On November 21, Borderlands 3 players will be getting access to a new type of endgame content, Takedown at Maliwan's Blacksite. Unlike the Bloody Harvest, this addition to the game will be permanent, as Takedowns are a new type of endgame activity designed to challenge players, as they have to be level 50 to even attempt this content. But many may be wondering what a Takedown is, how it differs from a traditional raid, and more, as Gearbox has been incredibly vague with its descriptions.
That said, there's enough to piece together how a Takedown will work and enough revealed to discuss the rewards of said content. It also seems that this will not be the only Takedown DLC, so Borderlands 3 fans should be ready to tackle more in the future.
What are Takedowns?
A Takedown is endgame content designed for 4 players of max level. Matchmaking will be available for it, if players do not have a dedicated team of Vault Hunters to tackle it. In the past, it has been described, loosely, as a raid but not a raid and been compared to the Proving Grounds content. What differentiates Takedowns from raids the most is the focus on the environmental factor and the various adds in the Borderlands 3 content.
Raids typically pit players against a single large enemy, dubbed the Invincible, that will occasionally spawn smaller enemies. It's practically an isolated event that pits players against hard-to-beat enemies...but not so hard to beat that players haven't figured out ways to defeat them easily to grind for loot. Takedowns, based on their descriptions, seem like a crossover between raids and Proving Grounds. Borderlands 3 players should be prepared to spend 30-40 minutes on a Takedown, whereas raids have been traditionally shorter in the past. Like Proving Grounds, players will need to fight through a ton of enemies to reach the end, but whereas the bosses of Proving Grounds are just special version of common enemies, Takedowns will pit players against something a bit more akin to a raidboss, namely Wotan the Invincible in this case.
Wotan the Invincible
The primary boss of the Takedown is likely to be Wotan the Invincible who was recently showcased in The Borderlands Show. After fighting through the smaller enemies and perhaps a couple of mini-bosses, it seems players will come face to face with a massive 4-legged tank named Wotan the Invincible.
For those wondering what this could mean for the fate of raids, it doesn't seem likely that Borderlands 3 is abandoning this type of endgame content either. There's a door in Ascension Bluff that players have not been able to unlock, which appears to be an arena for a Borderlands 3 raid boss. Data miners and past videos that seemingly captured this area all point to signs of a raid boss known as Korilax the Invincibile eventually being added to the game. This means that Borderlands 3's endgame is something that will constantly have a multitude of options for players to explore...and break.
Takedown at Maliwan's Blacksite Loot
Of course, Borderlands 3 content would not be complete without new legendary loot, and while all Takedown at Maliwan's Blacksite loot has yet to be revealed, players were shown a few items. It's worth noting that this is only likely a sampling, as its construction would seemingly suggest Takedowns would be chock-full of loot.
Two shields were showcased, one known as the Frozen Snowshoe that has a high capacity and the ability to drain enemy shields when sliding into them and dealing cryo damage based on the shield's capacity. There's also the Re-Charger Berner shield that deals a ton of damage upon shield break.
Two weapons were also revealed, including the Auditing Executive Redistributor and the Double-Penetrating Shredded Tiggs' Boom. The first is an updated legendary weapon that can slow enemies with Cryo effects, whereas the other is described as a strong shotgun capable of dealing a ton of damage to flesh. What'll be interesting to see is how these DLC coincides with the new Borderlands 3 Mayhem Mode level in terms of loot.
All things considered, it seems like Borderlands 3 players can reasonably expect more Takedowns in the future as a continuous type of endgame DLC content. Hopefully, this will help bridge the gap alongisde limited-time events like Bloody Harvest between the larger story DLCs that many players are anxiously waiting on.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version in development.
