A few weeks ago, we hopped into the "Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary" DLC that was released for Borderlands 2. The DLC acts as a bridge between the end of Borderlands 2 and the forthcoming Borderlands 3. As we played, we noted that while the looting and shooting is still pretty fun, the game definitely feels like a title released seven years ago and hoped there would be some quality-of-life changes for the next entry in the series. Good news, minion! Sounds like there will be.
In addition to the general gameplay improvements Gearbox has made (such as sliding/mantling, better gunplay, and "combat arenas), the team has also focused on some key cooperative improvements. Alongside enemies and loot scaling to each player's level so you can play with buddies regardless of how high/low their level may be, Borderlands 3 will also include the following co-op friendly features:
- Ping Ability - if you're not on a mic, you can still communicate with your team by pinging enemies, loot, and other points of interests.
- Item Sharing - you'll always end up with some gear you don't need/want. In Borderlands 3, you'll have a couple options. You can sell it off, or you can send it to a buddy that may need it via the in-game mail system. If your buddy sells an item that it turns out you actually wanted, don't worry; items sold by friends will occasionally show up in vending machines and you can buy them.
- Fight Rare Enemies - you can visit the bounty board on Sanctuary III to see what rare foes your friends have defeated and then go take them on yourself. Per Gearbox, "you’ll be offered missions to defeat those same rare enemies in which they are guaranteed to spawn."
Those are all some nice additions/improvements to the game and a good way to ensure you can still play with friends even if they're not actively playing at the moment.
Borderlands 3 is slated for a September 13 release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.