I hope this thread/post is appropriate for GROGHEADS.
Many reviews are coming in giving Borderlands 2 primarily high scores from 85 to 100 with the average of about 89 to 91% (GameRankings & Metacritic).
http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/638786-borderlands-2/index.html
If you liked the first one you'll most likely enjoy BL2 (Borderlands 2). I played BL1 to death clear through 3 different times with the objective to find and use the most powerful and accuracte sniper rifle or scoped pistol to dispatch main enemies with one shot kills and big boss creatures with only a few shots.
I'm only at level 7 in BL2 at the ICE Land environment and with only moderate weapons but here are some initial impressions:
-Much slicker and useful interface to purchase, compare, discard items and add Bad Ass/Skill points.
-Better adjustable pc graphic options than the first. Now, really sharp cell-shaded environments, characters, and beasts (not everyone's cup of tea, understood)
-Many more weapons but most are similar but can be quickly sold to get more cash for better items.
-Better shields available right from the beginning.
-Very immersive environment makes me really feel "cold" in the ice land setting. Don't fall in the freezing water or you will die.
-Main "human", maurauder, assassin characters quite similar to BL1. Flying raqs different but similar. Big beasts different so far and they throw ice balls and ice sickles.
-I'm using the Axton Commando character with placeable sabre gun turret. This turret definitely works better than in BL1.
-I'm finding the 400pp Borderlands 2 Brady Games Signature Series strategy guide useful, colorful, and comprehensive.
I believe this is enough for now and maybe too much as to bore/boar you to death. Don't be a CLAPTRAP, wanderer!
Thanks for posting this. I was hoping someone here would comment on the game. I bought Borderlands (for the PS3) way back when and traded it in less than 3 months later. I was initially thinking that Borderlands 2 would be more of the same but your review indicates that it is a good game.
Thanks for the insight. One more game I ought to be playing...
W8taminute, if you really gave BL1 a fair shake and didn't like it or it didn't draw you in then you probably will not like BL2. It is quite similar so far with some tweaks and improvements but it is still wanderering, looting, blasting, and upgrading. It's still a fps with rpg elements. The story so far is okay. As mentioned, I play it mainly to find and use the ultimate weapon. That likely is not enough for some players.
Remember I'm playing the pc version that requires a STEAM account and on a powerful computer with the adjustable graphics options. Play on the consoles may be a bit different. I'm not sure I like the STEAM idea since I purchased the box copy but that seems like reality now days.
BL1 was the only game I enjoyed playing multiplay with my sons (I only play with my sons, sorry). Not Left For Dead nor Call of Duty. I'm looking forward to playing multiplay with one of my sons but he up and seriously broke his finger (basketball) and is in an arm cast for 4-6 weeks. He can't mouse with the cast. He won't die from not playing games but just barely. He is an uber fanatic.
Longblade, it's been awhile but it's great to interact with you again. You're a great administrator/moderator and one who respects diverse gaming interests. You're always kind in taking the time to post and further member threads/posts. Keep up the good work.
Yes, if you like rpg/shooters and acquiring "top-notch" firepower then BL2 might be the ticket!
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on September 20, 2012, 04:34:18 PM
W8taminute, if you really gave BL1 a fair shake and didn't like it or it didn't draw you in then you probably will not like BL2. It is quite similar so far with some tweaks and improvements but it is still wanderering, looting, blasting, and upgrading. It's still a fps with rpg elements. The story so far is okay. As mentioned, I play it mainly to find and use the ultimate weapon. That likely is not enough for some players.
I guess what didn't draw me into BL1 was my perception that it was kind of like a Fallout 3 clone. What I mean by that is purely gameplay not story. I enjoy looting, blasting, and upgrading as much as you do but I think maybe I like it better in a Fallout New Vegas or Skyrim type of game. Thanks for sharing though, it helps me and others decide on buy or die. :D
I'm also really enjoying BL2. It has the same crazed and often dark sense of humor, and the same random loot drop guns insanity of the first. But the PC version is a thousand times better. You can tell that this wasn't a slap dash port this around. Also, the multiplay works a lot better. No more horrible antiquated Gamespy that was poorly implemented. This time, they used Steamworks. It's incredibly easy to drop in and out of games.
It looks like there is a much bigger variety of enemies in this one, too. And a few seem to be several types stacked in to one. Goliaths, for example, become Rampaging Goliaths if you do big damage but don't kill them. They're stronger, they're faster, their health is refilled...but they attack EVERYTHING around them (including former allies). Don't finish them off in time and they elevate to another level of roid rage where they can now leap about 80 feet at a time. And so forth.
And the whole level up system is nicely organized. Every time you gain a level, you get 1 point to spend in any of three different skill trees. You'll also get Badass Points during play for reaching certain totals in a long list of goals, and those can be used to give you small upgrades to everything from Gun Damage to Shield Recharge Rate.
I could go on. For once, I won't. ;D
Welcome FC, good to see you here. Thanks for the review. If you're interested in writing for US let Brant or LB know. We would love to have you.
W8taminute You have good taste in enjoying great games such as Skyrim and Fallout New Vegas (my girlfriend's favorite). Those games sport traditional and awesome graphics while BL2 has the cell-shaded more "cartoon" type. Were the cell-shaded graphics a turn-off for you? Some may think BL2 is just a "kid" game despite the "M" rating.
Arctic Blast good endorsement from a solid gamer. Thanks for the additional thoughts on features, bestiary, and especially multiplay. You are into this game quite deeply and as such you might consider keeping us posted as you progress further and discover "fantastic" weaponry or shields. Have you found a sniper rifle yet? If so where did you get it and how good is it? I don't feel fullfilled unless I have a scoped rifle or pistol in my arsenal (my BANG-BANG comedian -Arsenally Hall).
Gusington, howdy buddy. I always enjoyed sharing threads/posts with you. They were many and they were memorable. You were a mainstay in the other forum and I missed seeing you there. It just wasn't the same. Thanks for the kind and formal invitation suggesting I write for GrogHeads. Actually I don't consider myself a very good writer but I try and plug away. However, I will informally continue to provide brief reviews and insights on certain pc titles...and maybe participate in the "tech talk" section. I'm mainly a FPS player at heart.
Since I feel Grogheads is a "warm" and inviting wargaming/general gaming community I'll feel more apt to contribute.
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on September 21, 2012, 12:14:01 PM
W8taminute You have good taste in enjoying great games such as Skyrim and Fallout New Vegas (my girlfriend's favorite). Those games sport traditional and awesome graphics while BL2 has the cell-shaded more "cartoon" type. Were the cell-shaded graphics a turn-off for you? Some may think BL2 is just a "kid" game despite the "M" rating.
Since I feel Grogheads is a "warm" and inviting wargaming/general gaming community I'll feel more apt to contribute.
No the cell shading graphics were not a turnoff. I enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles which also sported cell shading. I think my problem with BL1 was I couldn't get immersed in the story. Can't really put my finger on it but there it is.
Quote from: W8taminute on September 21, 2012, 12:46:25 PM
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on September 21, 2012, 12:14:01 PM
W8taminute You have good taste in enjoying great games such as Skyrim and Fallout New Vegas (my girlfriend's favorite). Those games sport traditional and awesome graphics while BL2 has the cell-shaded more "cartoon" type. Were the cell-shaded graphics a turn-off for you? Some may think BL2 is just a "kid" game despite the "M" rating.
Since I feel Grogheads is a "warm" and inviting wargaming/general gaming community I'll feel more apt to contribute.
No the cell shading graphics were not a turnoff. I enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles which also sported cell shading. I think my problem with BL1 was I couldn't get immersed in the story. Can't really put my finger on it but there it is.
In a lot of ways, BL2 is to BL1 what Assassin's Creed 2 was to the first game...it seems like they built off of the solid idea and fleshed out all of the areas that were a little thin in the original. The story so far in the sequel is a lot better, if for no other reason than you have a big, bad supervillain type to fight against. The whole arrangement of various factions isn't the splintered mess that it was in the first game.
Quote from: FrontierCybrarianArctic Blast good endorsement from a solid gamer. Thanks for the additional thoughts on features, bestiary, and especially multiplay. You are into this game quite deeply and as such you might consider keeping us posted as you progress further and discover "fantastic" weaponry or shields. Have you found a sniper rifle yet? If so where did you get it and how good is it? I don't feel fullfilled unless I have a scoped rifle or pistol in my arsenal (my BANG-BANG comedian -Arsenally Hall).
Indeed. I've gone through a few sniper rifles. Had one that did Burning Damage on top of 150 points of standard, but it ripped through 2 out of the 6 rounds in the mag with every trigger pull. Now I've got a 205 point base damage sniper rifle with no elemental effects, but the damn thing has an absurd accuracy rate of something like 97.5%. I have deemed it 'Head Burster'. I've also finally grabbed a pretty respectable pistol, just picked up a boosted shotgun via a side mission, and have a bad ass rocket launcher and a damn good shield. Still looking for a really high end automatic weapon, though.
I'm pretty close to making Level 16. I just finished off a couple of side missions, and MAN are those more involved than they were in the original. They used to be quick little bites between story missions, now they're almost as long (not a complaint). Had my first encounters with Hyperion's robots. One of the side missions was a rather amusing affair involving an AI core from one of them that wants to be peaceful now...or does he?
My next op is helping a Bandit pilot named Loggins seek revenge against the squadron that threw him out. I had to pause the game when he talked about missing the 'Highway to the Danger Zone' because I was laughing too goddamn hard to play. Same thing happened when I brought a pizza to 4 lab test subjects who kept saying things like "Cowabunga", especially when I saw their named : Leonard, Don, Michael and (okay, I can't remember what the Westernized take on Raphael was).
Arctic Blast, you are living up to your name, especially in the Ice Mission, and having a BLAST! Way too much fun...way too much fun. The game & character humor is increasing your enjoyment it seems.
It sounds like I need to progress past level 7 to acquire a sniper rifle or scoped pistol. I'll just have to plug along until I get my hands on my favorite firearm.
Very good and specific details about your play...thanks for sharing. Keep us appraised of your progress in BL2. I don't believe you've told us what character you are playing.
The entire Loggins mission was an hilarious send up of Top Gun. You need to drive up a stone ramp in to the Bandit air base, since it's located on a bluff. Doing so gets you a reward that referenced Goose (can't remember specifically what it was). Finally, you achieve the goal by collecting volleyballs and gasoline, then setting the volleyball net on fire. that causes Loggins to cheer that his revenge will be preventing shirtless beach volleyball matches, at which point you are attacked by a troop of Shirtless Men. Too damn funny.
Arctic Blast FUN FUN FUN until daddy takes the T-Bird away! That brings me to a question. In BL1 the vehicles were fun to drive but the weapons were way underpowered. Driving was mainly to get from one place to another and to avoid enemies.
I haven't got a vehicle yet, haven't played in a few days. Tell us about the vehicles in BL2...there speed, handling, and guns.
Thanks for being our BL2 contact person.
Good to have you here FC. If you change your mind in the future about writing please do not hesitate to send stuff our way.
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on September 23, 2012, 03:44:35 PM
Arctic Blast FUN FUN FUN until daddy takes the T-Bird away! That brings me to a question. In BL1 the vehicles were fun to drive but the weapons were way underpowered. Driving was mainly to get from one place to another and to avoid enemies.
I haven't got a vehicle yet, haven't played in a few days. Tell us about the vehicles in BL2...there speed, handling, and guns.
Thanks for being our BL2 contact person.
There are the standard vehicles from last game, with an option for straight machine guns or one with the guns and a rocket launcher. Critical hits seem to me to generally be a bigger deal than they were in the original, so the guns can be pretty nasty this time around. W and S are forward and reverse, and steering is done by using the mouse to turn your view...the vehicle will swing around in that direction.
They've also added the Bandit technicals to the game after a certain point. There's one model with machine guns and a launcher that fires what can best be described as gigantic throwing stars. The other has no guns and instead packs an explosive barrel launcher. They can't quite go as fast as the standard cars, but they have more armor.
I'm hoping that the new Bandit aircraft open up later on...
I haven't got time to play Borderlands 2 very much, but I did want to post this:
Glad to have you here FC! You are an asset in any thread you post!
Gusington, it feels like home here. I certainly will let you know if I have significant articles to present to Grogheads.
Arctic Blast, thanks for the details on the vehicles. I'm glad the weapons are better and more powerful. It sounds like I'll be comfortable with the handling of the cars if it's the same system as before. I finally picked up a powerful sniper rifle. I'm a distance fighter with high magnification a must...so now I'm a closer step to nirvana.
Son of Monfort, and a howdy to you, friend. Looks like you've found a home here at GrogHeads, also. Thanks for the kind greetings and well-wishes. We in deed shared many a thread/post also respecting one another and offering support and understanding. I'm glad you're a moderator...you certainly have the skils, intelligence and knowledge to assist in the successful functioning of GrogHeads.
Hope your schooling is going well...maybe you're already finished. Haven't heard for awhile.
I'm enjoying the game, but the framerates I'm getting are horrendous. I spent quite some time messing around with the options but it doesn't seem to matter the settings I get some serious moments of slideshow action. The only thing I can think that would be causing it is the new AMD catalyst drivers. How's this playing for everyone else?
Bison, not good at all you're having the graphics problems.
I'm using two SLI Geforce Nvidia 560 cards with framerate set at 72fps, V-sync enabled and 8 anti-analizing. Very crisp, clean, and fantastic framerates. No problems so far. The game is optomized for Nvidia but should work with AMD drivers as many gamers use non-Nvidia cards.
Let's hear feedback from AMD (not AMT) card holders about Mr. Buffalo's predicament. Kidding aside, let's help Bison remedy the framerate issue. How about it? Could his problem be more than a graphic driver deal? What about cpu, memory? We want your expertise.
It think its a little from several columns. I'm running older GPUs which is part of the issue and I'm pretty sure AMD had dorked up there last few driver updates. And yes in this case dorked up is a techincal term for what AMD has been doing lately for driver support. On the brightside I've got a brand spanking new Nvidia card in bound in a few weeks! Yay!
On topic:
I'm playing a sniper class dude and I cannot find a new sniper rifle to save my pathetic hide. Other than I die alot, I'm still having a good time.
Bison, hope the Nvidia card solves your graphic problems and you receive it soon.
It seems to me I didn't find a sniper rifle until level 7 or 8. The "Bad Hair Day" side quest given by Sir Hammerlock at Liar's Berg will net you a sniper rifle if you get the # of beast furs he requests (wound the beasts with gun then finish with melee attack to get the hides). Return the furs to Sir Hammerlock in Santuary at the Moxxi's Bar. Don't give the furs to Claptrap or he'll give you a cheap shotgun.
Also be sure to tackle every enemy hideout..blast away even if the enemies are higher rated. Some hideouts and dead enemies yield nice high power weaponry...even some sniper rifles.
Go Forward Wanderer...Vault Hunter!
Yeah that's the rifle I'm still using now. I've read that the drop quality is not very good on the first play through and playing solo. We'll see though I'm off to slay me some more baddies.
Pulled my first purple weapon this evening. Some sort of flame submachine gun thingy that kicks some serious ass. I also bought a sniper rifle upgrade still looking of a green or blue and wishing for a purple one to drop at some point in time.
Quote from: Bison on September 28, 2012, 10:04:33 PM
Yeah that's the rifle I'm still using now. I've read that the drop quality is not very good on the first play through and playing solo. We'll see though I'm off to slay me some more baddies.
Every time you enter a new area, you'll notice drop quality jumps up in that region. For example, I just snagged a 530+ damage sniper rifle with a 96% accuracy rating. And that's kind of candy ass compared to the rest of my arsenal (4000+ damage rocket launcher for the win).
Of course, the baddies get pretty goddamn brutal, too. I've spent the last few hours fighting a lot of Threshers. They're burrowing beasts with tentacles flying around that spit crap at you. I hate them. I want to exterminate their race.
Bison and Arctic Blast you guys are rocking.
I just completed two more areas. I still have a 142 hit point sniper rifle and a nice shotgun. In BL1 it didn't seem to be that significant in getting a higher color weapon. Is it better in BL2?
Also where does one turn in the eridium to get better gun mods? Am I missing something?
FrontierCybrarian, i saw your excellent decision making article in another forum, so i venture to quote you here to be seen by a wider public...
BL2, to buy or not to buy
....it depends on your circumstances, IF YOU:
- Haven't finished playing Borderlands 1 completely through a time or two and reached a high level then I'd say NO to BL2.
- Got bored with BL1 then I'd also say NO.
- Found BL1 quite fun and you would like more but with a few new characters, weapons, refinements then I'd say YES.
- Have limited funds and are waiting for the one or two ultimate games of the year then BL2 MIGHT NOT be the one.
BL2 is currently about $60. You may want to WAIT until the cost goes down $20 or so.
- Are primarily a hardcore wargamer and first-person-shooting/rpging is secondary in your playlist then it's a MAYBE.
- Have very limited time but usually want to play a game to it's conclusion. I've heard the 10 main missions and about 100
minor quests will take a good chunk of time to complete.
FC, you definitively saved me some (impulsive buy -please help me i'm addicted-)money... i first have to get the most out of BL1, and then maybe with next but one Steam 'whatsoever' Sale i may get it.
THX :)
MikeGER, thanks for the post and kind of you to indicate it helped in a purchase decision. I was worried the post was way too philosophical.
The DLC conntent for BL1 (Zombie, Mr. Knoxx, Claptrap) are quite good and the Moxxi Arena is okay. They also provide many more hours of usefulness to the original.
I definitely like BL2 alot with it's improvements but I believe it's main supporters are those who played the first one to death and are READY for the sequel.
You can still be THE MAN in BL1. "Take it to the limit one more time."
Near Level 31 in the game, and I'm still loving it.
2 quick warnings about the Bunker mission (can't remember what it's actually called, but it involved bringing Claptrap along to get you through a shield wall and taking out a bunker) :
1. Don't even start this unless you have a good hour to hour and a half. And it's straight up combat basically the whole way.
2. The story takes a really unexpected turn towards the serious during this mission. Not a complaint, because I think it's done REALLY well, but...holy crap. Some things emerge that I didn't really see coming.
Also, I heartily recommend doing the Treasure Hunt mission. It involves a lot of back tracking through a monster infested region, but good grief so you get some really bad ass guns out of it! I ended up with the most over the top shotgun I've ever seen, which pairs nicely with my 1,575 damage sniper rifle.
Arctic Blast, Holy ClapTrap, you are really SMOKIN! Very much appreciate the advice on Bunker & Treasure missions. I definitely need better weapons.
Due to a short power outage right when my game was saving it knocked out my Level 11 and started me all over at the beginning. Tried to find and restore the saved game but couldn't find it anywhere. But it doesn't matter now as I started over and I'm at Level 12.
You've played for quite a few hours now and if it still carries fun for you then there must be enough variety in settings, missions, enemies, weapons to keep you satisfied. It doesn't sound like you are getting bored.
Keep us informed of your continued progress and warn us of impending danger if we aren't prepared. You are the #1 VAULT HUNTER so don't let us down.
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on October 03, 2012, 12:34:58 AM
Arctic Blast, Holy ClapTrap, you are really SMOKIN! Very much appreciate the advice on Bunker & Treasure missions. I definitely need better weapons.
Those will definitely come as you play. I found that just as things started to feel a bit stagnant weapons wise, I'd take a mission letting me in to a new area. Weapons get a lot better, but so do the things you're shooting them at.
Quote
Due to a short power outage right when my game was saving it knocked out my Level 11 and started me all over at the beginning. Tried to find and restore the saved game but couldn't find it anywhere. But it doesn't matter now as I started over and I'm at Level 12.p
Ack! That sucks. Well, at least you weren't TOO far in yet.
Quote
You've played for quite a few hours now and if it still carries fun for you then there must be enough variety in settings, missions, enemies, weapons to keep you satisfied. It doesn't sound like you are getting bored.
According to Steam, I'm at 40 hours of play time. The fact that number surprises me should be an indication that I'm enjoying it. ;D
I think I spent about 70 hours on the original, but that also involved a partial second play through and going through 2 of the DLC expansions. So it definitely seems like this game has a lot more stuff to do. Of course, I am also doing most of the side missions, so that adds substantially to the length.
Arctic Blast, your exciting gameplay really gives me hope for the ultimate sniper rifle. I just got a 192 damage one and it definitely is an improvement...but pray tell, you have a 1500 plus damage one. Holy Female Bovine, I imagine you are blowing stuff to tiny bits...and with only one or a few shots. Waiting for my turn with that.
I'm losing good weapons in an unknown way. I can't remember selling, swapping, or dropping them. They seem to just disappear from my "equipped" or inventory list. I thoroughly backtrack to determine if I accidently hit the "Q" drop button during heated battle but have never found the great weapon again. I hope it's not a Borderlands 2 software glitch. But, with so many weapons I'll just play on and hopefully find an adequate replacement soon.
Be sure to get enough nourishment and sleep....so you'll have ample energy, alertness, and sharpness to carry on VAULT HUNTER.
Of course it is the weekend.
I've been guilty of accidently selling a weapon or something and only realize later on when I want that specific elemental damage weapon. It's easy to do with limited backpack space.
Bison you're probably right in the way I'm losing weapons. The weapons look quite different in hand (back view) than shown with side view in the inventory/backpack/equipped lists. Thus one selling the odd looking thing when in reality it should have remained with you.
By the way, did you know that a Bison is related to the bovine family. So when someone says Holy Cow it could mean oxen, cattle, buffalos, etc.. Are you offended by many taking your name in vain and maybe in a "swearing" type way? Just wondering about this significant occurrence.
Doesn't bother me in the least.
If I find I like a weapon, I just make sure to mark it with the star. Conversely if I don't like a weapon, I red x mark it. Makes selling and bank storing easy.
Bison, thanks for the idea of marking inventory items. I had no idea that could be done. Here I have the large strategy guide and didn't even pick up on that helpful function. Maybe it was dialogued somewhere during gameplay. Missed it.
That's why we have gaming forums so tid-bits for improved play can be shared. Appreciate it.
Quote from: FrontierCybrarian on October 05, 2012, 12:32:14 PM
Arctic Blast, your exciting gameplay really gives me hope for the ultimate sniper rifle. I just got a 192 damage one and it definitely is an improvement...but pray tell, you have a 1500 plus damage one. Holy Female Bovine, I imagine you are blowing stuff to tiny bits...and with only one or a few shots. Waiting for my turn with that.
I'm losing good weapons in an unknown way. I can't remember selling, swapping, or dropping them. They seem to just disappear from my "equipped" or inventory list. I thoroughly backtrack to determine if I accidently hit the "Q" drop button during heated battle but have never found the great weapon again. I hope it's not a Borderlands 2 software glitch. But, with so many weapons I'll just play on and hopefully find an adequate replacement soon.
Be sure to get enough nourishment and sleep....so you'll have ample energy, alertness, and sharpness to carry on VAULT HUNTER.
Of course it is the weekend.
Well, most of the enemies I'm encountering now are wearing shields now. But 2 head shots still completely puts them down. With other things, Spiderants for example, you just have to maneuver/wait for the right kind of shot and take them out quick.
And definitely don't ignore elemental effect damage on weapons, unless it's powerful enough to do big hits without. For example, that sniper rifle has no other effect beyond the main damage stat, but it does enough of that per shot that it's worth it.
One other thing that I've noticed that I don't remember happening in the first game is possessing a massive pile of money. I've been over $140,000 several times now, which makes it a lot easier to spend big for a significant gun or grenade mod upgrade.
Not sure what's happening but I've gotten two blue screens during Borderlands 2 play sessions over the last day. Its involving my gpu, so its its a hardware issue on my side. Just not sure why. I've got around 30 hours of play in before I started to get the system shutdowns. The odd part of it being a gpu issue is that it only happens with BL2, so there is something happening between the game and the gpu. Just not sure what it is.
Arctic Blast, you are so far ahead of me and likely most Groghead readers in BL2 that it isn't fair. Cough up some of the money NOW and give me good weapons PRONTO. But.........I won't be able to force you into it because you've got me out-gunned, skilled, badassed. Please forgive my request BOSS. I have sinned.
I need to play much more to get the money and weapons you speak of. I'm not much into the elemental weapons so far as they're weak. The key to success is matching the weapon to the enemy and circumstance. A slow loading sniper rifle is no match for hoardes of rushing enemies...better a fast hand or machinegun. Keep up the good work.
Bison, that's not good at all about the computer crashes with BL2. Post your computer specs and maybe a reader can spot or suggest something. I purchased the box version so I will have the recommended and suggested game specs in front of me incase you are lacking, about average, or have ample horsepower.
If you resolve the situation let us know that, too. Could be helpful to someone else. How long (hours, minutes) did you play when the crashes happened?
I have an allergy or sinus cold & have to rest for awhile but will get back to this thread when I can.
FrontierCybrarian : Well, I'm always down for a bit of multi play if you see me playing (that goes for anyone else, too). Steam name is arcticblaster76. The only thing is, I'm not sure how it would set the levels for the bad guys...if that's based on the level of my guy and you hop in, that could end up being pretty nasty for you if you're too far back.
My favorite tactic is now to sow chaos amongst the villains. If you see one of those Nomads with a Midget Bandit strapped to a shield, shoot the ropes off and free the little guy. He tends to be a bit angry at the Nomad. Then blast the masks off of a couple of Goliaths and set them loose against everyone around them, including each other. Only, be careful about letting them level too much before you have to fight them...they get NASTY.
Bison : That sucks, dude. Hopefully it doesn't become a persistent problem. I had to shelve Arkham City awhile back because it kept persistently crashing and I couldn't advance any further. :(
The level difference effects some of the xp. However you can certainly do it, especially helpful to push through a tough zone and increase the quality of loot drops. You guys can throw me an invite too if you see me online.
Arctic Blast and Bison, finally had time getting to this thread. Thanks for the multiplay invite...I'm mainly a single play guy. But if you guys hook up let me know how the experience plays out.
Bison, hope your computer crashes are few and far between now.
AC, good advice on how to get enemies fighting with each other while you observe and pick your time to battle...and with whom.
One thing to keep in mind about weapons - if you follow Randy Pitchford on twitter (@duvalmagic), he'll drop SHIFT codes on his twitter feed pretty often. You can input those and they'll give you keys to unlock the strongbox in the middle of Sanctuary near the portal. Things in that box are usually ultrarare. The weapons I've collected from there are quite special.
I'm on the Xbox version, but I've got a level 29 Siren and a handful of other characters at varying levels (Mechomancer around 20, Zero around 12...)
The bunker battle was fun, although I had an easier time with it because of one of the weapons I picked up from a side mission (from Marcus, about a "cursed weapon"). It may vary, but the version I got was called Analytical Bane. It did a horrific amount (SMG doing 250+ acid damage per bullet with a ROF between 25-35) of acid damage (good against loaders and any other armored foe), but it made you slow and the gun talks with a high-pitched, annoying voice. It also screams when you fire. It's a trade-off, but a funny one.
The weapons and equipment I've picked up from the SHIFT strong box are pretty nice. My current primary weapon is a SMG that 325 slag damage per bullet. It's gross.
Anyway, like I said in the other thread - if anyone is playing on Xbox, my live account is jccaran.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190403005093/en/Mayhem-Coming-September-13-2019-Worldwide-Launch/
Mayhem is Coming September 13, 2019 with Worldwide Launch of Borderlands® 3
At launch on September 13, Borderlands 3 will be available for PC exclusively through the Epic Games store. Borderlands 3 will be available on additional PC digital storefronts in April 2020.
To celebrate the announcement of Borderlands 3, the Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition launches today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition is the brand new definitive version of the original game, boasting ultra HD remastered graphics, significant quality-of-life content updates, and all add-on content included. For more information, please click here.
Additionally, Gearbox and 2K also released an Ultra HD Texture Pack that increases the visual fidelity of Borderlands: The Handsome Collection on consoles, and provides a visual upgrade for Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and all the game add-ons for both titles on PC.
Sounding like people who don't embrace epic will have reduced options to play the latest games going forward:) I never really got into this series so either way no big deal for me.
Since Epic Games are gobbling up exclusives I'll just postpone any PC upgrades or purchases for awhile.
This exclusive rubbish will even more put me off using Epic
Me too.
I don't know. I'm happy using Steam, but I've also used EA and Ubisofts store. I can't see this affecting my purchase.
As someone mentioned earlier - there were plenty of naysayers (possibly even me, though I can't honestly recall) when Steam was getting stronger. Alot of people were saying they'd never succumb and yet, here we are. I doubt there are many of those diehards about now and Steam is likely their go to platform.
Upshot is, I've given in to the fact if I want a game, chances are I'll give up and go where the evil is perceived to be. What can I say - I'm weak. :hide:
Quote from: JudgeDredd on April 04, 2019, 08:00:57 AM
I don't know. I'm happy using Steam, but I've also used EA and Ubisofts store. I can't see this affecting my purchase.
As someone mentioned earlier - there were plenty of naysayers (possibly even me, though I can't honestly recall) when Steam was getting stronger. Alot of people were saying they'd never succumb and yet, here we are. I doubt there are many of those diehards about now and Steam is likely their go to platform.
Upshot is, I've given in to the fact if I want a game, chances are I'll give up and go where the evil is perceived to be. What can I say - I'm weak. :hide:
I think for me it is the use of the word exclusive as a marketing technique, they can host it where they want. Sometimes it was a lot easier when all stores used to sell games :)
I wonder if these exclusive Epic store deals are even legal.
The EU already has fined companies like Google for not allowing competition or for making it very hard for competitors to enter a market.
The US is proud of its free market and I don't know whether this de facto monopoly (even if it is only for a year) is allowed by law.
Epic's owner (Tim) has made it clear that he has opened Epic for developers and clearly stated that he holds customers in contempt. Why would any gamer go spend money at Epic knowing that?
Quote from: Pete Dero on April 04, 2019, 08:34:54 AM
I wonder if these exclusive Epic store deals are even legal.
The EU already has fined companies like Google for not allowing competition or for making it very hard for competitors to enter a market.
The US is proud of its free market and I don't know whether this de facto monopoly (even if it is only for a year) is allowed by law.
Unfortunately I think limited exclusives are technically legal and the wave of the future. Look how the movie industry strongarmed Netflix / redbox to hold off a month from allowing movie rentals to not reduce the physical movie sales when released to home video.
Quote from: Gusington on April 04, 2019, 08:44:13 AM
Epic's owner (Tim) has made it clear that he has opened Epic for developers and clearly stated that he holds customers in contempt. Why would any gamer go spend money at Epic knowing that?
I guess if you don't know that he holds customers in contempt and it's a game you want - those are two reasonable reasons (if not necessarily good ones) I suppose.
Quote from: Pete Dero on April 04, 2019, 08:34:54 AM
I wonder if these exclusive Epic store deals are even legal.
The EU already has fined companies like Google for not allowing competition or for making it very hard for competitors to enter a market.
The US is proud of its free market and I don't know whether this de facto monopoly (even if it is only for a year) is allowed by law.
Not even a chance. Its not a "de facto monopoly". Some developers are choosing to go exclusive because they are being paid to do so, not because Epic has cornered the market and has left them with no choice. I think there is a much stronger argument that Steam has much more of a monopoly, then Epic. It is actually Epic that is taking away from Steam's near exclusive market share of the digital distribution industry.
I remember getting surly about Uplay way back but now I have it and don't think anything of it. Maybe I will warm up to Epic eventually. Soon(TM) 2021 maybe. As far as Steam goes I've never hated it. I always enjoyed being able to play different games without needing to swap CDs all the time. That and getting automatic updates.
There's also the epic (pun intended) security fails of Tim Sweeney's shoddy client. Which is what they should rename it. If the attitude towards customers and its horrendous security state don't scare you away well then go right ahead.
Absolutely...the concept of Epic is not the problem, it is the execution. In its present state, I feel the platform is light years behind steam in terms of usability and interface. Furthermore, the rumored security flaws, data harvesting, etc. are very disturbing.
If they fix these issues and if Epic grows into something much larger than its Fortnite fanbase, then I believe it will be worth considering and I will certainly have no reservation with using it. i have steam, uplay, origin, gog galaxy, battlenet, etc. I have little issue with these platforms because they are safe and they work.
'Safe and they work.' Sad that this has to be asked for now.
You touched on the rumor that Epic is also a poorly cloaked data harvester...which I have also read about but didn't post above.
I also use GOG, UPlay, etc., which are not exactly upstanding digital corporate citizens but Epic is just flagrant about it.
Yes indeed. It all comes down to try to guard data as best we can. If Epic is proven to be harvesting personal data people should have enough reason to avoid it for now.
On the other hand I have no illusion Steam, Uplay and Battle.net would not have some kind of 'harvester' built in.
I comes down to 'damage control' or 'security priorities', if you will. What data am I ok with to be shared and what not. Credit Card info or bank account details are obviously a big no no.
But what do I care if companies know what games I like? What do I care if companies have access to my OS version, hardware signature, etc?
In essence this should be safe to share, but we all know this information gets sold to 3rd parties and that's where the potential problems lie:
The more bits of a puzzle this overarcing database has about people, the more infringing it becomes to the point of -for example- people not being able to get a certain insurance because the company is of the opinion that people who play GTA V often have a social disorder. (inflating on purpose here).
A rather silly, but smart thing we often say in aviation is "You don't know what you don't know". That's applicable to the privacy problem people are becoming more aware of as time goes by.
If I got it right the problem was that the Epic app collected info about the player's Steam account.
They later (when it got out) claimed this was 'by mistake'.
http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=16512.msg644350#msg644350
https://www.bluesnews.com/s/198430/valve-on-epic-games-store-and-steam-data
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/epic-promises-to-fix-game-launcher-after-privacy-concerns/
Vogel also stated that the Epic Games Launcher is also designed to track some user behavior, as well as to send some select information to the company's servers, but nothing that is not covered by the program's privacy policy or that would be considered privacy invasion.
Epic Games CEO and Founder Tim Sweeney also chimed in to answer some of the gamers' questions on Reddit, stating that "Since this issue came to the forefront we're going to fix it."
Sweeney said that the current way of collecting client Steam info from users' computers is actually his fault:
You guys are right that we ought to only access the localconfig.vdf file after the user chooses to import Steam friends. The current implementation is a remnant left over from our rush to implement social features in the early days of Fortnite. It's actually my fault for pushing the launcher team to support it super quickly and then identifying that we had to change it. Since this issue came to the forefront we're going to fix it.
And besides the harvesting, Epic's security is just crap. I saw a bunch of online examples of users getting dozens of warnings from Epic over just a few hours that their accounts were hacked.
Quote from: Gusington on April 05, 2019, 10:18:18 AM
And besides the harvesting, Epic's security is just crap. I saw a bunch of online examples of users getting dozens of warnings from Epic over just a few hours that their accounts were hacked.
I get these warnings weekly. Not that it has been hacked, but that somebody has tried to hack it.
Specifically what I saw was one user post a gif of his inbox and just that one sample showed 25+ attempts to breach in 1-2 hours.
Next phase : Epic is the new Huawei !? (https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/23/tech/huawei-us-government/index.html)
https://www.usgamer.net/articles/the-epic-games-store-is-spyware-how-a-toxic-accusation-was-started-by-anti-chinese-sentiment
But perhaps most stunningly some have gone as far to say that the Epic Games Store is literal spyware. Not in a cheeky way either, but that Epic is a conduit for the Chinese government to spy on players.
https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1113970715173294081
I support everyone's right to complain about tech industry stuff. Epic's store, with exclusive games and a spartan feature set, is a fine target for ire. But please help separate facts and opinions from the lies about spyware and foreign control.
I'm the controlling shareholder in Epic Games, and have been since 1991. We have a number of outside investors now. Tencent is the largest. All of Epic's investors our friends and partners. None can dictate decisions to Epic. None have access to Epic customer data.
Tencent is a Chinese company founded in 1998. CEO Pony Ma and the other co-founders played a lot of Unreal Tournament back then, and visited Epic in the early 2000's. In 2012 Epic was looking to move to online games, and we invited Tencent in as an investor to help us.
I've never regretted it, and the recent anti-China rage doesn't change that even slightly, as its completely unfounded. Epic has only had positive interactions with Tencent at all levels.
All of Epic's big decisions are made here in the USA and as CEO I'm 100% responsible for them. I'm grateful for everyone who has spoken in support. I also read and respectfully consider all dissenting arguments of fact and principle. Just please keep it real.
https://www.bluesnews.com/s/199029/tim-sweeney-on-epic-games-store-spyware-theories