Borderlands 4 Items

As the fifth installment in the classic ARPG series, Borderlands 4 quickly gained popularity among both new and veteran players after its release on multiple platforms this September.

Until recently, while the game's overall performance remains acceptable, the number of players has been quietly declining. This is quite unusual for a new game that has only been online for a little over a month.

Below, we will analyze several reasons for the decline in player reviews and engagement based on the performance of various gameplay elements and events in Borderlands 4 since its release.

Exaggerated Promotion

Frankly, sometimes exaggerating game content in promotional materials to attract more players isn't unacceptable, but if it differs significantly from the actual content, it can actually increase player dissatisfaction, as exemplified by the recent Halloween event in BL4.

Generally, when you see the word "event," you should assume there will at least be small-scale combat gameplay to participate in. However, in reality, Borderlands 4 only introduced a few new cosmetics through Horrors of Kairos event.

While the cosmetics themselves weren't rudimentary - including new skins, a legendary weapon and grenade, and a seasonal weather variant - it hardly qualifies as an event, especially compared to Borderlands 3.

Borderlands 3's Halloween event introduced new explorable areas, allowing you to earn loot and enchantments by defeating unique bosses. All of this combined made for a substantial Halloween, unlike BL4's.

In fact, no player demanded a massive Halloween event for Borderlands 4; the key is that their promotional material certainly conveyed the message - nobody wants to be fooled, right?

The New Characters Are Overly Bland And Hollow

In Borderlands series, Vault Hunters are not only playable characters, but each has their own unique storyline, a hallmark of Borderlands.

Thanks to the groundwork laid by previous installments, many Vault Hunters have won over players with their rich backstories and well-developed characters, providing an additional emotional experience when playing as them.

Perhaps due to criticism of the redundant storylines and clichéd jokes in Borderlands 3, Borderlands 4 aimed to address these shortcomings by streamlining the narrative when introducing the new Vault Hunters.

Unfortunately, the development team seems to have overdone it. While the verbosity issue was resolved, the stories of the new Vault Hunters were not fully developed. The game only provides a brief overview, lacking in-depth detail.

As a result, these new Vault Hunters feel somewhat irrelevant to the plot, and coupled with the reduced appearance rate of older characters, it's difficult to connect with the characters and the story as emotionally as in the past.

Related: Borderlands 4 Roadmap Revealed At PAX Australia: Terrors Of Kairos Event, Bounty Pack 1 DLC And Invincible Boss Details

This situation likely stems not only from Borderlands 3 being "too verbose," but also from the development team's past tendency to create characters with very pronounced strengths and weaknesses, easily sparking online arguments between fans of different characters.

To avoid this, the design of the new Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4 had to be more restrained. But frankly, striking the right balance is difficult; a slight misstep can lead to overcorrection - as seen in the current situation.

Legendary Gear Drop Rate Too Low

Theoretically, in ARPGs, it's normal for rarer gear to have a lower drop rate. This means you have to put in enough effort to become powerful and consume time farming to obtain them, highlighting their rarity.

Therefore, when designing boss battles and other challenges, Borderlands 4 adjusted the drop rates of legendary gear and other rare rewards based on the mechanics of its predecessor. However, the old problem persists: the development team has over-corrected again.

Now in Borderlands 4, you might even encounter the ridiculous but real situation of farming a boss hundreds of times without getting the ultimate gear. This can actually cause you to lose interest in these rewards and even the game itself.

Open World Design Deficiencies

Compared to its predecessor, Borderlands 4 adds many new exploration methods. While this reduces the linearity of plot progression and character leveling, it makes your exploration in the open world much more free.

This should have been an advantage, but the problem lies in the lack of clear barriers or boundaries in certain areas. This means you might accidentally crash into invisible walls while gliding or climbing, and you can't even avoid them with warnings.

Technical Issues And Bugs Abound

While Borderlands 4's combat mechanics are well-designed and continue the series' tradition, their implementation in the game hasn't lived up to expectations.

Since its release, players have consistently reported frequent technical problems and other glitches, hindering gameplay and significantly impacting the experience.

If you think this is due to the game's rich content overwhelming standard devices, you're mistaken. Players who have excellent devices also reported game crashes on forums and other communication platforms.

In fact, this isn't the first time Borderlands series has encountered such issues; at least BL3 experienced the same problem. While patches and updates improved the situation, ensuring smooth gameplay should be a fundamental requirement for a triple-A game.

The consecutive issues with Borderlands 3 and 4 inevitably raise suspicions that the developers are simply trying to capitalize on Borderlands hype by releasing half-finished games for short-term profits, rather than genuinely investing in a good game.

Deteriorating User Interface

Due to its vibrant art style, Borderlands 4's combat visuals can sometimes appear overly bright or cluttered. To minimize these negative impacts, the game's user interface and UI design should be simple and user-friendly.

Unfortunately, Borderlands 4 fails to achieve this. If you're playing the game, you'll likely encounter issues such as the inventory constantly resetting its default sorting and the inability to click the weapon filter - and this is even after a redesigned interface and interaction system.

While we've pointed out many shortcomings in Borderlands 4, most are entirely resolvable. Given the game's recent release, there's significant room for improvement - provided the development team prioritizes player feedback and the game's future development.

Regardless, with a title from a popular game IP like Borderlands 4, you always hope it will improve! Let's hope it can make changes!

Hello Vault Hunters! The week-long delayed Borderlands 4 patch is finally here. This patch is packed with content, including bug fixes and the Horrors of Kairos event.

So, what does the October 23rd patch bring to Vault Hunters? What Legendary weapons have been buffed? Horrors of Kairos introduces two new Legendary weapons - how can you obtain them? Let's take a look.

Vault Hunter Balance Adjustments

Harlowe The Gravitar

First, fixed a bug that caused a significant frame rate drop, and Pencils Down class mod no longer rolls +6, now +5. Gun damage buff of Harlowe now applies to Ripper Heavy Weapon and Entanglement. Neutron Capture's damage type has been changed from gun damage to radiation damage, which is a significant nerf.

Amon The Forgeknight

Amon has received several bug fixes this time, including issues with the cooldown of Onslaught in multiplayer and the frequency of Rocket Punch. Shield visual effects have also been adjusted to improve clarity in combat.

This update focuses on Amon's abilities, which have generally received buffs:

• Each stack now lasts 4 seconds, and all stacks are lost if a kill is not achieved within that time.
• Blackout: Fixed a bug where it could only invest 1 point, now it can invest 5 points. However, the damage per point has been reduced from 21% to 15%, but overall it's still a buff.

Vex The Siren

Before the patch, Bleed Vex was the simplest, yet most disruptive, build. This patch fixes a bug that caused Bleed effects to recursively stack, causing infinite damage. As expected, this build's damage will be significantly reduced, but she can still use abilities like Witchy Trigger Finger and Torgue Stickies work together to deal high damage.

To complement this, the damage and duration of Double Trouble Icon and Apex Beast in Here Comes Trouble (Red Tree) have been increased, but this buff won't significantly change the build, since its core issues lie in AI and tracking speed.

Rafa The Exo-Soldier

The free grenades dropped by Rafa's Legendary COM now deal the correct amount of damage. APOPHIS Lance skill's penalty has been changed from affecting Gun Handling to affecting Gun Accuracy, no longer affecting Projectile Speed, and now benefits from Cooldown Reduction.

In addition to the above changes, Class Mods have received comprehensive buffs, particularly those related to melee damage and melee shields. Notably, Groundbreaker now only stores damage from guns, action skills, and heavy weapons, and no longer stores damage over time, which fixes a recursive damage loop that could cause infinite stacking damage.

Gear Adjustments

Borderlands 4's guns have received a number of adjustments. Improving gun handling skills now actually increases projectile speed, and several bugs that could trigger infinite ammo have been fixed. Notably, assault rifles have received a comprehensive buff:

• Star Helix: Fire rate +33%.
• Bonnie and Clyde: Base damage +40%.
• Pair of Thieves: Bonus damage increased from +100% to +150%.
• Bugbear: Base damage +40%; Special ability damage +100% to +200%.
• Rowan's Charge: Fire rate +100% and slightly reduced recoil.
• Lucian's Flank: Lucian's Flank now has +50% base damage and reduced recoil.
• Aegon's Dream: Base damage +35%.
• Jakobs Crit Knife: Critical hit chance reduced to 30%.

Horrors Of Kairos

• Date: October 23rd - November 6th.
• New Equipment: Murmur Legendary Tediore Assault Rifle and Skully Legendary Order Grenade
• Horrors of Kairos SHIFT Redemption Code: 3S6BB-ZXT93-KRT3W-BT3T3-JW6TZ

These two new weapons can be obtained as loot from World Bosses on Kairos. Since this event is limited-time, we recommend participating in Horrors of Kairos event first to obtain these weapons.

General Improvements And Bug Fixes

Progression, Loot, And Rewards

• Eridium Reduced: Specialization requirement reduced from 5000 to 1500.
• Boss Drops: Added loot for certain bosses that previously did not drop loot.
• Collectibles: Fixed a bug where not all ECHO logs could be collected. The associated cosmetics will now be unlocked. (Cosmetic).
• Gear Handling: Improved handling of gear that unlocks rewards while driving.
• Lost Loot Machine: Now prioritizes higher rarity items.
• Cash Drops: Loot Enemies now drop more Borderlands 4 money.
• Golden Chest: Fixed a bug where it could not be opened even with a key.
• Achievements & Soft Locks: Fixed issues with some achievements not unlocking and some minor soft locks.

Gameplay & Missions

• Black Market Vendor: Now functions properly in multiplayer.
• Legendary Vending Machine: No longer unexpectedly closes during Vend of the Line mission.

Weekly Activities

• Big Encore Machine: Moved to Ripper Drill location in Battle Wagon, allowing you to farm special weapons like Bugbear and Finnity XXX-L.
• This week's Wild Card changes: Rewards the legendary weapon Kickballer (repeatable).
• Black Market Vendor: Relocated and new items added, making each player's inventory unique.

This Borderlands 4 patch is a massive balance overhaul and bug fix. The focus is on nerfing overpowered skill combos and weapon interactions, while also buffing underperforming weapons and skills, and fixing numerous bugs that impacted gameplay. While some top builds have been nerfed, these improvements, along with numerous bug fixes, may allow some previously underperforming builds to enter the new meta.