The Borderlands franchise is famous for many things: lightning-fast gameplay, hilarious characters, and more guns than a person can dream of. However, a topic not as often discussed within the community is difficulty, though Borderlands 4 could make a significant change to that aspect of the series.
Typically, Borderlands players only have access to a single difficulty type upon starting the game. This means the player will not see a notable change in difficulty until near the end of the game. Borderlands 4 could change this by giving access to varying levels of difficulty as soon as players start a new character.
Starting With a Higher Difficulty in The Borderlands
As most fans of the Borderlands will likely already know, there already exists various levels of difficulty within the franchise. One of these levels of difficulty is known as True Vault Hunter Mode, and it is unlocked after the player beats the main story. Borderlands 3 also introduced a new difficulty mode the game known as Mayhem Mode, which offers unique modifiers that shake up gameplay in interesting ways. These modes allow the player to pursue higher levels of difficulty in endgame content, creating a much more varied experience. However, the fact that these difficulty levels can only be unlocked at the very end of the game's main story poses a problem for those who want a more difficult experience from the beginning.
By the time players reach the end of the game, many may find themselves wanting to put it down. Having to play the entire game in order to be able to change the difficulty to a preferable level can be seen as somewhat of a hassle to many. Allowing for players to access harder difficulties from the very beginning would change the way players interact with the game, possibly having them play for longer than they would have without it. Borderlands 4 could change this minor feature into something that revitalizes the starting experience.
To clarify, the varying levels of difficulty the player would have access to in the very beginning wouldn't necessarily replace True Vault Hunter Mode, but could function similar to it. For example, changing aspects such as damage statistics and enemy types are things True Vault Hunter Mode already does. But rather than replacing True Vault Hunter Mode, these difficulty levels could be supplemental to it. The players can then stack these difficulty levels the same way True Vault Hunter Mode can be stacked with Mayhem Mode. Players who play at harder difficulties could also be rewarded with better drop rates for Borderlands' best legendary weapons as well, allowing those who start on higher difficulties to make better builds faster.
The best part about this potential feature for Borderlands 4 is the fact that it would be entirely unobtrusive. For players that want to continue playing Borderlands games at a normal difficulty, they can continue to do so. But for players that want a more challenging experience, they can choose to play on a harder difficulty from the very start. Borderlands 3 has already leaned into the idea of tweaking various aspects of the game, such as with the co-opetition and co-operation modes, which change how loot drops work for players and their friends. Different starting difficulties could become the next quality of life feature to come to Borderlands 4.
Though most aren't sure how long fans will have to wait for Borderlands 4, hopefully varying levels of difficulty for the starting experience are being considered by Gearbox Software. After all, Borderlands 4 is going to have to go above and beyond in order to outdo everything Borderlands 3 gave players.