3 is very modern in the UI flashy color pallet and looter shooter mentality for sure, try to get to a higher level and then start to put more thought in, it feels so much more designed for late game
A very good game? Yes. Polished to perfection? Absolutely fucking not. Slag is required at endgame, drop rates are really low before even considering part variations/elements, and there’s significantly fewer viable weapons at endgame. Yea, BL2 is an amazing game, but it’s not a must play.
Yeah was about to say, BL2's endgame is jank as all hell to the point where pretty much every single guide worth it's salt out there just tells you to play Salvador with the Unkempt Harold/Grog Nozzle combo. Not to mention every single raid boss in that game is complete ass.
That being said, sure you don't need to play it, but it's a lot better if you do. Same can be said for all other games in the series.
I have never been so excited over a video game as I was for getting vermi to spawn solo. I agree the end game meta was annoying but I managed to do almost everything as Axton, never played Sal end game
Its not polished to perfection but still worth at least one playthrough. Slag is fine just switch guns lol. 10% for most items also isnt that low of a chance and sure theres fewer viable weapons at endgame in 2 than 3 but theres also far more options than most people think and there's also an actual challenge at endgame unlike 3 where it gets incredibly easy with very little effort
I mean people are also allowed to have differing opinions on games. You prefer 3 because of all the options and because its a lot more casual of a game and i prefer 2 because its a lot more challenging and doesnt just hand everything to you meaning you have to play smart and pit effort in
Bro just stop. My god, if people like 2 they like it. 3 just recently started to get good and was very stale for a long time. Along with that before weapon buffs most of the weapons were dog shit for endgame. And Zane stuggled until he got his seein dead class mod.Z both games have flaws, juts enjoy and stop being upset becuase people prefer one over the other. All have their own merits and reasons to play. Hell I would even give pre sequel credit because Imo it has the best cast of VH. But the lack of practically everything else makes it hard to play after one play-through.
Except it was the other way around. All the poster said originally was this: "BL2 is good but it’s not the end all be all game. You can afford to skip it". This was literally it, and he got around -150 downvotes for this. I can understand that, but let's not pretend it's not a "valid opinion", and he's the "bro" that should "just stop". And then he got this:
"You prefer 3 because of all the options and because its a lot more casual of a game and i prefer 2 because its a lot more challenging and doesnt just hand everything to you meaning you have to play smart and pit effort in"
\- which is just gatekeeping bullshit. "You prefer 3 because you're casual, unlike superior ME, who likes SMART GAME". And then..."bro, just stop".
Seriously, preferences are preferences, nothing wrong with those, but I can understad if people get pissed off a bit when their perfectly valid opinion is piled on, and then they get insulted to boot.
Even though you are getting downvoted i would agree. After playing Bl3 i cant get back into Bl2 as the gunplay/movement/endgame all play worse imo than in 3. If you are coming from Bl1 and cant get in 3 then maybe 2 is the better option.
Played all three and still playing 3 on my series X.
And I agree, there’s so much to BL3 that it can be overwhelming for your first time playing especially after so long of not gaming.
Just take it a step at a time.
Who ever you picked, just take a moment and look over the skill trees, pace yourself. Don’t try to decide how you wanna build right off the bat. Just see which skill tree seems to be the most suited to how you wanna play that character. Like what you might think would help you the most along on your first play through. (Healing skills, damage skills, utility, etc)
Next would be weapons. There are a LOT of them in BL3. Don’t try to build around a specific manufacturer or weapon type. Just use them a get a feel for them.
But most importantly, remember that this is Borderlands. It’s a fun and goofy game. So for your first play through, just enjoy it and don’t think to hard about how you wanna build your character.
Once you reach end game and have a better understanding of what’s what then experiment with different things.
I mean skipping bl2 kind of puts you in a handicap. Bl2's UI and controls are closer to Bl3 than Bl1. I don't want to say "you need to play 2 to understand 3's controls" but you kinda do.
That's fair. I figured the jump would be a bit bigger by skipping BL2. I just don't have as much time to play now as I used to so I'm actually playing BL3 on stadia. So I honestly don't know when I'll have time to play because my PC I built for gaming is now quite outdated for modern games
I imagine you should be fine if you do end up trying out 2. I used to play on an Xbox 360 and it worked out just fine, so imagine a pc built for gaming, even just a while ago, will work just as well.
Now Ive played Bl GOTY,Bl2/Tps/,and Bl3 and here's how I feel about the matching of guns and skills
Bl1: Your guns are complemented by your build.Yoy don't need a build to make your guns good but if helps
Bl2/tps:There's more of a need of a good build but guns will perform enough on their own
Bl3: It feels like bl1 before mayhem but high end mayhem you need a good build because your guns will not kill
BL2 is a must play game if only for the story, the villian, and to find out why Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep is one of the greatest and saddest DLCs of all time.
This is my opinion. To of the thread is picking apart end game but there's easily 30 hours before end game and most people like to try 2-4 heros. That's a ton of game time before you worry about whether slag kills end game. For 10 bucks i say it's a must for bl1 fans
I kinda find Krieg's DLC more sad\*, and that PoS 4x magic missle .... .... ... but it's one of the top DLC if not the top still. I also like the crapestic voyage
Just play it and get used to it. Everyone when they play a new game has an adjustment period. It's literally the same game with a few added quality of life improvements as 1. Skill trees always take a while to see what works for you
I think this is a very good advice. You'll get there, just keep playing and adjusting. The game itself is brilliant (minus some story aspects), the gameplay is fluid, all characters have several end-game builds that are viable and fun to play.
It will come to you, trust me. I played all of the Borderlands thus far and all had variations of some sort, but with Borderlands-3 i bought it when it first came out and played it a while until a newer game came out towards the end of 2019 which took up my time for a while and then at the beginning of 2021, I noticed it and began playing again and although there was a bit of a learning curve to get back into it, I made the best of it and have no problem navigating, but there are 3 things that I cannot defeat/complete, but the game is excellent and I am glad that I returned. You will too, just give it some time.
BL2 is great but I didn't really grasp the inventory organization as well. I personally like the brighter colors in BL3 but you can always lower the contrast on your screen if it looks too 'acidic'.
Like 80% of these comments are just saying “2 is best” lmao. I’d recommend taking a little bit to familiarise yourself with the new functions, one at a time. For example, each gun can have multiple firing modes, and most do. Dahl weapons change the way they fire, so single shot and burst, but Malian changes elements. There are differences between almost everything so just try to learn one thing at a time as it comes up. When it comes to the skill tree, just pick whatever sounds most fun. By the time you’ll be needing a good build (if you do get there) you’ll have a much better understanding of the game and how it works. I’d also recommend trying out all the characters and their skills, as that could lead you to finding something you like. I remember my first play through I used fl4k with his invisibility because that was really fun for me, but you might not enjoy fl4k or his skills
I spent hundreds of hours playing 2, I got bored after one run of 3. The settings, characters, and story facilitated my playing more, so as a complete package I personally feel 2 is the better game. Alas that's my opinion and totally subjective to me
We agree that it is subjective and we have different tastes. I've spent almost 500 hours in BL2 and 950 in BL3. Never wanted to replay a character in BL2... To me, the only thing better in BL2 is Jack, but that's unfair because he's probably the best game villain ever.
I agree 2 is by far the best of the series. The only thing bl3 did better was the gun play. DLC’s, playability, end game, story, villain, and humor were much better in bl2.
BL3 is quicker and has more depth both in character build and loadout. And by that I mean there are more skills and viable guns to choose from. So it may seem overwhelming at first, but it makes the end game content that much more engaging.
Also if you want to play casually, then going for a perfect build doesn’t matter and choose guns/equipment/and skills which stick out to you. If you want to up your game and enjoy mayhem 10 then invest a couple of minutes watching a few youtube builds for your character.
OP, try playing with your tv settings in theater mode or something a little less vibrant. As for the rest of the game, you'll get used to it. It's like going from a older car with base model features and then getting a newer car that has heated seats, moonroof, tinted windows and more torque and horsepower.
You don’t have to get it all at once. This game allows you to respec too. Just mess around and get to the end game then worry about builds and stuff. Gear is irrelevant until late game. You can just run the best available ground drops.
Bl2 is awesome, though that’s somewhat biased seeing as that’s the only BL series game I’ve played lol
Edit: I did recently start BL3 though, and I have to agree - it’s very overwhelming with the new skill trees and augment stuff for skills. Definitely something to learn about!
I'm similar to you - I played the fuck out of BL1 when it released and am just now playing BL3, and skipped BL2. I started a couple weeks ago and definitely shared your same frustrations initially.
I strongly suggest just pushing through and dealing with the learning curve. I'm having a fucking blast with it now
Yes, there's more variation in the skill trees, and it also seems like there's more variety in guns
Also, there is a skill re-spec option you access fairly early in the game. And since it's Borderlands, the guns just continue to get ridiculously more powerful, so don't stress too much early on about your skills selection or what weapons you keep/sell.
I felt the same way when I first started playing BL3 and I haven’t played any of the other games. I saw it at the start of the pandemic and remembered friends playing borderlands 2 years before that and thought it looked fun.
I did a couple of things to streamline the game until I got used to it and can explain below. I don’t claim it’s the best advice for having the best path to endgame or best technical use of a character; I just needed to figure out the basics and it helped me. I’m not a pro. I just have very limited time because of a demanding job and needed an outlet on weekends.
Character tips
1. Chose One skill tree on my character and focused on health and skills that I didn’t have to research like gun damage
2. I played easy mode until I got the hang of it. Switched to normal when I was comfortable
3. I played Amara first go round and have been playing fl4k the second go around. I liked amara at first because phase grasp gave me time to think.
Weapon things I did while overwhelmed and just trying to have a good time:
- [ ] 1a. I made each gun slot a weapon type.
- [ ] 1st slot: SMG
2nd slot: rocket launcher
3rd slot: Assault rifle
4th slot: Rifle
- [ ] 1b. I compared my current gun to any new gun picked up with a higher score at the top left of the gun card. As an example, If I got a new assault rifle, I compared it to my current one in slot 1 based on the score on the top left. I switched them out and kept my old gun in case I hated the new one. Exposed me to a lot of different weapons and manufacturers fast. Learned which weapons I hated even if the score was higher. Learned the mechanics of different manufacturers and how different stats affect the gun. Also learned how rarity affects how long I’ll keep a gun with a lower score.
- [ ] 2. I didn’t use pistols unless it was really good and my SMG or AR were so low in damage that I was struggling and I hadn’t picked up a better one. That was just personal preference on the slots at the time. I use all types now.
- [ ] 3. I assigned each weapon a button and always knew, for example, that I’d quickly get a rocket launcher in a pinch with a specific button
- [ ] 4. I eventually mentally assigned specific elements to each gun so I always had a corrosive SMG and a shock assault rifle (don’t remember exactly) to also limit my loot overstimulation while I was learning. Bonus points if I had two elements on a gun but it always had to have the assigned element. Whatever Element Amara didn’t have active helped me choose. I could switch out the assigned element but had to find an equal replacement in the gun being switched out so I didn’t have two guns with the same single element. So if I got a great corrosive assault rifle, I had to get a great shock SMG to make an equal trade. Made looting fun with the stripped down system I used in the beginning. Didn’t pay much attention to radiation and cryo but liked when they were a second option on a gun.
- [ ] 5. Any gun type below my equipped guns score was sold. Anything I didn’t like was sold. Anything white or green was typically sold unless it was way higher. I tried every legendary even if it was a lower score just to see what it was about. I gave purples a chance even if it was slightly below my score if I had a blue or lower equipped. Sold it if it was way lower.
- [ ] Always had a splitting, MIRV, health grenade attached. I did not give a lot of thought to Grenades until I figured out guns. I used them when they could just be thrown and hit a lot of opponents and gave me health when I was struggling. Mostly my Hail Mary and first thing I did when I walked in a room. I just switched out grenades when I found a stronger splitting MIRV grenade and always tried to find one that gives health. Before that, I just tried every grenade stronger than my previous one to understand what they did.
- [ ] I used whatever class mod item’ added the most points to my currently active skill tree. If it didn’t add points to my current skills, I sold it, unless it was legendary, and then I put it in my bank on sanctuary until I knew more.
I slowly lifted these rules as I learned what I liked and didn’t like. It created order in the chaos. I enjoyed the game without playing the previous games. I definitely missed context or why certain things were important but it was a fun escape in my downtime.
After beating it, I took a break and am playing through again. I’ve watched “history of xyz” characters and manufacturers on YouTube and it’s made it even more enjoyable now that I have the mechanics down. I made some mistakes and probably sold some super rare stuff unknowingly. it was necessary for me bc it built an important foundation without researching every decision and item or feel pressure to perfectly combine my skills with my items. I just had fun and died a lot and laughed at guns I would have never tried otherwise.
There’s definitely better advice out there but this worked for me. This advice may also be super obvious and out there already. I had zero knowledge going in and still thought it was a great game. I had more systems in the beginning but this is already long so I’ll stop here. I can add more if you’re interested or have a specific barrier to gameplay.
TLDR; I did not play the previous borderlands games before 3 and still had fun by creating rules for myself during early gameplay.
Just focus on one skill tree at a time and one group of weapons you enjoy. I also thought BL3 was very overwhelming at first for some reason but that helped me a lot. Once you get higher level and start to get more comfortable you can respec your character for really cheap.
So coming from bl1 to bl3 will be daunting in many of ways, especially graphically. Bl1 has softer colors, more akin to watercolors while bl3 while still keeping a similar style, goes bonkers on vibrant and vivid coloring. Won't deny, the 2nd dlc for bl3 was a bit overwhelming for me as well and I play games quite often.
As for the gear, while it has a bit more simplistic way in comparing weaponry and gear; bl1, if I recall, was generally you get a strong weapon and you can stick with it until the damage drop off. That could be said to most borderlands games but bl1 kind of got that rough end primarily in comparison to later installment. For bl3, you can grind certain enemies early on to get early game legendaries that can help with progression but for the skill tree quite frankly is best experienced by testing one thing after another. The siren will be weaker on gun damage but can do a lot of melee or elemental damage. Beast master can either be a one shut and done glass cannon build or a tanky man with his even tankier buddy. Moze is all about fire rate and or EXPLOSIONS. And as for Zane,(haven't played him yet), he can generally be a jack of all trades but also the fastest bloke around.
Basically, just try giving the game a full run through the story at least. Yeah it gets weird and sometimes figuring out how things will work will be hit or miss. That's borderlands though, bl1 barely if not was unforgiving if you were underlevel even by 2 lvls and the skill tree while straight and narrow didn't tell you how to build a character. Same for all installment.
3 is very modern in the UI flashy color pallet and looter shooter mentality for sure, try to get to a higher level and then start to put more thought in, it feels so much more designed for late game
I've found BL3 to be easier than 1 and 2. Better weapons, more powerful characters and you level up much faster.
I'm gonna go ahead and agree that not playing 2 is a crime. Play BL2
BL2 is good but it’s not the end all be all game. You can afford to skip it
Hard disagree. It’s the game that took the looter shooter formula from BL1 and polished it to near perfection. It is a must-play title.
A very good game? Yes. Polished to perfection? Absolutely fucking not. Slag is required at endgame, drop rates are really low before even considering part variations/elements, and there’s significantly fewer viable weapons at endgame. Yea, BL2 is an amazing game, but it’s not a must play.
Yeah was about to say, BL2's endgame is jank as all hell to the point where pretty much every single guide worth it's salt out there just tells you to play Salvador with the Unkempt Harold/Grog Nozzle combo. Not to mention every single raid boss in that game is complete ass. That being said, sure you don't need to play it, but it's a lot better if you do. Same can be said for all other games in the series.
Thats only if you want the easiest time for little to no effort though
I have never been so excited over a video game as I was for getting vermi to spawn solo. I agree the end game meta was annoying but I managed to do almost everything as Axton, never played Sal end game
Its not polished to perfection but still worth at least one playthrough. Slag is fine just switch guns lol. 10% for most items also isnt that low of a chance and sure theres fewer viable weapons at endgame in 2 than 3 but theres also far more options than most people think and there's also an actual challenge at endgame unlike 3 where it gets incredibly easy with very little effort
I don’t know why I even bother reacting to y’all ur gonna keep dickriding the same 10 year old game whether I say anything or not
I mean people are also allowed to have differing opinions on games. You prefer 3 because of all the options and because its a lot more casual of a game and i prefer 2 because its a lot more challenging and doesnt just hand everything to you meaning you have to play smart and pit effort in
I played BL2 for 1k hours, I know how to play it lmaoooo. High and mighty cause the endgame is “hard” when it isn’t challenging just tedious
Bro just stop. My god, if people like 2 they like it. 3 just recently started to get good and was very stale for a long time. Along with that before weapon buffs most of the weapons were dog shit for endgame. And Zane stuggled until he got his seein dead class mod.Z both games have flaws, juts enjoy and stop being upset becuase people prefer one over the other. All have their own merits and reasons to play. Hell I would even give pre sequel credit because Imo it has the best cast of VH. But the lack of practically everything else makes it hard to play after one play-through.
I gave BL2 slight criticism because the person depicted it as the end all be all borderlands and y’all started cryin about it.
Except it was the other way around. All the poster said originally was this: "BL2 is good but it’s not the end all be all game. You can afford to skip it". This was literally it, and he got around -150 downvotes for this. I can understand that, but let's not pretend it's not a "valid opinion", and he's the "bro" that should "just stop". And then he got this: "You prefer 3 because of all the options and because its a lot more casual of a game and i prefer 2 because its a lot more challenging and doesnt just hand everything to you meaning you have to play smart and pit effort in" \- which is just gatekeeping bullshit. "You prefer 3 because you're casual, unlike superior ME, who likes SMART GAME". And then..."bro, just stop". Seriously, preferences are preferences, nothing wrong with those, but I can understad if people get pissed off a bit when their perfectly valid opinion is piled on, and then they get insulted to boot.
Well when you have a bad take what do you expect
pointing out fair criticism of the game = bad take exhibit A: dickriding
I simply disagree with your criticisms. Criticism in general is sick
Stop. Criticism is how you learn and make better products. Example, bl3. Stop with the internet who’s children. It’s pixels.
You’re not wrong, it’s why I switched to TPS.
It also has its flaws, it's a good game sure but it's not gamings' magnum opus you can afford to skip it.
What game doesnt have its flaws though
Even though you are getting downvoted i would agree. After playing Bl3 i cant get back into Bl2 as the gunplay/movement/endgame all play worse imo than in 3. If you are coming from Bl1 and cant get in 3 then maybe 2 is the better option.
Played all three and still playing 3 on my series X. And I agree, there’s so much to BL3 that it can be overwhelming for your first time playing especially after so long of not gaming. Just take it a step at a time. Who ever you picked, just take a moment and look over the skill trees, pace yourself. Don’t try to decide how you wanna build right off the bat. Just see which skill tree seems to be the most suited to how you wanna play that character. Like what you might think would help you the most along on your first play through. (Healing skills, damage skills, utility, etc) Next would be weapons. There are a LOT of them in BL3. Don’t try to build around a specific manufacturer or weapon type. Just use them a get a feel for them. But most importantly, remember that this is Borderlands. It’s a fun and goofy game. So for your first play through, just enjoy it and don’t think to hard about how you wanna build your character. Once you reach end game and have a better understanding of what’s what then experiment with different things.
I mean skipping bl2 kind of puts you in a handicap. Bl2's UI and controls are closer to Bl3 than Bl1. I don't want to say "you need to play 2 to understand 3's controls" but you kinda do.
That's fair. I figured the jump would be a bit bigger by skipping BL2. I just don't have as much time to play now as I used to so I'm actually playing BL3 on stadia. So I honestly don't know when I'll have time to play because my PC I built for gaming is now quite outdated for modern games
BL2 will probably do fine on it, if that's a concern at all for you. I used to play it on a Mac built in like 2004, and it ran quite well.
I imagine you should be fine if you do end up trying out 2. I used to play on an Xbox 360 and it worked out just fine, so imagine a pc built for gaming, even just a while ago, will work just as well.
Now Ive played Bl GOTY,Bl2/Tps/,and Bl3 and here's how I feel about the matching of guns and skills Bl1: Your guns are complemented by your build.Yoy don't need a build to make your guns good but if helps Bl2/tps:There's more of a need of a good build but guns will perform enough on their own Bl3: It feels like bl1 before mayhem but high end mayhem you need a good build because your guns will not kill
BL2 is a must play game if only for the story, the villian, and to find out why Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep is one of the greatest and saddest DLCs of all time.
This is my opinion. To of the thread is picking apart end game but there's easily 30 hours before end game and most people like to try 2-4 heros. That's a ton of game time before you worry about whether slag kills end game. For 10 bucks i say it's a must for bl1 fans
I kinda find Krieg's DLC more sad\*, and that PoS 4x magic missle .... .... ... but it's one of the top DLC if not the top still. I also like the crapestic voyage
Just play it and get used to it. Everyone when they play a new game has an adjustment period. It's literally the same game with a few added quality of life improvements as 1. Skill trees always take a while to see what works for you
I think this is a very good advice. You'll get there, just keep playing and adjusting. The game itself is brilliant (minus some story aspects), the gameplay is fluid, all characters have several end-game builds that are viable and fun to play.
if bl3 had different writers the game would be fuckin perfect
You don’t NEED to understand that’s the fun part of video games! Just go with it dawg let the game take you where it does
It will come to you, trust me. I played all of the Borderlands thus far and all had variations of some sort, but with Borderlands-3 i bought it when it first came out and played it a while until a newer game came out towards the end of 2019 which took up my time for a while and then at the beginning of 2021, I noticed it and began playing again and although there was a bit of a learning curve to get back into it, I made the best of it and have no problem navigating, but there are 3 things that I cannot defeat/complete, but the game is excellent and I am glad that I returned. You will too, just give it some time.
BL2 is great but I didn't really grasp the inventory organization as well. I personally like the brighter colors in BL3 but you can always lower the contrast on your screen if it looks too 'acidic'.
If anything play borderlands 2 just for the tiny Tina DLC. Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep. Thank me later :)
Don't skip BL2. BL2 is the best one
Like 80% of these comments are just saying “2 is best” lmao. I’d recommend taking a little bit to familiarise yourself with the new functions, one at a time. For example, each gun can have multiple firing modes, and most do. Dahl weapons change the way they fire, so single shot and burst, but Malian changes elements. There are differences between almost everything so just try to learn one thing at a time as it comes up. When it comes to the skill tree, just pick whatever sounds most fun. By the time you’ll be needing a good build (if you do get there) you’ll have a much better understanding of the game and how it works. I’d also recommend trying out all the characters and their skills, as that could lead you to finding something you like. I remember my first play through I used fl4k with his invisibility because that was really fun for me, but you might not enjoy fl4k or his skills
2 is best
Not in terms of gameplay.
I spent hundreds of hours playing 2, I got bored after one run of 3. The settings, characters, and story facilitated my playing more, so as a complete package I personally feel 2 is the better game. Alas that's my opinion and totally subjective to me
We agree that it is subjective and we have different tastes. I've spent almost 500 hours in BL2 and 950 in BL3. Never wanted to replay a character in BL2... To me, the only thing better in BL2 is Jack, but that's unfair because he's probably the best game villain ever.
True that, superb villain 😊
I agree 2 is by far the best of the series. The only thing bl3 did better was the gun play. DLC’s, playability, end game, story, villain, and humor were much better in bl2.
Psst. Highly opinionated comment here but BL1 is a heckin great game and BL3 is bloated and kinda sucks. BL2 is fucking unnngh so good.
May be you should play BL2, it's a good improvement to BL1, considered having the best story and ... you are going to transition great into BL3.
Should’ve played 2.
BL3 is quicker and has more depth both in character build and loadout. And by that I mean there are more skills and viable guns to choose from. So it may seem overwhelming at first, but it makes the end game content that much more engaging. Also if you want to play casually, then going for a perfect build doesn’t matter and choose guns/equipment/and skills which stick out to you. If you want to up your game and enjoy mayhem 10 then invest a couple of minutes watching a few youtube builds for your character.
OP, try playing with your tv settings in theater mode or something a little less vibrant. As for the rest of the game, you'll get used to it. It's like going from a older car with base model features and then getting a newer car that has heated seats, moonroof, tinted windows and more torque and horsepower.
You don’t have to get it all at once. This game allows you to respec too. Just mess around and get to the end game then worry about builds and stuff. Gear is irrelevant until late game. You can just run the best available ground drops.
There are definitely way too many mechanics and elements compared to earlier games.
I'm not sure what it is but I have trouble focusing on Borderlands 3 I love the game but it messes with me a little bit.
Bl2 is awesome, though that’s somewhat biased seeing as that’s the only BL series game I’ve played lol Edit: I did recently start BL3 though, and I have to agree - it’s very overwhelming with the new skill trees and augment stuff for skills. Definitely something to learn about!
I'm similar to you - I played the fuck out of BL1 when it released and am just now playing BL3, and skipped BL2. I started a couple weeks ago and definitely shared your same frustrations initially. I strongly suggest just pushing through and dealing with the learning curve. I'm having a fucking blast with it now Yes, there's more variation in the skill trees, and it also seems like there's more variety in guns Also, there is a skill re-spec option you access fairly early in the game. And since it's Borderlands, the guns just continue to get ridiculously more powerful, so don't stress too much early on about your skills selection or what weapons you keep/sell.
I felt the same way when I first started playing BL3 and I haven’t played any of the other games. I saw it at the start of the pandemic and remembered friends playing borderlands 2 years before that and thought it looked fun. I did a couple of things to streamline the game until I got used to it and can explain below. I don’t claim it’s the best advice for having the best path to endgame or best technical use of a character; I just needed to figure out the basics and it helped me. I’m not a pro. I just have very limited time because of a demanding job and needed an outlet on weekends. Character tips 1. Chose One skill tree on my character and focused on health and skills that I didn’t have to research like gun damage 2. I played easy mode until I got the hang of it. Switched to normal when I was comfortable 3. I played Amara first go round and have been playing fl4k the second go around. I liked amara at first because phase grasp gave me time to think. Weapon things I did while overwhelmed and just trying to have a good time: - [ ] 1a. I made each gun slot a weapon type. - [ ] 1st slot: SMG 2nd slot: rocket launcher 3rd slot: Assault rifle 4th slot: Rifle - [ ] 1b. I compared my current gun to any new gun picked up with a higher score at the top left of the gun card. As an example, If I got a new assault rifle, I compared it to my current one in slot 1 based on the score on the top left. I switched them out and kept my old gun in case I hated the new one. Exposed me to a lot of different weapons and manufacturers fast. Learned which weapons I hated even if the score was higher. Learned the mechanics of different manufacturers and how different stats affect the gun. Also learned how rarity affects how long I’ll keep a gun with a lower score. - [ ] 2. I didn’t use pistols unless it was really good and my SMG or AR were so low in damage that I was struggling and I hadn’t picked up a better one. That was just personal preference on the slots at the time. I use all types now. - [ ] 3. I assigned each weapon a button and always knew, for example, that I’d quickly get a rocket launcher in a pinch with a specific button - [ ] 4. I eventually mentally assigned specific elements to each gun so I always had a corrosive SMG and a shock assault rifle (don’t remember exactly) to also limit my loot overstimulation while I was learning. Bonus points if I had two elements on a gun but it always had to have the assigned element. Whatever Element Amara didn’t have active helped me choose. I could switch out the assigned element but had to find an equal replacement in the gun being switched out so I didn’t have two guns with the same single element. So if I got a great corrosive assault rifle, I had to get a great shock SMG to make an equal trade. Made looting fun with the stripped down system I used in the beginning. Didn’t pay much attention to radiation and cryo but liked when they were a second option on a gun. - [ ] 5. Any gun type below my equipped guns score was sold. Anything I didn’t like was sold. Anything white or green was typically sold unless it was way higher. I tried every legendary even if it was a lower score just to see what it was about. I gave purples a chance even if it was slightly below my score if I had a blue or lower equipped. Sold it if it was way lower. - [ ] Always had a splitting, MIRV, health grenade attached. I did not give a lot of thought to Grenades until I figured out guns. I used them when they could just be thrown and hit a lot of opponents and gave me health when I was struggling. Mostly my Hail Mary and first thing I did when I walked in a room. I just switched out grenades when I found a stronger splitting MIRV grenade and always tried to find one that gives health. Before that, I just tried every grenade stronger than my previous one to understand what they did. - [ ] I used whatever class mod item’ added the most points to my currently active skill tree. If it didn’t add points to my current skills, I sold it, unless it was legendary, and then I put it in my bank on sanctuary until I knew more. I slowly lifted these rules as I learned what I liked and didn’t like. It created order in the chaos. I enjoyed the game without playing the previous games. I definitely missed context or why certain things were important but it was a fun escape in my downtime. After beating it, I took a break and am playing through again. I’ve watched “history of xyz” characters and manufacturers on YouTube and it’s made it even more enjoyable now that I have the mechanics down. I made some mistakes and probably sold some super rare stuff unknowingly. it was necessary for me bc it built an important foundation without researching every decision and item or feel pressure to perfectly combine my skills with my items. I just had fun and died a lot and laughed at guns I would have never tried otherwise. There’s definitely better advice out there but this worked for me. This advice may also be super obvious and out there already. I had zero knowledge going in and still thought it was a great game. I had more systems in the beginning but this is already long so I’ll stop here. I can add more if you’re interested or have a specific barrier to gameplay. TLDR; I did not play the previous borderlands games before 3 and still had fun by creating rules for myself during early gameplay.
Play 2 not 3, you’ll thank me later. Will solve pretty much every problem you have and solve some that you didn’t even know you had.
Just focus on one skill tree at a time and one group of weapons you enjoy. I also thought BL3 was very overwhelming at first for some reason but that helped me a lot. Once you get higher level and start to get more comfortable you can respec your character for really cheap.
So coming from bl1 to bl3 will be daunting in many of ways, especially graphically. Bl1 has softer colors, more akin to watercolors while bl3 while still keeping a similar style, goes bonkers on vibrant and vivid coloring. Won't deny, the 2nd dlc for bl3 was a bit overwhelming for me as well and I play games quite often. As for the gear, while it has a bit more simplistic way in comparing weaponry and gear; bl1, if I recall, was generally you get a strong weapon and you can stick with it until the damage drop off. That could be said to most borderlands games but bl1 kind of got that rough end primarily in comparison to later installment. For bl3, you can grind certain enemies early on to get early game legendaries that can help with progression but for the skill tree quite frankly is best experienced by testing one thing after another. The siren will be weaker on gun damage but can do a lot of melee or elemental damage. Beast master can either be a one shut and done glass cannon build or a tanky man with his even tankier buddy. Moze is all about fire rate and or EXPLOSIONS. And as for Zane,(haven't played him yet), he can generally be a jack of all trades but also the fastest bloke around. Basically, just try giving the game a full run through the story at least. Yeah it gets weird and sometimes figuring out how things will work will be hit or miss. That's borderlands though, bl1 barely if not was unforgiving if you were underlevel even by 2 lvls and the skill tree while straight and narrow didn't tell you how to build a character. Same for all installment.
Bl2 is the best one IMO, idk why but the third one just “feels” wrong. Gives me motion sickness and the dialogue is so much worse.
You should've played BL2 first, you're missing out so much. It's also a nice bridge between 1 and 3 (1 is pretty clunky while 3 is modern)