Borderlands 4 can make a remarkable change to its character customization system that could give players more freedom than ever before. As one of the biggest names in the looter shooter genre, Borderlands has a formula that has served it well over the years, and that formula includes character customization. However, after four games, there is still room for improvement, especially as the series continues to move onward. There is one obvious change that could be made for Borderlands 4's version of character creation, and it could be exactly what players need for their next vault hunters.
From the first game to Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' character creation, designing the player character has always been a part of the series, and there's no reason to expect it to go away anytime soon. After choosing one of the Vault Hunters to play as, the player can make a few adjustments to their outfit, namely their headgear and color scheme, of which there are several options, with more to unlock during a playthrough. In addition, the game's level-up system gives players further freedom to choose their playstyle, as each character has perk trees building towards their specific characterizations and specialties, offering advantage that no other character can receive.
Better Outfit Options Could Be Borderlands 4's Biggest Gift To Its Vault Hunters
Borderlands admittedly has one big limit when it comes to its customization. Borderlands' old Vault Hunters did have flexible stats and perks, but their visual options were less varied. While players could collect skins and headpieces, they only had choices for two slots: head and body. While it does give the player some options when it comes to making their character their own, it's not as much of a selection as the series could offer. Even Tiny Tina's Wonderlands' customization options mostly involved the protagonist's head, with the body being decided by their in-game armor.
Thankfully, there is a fix for this situation that could do wonders to make sure that Borderlands 4 excels over past games. A new take on customization could give the player several cosmetic slots to work with. For example, in addition to head and body, players could also edit pieces of their Vault Hunter's outfit such as their hands, lower body, and shoes. This would let characters craft much more distinctive versions of the game's Vault Hunters to their own specifications. After so many games in the series, it's about time that players had more options to mix and match.
There would be a lot of advantages to expanding Borderlands 4's cosmetic options in this way. It could even bring a change to looting in Borderlands 4 depending on how the game handles unlocking more cosmetic parts. Extra outfit pieces could be earned as quest rewards, or hidden in various parts of the world. Some pieces could even be rare drops from enemies, such as leather gloves from killing Skags, or a jacket designed to resemble the wings of a Rakk. With more tangible rewards for their character, players would be encouraged to fight and explore more than before in Borderlands 4.
When it comes to Borderlands 4, character creation is one of the areas that could use a significant upgrade compared to past installments. After all, customizing is a staple of the Borderlands series, so like the rest of the game, it deserves something new in Borderlands 4. Expanding the player's ability to dress up their character is an idea that is long overdue, and is perfectly in line with the Borderlands' series' aura of zany fun in a violent world. Better outfits for player-controlled Vault Hunters could be the next step up for Borderlands 4's incarnation of Pandora.