Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, while strong, is not a perfect game. The spin-off had a rough launch with a solid number of bugs and major server issues, while its Mirrors of Mystery DLC has drawn criticism from even the most loyal Borderlands fans. However, one issue with the game is something that only those who invest a lot of time into the Chaos Chamber will pick up on.
The problem in question is tied to Dry’l, one of the best bosses in the main campaign for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Deployed when Tina is angry with her party and wants to lash out at Frette and Valentine, Dry’l is meant to be overpowered for the point in the campaign where he appears. Funnily enough though, he is a balanced and memorable fight in the main story, but a broken and unenjoyable encounter later on in the Chaos Chamber. If the Chaos Chamber returns in Borderlands 4, a boss like Dry’l needs to be avoided.
The Issue With Dry’l in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
The main flaw with Dry’l is that he is simply unbalanced for higher Chaos levels. This is because of one ability he uses within his second phase, which allows him to regenerate a sizable chunk of his shield. While an ability like this works fine on a first playthrough, as players can cut down his health bar quick enough that the regen is negligible, this can not be said for the high Chaos levels. Even regular enemies are strong on Chaos level 20 and higher, so most of the bosses can take extremely long to bring down in the Chaos Chamber - especially Dry’l.
There are several frustrating aspects about Dry’l’s healing, though the biggest is that it cannot be stopped. Players simply need to deal more damage faster than Dry’l can recover his health, which is easier said than done. Unless players enter Dry’l’s arena with an optimal Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands build, the fight could end up lasting anywhere from ten to thirty minutes. This is hardly ideal, as one boss should not take as long as every other room in the Chaos Chamber combined.
Some classes may be able to dish out enough damage to beat Dry’l, others such as the noticeably weak Clawbringer could struggle. Further, not everyone is carrying around a top-notch lightning spell or electric weapon with them at all times, but this is almost necessary to bring down Dry’l’s bulky, recharging shield. If players are not able to outdamage his healing, then they can be forced to quit the Chaos Chamber, wasting their entire run and their hard-earned Crystals.
Though the Chaos Chamber featuring all the bosses from the main campaign and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ DLC is a neat feature, Gearbox needs to be more careful with its next iteration of the endgame mode. Dry’l’s healing ability should not be present in the Chaos Chamber version of the fight, or at the very least it should be more balanced. The fact that Dry’l can take longer than the Dragon Lord and the secret raid bosses is absurd, and a sign that bosses with self-healing have to be handled more carefully.
With Dry’l’s healing lacking a reliable counter, the second phase of the fight is a slog to get through, ruining the enjoyable first and third phases of his encounter. Considering how fun Dry’l was to fight in that main story, it is a shame that players have to dread seeing him appear as the final boss of their Chaos Chamber run. While Borderlands 4 should take a lot from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, including the Chaos Chamber, another tedious, unfair, and time-consuming boss like Dry’l is something to avoid.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
