Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is the game within the Borderlands franchise that not only took players to Pandora's moon, but also gave Handsome Jack a more likable personality. Although he is the main villain in Borderlands 2, the new installment allows users to play alongside Jack himself and better understand his descent into madness. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel gives fans a deeper look into the lore behind the havoc that takes place in Borderlands 2, and even allows users to play as non player characters (NPCs) featured in specific DLC, such as Athena and Nisha. Although this game was created to give more lore to Borderlands, there are still plenty of enemies to shoot and kill players, which forces gamers to think carefully about the characters they play as.
Borderlands: TPS consists of four main characters to choose from, each equipped to easily handle waves of enemies by themselves. However, because Vault Hunters are often referred to as a team of multiple players throughout the game, Gearbox encourages users to grab a friend and cause more mayhem than ever before. But whose abilities are best suited for solo fighting, and which characters should be paired with a friend to get their best value? Unlike previous installments, TPS does not offer a playable siren, but makes up for it with the unique abilities of its other characters.
When playing TPS alone, many gamers may turn to characters such as Wilhelm, Athena, or Jack's doppelganger, due to their abilities' focus on self-sustain and giving an extra hand in battle. Wilhelm has a unique action that allows him to summon two drones to his aid in the midst of a battle; one which hangs back to heal him, while another jumps in front of him to protect him from enemies. Jack has a similar ability when he creates his body doubles, but these are unable to heal the player. However, the doubles will shoot at enemies and serve as distractions from the player so that they can heal, reload, or shoot from a distance. Athena is an exception in this category because she cannot summon aid, but she does wield a powerful shield. With it, she absorbs damage upon activating her ability, and a second activation has the character hurl her shield at enemies, distributing the damage it consumed. Being a hired gun that travels the galaxy by herself, it is clear that she is intended to play as a solo character, but players are not dissuaded from playing her with their friends.
These solo characters also have certain skill trees that allow players to gain specific elemental resistances and weapon advantages to improve their capabilities on the battlefield. For example, Athena's Phalanx tree focuses on buffing her shield, known as Aspis, to absorb and reflect more damage back to enemies. On the other hand, Wilhelm and Jack have skill trees that focus specifically on increasing player damage output, due to the fact that their deployables are able to heal them in some way. Wilhelm's Hunter-Killer tree reduces his skill cooldown time, while increasing his offensive and elemental weapon capabilities. The shortened action skill allows for a healing drone to be deployed faster than usual, keeping him alive for longer. As for Jack, his Greater Good tree grants the player healing and even second winds whenever one of his clones is destroyed, helping the bullets to keep coming. Even though Jack and Wilhelm are more aggressive solo players, Athena can put out a significant amount of damage if built appropriately.
On the other hand, the characters that are best suited for cooperative play focus on supporting teammates and helping them kill enemies faster. These players are Claptrap, Nisha, and Aurelia. Although Claptrap is an NPC that fans love to hate, his abilities in TPS are pretty unique, and let him help keep his "friends" alive. Claptrap's hero skill restores him to full health and gives him a random ability out of 13 possible abilities, based on how many players are on his team and the situation that they are in. For example, his Torgue Fiesta forces all players to uncontrollably throw grenades, damaging both friends and foes. Although this does not deplete the player's grenade count, it causes a large inconvenience if the battle is at its end, or if the grenades cause the rest of the team to be knocked down. While playing Claptrap, be wary of his random skill ability.
As for Nisha and Aurelia, these heroes are more structured and focus on dealing large amounts of damage to individual enemies. Nisha's action skill allows her to lock on to enemy critical locations and deal extra damage with her guns, which is only increased through her skill trees. Players who select Nisha as a partnered Vault Hunter should be experienced FPS players, as her Riflewoman tree grants gun buffs when performing trick shots and killing enemies during her action skill. Each of her trees focuses on improving the damage of her guns, making Nisha the most "basic" character in the game, due to the fact that her abilities are aimed specifically at improving her weapons instead of the character herself.
Finally, Aurelia: The Baroness is probably the most unique character that the Borderlands franchise has introduced, mostly due to the fact that she can freeze her enemies in place. Her skill trees are centered around dealing increased damage to frozen enemies, and although she does not have many sustaining skills, her Contractual Aristocracy tree that allows her and her allies to increase the damage they deal. Although Aurelia, like all other characters on this list, can complete the story of TPS on their own, these cooperative characters work best when supported or working together with others, making the game progress much more fluidly.
No matter if players are feeling like a rich ice queen or an annoying robot, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel allows them to deal a significant amount of damage to anyone that crosses their path. The lore behind The Pre Sequel helps to immerse users in the Borderlands universe, and is a must play for any fan of the series.
Borderlands: The Pre Sequel is available for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Borderlands Fandom
