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Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
Sun Sep 23, 2012, 11:17 AM Sep 2012

Borderlands 2 - PS3 - Review

First up... This game is also available for both PC and Xbox and as far as I know, there are no real differences in the versions.

I'm loving this game, they did a lot of things right in making this sequel. Far to often in a sequel what made a game great gets changed in favor of 'doing something new'. New can be good... or not... Often it is not. They left pretty much all of the gameplay just as it was, the one big change I've noticed so far is that they got rid of the gun mastery system and replaced it with the badass system (more on that later). Other then that though, they just did more of what made the game great by turning everything up to 11.

Graphics - The game looks great, everything is sharp, clear and colorful. Some more varied environments then the first game mix things up nicely. No complaints here.

Enemies - All the old bad guys are back and they brought a lot of new friends with them. The AI given to them this time around is some of the best I've ever seen in a game. They run and dodge and hide and jump out for a shot... Not crazy hard but definitly a nice upgrade.

Characters - The basic game comes with four classes and a fifth has been announced as coming in October (the 16th if I recall correctly). All of them play great except for the gunzerker... I'm not thrilled with this one and I really thought it would be a favorite. I hated the mechanic of having to use both triggers constantly for Brick in the first game and thought it was gone but they kept it going for the gunzerker in the this one. Kick off the gunzerkers special ability and it straight away distorts your vision and has you clicking away with both triggers firing blindly. Yes, yes, you toss out a lot of bullets but since it is so freaking hard to see what you are aiming at, it is hardly worth it. The rest of the characters are a blast though.

The Story - Lots more story has been added and it does a much better job of driving things forward. It's done well, lots of laughs but at the same time pretty dark. One minor gripe is that a little more often then should happen, you get messages while in the middle of combat and miss the message. There is probably a way to repeat them later so... probably a minor issue.

Items

Guns, Guns, Guns! I don't even know where to begin... Guns of all types that do all sorts of crazy shit. They upped the number of stats (at least more are visible) but they seriously do not tell you if the weapon is any good or not. Try out your guns to get the real story. I found one assault rifle that I almost ditched but then tried and holy crap... It shot hand granades instead of bullets They don't go very far, maybe 20 yards or so but they explode when they hit an ememy or after a few seconds and when that stream starts going off... heh, it's awesome, too bad it does not apply my grenade mod. I also have a shot gun that shoots fire balls Loads of cool guns. It may sound like a pain to always be switching up guns but it is fun discovering cool ones and it also helps a lot with your badass rank (yes, yes, I'll get to that)

Grenade mods - Grenade mods get a big upgrade and can come with a lot of mods and stats. Pay attention to the fuse time is though... They can hurt you as well as enemies.

Shields - Like everything else, there are lots of stats and mods that can come on shields. I'm looking for shields with low recharge delay (how long it takes after the last time you take damage before the shield starts recharging) and a high recharge rate (how fast it recharges once it starts) over capacity (how much shield you have).

Skins - Skins can be found either as loot drops or in vending machines. Use them and they unlock new skins for characters or cars.

Class mods - These give +to skills as well as other bonus's. I have not gotten to where these are available yet but I'm expecting lots of these.

Something else - There is also another slot for some other type of mod but I've not found what they are yet.

Badass Rank - OK, here it is As I said earlier, the whole gun mastry system is out. In it's place is the Badass Rank system. Every time you complete a challenge (challenges are listed in the Start menu, all the way to the right, this is also where you spend badass tokens) you get badass ranks... 1 rank for the first level of the challenge, then 10 for the next and on like that... The bigger the challenge the more points. Every so many ranks you get a Badass token. When you spend the token (use 'x' in the menu), you get to select one of five randomly presented stats and you get a bonus to that stat permantly and for ALL of your characters... Yes, they all share the same badass stat bonus's.

There are tons and tons of challenges to complete so be sure to mix it up. Use different elemental mods, different weapons, everything, just mix it up. All challenges are listed in the menu for ideas on new ways to kill just to get more tokens, heh.

The Badass Bonus - I thought this was going to be even more overpowered then the gun mastry was in B1 and I think by the time all the expansions are out it may well be... But thats good, by that point you should be able to have a super kick ass character. It is something I really liked about the first game. The bonus starts out nicely with +1% but it quickly drops from there. There is a nice chart here:

http://segmentnext.com/2012/09/19/borderlands-2-badass-ranking-guide-how-to-rank-up-fast/

At level ten I have a Badass rank of 290 and have spent 23 tokens total and the most on one stat being 4 tokens. Right now I'm not getting more then a few percent on any given stat but I am getting that on 14 different stats... it adds up. If one were to play the game a lot and have 1 of each character (including the fifth that comes 10/16) I can see these stats getting into at least the 12-15% range... Now you have my attention I'm thinking of trying to get 2 or maybe 3 of them as high as I can by picking them every time the appear and trying to keep the rest about even with each other...

Re-Spawning - Enemies respawn... And they do it pretty quickly. Be careful.

Bottom Line - If you liked B1, go buy this game. It is everything you loved made better. If you did not like the first... I don't think you are going to change your mind... It will suck less then before but thats probably not a reason to get a game. If you are unsure... I suggest you rent it and give it a try (is there a demo for this yet... if not, I would expect one soon).

If you are playing on PS3, send me a PM if you want to play and we can set it up.

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Borderlands 2 - PS3 - Review (Original Post) Ohio Joe Sep 2012 OP
I so want to get that game! Alduin Sep 2012 #1
I'm playing it and loving it. Evoman Sep 2012 #2
This message was self-deleted by its author keithmkr59255us Jan 2013 #16
Spam deleted by UrbScotty (MIR Team) faridul35 Sep 2012 #3
Damn Aerows Oct 2012 #4
Sooo much more to add... Ohio Joe Oct 2012 #5
oh... Before I forget, a note on doing missions Ohio Joe Oct 2012 #6
Cool. A couple questions lovemydog Oct 2012 #7
Lets see... Ohio Joe Oct 2012 #8
thanks man lovemydog Oct 2012 #9
i had the first borderlands game argiel1234 Oct 2012 #10
Currently level 27 commando Axton lovemydog Nov 2012 #11
How's the DLC (singleplayer)? cemaphonic Dec 2012 #12
So far, pretty good Ohio Joe Dec 2012 #13
pfffftt... I've not forgotten this... Ohio Joe Jan 2013 #14
My Solo Siren Ohio Joe Jan 2013 #15
Krieg - First impressions Ohio Joe May 2013 #17
Tiny Tina's Assualt on Dragons Keep - DLC Ohio Joe Jun 2013 #18
Best BL2 DLC by far. Right up there with Knoxx. Skeeter Barnes Jun 2013 #19
Axton - Fire in the Hole! Ohio Joe Jun 2013 #20
Awesome Borderlands 2 cosplay: Ellie! Skeeter Barnes Aug 2013 #21
Level cap increase and new content to release on September 3. Skeeter Barnes Aug 2013 #22
Gearbox is boosting the drop rates for rare shields from today until Sept. 2. Skeeter Barnes Aug 2013 #23
 

Alduin

(501 posts)
1. I so want to get that game!
Sun Sep 23, 2012, 03:02 PM
Sep 2012

But I'll have to wait until my next paycheck because I just bought two other games.

Thanks for the review! Sounds awesome!

Evoman

(8,040 posts)
2. I'm playing it and loving it.
Mon Sep 24, 2012, 12:48 PM
Sep 2012

I like the new classes (though havent tried out gunzerker) and I really like the new upgrade trees (and the fact that you have to carefully pick and choose BUT can also reset if you make a big mistake for your plays style). Guns are awesome and a lot more varied in looks and function, and the smarter enemies are great.

The only things I don't like in the game is the sometimes overwhelming number of enemies and the quicker respawn. I HATE respawning....the only time it should happen is when you leave the area completely or reload the game. I hate clearing out an area, moving forward, and then having a bunch of guys I already killed come back. I hate respawning in ALL games, but especially in first person shooters. I also like smaller amounts of enemies....feels more realistic somehow, and it's more fun when you can really concentrate on your killing, rather than shooting blindly at guys all around you.

Other than that, love the game.

Response to Evoman (Reply #2)

 

Aerows

(39,961 posts)
4. Damn
Thu Oct 4, 2012, 01:13 PM
Oct 2012

That sounds FUN!

I didn't know about the Badass ranks, and tokens. That sounds great for those that like to have a lot of alts (like me)

When I get it (not if after this review) I'll be playing on PC.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
5. Sooo much more to add...
Sun Oct 14, 2012, 12:41 PM
Oct 2012

Lets see what I can get through.

DLC - There are going to be at least 5 DLC packs:

1 - Gaige - The Mechromancer - A new character class to play. Free if you pre-ordered the game or $9.99 to buy. Gaige's skill is the deathtrap robot. An interesting character, depending on which tree you pick she can be easy, medium or hard to play... Very sweet. Gaige is available for download now.

2 - 4 expansion packs between now and June with the first hitting this Tuesday (10/16/2012). These can be bought all as a pack for $30 or $10 each separately.

DLC is... fucking DLC... I got this whole love/hate thing going on with it.

Size - This game is freakin huge... I have one of each of the five characters going, they range from level 6 to level 22 and my furthest along character still does not see the end of play through one... And I know there are a lot of area's I've still not really explored. With all the expansion packs, this is going to be one monstrous game.

Circle's of Slaughter - The Circle's of Slaughter are back and more fun then ever. I have only done one round of one of them so far but it was an epic solo battle. Held in a multi-level arena that threw three waves of large numbers of bad guys both easy and hard. It took me almost 30 minutes to complete and was a total blast. The bigger, more varied arena was exactly what these things needed.

Challenges - When I first looked at these, I thought... Holy Crap there are a lot more challenges. Now... WTF? Just how many challenges are there going to be? There have been a crap load more challenges revealed as I've gotten further into the game... Some of the 'level specific' challenges I've not even figured out what they mean yet, much less how to complete them This also translates into loads of glorious stats for me to pour over and obsess about, I love it except that... They have the same freaking problem as in B1, they fucking stop once the top goal is reached... Dammit, I want running totals that go on forever that tell me how many of each bad guy I kill

ack... Gotta go back to killing, I really want to get one character through play through one soon and start putting out some character builds for solo'ing.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
6. oh... Before I forget, a note on doing missions
Sun Oct 14, 2012, 01:02 PM
Oct 2012

The consensus seems to be that missions that reward you with unique items generate the item based on your character level. So on play through one, go ahead and do all missions as you get them and use the reward as you can. On play through two, you want to get the best items you can so put off doing any side missions until you have maxed out your level. Currently, the max level is at 50 but it will go up (to some un-known number at this time) with the expansion packs but 50 is probably a good enough number to wait for unless you really have to have the bestest

lovemydog

(11,833 posts)
7. Cool. A couple questions
Thu Oct 18, 2012, 02:05 PM
Oct 2012

I'm enjoying it on the ps3. Love the cartoon graphics, fun gameplay & hilarious dialogue.

1. I'm playing as Gunzerker & enjoying it so far. Can and should I also try playing as Commando and other characters in the first run through?
2. Is it necessary to strategize a lot on the skill trees? If so, are the decisions super important? I'd like to upgrade but not stress too much about the decisions.

Thanks.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
8. Lets see...
Thu Oct 18, 2012, 02:23 PM
Oct 2012

1 - Yes, definitely play other characters. It is the best way to find which one fits your play style the best.

2 - Don't agonize about this at all. Re-spec'ing (go to a 'new-you' station and you can to re-allocate all of your skill points) is quick, cheap and easy. Try different combinations of skills with different gear and there are tons of variations to build.

 

argiel1234

(390 posts)
10. i had the first borderlands game
Fri Oct 26, 2012, 11:17 PM
Oct 2012

i dont have the $ right now for the second..saving up for gta 5...cant afford these games when they are $60..but this game sounds right up my alley

lovemydog

(11,833 posts)
11. Currently level 27 commando Axton
Wed Nov 28, 2012, 03:25 PM
Nov 2012

Absolutely loving this game. It's the most fun I've had with a game since ... I don't know. Pretty much the most fun I've ever had with a game!

cemaphonic

(4,138 posts)
12. How's the DLC (singleplayer)?
Tue Dec 18, 2012, 05:48 PM
Dec 2012

I have Borderlands 2 sitting on my Steam account, and I am trying to decide if I want to pick up the DLC before I get started with it. I passed on the DLC for the first game because it seemed to be more geared to coop, but I liked what I saw of the themes/art styles for them.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
13. So far, pretty good
Tue Dec 18, 2012, 08:20 PM
Dec 2012

I'm working on an extension for this review to include some about them as well as other things but in a nut shell:

Captian Scarlet - Big. Pirate themed with lots of funny dialog, a good amount of missions and hovercraft

Torgues - This one is wicked funny. I thought it was going to be mostly arena battles but it's not. It has an 80's pre-wrestling overtone to it that just cracks me up it's so over the top. This did have one problem, all the boss battles as way too easy until the last one which is way too hard... Very unbalanced bosses, they should patch them to make it a more natural progression of dificulty.

Keep an eye out for a more detailed report on these to as well as the rest of the DLC when they get released.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
14. pfffftt... I've not forgotten this...
Tue Jan 8, 2013, 11:08 PM
Jan 2013

I just play it all the freakin time and don't want to stop and write

OK... I started off an hour or so ago with a bowl of a strain called "Acapulco Gold"... Do not confuse this with the memory of it you have from way back when... No, not at all. Topped with some outstanding bubble hash and I'm ready for... A nice dinner consisting of a mesquite BBQ pork loin, some broc-n-cheese rice-a-roni and white corn... Freakin yummy I then moved onto the vaporizer and have been pulling on my now dwindling stock of Purple Kush for the last 20 minutes or so... Yeah, I'm gone.

A few things about the game I've wanted to talk about though and finally have the ambition to put it down... As I need to let the rush wear off a bit before I start playing

Badass - Let me make what I said before clearer and... More correct... I was wrong in some of what I said earlier so let me get what I know straight here:

Challenges - Challenges are not in the Start menu, they are in the Select menu, all the way to the right. There are so freakin many challenges it is hard to keep track... Early game, don't worry about them, just check to see if you have Badass tokens to spend every 10-15 minutes of game play. Once you get to the point in the story where Sanctuary is in the air and you can get back to it via fast travel, use the triangle button while looking at the challenges to sort them by percent completed. Looking at them this way can inform you as to what you should do to get them maximum number of badass points. With this view of the challenges, you can also scroll to the bottom and see what you have not done at all... 0 kills with an SMG... Get a decent SMG and use it

Skills - In general... the plan should be to max out many, if not most or all, of one tree and then use any left over points in a secondary tree. Very Important... Pay Attention Here...

This Is An End Goal.

Along the way, Gearbox made it very cheap and easy to re-spec your points. 5 levels is a lot... Yes, it's is only 5 points (you get 1 per level and so far none are rewarded for quests) but... it is soooo cheap and easy to re-spec so... Fuck it, do it. Use the low level skills to make it easier to get along and in 5 levels... Do it again. Don't miss your end game... And don't miss your fun.

ack... How do I put this...

I am talking here from the perspective of a single player... And I understand B2 is very different if you are doing multi-player... Battles are very intense and can go on for a long time... Clearing out each little part of a map can involve battles that go on for anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes... I hear this is very different from the multi-player experience where they cut through a lot of these areas far faster (not a big deal on the low end but a lot on the big end and more parts are on the big end)... Everything I've seen says the game is slanted easier for multi-play (If you have done both, let us know your experience).

ahhh... So what the fuck was I trying to tell you... oh yeah... Re-specing... heh, it does not matter if you are going to be a long term hardcore player or if you are just going to finish the game with one character and be done... Do not be afraid to experiment with the skills to find the right one that works for you... Because then it will suck you in and make you play more

ahhhh... Back after a smoke break... How fucked up is that? I can use my vaporizer in the house but I have to go out side for a cig... Sigh.

Holy Crap... How do I spend my Badass Tokens - OK, what is a badass token? A badass token is a 'coin' you get spend by completing challenges. Each challenge has five levels of 'do more'... Kill more of this monster, use more of this weapon... On and on, so many different challenges. You get a set number of badass points for each level you complete and they are:

Level 1 - 1 BP
Level 2 - 5 BP
Level 3 - 10 BP
Level 4 - 50 BP
Level 5 - 100 BP

The amount of Badass Points it takes to level up and get a coin increases but not by much. At character level 1 it only takes.. 20... maybe 30 Badass Points to get a Badass Token and at character level 42 it's about 170 BP to get a token.

To spend the token, go to the challenges screen and hit the 'x' button. There are 14 different stats you can spend the token on and it will upgrade the stat. The amount of the upgrade drops fast and you are soon getting .04% stat increase per token spent (and it will go down more, bottoms out at .1 but not till you have spent a crapload of token in a given stat). You get to choose one of five random stats, presented to you... I've not given it much thought and pretty much kept my stats close. The wicked cool thing about the bonus is that it is shared across all characters on the account. Also, you never run out of challenges to go for since they can be reset (only challenges are reset, you keep the bonus on tokens spent), the option appears when you complete 85% of the non-map specific challenges (find 'x' on a given map). I currently have a little more then 19k Badass Points from all of my five characters and they all get the following:

Max Health - +9.1%
Max Shield Capacity - +8.0%
Shield Recharge Delay - -9.1%
Shield Recharge Rate - +7.6%
Melee Damage - +7.6%
Grenade Damage - +9.1%
Gun Accuracy - +7.6%
Gun Damage - +9.8%
Fire Rate - +8.4%
Recoil Reduction - +7.6%
Reload Speed - +8.7%
Elemental Effect Chance - +8.0%
Elemental Effect Damage - +9.1%
Critical Hit Damage - +8.0%

It's a crapload of badass tokens to get to this Do not let the number deceive you... They do not have a very big impact at lower levels, one of my characters is still level five and he sees almost no difference with the bonus on or off (they can be dis/enabled in the challenges menu) but my level 42 Siren... Holy Crap! And what makes that even better is that I'm still going to be getting a crapload more tokens... I have one of each character each and they are levels - 5, 21, 23, 25, 42... The level 42 is the only one past normal difficulty and finished with 'True Vault Hunter' about 15%... Not counting expansions... Of which the third of four comes out Tuesday... So many mutants to kill in so many different places

OK, enough for tonight, I want to go play Look soon for a siren guide... She is so freakin awesome

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
15. My Solo Siren
Wed Jan 16, 2013, 01:37 AM
Jan 2013

Tonight, I stopped at the dispensary and had a wonderful find... Let me try and explain something first. A number of the dispensaries I go to label the weed with some various information about the strain, including a 'number' that is a measure of how much 'get you high' factor it has. Beyond it being, the higher the better, I have no idea how it is calculated or what it really represents. The bulk of the weed I smoked before moving here would be rated around 14.0... The best I had ever had (and it was pretty damn good) before coming here would be rated around 20.0... The usual I buy at the dispensary here is rated about 18.0-19.5, middle-top shelf product... Tonight... I found a strain called C Slider and... oh my I do not recall what it is a hybrid of but it ends up with a mellow/smokey flavor and with a rating of freakin 23.5, one 'bowl' in the vaporizer (about half of the materiel in a cigarette for my vaporizer) and i'm about... As stoned as I've ever been... And I babble when I'm stoned... So, on to it, heh

Lilith is no longer the playable Siren, you are now Maya... Though Lilith is now an NPC. Maya is a bit different then Lilith (you find out there are always six Sirens, each with a different power), instead of disappearing, she can 'phase-lock' enemies... The skill changes depending on your skill path (we'll get to that).

The three trees to choose from are Motion, Harmony and Cataclysm and for this build, you will use some from each. A small disclaimer first... I'm doing this just before the release of the third DLC, at this time the level cap is 50 but it will be going up. It has not yet been announced what it will go up to or when but it has been announced it is going up. This will happen either with a patch sometime after the third DLC, or as part of the fourth DLC. When the level cap is increased, a third difficulty level is also going to be added... None of that is included in this guide yet but I will update lit when it's released and I've figured something out

OK... I'm currently at level 46, so just a few more points and I know where they are going so... Here is what I'm currently using and how I got there doing a solo Siren.

First point comes at level 5 and has to go into your action skill, Phaselock. At this point, it lifts the enemy off the ground and holds them in a bubble... They take damage but can not attack, so open up on them.

At level 2, drop a point into Sweet Release, in the Harmony tree. Every time you kill an enemy that is Phaselocked, you get some health. This only needs 1 point if you go with a mod that gives you +to skills here... And I suggest you do that, it is all the health regen you need.

Put the next 5 points, Level 3-7, into Ward, in the Motion tree. At 5 points, this gives you -40% shield recharge rate and 25% shield capacity. The bonus these two give you are great early on and stay great all the way through.

The next five, level 8-12, go into Suspension, also in the Motion tree. At level 5 it will give you another 2.5 seconds that Phaselock is active. Not a big deal now but later this is awesome.

The next point goes into Converge... A one point skill that modifies Phaselock to now also act like a singularity... Drawing all nearby enemies towards the locked target. This is a vital part of your strategy... As mobs draw close, target one in the back and Phaselock it, it stops the mob dead and draws them backwards, giving you more time to kill before they reach you... And it gets even better soon

On to the Cataclysm tree for a lot of points now, this is your main tree. Start off with five points in Flicker and five points in Foresight. Now you have a +305 chance that weapons elemental effects will trigger when an enemy is hit with a bullet... Watching a siren with this pumped and anything elemental that fires fast, pistol, smg, assault... It's devastating how much more damage you do then classes that don't have the boost.

If you are having trouble getting the last two, put points into Helios as soon as you can... The three of these all end up with five points.

Next is Cloud Kill. A nifty little skill that only takes one point. A poison cloud that gets renewed every five seconds as long as you hit something.

Chain Reaction gets the next four points. Now, any time an enemy is phase locked... All bullets you fire have a chance to riccochet and hit a second enemy... A 32% chance with four in it.

Blight Phoenix gets the next five. A kill skill... Kill an enemy and for seven seconds you deal both fire and corrode damage to any close enemies (i would guestimate it at about 6 yards... yeah, whats a yard, I know, heh). It will save your ass when you get killed mid way through a mob so many times, you will rely on it as a strategy... I shit you not

The crown jewel at last... Ruin. Phaselock now deals slag, corrode and electrocute damage in addition to all previous effects... ohhhh, just open up in the general direction with and smg and down they go... It is so awesome

Right about here, I had completed about 75% of the side quests so I went on and finished the main quest to open 'True Vault Hunter Mode'... or as I call it, the next difficulty level

I have an idea where I want to go but I want to see what happens with the upcoming level increase (no, it was not in the third DLC)... How many points it is will determine what I think will work best here as there is also supposed to be a third difficulty level... I suppose they will call it 'Supreme Vault Hunter Mode' or some such shit, heh. I will update this post when I do figure it out though.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
17. Krieg - First impressions
Tue May 14, 2013, 09:34 PM
May 2013

So... My favorite dispensary for weed has a new strain, Purple Cotton. I am so in love with this stuff and they had it dirt cheap too The guy I car pool with and I smoked a bowl after work with some hash on top... Very nice. I had some pea soup cooking in the crock that was ready to go, a little fresh bread I got on the way home with it and a very tasty meal was had. I got into some comfy clothes, fired up the PS3 and the vaporizer, then went to download the new vault hunter.

The in game way to purchase additional content is still fucked up for me (they have been working on this bug since release and still don't have it fixed) so I made the purchase through the playstation store. Lets just say they really need to get the store fixed, it sucks hard right now, I hate it (though I did download a new demo for a game called GodMode, look for a review soon). Mercifully the download was tiny (I think it was just a couple of meg, it did the download and install in less then 20 seconds) so I was able to get out of that shit quick.

Krieg's action skill is either melee or long range. Melee looks to be the best use of it right now but I expect the ranged aspect could be made into a viable character... hmmm, I'll have to look into that more at some point but right now I'm using it and developing skills to go melee with it.

The first few levels sucked like they always do... They really need to do away with waiting so damn long to get your first skill for BL3... But once you get to start using your action skill... Holy Shit is this character fun to play and I've just scratched the surface (I'm level 8 now). See... Every other character spends a decent amount of time back peddling and trying to fire away at psycho's but now... You are the psycho. I'm just not thinking it's going to get old any time soon watching THEM back peddle for a change

This character, I suspect, is going to be an absolute animal against everything except bosses. Bosses are going to be tough for this guy to solo, a lot like Maya, the action skill is just not very great for bosses and there is a lot of skills that are only activated on a kill (many bosses have no minions). Meh, can't have everything and fortunately most of my playing time is not spent killing bosses over and over again but rather slaughtering the masses

My plan is to go with a primary tree of Mania so I can become a Badass Psycho Mutant with a secondary tree of Hellborn for the elemental damage.

If you are still playing and still loving BL2, get this, it's a lot of fun.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
18. Tiny Tina's Assualt on Dragons Keep - DLC
Thu Jun 27, 2013, 09:42 AM
Jun 2013

This is the fourth and final part of the season pass (more DLC may or may not come but if it does, everyone pays) and by far the best of the lot. This is almost a new game... But not at all. There is some re-use of things (pirate chests stick out the most) but sooo much is brand spanking new. The biggest change is the setting... The DLC takes place in a game within the game... But somehow you can just travel in and out with items... If they address how that is working, I missed it, it just seems to... Whatever, I get new loot

The game is Bunkers and Badasses, and badassess it is... They are everywhere. This is one big fight after another, all the way through. The setting changes completely to a fantasy one and they do it well. The writing is also amazing with some great jabs at gaming. One of the missions has you go to kill a big bad monster but when you get there, there are three other 'players' waiting for the monster to spawn and you have to grief them into leaving so you can get the kill for yourself... heh, thats awesome

I've put about 12 hours into it with one character (Gaige, level 53 on TVHM) and have just about completed all the side missions (like 2 left unless more come up) and am just about at the end. Some BIG new areas, all fantasy themed, including forrest, town, castle, mines... More I think

I can't wait to get my level 50 Grenade Axton in there to try out some of the new grenade mods... ach, but that character build is something I should do a write up on, I love him.

Bottom line - If you have the season pass, you are getting this (or... already have it probably) but if you don't... This is the one to get if you only get one.

Skeeter Barnes

(994 posts)
19. Best BL2 DLC by far. Right up there with Knoxx.
Sat Jun 29, 2013, 03:11 AM
Jun 2013

Just finished it with Axton and I'd say it's better than the main game. They did a great job with the ending!

Have you tried the Florentine yet? Easily the best Seraph gun they've come up with. The Agitator shield is pretty cool, too. You can get both from the Seraph vendor as soon as you get to Flamerock Refuge.

I've read that the slot machines in Moxxi's tavern give up good loot but haven't fooled with them much yet.

Evidently there are no Loot Midgets in this DLC. There's supposed to be new COMs but I didn't see any during my run through the story.

Every map has tons of side quests to do so I'll be busy for a while.

I'm on Xbox 360 if anyone wants to do some co-op.

Ohio Joe

(21,756 posts)
20. Axton - Fire in the Hole!
Sat Jun 29, 2013, 11:54 PM
Jun 2013

Tonight is a tasty, tasty 175mg Cheeba Chew that I ate about an hour and a half ago and it has kicked in full force. I've not really figured out this whole edible thing as most of the ones I've tried have had little to no effect but the Cheeba Chews... Yeah, don't eat these if there is even the remotest chance you might have to go out... You just can't function that well, for about 7-10 hours, after eating one of these babies To go along with this, I've also been hitting the vaporizer with some of the Purple Cotton I still have, mixed with some Strawberry Cough. You get the 'fruity' of the SC and the 'earthy' of the PC for a real nice blend. So... I'm stupid stoned and ready to write a bit before going back to try and finish the second difficulty level with this guy (I'm just about at the end).

Axton is the new turret wielding soldier that takes over for Roland. The turret has some nice new upgrades, from having two of them, to a mini-nuke when deploying, to what I'm using it for... Slag. I should say that since this character is all about grenades, I will at some point re-spec a few times and try out the other trees but not right now.

Currently level 50, Axton kicks some major ass. When his turret is deployed, it slags everything it hits... Slag, is an 'element' in the game that when it hits something (you or an enemy), for the next few seconds, any damage is x3. Very nice to take down bosses as well as pretty much everything else by the third play through (you must have a way to slag in the third though there are many ways to do it). It also has some nice missiles and does hefty damage in it's own right Plus... When it is deployed I get an additional 30% grenade damage... Ahhhh, enough about turret, lets talk grenades

OK, start with 30% from the turret, then another 50% from Steady (a skill), another 13% from Badass tokens, another 28% from my class mod, another 10% from do or die and I'm at 131% (heh, assuming I added that right)... Holy Crap... Grenade go BOOM.

I've shuffled off all the coolest grenades I've found to this guy and he now has a rather nice arsenal:

The sticky homing bonus package - This is a really nice are cleaning grenade. Anytime you see a huge mob or accidently attract two mobs at once... This is your go to guy. It only does explosive damge but it does a ton of it and it does it over a huge area. The main grenade will elplode a few seconds after being thrown,when it explodes it drops a ring of 9 more grenades that each also explode into yet another mega-ring of grenades. It is awesome to behold.

The Homing Fire Bee - Another unique grenade that is also a great mob killer but... Only if the mob is weak to fire (flesh creatures). The grenade explodes in a fiery burst that drops a small turret that spits out flame in all directions as well as homing fire balls. Again... Very cool to see.

The Lobbed Pandemic - This one is best against robots. After throwing it out, it explodes in a corrosive cloud and then spits out around a dozen homing acid balls. It just melts away anything with a yellow bar.

Various Bouncing Betties - I love these things and carry a few types to swap in and out depending on the enemy in the area. These guys, when thrown, will start spinning and spitting out bullets for about 7 seconds before exploding. The 'sticky' versions with elemental effects are great. You throw it on the baddest guy around and he becomes a mobile death machine for all his buddies as he slowly dies. It is so cool to see even tough mobs evaporate with a few of these going off

Other then wanting to give this guy your best grenade mods and going for the grenade skills (did I mention the one that gives me a bunch more grenade carrying capacity... heh), this guy is not very dependent on gear. The Slag from the turret makes tons of different guns great to use... I switch out guns and shields regularly to make sure I'm completing challenges. The only other gear item to be on the look out for is the grenadier class mod and while a 'perfect' one is damn near impossible to find, a good one is pretty easy to get.

OK, enough... I'm feeling a real need to kick back and relax a bit

Skeeter Barnes

(994 posts)
21. Awesome Borderlands 2 cosplay: Ellie!
Tue Aug 27, 2013, 12:28 AM
Aug 2013
http://hija-jiyangi.tumblr.com/post/50014787519/my-mom-moxxi-always-told-me-if-i-slimmed-down

I happened to see that link while reading this article by the BL2 writer, Anthony Burch.

http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/community/articles/1077/inside-the-box-inclusivity

I guess it never dawned on me while playing the Dragon Keep DLC but evidently somewhere in there, it is revealed that both Mr. Torgue and Axton are bisexual. I knew about Hammerlock but not the other two guys. Did anyone else catch that playing the game?

Just thought this stuff was interesting and wanted to pass it along.

174,000 Badass rank and still going.
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