Borderlands 2 new Vault Hunter, level cap detailed

Today at its PAX East panel, Gearbox detailed its sixth playable character and the impending level cap increase.

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Today at its PAX East panel, Gearbox Software announced an impending Borderlands 2 level cap increase, and detailed the sixth Vault Hunter coming for the game.

Gearbox officially unwrapped the sixth Vault Hunter that it teased recently, a Psycho named Krieg. He's a melee character as expected, equipped with the Buzz Axe for his Action Skill. You can use it for melee or throw it for a ranged attack.

Krieg has three skill trees: Bloodlust, Mania, and Hellborn. Bloodlust stacks accumulation like the Mechromancer, while Mania rewards you for taking damage, and Hellborn deals elemental damage while you're set on fire. Krieg will be coming in May for $10.

The "Ultimate Vault Hunter" pack will cost $5 and launch on April 2 -- but it will be free for Season Pass holders. The DLC will include a raise to level 61, and a "Pearlescent" tier of gear that starts at level 51. Tied into the pack is a more difficult mode called "Ultimate Vault Hunter," which rebalances the game for a third playthrough. It will be free for all users whether you buy the pack or not, but obviously a a third time through the game would help boost your increased level cap.

Finally, Gearbox announced that the final piece of Season Pass included DLC is coming by the end of June. A short teaser video showed Tiny Tina and some of the Vault Hunters playing a tabletop RPG.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    March 24, 2013 10:00 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Borderlands 2 new Vault Hunter, level cap detailed.

    Today at its PAX East panel, Gearbox detailed its sixth playable character and the impending level cap increase.

    • reply
      March 24, 2013 11:37 AM

      Yes, please. Probably won't buy the new character though.

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      March 24, 2013 12:12 PM

      Happy I went for the Season Pass.

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      March 24, 2013 2:00 PM

      Krieg sounds pretty hard to play well. Interesting approach.

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      March 24, 2013 2:14 PM

      so does that count as the last dlc for season passers? because if so, fuck that.

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        March 24, 2013 2:19 PM

        Finally, Gearbox announced that the final piece of Season Pass included DLC is coming by the end of June. A short teaser video showed Tiny Tina and some of the Vault Hunters playing a tabletop RPG.

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          March 24, 2013 2:52 PM

          I am okay with this. The Fable 3 tabletop quest will probably remain my favorite video game/tg joke quest.

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      March 24, 2013 3:13 PM

      I don't get why they keep trying to force melee characters in a game that's all about the cool guns you can find. The new guy should have been in a powered suit like the hyperion engineers and used armor instead of shields or something.

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        March 24, 2013 3:37 PM

        It's fine by me. A lot of players are obsessed with melee builds so there's definitely demand for it.

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          March 24, 2013 6:02 PM

          +1

          I think there are times when we'd all like to jump off a building and sever someone's hea....er, nvm.

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          March 24, 2013 6:26 PM

          I pretty much play Melee with Shotgun with my Zero. I did a Sniper build with Mordekai in the last game, so I figured... fuck it, shake it up.

          Really liking it thus far. I just need more weapons that have Melee Damage modifiers.

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            March 24, 2013 6:29 PM

            I loved Mordekai in the first game, so bummed out he isn't in the second. His special abililty was amazing :)

            I tried originally playing Zero in the second as a sniper and just hated it - I ended up restarting as the Mechromancer and it's still not really fun. I should try out the other guys and see if theres a better fit for me I guess

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              March 24, 2013 7:33 PM

              best sniper is actually Maya, as she has alot of critical hit bonus skills.

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              March 24, 2013 8:57 PM

              His special in the first game was great - I did really enjoy playing as him, but I'm glad they didn't just shoe something with a comparable power into the second. The only character that really feels 'generic' in the second is the Soldier. Again, a turret.

              It's utilitarian as fuck but... seen it. Maya's special is way different from Lilith's, so that's a bonus.

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            March 24, 2013 7:23 PM

            I think that's the only problem with melee characters in Borderlands. There aren't enough weapons that are actually viable for a melee user. Even moreso in Borderlands 2, you end up using one pistol that has the max melee bonus damage and your choice of a small handful of shields that affect your melee damage.

            Part of me is hoping that since this psycho character is specifically built around melee, and doesn't even use a gun when he goes down, that they will add a new type of weapon to be used. But lets be realistic, that's never going to happen via DLC.

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              March 24, 2013 8:56 PM

              Eh. I've found both handguns and sniper rifles with decent melee bonuses. Granted, not a shotgun yet - but that'd really rock my world. Couple that with Zero's far-right tree (the one all about up-close combat) and you can do some pretty mean shit with Zero in close quarters.

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      March 24, 2013 8:06 PM

      Have they fixed the bug where you can get a weapon that instantly kills the final enemies in the game (the raid mobs) in just a few shots? I can't believe they haven't fixed that. My friend showed it to me just a few months ago so it may be out of the game but when I saw it my jaw hit the floor ... He literally pulled the trigger and killed one of those enemies where it spams 'WARNING" on your screen (the mega raid guys). It was dumb and hope it is fixed. Any word on that? Not really a competitive game in any sense due to that and the duping that is so rampant.

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        March 24, 2013 9:07 PM

        …it's not a competitive game at all.

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          March 26, 2013 4:43 AM

          Agree, and that is why I didn't understand why they tweaked it. It's a single player/co-op game. I hear they are going to start sending interns to our home to ensure we eat our vegetables when snacking. Holding hands and making choices for full grown adults in the day and age is all the rage of society. We might hurts ourselves if we exhibit our own self-control. Seriously, NYC is trying to enforce a soda ban. True story.

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        March 24, 2013 9:09 PM

        that sounds like the old Bee Shield... it was patched. but there is still a gun called Evil Smasher that can be glitched with some effort that will do the same thing. it has been noted before that it will eventually be fixed, but ofcourse no timetable on that fix.

        the old Bee shield was the real problem because it was a legit set up that was causing a break in the math. every pellet in a shotgun shot was getting the Amp bonus. (now it takes the total amp damage and divides it into the amount of pellets fired... [that's putting it simply]). so it doesn't do that kind of ridiculous damage.

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          March 25, 2013 3:56 AM

          Yeah they've said they're going to patch that out as soon as they've fixedup Aliens. 2017 should be a good year ;)

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          March 25, 2013 6:32 AM

          yah the Bee + Conference Call when it was first released was crazy!! That combo almost useless now.

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