New Borderlands DLC coming later this month

[Vampyr]

Adds a bank and two skill points, among other things.

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/second...is-month/1792/

OK, it seems clear now that Gearbox and 2K are going to take this "downloadable add-on" thing pretty seriously, as they've officially announced the second piece of DLC for Borderlands, Max Moxxi's Underdome Riot.

As I selfishly skim the released information for details that may be relevant to my level 50 soldier, two things immediately jump out. First, this add-on will bring a bank to Borderlands, giving players a place to leave behind any exceptional, but not immediately useful loot they may find. An out-of-inventory storage area is a great idea, as I'm still running around with old guns that look cool, but aren't powerful enough to actually be of any use in a fight.

Also, the quest rewards in the Underdome pack will include two skill points, which you can apply to your skill tree however you see fit. I understand if this sounds meaningless to you, but if you've played as much Borderlands as I have, you're probably all "two new skill points! YEAH!!!!" It's not quite the same as a proper raise of the level cap, but it's close enough for now.

As you may have guessed from the additional trophy details that leaked out yesterday (if not Mad Max-like nature of the pack's name), this pack adds more arenas to the game. There will be three new "Riot Mode" arenas, to be exact. I have to admit, I'm not sure if the use of this "Riot Mode" moniker will mean that they're any different from the game's existing arenas, each of which offered a few waves of enemies to battle in a tight, dare I say, arena-like environment. They got a little tough, but since you could respawn after a death and run right back into the arena mid-battle, none of them were impossible. Hopefully there's more to this DLC pack than that.

The pack will run you $10 and will appear on the Xbox 360 on December 29. PlayStation 3 owners will have to wait a bit, as that release is scheduled for January 7. There's no word on a PC release, but considering the first DLC--The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned--hit the PC earlier this week, that makes it sound like PC players could be seeing Max Moxxi before the end of January.

Oh, hey, here are two screenshots of this thing, too.

[TheSlyMoogle]

YES! I officially approve of Gearbox.

[TheSlyMoogle]

So for anyone who hasn't been following this, it comes out the 29th.

Also basically it's like Horde mode in Gears of War 2.

I'm excited.

Also the game was patched on the 11th of this month. So far I've been finding oranges from regular enemies and a lot more rare weapons instead of trash. I've done like 6 runs of Crimson Fastness. So far I found 8 oranges just from the regular enemies, and around 2 oranges in chests per run. I dunno what's going on and the patch notes don't say anything about it, but I think they may have changed drop rates and chest rates as well. I approve of this game.

[Vampyr]

Oh man, a horde mode? That is exciting beyond exciting.

It's also exciting to hear that they may have boosted orange drops. Last night I picked this game back up and am finishing the Zombie Island DLC. I got the update, but didn't notice a real increase (but I'm playing it on playthrough 1).

It also seems like this update fixed some of Lilith's buggy skills.

Can't wait for the DLC tomorrow.

[Professor S]

I'm torn between this and Dragon Age for my Christmas money game purchase this year (ME2 is already paid for, so no worries). As a 360 purchase, which way should I go?

[Vampyr]

Originally Posted by Professor S

I'm torn between this and Dragon Age for my Christmas money game purchase this year (ME2 is already paid for, so no worries). As a 360 purchase, which way should I go?

A month ago I would have said Dragon Age 100% for sure...but now it's getting so close to ME2, I don't know if you'll be able to get all the enjoyment out of Dragon Age that you should until it comes out. Both are epic RPG's, so it may be hard to play both at the same time.

I guess it depends on how much free time you have, or if you don't care to play two big western RPG's in a row. Dragon age is a game you want to play through 2 or 3 times, with about 50 hours a playthrough.

Borderlands can be beaten in a few days, and getting level 50 isn't too big a deal, and there's good replayability from collecting new guns.

So yeah...this close to Mass Effect I think I would say Borderlands, then maybe pick up DA later for a reduced price when there's a lull in RPG's.

On that note, I finished Zombie Island last night, and it was awesome. Although I'm a little annoyed because I must have missed the "Braaaaaaains" quest somewhere. :\

[Poombormaph]

If you haven't bought F3 yet, hold out for a few more months. GOTY edition will have all 5 DLC packs, including this month's Mothership Zeta. Comes out in... October, I think?

[TheSlyMoogle]

Originally Posted by Vampyr

A month ago I would have said Dragon Age 100% for sure...but now it's getting so close to ME2, I don't know if you'll be able to get all the enjoyment out of Dragon Age that you should until it comes out. Both are epic RPG's, so it may be hard to play both at the same time.

I guess it depends on how much free time you have, or if you don't care to play two big western RPG's in a row. Dragon age is a game you want to play through 2 or 3 times, with about 50 hours a playthrough.

Borderlands can be beaten in a few days, and getting level 50 isn't too big a deal, and there's good replayability from collecting new guns.

So yeah...this close to Mass Effect I think I would say Borderlands, then maybe pick up DA later for a reduced price when there's a lull in RPG's.

On that note, I finished Zombie Island last night, and it was awesome. Although I'm a little annoyed because I must have missed the "Braaaaaaains" quest somewhere. :\

Well it's spoilers, but Zombie TK Baha is hiding in a shack in the town with the pumpkins. Oh zombie TK Baha.

[Vampyr]

Originally Posted by TheSlyMoogle

Well it's spoilers, but Zombie TK Baha is hiding in a shack in the town with the pumpkins. Oh zombie TK Baha.

Sweet!

He was my favorite character, and I was very upset when he got strung up.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Yeah I fucking love TK Baha.

[Vampyr]

So some reviews are in,

http://www.giantbomb.com/borderlands...?review_id=247

And the word around the internets is that it sucks.

And I have to agree, particularly with everything Jeff says in the review above. My first character is level 42 (I got distracted by some other games), and after I finished up zombie island I was like, ok, the new DLC is a horde mode, I can probably finish up those last 8 levels there.

Wrong.

Each of the different horde areas has 5 rounds, composed of (I think) 5 waves. The first round is easy. After that the game starts doing modifications to you and the enemies every wave, and each wave also has a theme. So for example, you might get the "shotguns do increased damage, everything else does less" mod and have the "bad ass" wave.

By the time you get part way through the second round, things are getting tough, even on the first playthrough. Did I mention that these rounds take forever to complete? For each of the horde modes, you're looking at a significant time investment.

Now, this wouldn't be a big deal if you got good loot, xp, and/or weapon proficiency along the way. But you don't. Like, zip, zero, nada. I played for about 2 hours on one of the hordes and was not able to beat it, and I have nothing to show for it, not even a single experience point.

The frustration here is compounded by the fact that you could get unlucky with mod and wave themes. For example, one wave I got the "you have no shields" mod and the "guns" wave theme, which resulted in me being in the center of about 20 Crimson Lance dudes who each one dropped a turret, and me having no shields. And if you lose a Wave, you have to start all over. And again, you will have -nothing- to show for it.

In conclusion, if you haven't spent money on this DLC yet, do not do it.

[BreakABone]

New DLC drops tomorrow, and this looks like the big one.

Raises level cap to 61 for everyone.
New vehicles, including a four man vehicle.
New enemy types including one with a jetpack and midgets riding skags.
New weapons.
Bigger bigger and bigger.

Due tomorrow Feb 23rd for 10 bucks.

[Vampyr]

I'm not going to buy this one right off the bat in case it sucks like the last one.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Ahh I must say Gearbox did some crazy stuff with this one. Impressed.