Borderlands 3 has done a lot of good things, from its engaging Mayhem mode difficulty system to excellent in-game events like Revenge of the Cartels. The latest entry in the looter-shooter series also took some risks when it came to its Raid bosses, as these came in the form of free post-launch takedowns as opposed to being added via the game’s premium expansions. While this was initially seen as a positive decision by the community, the downsides of Takedowns have become apparent.
Though the motives behind the Takedown Raid bosses in Borderlands 3 are understandable, as going through a Destiny-like Strike before each fight sounds great on paper, there have been some major shortcomings with the use of Takedowns, ranging from unfair levels of difficulty to divisive design decisions. As such, Gearbox may want to consider returning to a more traditional Raid boss format with future Borderlands 3 DLC and the inevitable Borderlands 4.
While Gearbox listened to player feedback on its Takedowns, improving both Maliwan’s Blacksite and Guardian Breach with time, there are still flaws with the design of these takedowns. While the single-life nature of the missions is frustrating for many, it is the walk to the actual Raid bosses that can make Takedowns more frustrating than fun. In previous Borderlands games, players could do battle with the boss they wanted to fight right away, heading straight back into battle after every failure. Further, skilled players could farm weapons from the raid bosses for as long as they’d like, not having to endure a grueling 30-minute fight with smaller enemies first.
While Takedowns are intense and exciting on a first run, they become tiresome afterward. Players who simply want to clash with Wotan The Invincible or Scourge The Invincible and grind for their loot cannot do so, and given the fun that came from replaying raid boss fights in past Borderlands games, this is a real shame. Whether it be the long elevator rides up to Crawmerax after each beat down in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, or the exhilarating drop into Terramorphus’ arena in Borderlands 2, the simpler raid bosses were just as fun as the ones seen in Borderlands 3.
However, the bigger problem with Takedowns is how few of them there are. Despite Borderlands 3 being out for well over a year now, only two takedowns exist. While both offer different experiences and have incredibly fun final encounters once players get through the slog to reach them, two Takedowns means two raid bosses. Across all of Borderlands 2’s DLC, there were ten raid bosses, a stark contrast to the small number offered in the third game. Not only did the raid bosses in Borderlands 2 add an extra bit of content to each expansion, but they were easy to access and relied on being a challenge all on their own — not needing the help of a tough fight with hundreds of enemies beforehand. Perhaps if Borderlands 3 had more Takedowns, the old system would not be so appealing, though there is still another issue caused by the use of Takedowns.
While players were quick to farm for Eridium in Borderlands 3’s earlier days, as the currency is used for cosmetics, players have little to do with the special substance once all the skins and decorations have been purchased from Crazy Earl’s Shop. With players accruing so much Eridium in higher Mayhem levels, it does not take long for Crazy Earl’s shop to be emptied of all its goodies, leaving Borderlands 3 players with piles of Eridium to spend and nothing meaningful to use it for.
In Borderlands 2, on the other hand, Eridium played a much larger role. While the element no longer being used for storage upgrades was a wise change to make money in Borderlands 3 more viable, the removal of traditional raid bosses in Borderlands 3 also meant that Gearbox did away with a great use for Eridium. Previously used as a key to enter the arenas of raid bosses, players had a reason to keep grinding the resource in the endgame. With Borderlands 3’s Mayhem Mode increases to Eridium, players could be given an incentive for approaching the game at the highest difficulty level if such a system returned.
While Gearbox meant well with Borderlands 3’s Takedowns and making the raid-like levels free was a good gesture, Borderlands raid bosses and the lead-up to them did not truly need to be deepened. Instead of a long, tough, and repetitive fight ahead of the content players want to play, a return to the old system would be welcome — only with more Raid bosses and deeper movesets for each of the special foes. Fighting an “Invincible” enemy in the series is always thrilling, but in Borderlands 3, the amount of work required to do so strips some fun from the experience. With only a few raid bosses in the game and Eridium feeling like a meaningless currency for those that play often, Gearbox should look to the past when designing the game’s next raid bosses.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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