Borderlands Series discussion (1 Viewer)

[CraigF]

Anybody know if I can somehow go back to the "slaughterdomes" after I finish the main game? I am totally unclear what happens after that, and I guess I've done everything I can do mission-wise, so will wrap it up next time I play. Then there's the DLCs of course, but I really like the slaughters, especially the Hyperion one (gets tough at the end, solo).

What I'm asking may not make sense, I don't know, I don't fully understand how everything levels up with you, or doesn't. In difficulty I mean. If the slaughters didn't level up, I guess they eventually wouldn't be much fun.

Edit: after finishing (the last mission took me a lot longer than I foolishly anticipated), I knew what better question to ask Mr. google, since you don't get thrown out of the game like some do when you complete the main story. I think I get the leveling thing now. I didn't get a chance to go back to any of the slaughters yet, but I vaguely recall when I tried before, the "attendant" wouldn't talk to me, so I couldn't play them again (in "normal" mode I mean). Some other games have these slaughterdomes where you can go to practice with new gear, or to get XP, or to meet certain "quantity" challenges, etc. I never liked them much, too repetitive. But I can say for sure the Hyperion slaughter is not repetitive at the two highest levels, you will certainly know that if you tried them solo, level 5 being by far the most difficult thing in the (normal) game, even 4 is harder than anything else. Crappy rewards, but good fun!

 

[CraigF]

OK, my last post was very naive. I try not to google much about games, because for some (like this one) there are tons of experts/fanatics who take this stuff very seriously, and they give away way too much: I like the surprise factor. But in BL2, after I get some strange gear that is ostensibly useless to me, I need to check out what it really is, and these devs have a real sense of humor, plus some rather esoteric knowledge, so you never know.

This time, I could not get into True Vault Hunters Mode. I refused the initial offer so I could wrap up my normal mode, grab the stuff I thought I might need, and do my own offline backup saves of everything JIC. So I had to google to find out how to get into TVHM after dicking around trying for an hour, and even then I had trouble. Like everything, easy enough once you know how...won't happen by accident anyway.

And this TVHM googling is when I actually learned some good facts about TVHM that I couldn't possibly have otherwise known, so it's a good thing I was stupid. It's kind of clever, and also simple, how they made this normal->TVHM game transition. I can see why lots of people complain, least at first: it is much harder from the get-go, and most of your fancy high-level gear from normal mode is barely serviceable, due to the dev's cleverness. I like that. Just as they advertised in the initial TVHM offer, now we have a real game!

This game is not at all how I imagined it was when I bought it a few years ago. I think I must have got it because "everybody" said I'd like it. The previews and/or subsequent official clips (I forget exactly what) actually made me not want to play it until now, no high "priority" at least, I got the totally wrong impression. My fault I guess...interpretation.

 

[Scott-S]

OMG...........
The Caustic Caverns are gaming hell !
the 3 missions there take hours to finish and if you have to leave the game you have to start over. If you unlock a door as a shortcut, it re locks if you leave. Sigh.

Threshers suck.

OK, had to vent. I feel better now.

 

[CraigF]

^ Yup. I have to say that's about my only complaint with this game, every mission seems to be a "Columbo" (just one more thing...) to complete, and if it's your first time you just don't know when it will end. Second time (TVHM) I know, so don't even start if I know I probably can't finish. But the good thing is it all counts towards your leveling up, if you want that.

Be sure to do the Lost Treasure mission when it comes up. Massive amounts of loot, and I'm not even talking the large chests, just drops. Fun in Caustic Caverns... I am a complete idiot: there is a "special area" in CC that I found out about after the first mission there. I can see where it is, I actually noticed how different it looks from everything around it and that's why I googled CC after doing the first mission there. I went back several times and still can't figure out how to get in. Eventually I'm going to have to break down and watch a video of how.

Edit: Is that a spoiler above? I'm sorry, I can't figure out how to do "spoilers", I thought I knew how but I didn't make it work...

 

[Scott-S]

You might be referring to the mission where you have to push the mine car along the tracks. This makes some large doors open up and allow access to the middle portion of the map. This is an important area because there is a weapons vending machine in there so you can sell off your loot to make some room.

 

[CraigF]

Yes, trust me, my OCD makes me collect everything and sell it off ASAP. I did a lot of running around to the vending machines in CC, to get money to gamble for Eridium.

The Lost Treasure is a side-quest that you get offered somewhere else, and it eventually leads to CC to do the actual work. That's what I mean by you think you're almost done a mission, then just one more (big!!) thing...

The "special area" will remind you of another extremely popular game...you can access it any time (you, not me...). It's completely optional, not even a mission, more like a kind of large Easter Egg with apparently some unique loot. Now that I think of it, I bet if I had ever played that "extremely popular game" I would have a clue how to get into the area proper.

Edit: I am being stupid by thinking it's "cheating" by looking game stuff up online. Clearly the devs expect you to, it would impossible to know the true value of many e.g. "red text" items just by casually using them, never mind knowing that there are certain things (e.g. Lady Fist, Rubi) you should always keep even if they look crappy. I am even wary of using the Golden chest as some form of "cheating", but after all, it is there to be used, it's a feature, not a cheat. This game requires you to get informed online, otherwise you're going to have a hard and perhaps miserable time. Going online is part of the game. OK, I'm done apologizing for my apparent personally-imposed old-fashioned ignorance.

 

[CraigF]

I am totally getting wiped in TVHM, solo commando, just at the Wildlife Sanctuary part. Not that it was particularly easy up to then, but not too bad at all. People say that after Sanctuary "takes off", things really change. Yup.

I have no good weapons, got no good/useful drops from bosses or badasses whatsoever in TVHM, am mostly using a leveled "Kiddie Shield" (really, the best I've found), and all my best (not "good") weapons came from slot machines. I am past the point I have a use for money (or Eridium, AFAIK), so getting killed is more annoying than meaningful, it's part of the game, but still I don't like it...poor form. The Golden chest is giving me total garbage, I burned some Keys so I could redeem some new ones (cap limit: use or lose), it's like "they" know and say suck it up.

OK, I asked for this. And I see it's a very common complaint, that Gearbox really intended this game for cooperative play at higher levels (i.e. get your friends to buy a copy), some say it's really a MMO disguised as a non-MMO to widen appeal. It is said that for solo play at levels past normal, probably better to go as a commando because your turret is your "companion", even though the commando is not considered a strong character in general by the playing population.

So for the person who asked about local co-op play, this would be a good time to get your (grand)kids to help. I'm just going to have to play smarter, which I thought I was doing, but not smart enough...running away and hiding seems to work fairly well at this point, doesn't seem very commando-ish though.

 

[CraigF]

I finally made it to the second last mission in TVHM, solo, PlayThrough 2 (PT2 as the cognoscenti call it), "Data Mining". Due to incompetence etc., I just hit level 50.

My understanding is that for all the reasons you probably know, if you're going to tackle UVHM mode, it's best to finish TVHM PT2 at ~ level 50, do PT2.5 to get any special weapons you want for starting UVHM, then enter UVHM at the lowest possible level (above 50).

The wiki says the Data Mining mission is at level 48, yet the quest comes up as a level 50 one for me, my level (barely, and uh-oh!). This is similar to the last couple quests, I have not been over-leveled at all, my level has roughly been matching the quest level, they have not been easy for the most part. I am confused now.

Question: Did they change BL2 somehow since the wiki pages might have been written? I just really started looking at them a while ago when I was trying to start TVHM, and I have noticed the odd thing stated that doesn't seem to be true anymore. Is it thus normal to finish TVHM PT2 at a level higher than 50? You can't possibly finish TVHM at a level lower than the final quest level, and though I have "two missions" left to go, you know I am still a fairly long way from being finished, so I forsee level 52+ at the finish.

Edit: I'll answer myself (for somebody's future ref) since I sort of know the situation now. The missions after you hit level 50 seem to scale to 50. The loot is 50. You also seem to get very very little XP for doing stuff that previously got you much XP. So you will almost certainly finish PT2 at level 50 still; I have the final mission left and am not even remotely close to 51. This is all extremely helpful in the long run, though it may not seem so at first. Ought to be plenty of opportunity to get some special weapons and still stay at 50 to start UVHM.

Note that this is not at all the same thing as saved side-quest reward weapons scaling to level 50 in PT2.5, which was really the root purpose of my query. i.e. I'm 50, can I get the 50 Lady Fist now since I'm right there where it is, or should I wait until PT2.5? The wiki info is "old".

 

[Scott-S]

Man, the Lady Fist saved my bacon. Once I got it, I no longer feared Constructors (even bad-ass ones).
I got lucky and got one that was totally awesome. It had electric damage and 700% critical hit damage.

 

[CraigF]

^ That would be a good one, it's 800% for all versions now, isn't it? No big diff: it shreds stuff when you're in the zone. I have never got a "good" one, I can't be bothered to "farm" stuff, I got an ammo-eater (L30) and a wimp (L50), but that's not really the point. Whatever its power, it'll be quite weak for effectively shooting most stuff soon enough. It's for driving that it's a necessity, especially for solo play, makes anywhere you can drive a playground (least for me ) with a Runner.

Just after I got the L30 LF, I had to take down Saturn again, the LF chewed him up. I have also taken down badass constructors with it, one clip right into the red spot, I thought I was probably the only one dumb enough to try that (i.e. getting that close, then running away to avoid the blast). I guess not..., it works pretty well, for a while... NOT in TVHM, do not try that. Also used it for The Warrior in normal mode. Don't recall if I ever found his critical spot then, but it did the job anyway. I even tried the L30 one (didn't have the L50 yet, got that after Warrior) on the L50 Warrior: it works, but real slow, even on critical spot. Never leave home without it!

And how is UVHM going for me, you're wondering? Hard to say. A lot of weapon swapping for a commando. They really reward you for slagging and then using the correct elemental weapon for the enemy type, and really penalize you for not doing either/both of those, to the point that some things don't even appear possible without (enemies regenerate health, and quickly, in UVHM).

The first "real" story mission (my 9th actual one), where you have to re-acquire Claptrap's ship from Flynt, is my least favorite in the game. It is just soooo long, and you have to complete it all at once, no intermediate re-start points. Flynt himself is nothing, every time I've fought him (4 times) has been completely different, it's getting to him that is the real pain for me. I never thought this was a good mission design to "start" the game, because it's a bit long/hard for starting in the new mode. Both in normal and UVHM, it was a slog, but in TVHM, seemed way less so to me. Probably because in normal mode the game was still new at this point, and in UVHM you have to play completely differently, but in TVHM the enemies were just tougher, but you could mostly play the same way as in normal.

 

[Scott-S]

I am mad at this game right now. I loaded it up again (I had just finished killing the Warrior). I was going to start sorting my weapons from the last level, and get things ready to try TVHM. When I started up the game and hit continue, it popped up and asked me if I wanted to start TVHM or Normal. I did not have any option to go back to where I left off. Both choices started a new game. Is this normal? is there any way to go back to my previous place I left off?

 

[CraigF]

^ Yes, you can go back to where you left off. I had this same problem, mentioned in painful detail as usual a few posts above. But I didn't give a solution, just bitching!

The method to switch modes is a bit convoluted, probably because they tacked it on when TVHM was tacked on to the original game, so they used an existing interface (also for UVHM).

Go to the main startup display where you have all the options and a picture of your current character. Press whatever key you use to "select character", it's the triangle one for me. Go down this path, even though it doesn't seem quite right. Select your current character, it is the default highlighted one anyway. It'll probably ask you to save some file: do that, it's OK, but maybe make a backup before starting any of this process if you're unsure like I was the first time. Then it'll ask you whether you want to play in Normal or TVHM (or UVHM when you can). If you select Normal, that'll take you back to where you left off (not the same location though, the Warrior's Vault is a one-way thing).

You can use that process to switch between modes whenever you want. There is always only one game data file and one game profile file no matter how many modes you unlock, at least if you use the same character each time.

 

[Scott-S]

I am playing on the PC.

I did select "normal" but I "continued" out at the very first level. I suppose I could try and run over to clap traps and see if I can go to sanctuary already. I assumed that since I was at the very first map, the game started over. Maybe it just put me there because of the Warrior level being one way. Although I would have thought it would take you to sanctuary.

Thanks, I check it out again this weekend.

 

[CraigF]

^ That is the way TVHM starts out. They take you to Claptrap's Place so you can discover that you can access your bank and stash from there, because you can't go to Sanctuary yet. They don't start like that for UVHM, because they assume you remember this.

If you selected a "new game" though, you have a new game, in TVHM if you chose that. The process I mentioned takes you back to the "same" game, no other way to get there from the main menu page.

[Sorry, I edited the previous post several times because I was in the middle of doing some other things and it came out clunky. Reload. Hope it's clearer now.]

 

[CraigF]

I recently purchased the PS4 Handsome Collection, which I know I should have got in the first place, but already had the (never played) PS3 versions... I know you can transfer your character (and game??) from the PS3 to the PS4. Is there anything I should be aware/wary of before I do it? I don't actually know how to do it, maybe it's easier than I think, I'm just being "cautious" because this isn't something you can normally do, so I'm imagining all sorts of problems...

Edit: for a game I delayed playing for so long because I didn't think I'd like it, I have almost been jonesing for more of it ever since I stopped playing (hit the level cap for whatever stuff I had). This would be a minute-one purchase for me if it came out for PSVR with full/proper Aim support...but it won't, the company apparently isn't interested in VR (yet?).

 

[Scott-S]

I am thinking about playing some DLC content on BL2. Unfortunately I didn't buy the package deal so I will most likely have to pay for them individually. Are there any worth $10? Are all the DLC's worth paying $30 for all?

I have no idea what the DLC world is like in BL2. I paid for the DLC's in Fallout4 and I thought Nuka World and Far Harbor were worth the money. Will I feel the same with BL2 DLCs?

 

[CraigF]

^ What system? I bought a PS3 GOTY version of BL2 some years ago, and it didn't go all the way with the level cap. So I stopped playing it. The cost of the PS4 Handsome Collection, with all the DLC, was ~US$15...cheaper than I could buy the rest of the PS3 DLC I was missing.

I have never played any of the DLC, so can't answer that part. I just wanted the highest level cap that one of the DLCs gives you. So what I'm saying is, if you have a PS4, get the Collection, it's cheaper. Otherwise, get the DLCs that increase your level cap, I'd say they're worth it. My understanding of some of the DLCs is the weapons you get are level-limited; the DLCs were developed before the higher level caps were created. So you may be at a level where anything you get in the DLCs is practically useless in the main game. I recall there's a bit of a dance in what order to do the DLCs to get the most benefit, like for FO3. Or you could just do them for fun anyway...

 

[Scott-S]

Sorry, I forgot to mention I am a PC Player only. I need a keyboard and mouse.

 

[CraigF]

^ I wish I could do that. I built a really good gaming PC not that long ago, and then found out I disliked PC gaming, in general. I hate when that happens...

Still, I'd say get any DLC that raises your level cap. If you're the type who needs an "incentive" or "goal" to keep playing. I am.

 

[Scott-S]

I am a little confused by the level cap. I thought if I played in True Vault Hunter Mode, after beating the game on standard, it allows me to go higher in level. Is that not true?

On this same note, if I install a DLC, will it be leveled up to my character's level?