Borderlands 4 – Everything You NEED To Know (New Mechanics & Features)

The long-awaited Borderlands 4 is nearly upon us, making it an opportune time to familiarize yourself with the game’s new and revised mechanics. Veterans of the series will notice several changes, yet the fundamental formula remains intact. However, some essential elements may feel quite distinct from previous versions! If you’re keen to learn more, continue reading for a comprehensive overview!

Everything You NEED To Know About Borderlands 4 | New Mechanics & Features

Meet the New Vault Hunters! The Newest Vault Hunters, At Least

1. Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn – Known for her agility and versatility in combat, utilizing both ranged and melee weapons effectively. She also has a focus ability that allows her to slow down enemies or reveal hidden objects.
2. Moze the Gunner from Borderlands 3 – A heavy-hitting character with an emphasis on firepower and armor. Her Iron Bear mech provides additional firepower, health regeneration, and crowd control abilities.
3. FL4K the Beastmaster from Borderlands 3 – Specializes in pet management, with various pets providing assistance in combat such as a Rakk (a flying explosive creature) or Spiderant (a large spider-like pet). FL4K’s playstyle focuses on stealth and traps.
4. Zane the Operative from Borderlands 3 – A highly mobile character with a focus on dual wielding weapons and deployable gadgets like drones and holograms for distractions or additional damage output.

The character known as Vex, the Siren, serves as the token Vault Hunter representing the Siren class. Similar to other Siren VHs, she predominantly specializes in causing elemental damage. Moreover, certain Action Skills enable her to conjure spirits and companions to aid her during battles. For experienced players, she can be compared to a fusion of Lilith and FL4K.

Rafa, the Advanced Combat Soldier – This high-tech warrior boasts an extensive array of weapons at his disposal. He’s exceptionally agile, ideal for players preferring a bold, aggressive approach. His action abilities enable him to deploy tools like turrets or transform into a relentless slasher with a 3rd person view and twin blades! Essentially, he combines the melee skills of Zer0 with Axton’s gameplay style.

Harlowe, known as The Gravitar, is a character who hasn’t been extensively showcased yet. Given her past employment with Maliwan, it’s speculated that she might specialize in elemental weaponry. Beyond that, what we do know is that she’s equipped to manage crowds during combat using an array of devices. One of her distinctive traits is the ability to entangle enemies, causing them to share any damage sustained by another member of the group. In terms of gameplay style, she appears most analogous to Maya from Borderlands 2.

Amon, the Forgeknight, exudes an aura of raw Viking might. His unique ability lets him conjure weapons like axes and hammers in battle to wreak havoc on his enemies. Although he can hurl these weapons for distance, he prefers engaging in close combat. And when the going gets tough, he can even summon a shield for added protection! In many ways, Amon plays like a fusion of Brick, Athena, and Krieg.

The World Opens Up

If you’re a seasoned player of the Borderlands series, you’d be well aware of how each game’s world is organized. For those who may not be familiar, let me explain that earlier games in the series were segmented into smaller parts. This meant that areas existed independently from one another, resulting in travel being punctuated by loading screens when transitioning between different zones.

In Borderlands 4, things have changed significantly! Instead of the fragmented layout seen previously, the game’s environment is designed more like a traditional open-world setting. The majority of the playable zone is connected smoothly, leading to fewer instances where movement is interrupted.

As a gamer, here’s my take on that:

Instead of trekking all the way to a Catch-a-Ride station, you can now summon a vehicle right where you are! Say goodbye to those long walks or teleporting when your ride takes a hit while adventuring. This new feature will certainly make gaming more convenient and less hassle.

In this new version, navigation and discovery should feel much smoother. Although the world’s content density remains to be determined, one thing is for sure – loading screens will be minimized significantly! Fear not about getting lost, as your trusty robot companion ECHO-4 is always ready to lend a helping hand!

Goodbye Minimap, Hello Compass

In the discussion about the world in Borderlands 4, one significant change that’s worth noting – albeit a bit contentious – is that there will no longer be a persistent minimap. Instead, you’ll navigate primarily using a compass at the top of your HUD, and if desired, you can activate a combat radar on the upper right corner.

The developers find that the game’s emphasis on height makes the map difficult to use effectively for navigation. Instead, they aim to encourage players to truly traverse and discover the game’s environment rather than relying excessively on the mini-map during exploration.

To be honest, I’m curious to see how this change unfolds in the future. Guess we’ll find out once it’s globally available. Regardless, it’s a notable update for us gamers, no doubt about that! Oh, and by the way, don’t forget you can still access a detailed normal map too.

Even Bigger Skill Trees

As a gamer diving into Borderlands 4, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the Skill Trees – although they’re not entirely novel mechanics, they’re crucial for understanding the characters. Each character in the game will have access to three distinct Skill Trees, giving them the ability to specialize and focus on different aspects of their character. This variety opens up a world of possibilities for character builds and playstyles.

In contrast, the Skill Trees in Borderlands 4 are substantially larger than any previous game in the series! For instance, the Dead Ringer Skill Tree for Vex offers an impressive 29 skills to select and progress through. To give you a sense of scale, Borderlands 3’s Skill Trees typically had between 12 and 15 skills, which were themselves larger than those in Borderlands 2.

It’s important to remember that acquiring Skill Points operates in much the same fashion, essentially. You start earning 1 Skill Point per level from Level 2. This equates to a grand total of 49 Skill Points by Level 50, which will be our starting level limit. However, it’s likely that this cap will be increased in the future through DLC expansions, following the series trend.

This passage implies that it’s unlikely to fully upgrade a single Skill Tree due to the limited number of points available. However, given the abundance of skills within a single tree, focusing on just one tree for upgrading might be more advantageous compared to spreading points across multiple trees in this edition of the game series.

Apart from that, it’s worth noting that while some aspects remain consistent, you’ll still need to prioritize investing in the highest-tier skills within the Skill Tree to gain access to stronger abilities as you progress. There are also additional elements called Augments and Capstones at your disposal, which don’t require Skill Points but can only be activated sequentially, much like in Borderlands 3. In essence, the Skill Trees here are more expansive versions of those found in Borderlands 3.

New Weapon Generation: License System

In Borderlands 4, a significant new mechanic and feature pertains to the weapons you acquire, making it crucial for players to understand this aspect since it’s key to the gaming experience. Essentially, the focus is on finding as much loot as possible – after all, it’s central to the gameplay!

In Borderlands 4, certain weapons may incorporate parts from different gun manufacturers (licensed parts). When this occurs, the weapon will exhibit the characteristics or quirks of the secondary manufacturer, even though its primary maker is another one. This concept might seem complex for those who haven’t played the earlier games, but don’t worry, it’s more straightforward than it appears at first glance.

Alright, imagine you’ve bagged a sweet gun from the Jakobs arsenal, and it comes with a tidbit from everyone’s favorite loonball, Tediore. That bad boy is going to rock Jakobs’ signature trait – bullets bouncing off on critical hits. But here’s where it gets interesting: just like Tediore weapons, instead of reloading, this puppy will toss itself in a fit of frustration, dealing damage as it goes. Boom!

Fundamentally, this setup appears to combine elements from different gun manufacturers onto a single firearm. The intricacies of the system are not yet fully understood, but it seems that rarer weapons might incorporate more Licensed Components. In some instances, we’ve observed weapons with two such components, resulting in a total of three manufacturer special features on a single gun.

Beyond the License System, you now have an additional option to add Special Upgrades to your VH. These upgrades will boost and customize the effects of certain manufacturers’ components, enabling you to favor those that appeal to you most. For instance, if you’re a fan of explosions, concentrate on Torgue enhancements and parts!

As a gun enthusiast, I can’t wait to witness this new system in action! On the surface, it seems like it could lead to some truly innovative firearms with immense potential.

New Healing System: Repkits

In earlier Borderlands games, combat healing was quite restricted. Players primarily relied on health items dropped by foes or Transfusion grenades for lifesteal from nearby enemies. Besides these methods and certain character abilities, there wasn’t much variety or complexity in the healing system.

In Borderlands 4, the gameplay dynamics are about to alter significantly due to the introduction of Repkits. These are new items you can carry into combat, offering a vital health boost right when you need it. Additionally, these Repkits offer an array of enhancements and special effects. They operate much like other gear pieces, with each manufacturer having distinctive traits for their Repkits.

The issue with Repkits is that they need time to recharge before they can be used again, so overusing them isn’t typically an option. It’s important to use them strategically, not just whenever you want. Furthermore, they are not useful for escaping Fight For Your Life mode.

To summarize, Repkits are beneficial because they introduce an additional factor to consider during character building. Moreover, they enhance the sense of priority given to healing in certain characters, potentially boosting the overall survival rate for all Vault Hunters.

Armor Shields Are Here!

In each Borderlands game, players can arm and utilize Shields, similar to guns in terms of having unique characteristics. These Shields, however, have always been Energy Shields, making them vulnerable to Shock damage. While most foes carry the standard Energy Shields, some enemies possess Armor Shields as a special variation instead.

This time, we’ve got an exciting development – you’ll now be able to employ Armor Shields! These new shields offer enhanced protection, often minimizing incoming damage, or as we call it, a “Damage Absorption” effect. What sets them apart is that they can regenerate while in the thick of battle, unlike Energy Shields which need you to dodge attacks for recharging.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that while Armor Shields provide a sturdy defense, they require more time to fully recharge compared to the usual Energy Shields. On the flip side, these Armor Shields are vulnerable to Corrosive damage instead of the traditional Shock damage. If you’re into fine-tuning your gameplay, it could be beneficial to switch your shield type based on the elements your enemies tend to use.

Movement, Schmoovement

Besides the standard movement features found in Borderlands 3, Borderlands 4 will introduce additional maneuverability techniques that players should familiarize themselves with. Specifically, a grappling hook and jetpack have been incorporated.

The grappling hook serves as a handy device at specific locations, allowing you to launch yourself upwards for more than just navigating the game’s environment. In fact, it’s also been demonstrated in official footage that this tool will be employed during some boss fights. Additionally, it can be utilized to tug certain environmental objects towards you. This might even include fishing for fish, which is an unexpected feature! I bet you didn’t anticipate a fishing mini-game.

Regarding the jetpack, it significantly enhances Vault Hunters’ mobility, allowing them to jump twice, soar through the air on a glide, and swiftly dodge to the sides using evasive dashes. It’s been a while since we had such exhilarating flight time since Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel with its zero-gravity mechanics!

Moxxi’s Big Encore

Among the latest additions is the Big Encore Machine by Moxxi, a convenient tool that lets you swiftly respawn enemies such as bosses for farming purposes. Keep in mind it’s not free, requiring in-game currency, but its efficiency should translate to time saved when hunting for specific loot drops. Although Gearbox hasn’t demonstrated it just yet, it’s said to be quicker than the repeated saving and quitting methods used in previous games!

The issue is that saving and exiting no longer allows bosses to respawn in Moxxi’s Big Encore. However, if Moxxi isn’t careful with her demands, the fact that bosses can return without having to restart the game could be quite advantageous…

Dynamic Events Are In!

Without a doubt, among the significant innovations and attributes you should familiarize yourself with in Borderlands 4, its world will boast a higher number of spontaneous occurrences compared to earlier editions.

A diverse assortment of interactive occurrences can be expected within the game. Examples include Global Incidents, Fissures, and Fissure Leaders. Although specific distinctions among them aren’t fully explained yet, it is clear that they have some unique features! Primarily, these events pop up randomly across the game world, and participating in them typically results in better loot than typical finds.

In essence, it appears that these new events offer a fresher, more detailed version of what we were accustomed to in Borderlands 3. We eagerly anticipate additional events being incorporated during future updates!

Here you go:

“In summary, that’s all you need to know about Borderlands 4 and its innovative new mechanics and elements. Although the game continues with the traditional looter-shooter structure of the series, there are certainly some refreshing modifications in this upcoming edition. It seems like more of the same, but improved upon!”

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a successful launch!

2025-08-25 15:27