable, lightweight, and incredibly fast reload speeds. Tediore makes an easy-to-use gun!" These weapons are disposable. After fully unloading a clip, the gun can be used as a thrown explosive. The more ammo left in the clip when you throw it, the more powerful the explosion. The gun will then be reconstructed out of your Digistruct module. In the first game Tediore weapons regenerated ammo. Tediore guns (for Borderlands 2) have been described as "Cheap, plastic pieces of crap" and "Wal-Mart guns" by Randy Pitchford.
• Torgue - " Torgue combines good damage, high fire rate, and recoil reduction into one lethal weapon." Heavy duty and high powered guns. Torgue weapons aren't exceptional in any one area, but are balanced.
• Maliwan - "Is shooting bullets just not cool enough for you? Get a Maliwan, and light some people on fire!" All of Maliwan guns have an elemental modifier, fire, shock, explosion, acid or slag. Slag being the new elemental modifier, it increases the damage of other elemental modifiers.
• Jakobs - "If it took more than one shot, you weren't using a Jakobs!" These weapons are allegedly a cross between wild west guns and WW2 era guns that have high damage stats. As a trade off they have a rather low reload and firing speed.

A new feature when it comes to weapons is the ability to "side" with one manufacturer or another, thus creating benefits for using your preferred manufacturers weapons. Atlas, S&S Munitions will not reappear in Borderlands 2, Eridian weapons have not yet been confirmed.

Classes

The Gunzerker

Salvador

The Gunzerker class is represented by a character named Salvador who, as the class name suggests, is a berzerker that uses guns. Salvador has a passive skill that allows him to dual wield any two guns in the game. The Gunzerker class and Salvador replace the Berserker class and Brick from the original game. Salvador is rather short, it was revealed that Salvador's stunned growth is due to steroid abuse.

The Commando

Axton

The Commando is similar to Roland, the Soldier from the first game. Like Roland, Axton can deploy a turret that will rain a hail of bullets upon his enemies. It is yet unknown weather or not Axton is or was a member of the Crimson Lance. In Borderlands 2, Axton's signature skill, Deploy Turret is similar to Roland's, but the player will be able to customize it more, it will even change the color depending on the customization.

The Assassin

Zer0

The Assassin is very similar to Mordecai from the first game. Zer0's unique skill is Deception, which allows him to turn invisible, dealing increased damage while using a holographic projection of himself as a decoy. Also, while using Deception, critical hit areas are highlighted in blue. Like Mordecai, Zer0 favors the sniper rifle. Zer0 also has a dedicated Sw0rd for melee attacks, and can alternate between ranged and melee strikes to string together combos with an increased damage multiplier.

The Siren

Maya

Maya replaces Lilith from the original game as the siren in Borderlands 2. She has an ability called phaselock, as well as skills that allow her to spawn health from enemies, revive allies, increase bullet speed and damage, and reflect enemy bullets. Like Lilith, Maya is a Siren, a powerful female being capable of incredible powers.

The Mechromancer

The Mechromancer

The Mechromancer is the fifth playable class. She will be added to the game post release via DLC. Those who preorder the game will receive the DLC for free, otherwise a small fee will be required. At this point not much is known about the class, other than her ability of controlling mechs.

General Class Information

As the player defeats enemies or completes quests, his or her character will gain experience, eventually gaining a new level. On each new level, a player gets a skill point which can be distributed among the class skills. Each class has a unique skillset and the skills are made up of 3 skill trees (for each class).

As in the first game, the players will be unable to change their character's gender or appearance (with the exception of the color scheme of their clothes), however they can modify the character's name. No class is restricted to a certain weapon, but each class has skills that favor a certain type of weapon/s.

Characters

Many characters from the previous game make an appearance in Borderlands 2, as well as many new ones.

Handsome Jack

Handsome Jack is the main antagonist of Borderalnds 2. Salvador, Axton, Zer0 and Maya team together to kill him. Jack has taken over the Hyperion corporation (which creates claptraps), he has taken credit for discovering the vault and defeating The Destroyer and has created a moon station so that he can gain easy control of Pandora (as seen in the image). For some, yet unknown reason, Handsome Jack has destroyed every single CL4P-TP unit on Pandora, with only the original one (seen at the beginning of the first game) being left.

Marcus Kincaid

Marcus Kincaid played a pivotal role in the original game, and is making an appearance in the second one. He is human, Caucasian, with brown, graying hair, around 50 years of age. He is a greedy, self interest type of person. He only cares for bringing weapons into Pandora, and supplying everyone with them. The image to the left shows a primitive statue of Marcus Kincaid, presumably made by bandits because he brings in weapons and ammo or at the very least gives the bandits the means to make them.

CL4P-TP

CL4P-TP is a robot model designed for various tasks and purposes. They are more commonly known as Claptraps (plural), and are seen throughout Pandora in Borderlands. In Borderlands 2 the Claptrap in the image to the left is the only one left, it's also the first Claptrap the player met in the original game. Most Claptraps were destroyed by the order of Handsome Jack. Now, the original Claptrap is seeking revenge, mostly through insults and petty vandalism. Claptraps aren't combat models, which is why the player met many Claptraps that weren't working due to the damage inflicted on them by the various wild life and bandits.

Special Editions

Deluxe Vault Hunter's Collectors Edition

This special edition of Borderlands 2 retails for $99.99 (US) and includes the game, a Marcus Kincaid bobblehead, a hardcover art book, a cloth map of Pandora, a download code for a digital comic book, and a set of four stickers.

Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition

This special edition of Borderlands 2 retails for $149.99 (US) and includes everything from the Deluxe Vault Hunter's Collectors Edition plus a SteelBook case for the game, a numbered certificate of authenticity, a chart/poster of the creatures of Pandora, four lithograph post cards, and it's all bundled within a replica of the famous loot chests from the game.