Highlights

  • Borderlands 4 should innovate with weapon crafting to enhance gameplay and offer players a new level of customization and excitement.
  • While balancing is key, the introduction of crafted weapons should not overshadow the traditional endgame loot grind in Borderlands 4.
  • With the groundwork laid by past games, weapon crafting could be a natural progression for the iconic Borderlands franchise.

While the specific details of Borderlands 4’s gameplay are still unknown this early in its development stage, expectations for the upcoming sequel to take the franchise to the next level are naturally high. If one thing is certain though, it’s that Borderlands 4 can’t pull any punches when it comes to the new weaponry in the game. After all, weapons and gunplay are some of the Borderlands franchise’s biggest strengths, so future games can’t afford to overlook this aspect.

In order to build upon the past game’s innovative weaponry, Borderlands 4 should arguably pull the trigger on a mechanic that made one of the Borderlands franchise’s iconic weapon manufacturers stand out among the rest. Specifically, it’s time the Borderlands franchise experimented with weapon crafting, and Borderlands 4’s upcoming release could be the perfect time to do so.

Borderlands Science Game in Borderlands 3
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The Case for Borderlands 4 to Introduce Weapon Crafting

Borderlands 2’s Bandit Weapons Already Laid the Groundwork for Weapon Crafting

Outside of a few exceptions, the various weapon manufacturers in the Borderlands franchise can each be recognized by the signature gimmicks and/or the stylized appearances of their weaponry. For the Bandit-manufactured weapons in Borderlands 2, the gimmick of these weapons is that they are known to be crafted from miscellaneous weapon parts, and in terms of gameplay, these weapons generally have larger ammo capacities and longer reload times compared to weapons made by other manufacturers. Yet despite weapon crafting being available to the franchise’s enemy factions, surprisingly, weapon crafting has never been available to players in the Borderlands franchise games so far.

The Grinder in Borderlands the Pre-Sequel allows players to discard weapons to produce new ones based on general recipes, though this is different from crafting weapons from scratch since the weapons produced from the Grinder generally have randomized elements.

Consequently, the Borderlands franchise has the perfect opportunity to finally introduce weapon crafting inspired by the Bandit weapons from Borderlands 2. Specifically, letting players scavenge for weapon parts and attachments could lead to players crafting their own god-roll Legendary weapons. Considering that Bandit weapons are currently exclusive to Borderlands 2, this weapons manufacturer arguably deserves to make a comeback for future games in the franchise, which could very well pave the way for a weapon crafting system.

Weapon Crafting Shouldn’t Replace Borderlands’ Endgame Loot Grind

This kind of feature could be a game-changer for buildcrafting, so long as it doesn’t replace Borderlands’ existing endgame grind. For example, if Borderlands 4 introduces craftable weapons without balancing them properly, this could devalue any natural weapons that players loot. On the other hand, if crafted weapons prove to be underwhelming, they would risk being an unwelcome and controversial addition to the Borderlands franchise. Yet if it’s done right, Borderlands 4 can have its cake and eat it too when it comes to craftable weapons and OG loot co-existing. Ultimately, it may be a tall task to properly balance crafted weapons in their first appearance in the franchise, and yet, Borderlands 4 should arguably step up the challenge of introducing weapon crafting to the franchise.

Especially considering that past games have already laid the groundwork for this fun bit of lore to eventually become a prominent feature in future Borderlands games, weapon crafting would arguably be a natural progression for the Borderlands franchise’s stylized weapons, and one that might be worth sticking around for the franchise’s future. Not to mention, plenty of other looter-shooter franchises have already pulled the trigger when it comes to weapon crafting, so it’s time that the Borderlands franchise considered hopping on the bandwagon with its own spin on this popular feature.