Borderlands 3's Krieg DLC is out now, allowing fans to finally wrap up the season pass with an incursion into his mind. For the most part, it's a fitting end, but it's not the actual end. With new vault hunter skill trees and a new game mode coming later this year, as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X upgrades on the doc, Borderlands 3 isn't quite finished yet.
Interestingly enough, this foray into Krieg's mind in the here and now may not have been intended as the first encounter between the two. Leaked BL3 game audio that appeared shortly after its release seemingly confirmed Krieg was actually cut from the base game, and parts of this DLC lend itself as further proof to this as well.
What the Cut Krieg Leak Said
Because it was an audio line leak, it's rather straightforward in terms of what the cut Borderlands 3 content specifically was. The audio is verifiably Maya who names Krieg in her discussions. There's enough to suggest the story was that Krieg was infiltrating the Children of the Vault, was captured by Crushjaw, and was rescued by the BL3 Vault Hunters. While not exact, it paints a story that the players spend more time with Maya and that Krieg was somehow involved in the events, at least those proceeding her unfortunate death.
When these audio lines were found, fans were quick to point out how Crushjaw was re-used as one of Zer0's target assassinations, how Maya and Rhy's interaction seem strange in the main game at the time, and other minute details. In other words, as DelusionPhantom (the leaker) pointed out when this first occurred, it wasn't likely content from a DLC. These are usually self-contained, and the audio lines were far too tied into the story to be more than cut content.
How BL3 DLC Seemingly Connects to This
So while it seems likely that this is the case, Borderlands 3's Krieg DLC compounds on this idea that Krieg was cut from the main game, just later returning as part of its season pass. There's two big things that seemingly lend credence to this: Castle Crimson and Maya herself. As players move through Krieg's memories, there's something new in the Benediction of Pain and Krieg's backstory, but the other two are built on more familiar ground.
The Siege of Castle Crimson explores Krieg's relationships with Lilith, Brick, and Moredecai, thus explaining that Psycho Krieg sees these characters as mean and evil. He sees Lilith as the most evil of them, presumably because she was the de facto leader. Since the characters only interact in co-op in Borderlands 2 and not whatosever in Borderlands 3, this depiction is strange because it adds a view of these characters that fans could guess he had but not confirm. One of the leaked audio lines include Maya saying, "Easy Krieg... We're all still Vault Hunters. Including you," which suggests this view would have been confirmed in-game. The fact that Maya is always seen as good is a symbol of his love, but Castle Crimson goes deeper than just how Krieg views the other characters, it includes who he fights.
During the Assault of the Meat Castle, Krieg directly refers to an infiltration of the Children of the Vault, as well as fights off members of the COV. This takes place in Krieg's mind and is based on memories, suggesting that the Castle Crimson may have been the assault that would have got him captured by the COV in the audio lines. Even if not that exactly, it's strange that Krieg would acknowledge the Children of the Vault; if he were never indeed cut, he would never know who they were. So this establishes a timeline of events that the base game skipped over.
Furthermore, moving onto the next memory sees Krieg attempting to save Maya in his memories, a beautiful twist of fate if Maya and the Vault Hunters had saved him in the base game, but it's his initial reaction to her that seems out of place. When starting this mission, Sane Krieg simply goes, "We know she's gone..." It establishes that he has known for some time and has somehow processed that, thereby underplaying his relationship with Maya in the BL3 Krieg DLC.
Overall, while it is just audio and while these events are circumstantial at best, it seems even more likely Krieg the Psycho was cut from the events of the base game. These gaps in player knowledge and character knowledge are just too severe. Considering his popularity within the Borderlands franchise, it would have likely been a strange and tough decision to cut him from the base game, but it's unlikely fans ever get an explanation as to why.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X
