Borderlands 2 announced: new classes, guns

"All-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment" are promised for the sequel to Gearbox Software's shooter RPG Borderlands.

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A sequel to Gearbox's co-op shooter RPG Borderlands is on its way to PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the developer and publisher 2K Games have announced. Borderlands 2 promises "all-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment."

Borderlands 2 will return to the planet of Pandora, probing "unexplored new areas," secrets, mysteries, and all that jazz in an "an ambitiously crafted story." (Hopefully, Gearbox's ambitions include not throwing its hands up and shrugging its shoulders when it comes to the end of the sequel.)

Details on Borderlands 2 will be dished in this month's issue of Game Informer magazine, including unveiling the first of its new classes. The game will also be on show at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany from August 17-18, and will be at PAX Prime on August 26-28.

The original Borderlands sold an impressive 2 million copies in two months following its October 2009 release. New areas, weapons, and enemies were added in four $10 downloadable content packs, which were all bundled with the base game in its Game of the Year Edition.

Borderlands 2 is slated to launch some time during Take-Two's 2013 fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2012 through to March 31, 2013.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 3, 2011 6:00 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Borderlands 2 announced: new classes, guns.

    "All-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment" are promised for the sequel to Gearbox Software's shooter RPG Borderlands.

    • reply
      August 3, 2011 6:01 AM

      Ditch Gamespy please.
      Ditch Gamespy please.
      Ditch Gamespy please.

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        August 3, 2011 6:12 AM

        They will use Steamworks this time. They said that they went with Gamespy before because Steamworks wasn't ready in time with all the features they needed.

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          August 3, 2011 6:14 AM

          god damn it my wallet nooooooooooo

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            August 3, 2011 7:58 AM

            bah, it is still a long ways away (march 2012 minimum) so you have time to let your wallet recover.

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          August 3, 2011 6:14 AM

          *cough* *cough*

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          August 3, 2011 6:45 AM

          What did steamworks lack that Gamespy had?!?

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            August 3, 2011 6:48 AM

            Willingness to pay them moneyhats is my guess.

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            August 3, 2011 6:52 AM

            [deleted]

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            August 3, 2011 6:55 AM

            I've heard that, at one point in time at least, Steam only really did server/client multiplayer matches, and couldn't really do peer-to-peer.

            This is reportedly why Dawn of War II required both Steam and GFWL - Steam was used for its updating/DRM features, while GFWL was used for its multiplayer features.

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              August 3, 2011 7:16 AM

              This is correct. Steamworks did not have a matchmaking component when they had to make the decision on what service to use. That's why they went with Gamespy.

              Crysis 2, on the other hand, has EA to deal with. EA, being retarded, requires all their developers to use the crash-tastic DICE framework (no offense to the DICE guys, but you suck at making server broswers/matchmaking frameworks and UIs) or Gamespy.

              Crysis 2 opted for Gamespy.

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          August 3, 2011 7:35 AM

          Well dip my balls in sweet cream and squat me in a room full of kittens.

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          August 3, 2011 7:44 AM

          Just a note: This is speculation, guys, based on what they've said. I want to make it clear I have no special information.

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            August 3, 2011 8:43 AM

            you are a gen-u-ine fucker right about now!!!!!!!! i wasn't even excited about the announcement until you said it was going to be on steam

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          August 3, 2011 8:54 AM

          Well they went with it for DNF, along with VAC, so it can be doneé

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        August 3, 2011 7:27 AM

        Xbox live played it very well! ;)

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      August 3, 2011 6:03 AM

      Oh shit yes!

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      August 3, 2011 6:03 AM

      Can they please include an ending this time?

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      August 3, 2011 6:04 AM

      WOOOOOOHOOOOO! This cant come sooner - I loved the first one :-)

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      August 3, 2011 6:09 AM

      [deleted]

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      August 3, 2011 6:38 AM

      [deleted]

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        August 3, 2011 6:44 AM

        I will not buy this game if it doesn't have a proper FOV option for the PC. I don't want some half-assed ini file tweak that doesn't really work. Take 10 fucking minutes and do it right Gearbox!

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          August 3, 2011 12:04 PM

          It did work :(

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            August 3, 2011 5:07 PM

            Except it would reset after using a vehicle, and when sprinting in an online game. The sprint reset only happened as a client though, not a host.

            The fix was to bind the desired fov to keys you used often, but it wasn't what you'd call a good, working implementation.

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          August 3, 2011 11:01 PM

          I absolutely endorse this comment. It took me two hours to "Fix" this game. It's incredible how they can release a console port as bad as that one. It should be illegal.

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        August 3, 2011 10:19 AM

        [deleted]

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      August 3, 2011 6:43 AM

      As long as they improve on the original, this will be great.

      • Ebu legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        August 3, 2011 7:39 AM

        They can't possibly not improve. Nowhere to go but up.

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      August 3, 2011 6:45 AM

      Yeah, maybe when it's stupid cheap. The first game had too many stupid problems and oversights.

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      August 3, 2011 6:46 AM

      1) More loot items like armor pieces
      2) Better boss battles
      3) More than 1 active skill per class

      If they retain the original formula and add the 3 things I added above this game will be awesome.

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        August 3, 2011 6:53 AM

        Yea, they have a great formula, with a couple of tweaks and some slight improvements it could be amazing.

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        August 3, 2011 8:06 AM

        Yeah, one skill per class was just ridiculous. And the skill trees were practically identical. %5 to this stat, plus 1 to this stat, etc. Completely uninspired.

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          August 3, 2011 8:15 AM

          The general skill modifiers were similar, but what they let you do were pretty different. With Mordecai (hunter), you could make him a badass pistol guy or a super sniper, and you could use the bird to be your personal healer, an attack dealer, or to make phat loot drop. With Lilith (siren), you could have super SMG powers, or you could have incredible melee attacks. You could basically completely change the use of your character depending on how you utilized the skills. I don't think the skill trees are nearly as identical as you think.

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            August 3, 2011 8:28 AM

            I just mean it seemed like most of the skills were generic stat modifiers that had the same overall effect. Like, maybe the sniper had +5% to sniper rifle damage. But the other classes had +5% to pistol damage, or rifle damage, or whatever. The overall effects of the skills seemed very generic.

            Then again its been awhile since I've played.

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              August 3, 2011 8:30 AM

              That being said, I still enjoyed the game, I just didn't care at all about leveling up. I just remember it being very anticlimactic.

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              August 3, 2011 8:48 AM

              I suppose that is the case for most stats, yes, but that's par for the course for RPG elements in any game. There were still a lot of interesting skills like Tresspass, Out for Blood, Stockpile, Supply Drop, etc that gave you new abilities and weren't just basic stat modifiers.

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                August 3, 2011 9:55 AM

                Those filler skills aren't so annoying though when there is more than one active ability. Not so great when there is only one boring one per class.

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              August 3, 2011 10:09 AM

              If you looked at the first tier only, sure. You can't make your first talent point worth an insane amount, or people would have no reason to specialize in one tree.

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        August 3, 2011 9:23 AM

        4) Less stupid fetch quests

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        August 3, 2011 10:01 AM

        5) Make loot have a larger effect on your effectiveness than your level.
        Meaning i want to be able to plow through shit easily when i find an awesome gun, then as i level into my super awesome gun and get too attached to drop it start doing progressively worse until i pick up another awesome gun. They removed that ebb and flow from borderlands by making your level the a huge factor in determining how much damage you do, and it has always bothered me.

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      August 3, 2011 6:50 AM

      More digits on the money counter so I can see how much I actually have, plz. :D

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        August 3, 2011 7:23 AM

        I thought this at first too, but then I remembered how seldom I used money in the game. I kinda think it should either go away entirely or be more integral.

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          August 3, 2011 7:32 AM

          It'd be nice if we could do a Fable-like thing and invest money to buy land/businesses that return income. The economy definitely broke with the Knoxx DLC and money no longer became useful, especially since the best weapons were almost always loot, not vendor-sold. They could do a lot to make money relevant by having vendors sell items and components that are necessary.

          I just want to know how much I actually have in B1. I estimate I've got around two billion dollars.

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            August 3, 2011 7:56 AM

            I know what you mean about having to estimate... I have no clue what sum I've reached, but I know that I've died/respawned about 5 times in quick succession during a particularly troublesome boss fight (the Crawmerax sp? I believe) and still had all 9's in my money counter.

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              August 3, 2011 8:12 AM

              I died during the INAC battle and the death penalty was $250 million, hehehe.

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      August 3, 2011 6:59 AM

      Borderlands was fun for me but mostly because of the co-op support. They probably have my money, but it won't be full price if the game launches in the condition the first one did. Took literally HOURS getting into a game with a couple of friends, and even then "consolitis" had to be cured with extra effort. The gamespy system was just utterly bad. I also hope the environments are a little more varied this time around.

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      August 3, 2011 7:10 AM

      Oh-hohoho no, not fooling me this time, no there IS no vault, not for another 199 years and 364 days!

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      August 3, 2011 7:14 AM

      Can we destroy the dancing tin cans?

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        August 3, 2011 7:15 AM

        Bugger off, you stinking flesh bag

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      August 3, 2011 7:16 AM

      [deleted]

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      August 3, 2011 7:33 AM

      OMG! Yes. I freaking love #1 I had a feeling it was a matter of time before this happened but now that its 100% I am freaking dancing \m/

      Anyone have any screens? I guess we will have to a wait a week and a bit for Gamescom.

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      August 3, 2011 8:20 AM

      i'm gona get me one! Loved the first one. played it on console so can't join in with all the PC version hate.

      Such a good blend of RPG and FPS and i can't wait to see what they add to it!

      Coop was some of the most fun i have had until our levels seperated by 10+ and then nobody could play each other and i couldn't finish the DLC :(

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      August 3, 2011 8:22 AM

      Maybe it's blind optimism, but Gearbox seems to listen to customers, and I have some hope they'll take the complaints of the first game and fix that shit. The core game itself was tons and tons of fun.

      • Ebu legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        August 3, 2011 10:10 AM

        Yea, that's pretty blind.

        They knew about, and acknowledged, most of the UI problems well before release, and yet did nothing about them.

        Fuck them.

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      August 3, 2011 8:24 AM

      But will it support voicechat this time? The PS3 version has the most broken voicechat I've encountered.

      Gearbox posted this note on their forum:

      CS-08. Voice chat or microphone audio skips or speeds up
      Platform: PS3

      Status: This issue has been identified. A fix has not yet been released.

      Workaround: Change your headset output to your TV. Switch to a voice input device that does not use Bluetooth and have the players you are communicating with do the same.

      http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=116264

    • reply
      August 3, 2011 8:50 AM

      even more vagina-shaped enemies!

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      August 3, 2011 9:26 AM

      The 4th paragraph says "Following its October 2009." following what?

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      August 3, 2011 10:03 AM

      haha this thread is so full of people groaning about the most minor shit. I have probably 100 hours played in Borderlands, I love it, game is fantastic, and this is a delightful piece of news.

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      August 3, 2011 10:06 AM

      Looking forward to another 120+ hrs of investment. :)

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      August 3, 2011 10:06 AM

      They really need to make the game deeper this time around rather than flushing in new skins for everything.

    • reply
      August 3, 2011 10:06 AM

      They really need to make the game deeper this time around rather than flushing in new skins for everything.

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      August 3, 2011 10:11 AM

      I liked the first one, I liked it.

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      August 3, 2011 10:32 AM

      Hopefully co-op is a little more refined. Gamespy sucked (seriously, even GFWL would have been better), and even the slightest level imbalance made it either boring for higher levels or impossible for lower levels.

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        August 3, 2011 10:40 AM

        That's true - I also bought two DLC packs and found I couldn't finish them until I replayed the entire campaign a second time. Of course, then I found a set of over-powered guns and shields that basically broke the game.

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      August 3, 2011 10:58 AM

      I really should've checked out Borderlands. I really thought it'd be right up my alley, but the early reviews were terrible. But now there's mods and shit! Fuck. I don't have time for another game.

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      August 3, 2011 11:20 AM

      Hopefully, Gearbox's ambitions include not throwing its hands up and shrugging its shoulders when it comes to the end of the sequel.

      THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

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      August 3, 2011 11:50 AM

      [deleted]

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        August 3, 2011 12:13 PM

        Pitchford made the mistake of trying to defend the game on here, which was a battle he'd never win.

        That said, I also enjoyed it a lot. My co-op friends abandoned me early on in the experience because real life has a way of preventing you from playing a game for 8+ hours a day, so I had to finish it single player and it was still a good time.

        The FOV issue was fixed by a mod, and really easy to apply. I don't understand how that one issue draws so much ire, when a game like Fallout 3 that needs several mods to look presentable on PC (mainly HUD fixes) but that game doesn't get shit on by the Shack

        I think there's just a universal hatred for Randy and I'm not a part of it, so I enjoyed the game guilt free

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          August 3, 2011 12:24 PM

          FOV was never really fixed, it was broken during sprinting/vehicles

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          August 3, 2011 11:39 PM

          I'm sorry I suck at playing games I love you and I love Borderlands (and I only don't love non-stop brick screaming a little)

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          August 3, 2011 11:44 PM

          [deleted]

    • reply
      August 3, 2011 12:30 PM

      nope.mpg

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      August 3, 2011 5:07 PM

      borderlands has no shortage of faults... i had the opportunity (thanks to the shack!) to play it during a press day before release, and my level of super-hype for the game went down dramatically even after just an hour or so of play. however, i still got it because im a sucker for slot-machine-loot-games and over time the game grew on me...

      even now borderlands is the game that my friends and i wind up playing more than anything else on the weekends. there's just something about the insane encounters we run into that keeps us coming back to it... no two ways about it, the game is damn fun in co-op. if they can reproduce (and improve) on that experience, im sure ill log hundreds of hours in this one too...

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      August 3, 2011 5:24 PM

      woot! one of the best games this generation.

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      August 3, 2011 11:05 PM

      I remember they added the cell shading on top of some beautifully hand-painted textures. Once I turned off the horrible shadows and cell shading the game was stunning to look at. It's a real shame they had to screw it up in the 11th hour.

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      August 3, 2011 11:06 PM

      [deleted]

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      August 3, 2011 11:12 PM

      [deleted]

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      August 3, 2011 11:17 PM

      [deleted]

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      August 3, 2011 11:56 PM

      Great FPS gameplay, just need to fix the story

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      August 4, 2011 3:44 PM

      It's good to know there will be new guns; I was worried.

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      August 8, 2011 5:52 PM

      The guy in the pic looks like an over-sized garden Gnome... =P

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