Before we get into it, let’s get one thing straight: Borderlands 3 is a fantastic sequel! It isn't without its issues, but the gameplay has been overhauled to be the best in the series. The character classes are all very diverse and offer a ton of replayability. However, the game isn’t perfect and there are many aspects of the game that need some improvements.
With patches, buffs, and hotfixes being the thing nowadays, developers are able to constantly update the game any time, which Gearbox has been thankfully doing since launch. Now, there are a few things on this list that Gearbox has stated they are looking into, but have yet to fix at the time of writing this. They could even have already fixed by the time you find yourself reading this, so just keep that in mind. Here are the ten biggest fixes that Borderlands 3 still needs.
10 Create More Dedicated Loot Drops
It’s estimated that there are over 120 legendary items in the game. Sadly, most of these are reserved for world drops, meaning they can be obtained from any source. If you’re not looking for any specific legendary, then world drops aren’t a big deal. However, if you’re hunting down that one special weapon, the grind soon becomest tedious since you’re not sure where you can farm it.
Even worse, you have to deal with enemies being able to drop just about any legendary, except the one you want. Bringing in dedicated bosses for loot will help to grind for weapons since you know exactly which boss will drop it.
9 Implement A Waypoint System
Navigating the map has been a problem plaguing the Borderlands series since the very first one. It’s a shame that a sequel in 2019 still has this issue. The overall map is just awful to figure out. Players need to constantly check their map (which annoyingly rotates all the time) because there’s no sense of direction.
At the very least, Gearbox should implement a waypoint arrow feature so we have some idea of which direction to go in, either in front of us or on the minimap. This would be especially helpful on the Eden 6 planet, which has a ton of verticality and can be very confusing.
8 Let Players Test Their Loot In A Shooting Gallery
With so many weapons and pieces of gear to obtain, you’re not quite sure which ones are worth keeping. In Borderlands 2, Marcus’ shop had a shooting dummy that allowed you to shoot at it and get a clear view of the damage numbers. This allowed you to see which weapons will be the most effective.
Borderlands 3 has yet to introduce this into the game. Technically, Marcus does have a shooting gallery, but it’s only meant as a minigame, and you can’t see your damage numbers. Maybe we want to see how much more damage this anointed item gives me after using our Action Skill? It’s much harder to view those numbers when you’re in chaotic combat.
7 Get Rid Of Menu Lag
This may sound like a “first-world problem,” but there’s no reason a AAA title in 2019 should have lag whenever you’re entering a menu, let alone when playing offline. Since this a loot-based game, players have to spend a ton of time in the menus to change up their inventory, allot their skill points, change missions, etc.
Therefore, it’s just downright frustrating waiting a few seconds for the game to boot up the menu. The experience should just be seamless throughout, and Gearbox needs to fix this issue.
6 Add A True Purpose For True Vault Hunter Mode
Let’s face it... True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM) is kind of pointless right now. The only reason to even attempt it is the loot, but you can easily just turn on Mayhem Mode in Normal difficulty, which will give you loot that's just as good. It worked better in previous entries. Levels 1 through 30 were earned in Normal Mode. 30 to 50 was earned in TVHM. Then in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, you were able to go from 50 to 72.
This also adds replayability, and we know Gearbox wants us playing the game for years. Instead, we're just going through Mayhem Mode, grinding for gear and eventually getting to Level 50 without the need for TVHM.
5 Give Us Better Stuff To Spend Eridium And Money On
Another issue that Borderlands has always had: Eridium and Money soon become obsolete as you progress further. To be fair, Eridium is great for buying cosmetics, but the Anointed Gear in Earl’s vending machine is mainly Purple rarity (not even red-text), which makes them less attractive compared to the Legendaries you’ll be getting at level 50.
At the very least, Earl’s vending should have maybe one Anointed Legendary item that is insanely expensive (like over 2000 Eridium). Giving us a reason to keep grinding for Eridium. The same goes for money. Maybe have some random vending machines contain a unique or Legendary item that costs millions.
4 Increase Bank Space
Gearbox has gone on record saying that there will be a bank expansion included in the Maliwan Takedown update, but we have yet to see by how much. Granted, more bank space is usually reserved for more hardcore players who try to collect (or horde) all the Legendaries they can.
Despite what some may think, Borderlands 3 has been extremely generous with the loot, especially in Mayhem Mode. However, how can we collect all this loot if we have nowhere else to store it? On top of this, more inventory space would also be appreciated. This game has over a billion guns after all.
3 Let Player Manage The Missions Better
Missions aren't in short supply in Borderlands 3, with over 91 side quests to do as well. As such, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed and cluttered on which missions to do next. One aspect that can be annoying is that you were doing a mission in one area, only to find out later that there were objectives in that same place for another side quest.
Since you didn’t have it active, the game never told you. Borderlands 3 could benefit from introducing better organization when your nearby mission objectives pop up on your hud. A game that does this exceptionally well is Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Even looking on your map, there should be other mission objectives apart from the one you have active.
2 Allow Cutscenes To Be Skipped
It’s weird to ask a developer if they could patch in skippable cutscenes, but we seriously need it. Yes, the cutscenes should definitely be watched within the first playthrough, but when we're on our fourth character, we don’t want to sit through that three-minute cutscene introduction.
There are multiple instances of cutscenes lasting longer than a few minutes, which may sound minor, but if we’re replaying the game, it just feels like a long loading screen. Gearbox has stated that they are looking into this well. Hopefully, this will be included in the Maliwan Takedown.
1 Buff Actions Skills That Aren't Gear Based
Each character generally has one or more Action Skills that aren’t gear dependent, meaning the damage is solely based on the level (or maybe class mods). Playing in Normal Mode, they are quite useful. However, going into Mayhem Mode, they are pretty terrible. For example, Amara’s Phaseslam or Phasecast don’t do enough damage to have real impact. At the very least, Phaseslam should be able to demolish basic enemies.
The same can be said for Moze’s Iron Bear weapons, which become worthless compared to the loot you can get. These Action Skills need to be dramatically buffed to make them worth using. We don’t feel any urgency to activate them unless an Anointed item gives us a bonus after using an Action Skill.