Recently, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford lit a fire up the Borderlands 3 community when he teased a second year's worth of DLC content. The wording suggested that Gearbox hadn't yet decided on a course, but the first year of Borderlands 3 has been rather remarkable, with it coming to a close with the brand new Krieg-focused DLC in the coming days.
Many debated what Borderlands 3 should add, with a variety of answers across the board. The general consensus appears to be that everyone is down for new DLC, but the form it should take varies from fan to fan. However, the most requested addition is also the unlikeliest: many fans want new Vault Hunter DLC.
Borderlands 3 Year 2: No New Vault Hunters
According to Gearbox, the actual use of DLC Vault Hunters in Borderlands doesn't correlate with the demand for it. Gamers like the idea of new DLC characters joining the fight, but the data doesn't really represent their use. Gearbox states that this is because fans do not want to start the game over with a brand new character when, instead, they could focus on their main or characters they've already done this with. All in all, it makes sense, and this isn't the first time this argument has been made. According to Sony, for example, backcompat games are highly demanded, yet not really downloaded enough to justify big investments.
Gearbox could change its mind on this, so it's not impossible new Vault Hunters appear. After all, the popularity of Jack's Doppelganger, Gaige and Deathtrap, and Krieg the Psycho shine through in the first year's DLC lineup. But it does remain unlikely, so fans shouldn't hold their breath on this.
Borderlands 3 Year 2: Evolved and Changed Vault Hunters
Yet that doesn't mean new Vault Hunter content could be skimped over. Indeed, if Gearbox doesn't see value in turning its eyes back, it should turn its eye on what it already has available: Moze, FL4K, Zane, and Amara. Gearbox talked about how it wanted to focus on its current slate of characters when it first revealed that there would be no Vault Hunter DLC, and it has done a fine job of that. The variety in the skill trees, the strong capstone abilities, the number of builds for every Borderlands 3 character, and the loot that perfectly complements them are all there, but Gearbox could turn it up a notch in BL3 Year 2.
For example, instead of new DLC characters, new updates that added another Skill Tree to each character would go a long way in seeing players re-imagining their use of their mains. For example, a new skill tree for Amara could add new skills that somehow combine her raw strength and multiple-hands with more guns, a new skill tree for Moze could see the normally wild, destructive character earn new skills for weapon categories outside her norm, a new skill tree for FL4K could add new animal companions that give them more utilitarian abilities, and a new skill tree for Zane could introduce new elemental tech for the character. These are just ideas, but basically a new skill tree would keep the focus on these characters, while also not requiring players to play through the base game again.
Instead, this would be incentive to grind for new weapons in Borderlands 3, it would be incentive to respec and check out new builds for the characters, and it would be incentive to try out new playstyles for higher, Mayhem Mode levels. This would also require Gearbox to do some intensive balancing, but at the same time, Borderlands is all about breaking things.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.