Borderlands 3 has recently had its gameplay debut in a special streaming session, revealing tons of new features to arrive. Below is the livestream for anyone who missed it.
You can totally re-watch the stream as below to find out more about the game. But at the same time, keep reading for further gameplay breakdown of and find out everything we learned about the game here, but keep on reading for a breakdown of Gearbox’s Borderlands 3.
To start off, Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox and Paul Sage, the creative director made it clear that Borderlands 3 will be using Unreal Engine 4. The storyline features Pandora’ new faction, Children of the Vault. And we have the familiar Lilith the Siren heading to the Crimson Raiders to investigate the new cult.
Vault Hunters
Regarding the Vault Hunters, a new traversal tool is there, allowing them to sprint-slide and hop over ledges. In addition to that, they’re having brand-new combat tools too. Multiple firing modes will be available to some guns while other elemental weapons can swap between such elements. Those elements can heavily influence environmental hazards, such as water conducting electricity or oil catching fire. At the same time, you now get to revive the NPCs and enjoy the mutual benefits.
Encountering Shiv
Going back to Amara, once encounter Shiv, the cult leader who captured Claptrap, you’ll need to shield up and fight him in melee. After defeating Shiv, Lilith will appear and explain her search for the key to other vaults.
Fortunately, we get to see the skill tree of Amara, which is similar to previous Borderlands titles. Amara has three action skills: Phaseslam, Phasecast and Phasegrasp. You’ll see one of them more clearly in the demo vid.
After that, the demo gameplay switched to co-op mode. Everyone gets their own loot stream, start fighting enemies and receive loots that match their levels. Of course, you can always switch back to the “Classic Mode” just like other Borderlands games.
Meet Zane, a new character
In the demo, a player chose Zane to play and Gearbox showed his skill tree accordingly. Zane can create his own digital copy, under the name Digiclone, which he could swap place with anytime. Also, Zane can make an autonomous Sentinel robot and summon a barrier shield.
During the demo, Gearbox made a little change to make the disposable guns in Borderlands 2 more useful. Now, after throwing away, guns become strange properties. It could be a bouncy ball, a turret or even become homing rockets.
Encountering Mouthpiece
In the co-op demo, the partners encountered another boss: Mouthpiece - the head of Children of the Vault's propaganda operation in the Holy Recruitment Center. After defeating the boss, players received a special gun, which shoots out soundwaves. Not long after that, the demo briefly showed the Calypso Twins: the main antagonists of the title: Troy & Tyreen.
Sanctuary
Towards the end of the presentation, Gearbox introduced Sanctuary, a customizable home of your own. This special home is actually a ship, which travels across planets and acts as your base. Here you can display your guns, recover old loots, visit Moxxi’s bar, chat with Tannis, open up chests and do various business with Crazy Earl or Marcus.
Promethea
After that, we caught sight of the neon city, Promethea, the home of Atlas Corporation. Two players then showcased the co-op gameplay here and we’ve got to say, it’s full of explosions, abilities and chaotic loot gathering. You meet Lorelei, a new NPC to guide you through from time to time.