Borderlands 4 will have a "very ambitious" endgame, but not everyone is happy about having less skill points as creative director argues "you lose build diversity" with too many

Borderlands 4 screenshot showing a character in a shootout with a big boss
(Image credit: Gearbox)

With Borderlands 4 set to launch on September 12th, the buzz isn't just focused on the campaign; Gearbox is pushing hard on the endgame, b✤ut not everyone is happy about the ꦛdecision to dial back the number of skill points we'll have to play with.

Creative director Graeme Timmins recently about Borderlands 4's "very ambitious" endgame, explaining that Gearbox's focus was baked into the core design. "I care about it a lot personally, as my role on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Borderlands 3 was curating what became♒ endgame for that… We made purposeful decisions with our Action Skill tree, assuming what will come in the future with our endgame."

However, balancing meaningful endgame content so that it feels fluid with the core design of the game without creating a jarring before-and-after effect is a challenging task, especially when it comes t🌱o level caps and skill trees. Balancing is essential to Timmins, who says, "OK, if that's going to still be in our future, how can we make our Action Skill tree this time anticipate thඣat and be balanced from the jump?"

Timmins also admits that Gearbox is dialling things back this time, learning from the pitfalls of Borderlands 3: "In Borderlands 3, we ended at 72 skill points… You lose build diversity as y𝐆ou add more skill points because everyone's homogeneou💝s because they all have the same skills, ultimately unlocked."

That fewer-skill-points approach has sparked community debate. On Twitter, popular Borderlands : "I'm so glad to hear that we wღon't be bloated with so many skill points in Borderlands 4. They will matter immensely where you put them and make you think about your build."

Reddit users aren't in agreement with the skill changes, however. Redditor is worried that it'll now scale too far in the other direction, saying they "feel like 50 is gonna be too little, but I guess we'll have to see." Meanwhile, doesn't want it to be "easy and obvious to become overpowꦫered."

That push and pull strikes at the heart of Gearbox's dilemma. By thoughtfully reducing skill points while building depth into each tree, each featuring multiple augments and three capstones, the developers hope🌠 players will be encouraged to craft distinct builds that shine in endgame modes.

Timmins stresses this isn't an afterthought, "it's built in🍌to the high-level design," meaning planned content and cap bumps will seamlessly align with the original ꦇvision.

At its best, Borderlands 4's endgame could reward thoughtful customization, strategic depth, and replayability. Yet th🥀e community's split over how far to push this, from fearing too little freedom to craving meaningful 🍌constraints, shows the challenges ahead.

Gearbox has ambitious goals; now, it needs to strike 🔯a balance that keeps the player base divided by creativity, not compromise.

Borderlands 4 is set on an "all-new planet" rather than series mainstay Pandora

Nathan Walters originally joined Future in February 2022 as a deals writer and is based in Cardiff, Wales. He has covered topics such as graphics cards, mobile phones, and game consoles for sites li🐓ke TechRadar, TomsGuide, and Tom’s Hardware. He has also written money-saving advice for multiple publications such as Moneynet, NationalWorld, iPaper, Pick Me Up! And My Weekly. Nathan is an avid video game and tabletop player who loves writing, and in his spare time, you can find him playing D&D, grinding in Guild Wars 2 or writing reviews on his website GameReport.

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