Borderlands 4 Preview Shows Off Siren's Deadly Abilities and Summons

[Cpt.Jank]

As the launch date for Borderlands 4 draws ever closer, Gearbox has started to reveal more information about the gameplay that we will see in the new looter shooter. The latest reveal comes by way of a short YouTube video showcasing the abilities and gameplay of the new siren, Vex. All of the abilities the new siren demonstrates are somehow related to the concept of death, and they add to the whole necromancer motif Gearbox has dreamt up for her. Overall, Vex's abilities seem to strike a balance between crowd control and 1v1 combat, and they seem to offer a decent amount of build versatility. Aside from showing off Vex's skills, the preview also gives us a glimpse at some of the enemy diversity that we can expect from Borderlands 4, and it certainly looks like there will be no shortage of different enemy types, from the typical ground-based foot soldiers to bullet-hell inspired bosses and flying minions that will harass you while you battle bigger enemies.

Incarnate gives Vex a pair of wings, increasing her movement speed and granting her the ability to cast energy projectiles at enemies, steal health, and buff her stats for improved survivability. Critically, the energy projectiles come from her off hand, meaning she can still use her weapon while the ability is active. Dead Ringer, summons a host of ephemeral clones of Vex, which automatically target and damage nearby enemies—this will likely come in handy when surrounded or facing off against a boss that needs your full attention. This ability has two versions—one that summons a single scythe-wielding clone that hunts enemies down with powerful melee attacks and can taunt thm as well, and one that summons multiple stationary clones that attack with ranged weapons. Phase Phamiliar allows players to summon a cat-like companion named Trouble that will seek out and attack enemies similar to FL4K's companion-based action skills from Borderlands 3. Trouble can blink to enemies and has increased critical hit chance. Vex can apparently also trigger the companion to explode on command for AOE damage. Some of these augmentations and ability variations will no doubt be locked behind skill points or even character-specific class mods.


Check out the full video below:

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Vayra86]

Wow that looks insanely boring

 

[RejZoR]

For me the main point of Borderlands games were guns. Lots of guns. And especially elemental ones, my favorite was usually MALIWAN which are always elemental and DAHL which focuses on precision/accuracy, but can come with elemental augments like acid. And I usually pick the Vault Hunter that has skills that augment these weapons, like life steal or higher % chance of triggering elemental effects. I don't remember which Borderlands it was, I think it was Borderlands 3 where I was lucky to get a DAHL assault rifle with huge magazine, scope and acidic elemental effect where enemy killed by such weapon would burst into acidic blast that damaged everything around throwing acidic blobs around. When killing crowds of enemies whole rooms would just explode into massive acidic blast. Often downing me in the process so I had to be careful or get a kill in Fight for your life state. I also had a MALIWAN pistol that fired fire elemental pellets like shotgun at pretty decent range and it had huge burst fire damage that I held on to almost entire game.

Increasing chance for elemental effects of guns through skills was always my favorite character pick. If they had this, it was my instant pick.

 

[Kohl Baas]

For me the main point of Borderlands games were guns. Lots of guns. And especially elemental ones, my favorite was usually MALIWAN which are always elemental and DAHL which focuses on precision/accuracy, but can come with elemental augments like acid. And I usually pick the Vault Hunter that has skills that augment these weapons, like life steal or higher % chance of triggering elemental effects. I don't remember which Borderlands it was, I think it was Borderlands 3 where I was lucky to get a DAHL assault rifle with huge magazine, scope and acidic elemental effect where enemy killed by such weapon would burst into acidic blast that damaged everything around throwing acidic blobs around. When killing crowds of enemies whole rooms would just explode into massive acidic blast. Often downing me in the process so I had to be careful or get a kill in Fight for your life state. I also had a MALIWAN pistol that fired fire elemental pellets like shotgun at pretty decent range and it had huge burst fire damage that I held on to almost entire game.

Increasing chance for elemental effects of guns through skills was always my favorite character pick. If they had this, it was my instant pick.

My favourite elemental weapon (and one of the most OP thing IMHO) was the Torgue Roisen's Thorns pistol Eplosive, Elemental Acid and Fire. IT WAS GLORIOUS! The havock it is able to unleash is undescribable. Let's say it is capable to stand it's ground even 10-15 levels below. Having it on your level with a character decked to elemental makes lower Mayhem levels look like a joke.

 

[Onasi]

Wow that looks insanely boring

Yeah, that kinda describes the entire Borderlands series for me. I dunno, shooters are supposed to be visceral in my opinion and Diablo-esque item fever gameplay loop just doesn’t work with that for me. Shooting a half-naked guy in the head with a .50 cal sniper and seeing that his HP bar barely moved just feels… wrong. *shrug* To each their own though and I recognize that the series is popular.

 

[RejZoR]

My favourite elemental weapon (and one of the most OP thing IMHO) was the Torgue Roisen's Thorns pistol Eplosive, Elemental Acid and Fire. IT WAS GLORIOUS! The havock it is able to unleash is undescribable. Let's say it is capable to stand it's ground even 10-15 levels below. Having it on your level with a character decked to elemental makes lower Mayhem levels look like a joke.

Oh yes, this one too. This gun was sooooo badass. I didn't realize till now that it has a roses texture lol. I thought it was just some weird camo ahaha

 

[Sithaer]

For me the main point of Borderlands games were guns. Lots of guns. And especially elemental ones, my favorite was usually MALIWAN which are always elemental and DAHL which focuses on precision/accuracy, but can come with elemental augments like acid. And I usually pick the Vault Hunter that has skills that augment these weapons, like life steal or higher % chance of triggering elemental effects. I don't remember which Borderlands it was, I think it was Borderlands 3 where I was lucky to get a DAHL assault rifle with huge magazine, scope and acidic elemental effect where enemy killed by such weapon would burst into acidic blast that damaged everything around throwing acidic blobs around. When killing crowds of enemies whole rooms would just explode into massive acidic blast. Often downing me in the process so I had to be careful or get a kill in Fight for your life state. I also had a MALIWAN pistol that fired fire elemental pellets like shotgun at pretty decent range and it had huge burst fire damage that I held on to almost entire game.

Increasing chance for elemental effects of guns through skills was always my favorite character pick. If they had this, it was my instant pick.

Breath of the dying, thats the acid nova gun and funnily enough thats a straight reference from a strong runeword weapon from Diablo 2.
I'm also a fan of the elemental builds in the series and its one of the reasons why I pretty much always start with and main a Siren since usually they are the elemental focused characters or at least have a skill tree for it.
In BL 4 I might start with a different character tho cause theres an actual Maliwan scientist this time around, Harlowe has some really cool elemental and tech skills from the look of it.

Wow that looks insanely boring

Pretty sure that could be said about many other type of games that one person doesn't like, I could very well do the same if I wanted to even to some very popular games that aint my cup of tea.

Yeah, that kinda describes the entire Borderlands series for me. I dunno, shooters are supposed to be visceral in my opinion and Diablo-esque item fever gameplay loop just doesn’t work with that for me. Shooting a half-naked guy in the head with a .50 cal sniper and seeing that his HP bar barely moved just feels… wrong. *shrug* To each their own though and I recognize that the series is popular.

Thats more like the early game, once you have an end game build going on you can literally wipe a screen of enemies in a matter of seconds which is the fun part for me in these type of games.
I've grew up on playing Diablo 2 and other ARPGs but I've instantly got into Borderlands the day it launched and I've been playing the serie ever since. To me its a mix of the things that I like in both genre cause I've also used to play shooters before. 'Mainly the Unreal games so realism is not what I cared about'

 

[Onasi]

Thats more like the early game, once you have an end game build going on you can literally wipe a screen of enemies in a matter of seconds which is the fun part for me in these type of games.

That actually goes in another direction too hard for me. I really despise modern ARPGs obsession with speed clear meta, zoom-zoom, blow up the screen gameplay. I long for a Diablo 1 throwback or even Diablo 2 as it was for the first few patches.

'Mainly the Unreal games so realism is not what I cared about'

Unreal was great, yeah, though for me that series peaked with UT2004 DM lobbies. Shooting other people is usually more fun than just shooting mindless computer bots. And yes, I just realized that can be taken out of context.

 

[ZoneDymo]

sooo they call her a necromancer...but she just conjurs up enemies, she doesnt actually raise a fallen enemy from the dead.

I mean that imo could be really cool, if there was a slot for grades of enemies that you could fill with slain enemies of your choice befitting that slot.
(slots so you dont just summon slain boss units ,that would be 1 slot for 1 boss of your chosing).

 

[Sithaer]

That actually goes in another direction too hard for me. I really despise modern ARPGs obsession with speed clear meta, zoom-zoom, blow up the screen gameplay. I long for a Diablo 1 throwback or even Diablo 2 as it was for the first few patches.


Unreal was great, yeah, though for me that series peaked with UT2004 DM lobbies. Shooting other people is usually more fun than just shooting mindless computer bots. And yes, I just realized that can be taken out of context.

Yea I think this speed stuff did start with Diablo 2 v1.10 and the new overpowered runewords in it mainly Enigma that let you Teleport with any class.
At some point I've even had an Enigma stashed away on my WW Barbarian just so I can teleport with him when I was doing my farming/exp runs.
Personally I really can't enjoy slow gameplay in my ARPGs anymore like if I can't teleport or at least have some near spammable mobility skill then I'm not playing that class.
Borderlands 1 was a fair bit slower and while I've played every class to the max level I was mainly playing Lilith cause she had the Phasewalk ability which made getting around/farming so much more comfortable to me.

Titan Quest 2 is something that maybe you could keep an eye on, the first game wasn't that fast either and this new one seems to be following that style or at least so far.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Wow that looks insanely boring

Yeah, what gameplay ive seen of BL4 makes it look watered down compared to 3, and the gun variety sucks compared to 2.

 

[TheToi]

Wow that looks insanely boring

+1.
I would say that marketing creates games to appeal to everyone, but at the cost of becoming bland and soulless. However, it seems to work for some people, so this practice is not likely to stop anytime soon.

 

[RejZoR]

@Sithaer
Yup, that's exactly that gun

For some reason I could never get behind TEDIORE brand. Only time I did like it were two instances of their guns where once reloaded (dropped, because TEDIORE reloads that way) they kept shooting the enemies on the ground for remaining ammo. And one actually chased the enemies shooting them iirc. Jacobs, while high power, they were the most boring. No spectacle to it like elemental effects and all that.

 

[Quicks]

Why do they need to put so much fluff in gamers.

Just focus in making 2 or 3 things fun with an excellent story. Games are suppose to be fun?

Now you have to manage 20 - 30 things? WHY?

 

[Sithaer]

Yeah, what gameplay ive seen of BL4 makes it look watered down compared to 3, and the gun variety sucks compared to 2.

Not sure what was your source but we already have a fair bit of information regarding how certain systems work and those are actually more in depth than what 2 or 3 had.
4 will have the most possible gun combinations in the serie including cross manufacturer parts called licensed parts between the guns which is not completely new but the way its gonna work is.
For example you can find a Maliwan gun with the signature Jakobs ricochet and this system opens up quite a lot of specific build variations in the end game, also purple/Epic tier weapons can be better than legendaries on paper since they will be able to roll with an extra part so the perfect loadout very well could be a mix of legendaries and epics instead of just legendaries which is nice cause that was also possible in BL 1.
That and 4 will have the most skills for each char, some of the talent trees are alread relased.

On top of everything we have only seen low level gameplay like lvl 20 max and that is a very low level to base a Borderlands game of if you know anything about the serie and in general how this genre works.
Honestly I'm not sure why some of you are so damn negative under every single Borderlands related news especially if you don't even know what you are talking about cause it sure as hell sounds like that to me at this point. If you simply don't like it then cool beans we all dislike certain games but in my case I simply ignore those and truck along my way w/o leaving some whatever comments out of spite or something.
I know that you most likely don't care but feel free to educate yourself about the currently known game mechanics here:
https://www.youtube.com/@Moxsy/videos
Not trying to advertise him but when it comes to Borderlands he knows his stuff and is usually given infos from the devs.

@Sithaer
Yup, that's exactly that gun

For some reason I could never get behind TEDIORE brand. Only time I did like it were two instances of their guns where once reloaded (dropped, because TEDIORE reloads that way) they kept shooting the enemies on the ground for remaining ammo. And one actually chased the enemies shooting them iirc. Jacobs, while high power, they were the most boring. No spectacle to it like elemental effects and all that.

Yeah TEDIORE is the budget manufacturer with gimmicks, like even Rhys made a trash joke about them at one point in the story when he was pissed.
I think the only TEDIORE that I'm using in BL 3 is The Needle Gun from the Cartel event update/map and that gun is actually very solid in overall.

Jakobs have a certain use case or in specific builds they are pretty good, I've mostly used Hellwalker which actually does come with Fire elemental on it since its the shotgun from DOOM after all.
Fl4k was my last character to level to max and just for the heck of it I've decided to only use Jakobs weapons with the Jakobs loyalty class mod. I mean its kind of a weird build but it does clear the Maliwan Takedown in solo so eh if it works it works. 'Guardian Takedown would take a long time most likely'

I kind of miss the old Atlas from BL 1 and S&S, in BL 4 Daedalus looks interesting like it can use more than 1 ammo type and that changes how the gun works.

 

[RejZoR]

Only Jacobs gun that I liked that had life steal and replenishing ammo if you hit a headshot. I believe it had these perks. And as always high damage output as Jacobs does. But I got it basically before the end of the game. Again, not sure which Borderlands this was. I think it was Borderlands 1 actually where you're climbing that mountain to reach The Destroyer.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Not sure what was your source

The videos and livestreams done by people who got early access to BL4. Also my functional eyeballs.

but we already have a fair bit of information regarding how certain systems work and those are actually more in depth than what 2 or 3 had.
4 will have the most possible gun combinations in the serie including cross manufacturer parts called licensed parts between the guns which is not completely new but the way its gonna work is.
For example you can find a Maliwan gun with the signature Jakobs ricochet and this system opens up quite a lot of specific build variations in the end game, also purple/Epic tier weapons can be better than legendaries on paper since they will be able to roll with an extra part so the perfect loadout very well could be a mix of legendaries and epics instead of just legendaries which is nice cause that was also possible in BL 1.
That and 4 will have the most skills for each char, some of the talent trees are alread relased.

Oh WOWZERS! *sparkle effect*

Having ten baboobillion choices doesnt matter if 99% of the generated weapons are boring grey sludge. And so far, gameplay shown doesnt demonstrate the level of silliness we saw in previous entries.

On top of everything we have only seen low level gameplay like lvl 20 max and that is a very low level to base a Borderlands game of if you know anything about the serie and in general how this genre works.

I do know how these games work, and being low level doesnt mean you dont get cool guns. At least, it didnt in BL2 or 3. If they've chosen to restrict the fun guns to the end of the game when you are high level, that is certainly......a choice.

Honestly I'm not sure why some of you are so damn negative under every single Borderlands related news especially if you don't even know what you are talking about cause it sure as hell sounds like that to me at this point. If you simply don't like it then cool beans we all dislike certain games but in my case I simply ignore those and truck along my way w/o leaving some whatever comments out of spite or something.
I know that you most likely don't care but feel free to educate yourself about the currently known game mechanics here:
https://www.youtube.com/@Moxsy/videos
Not trying to advertise him but when it comes to Borderlands he knows his stuff and is usually given infos from the devs.

Perhaps you would have more luck if you tried READING people's comments instead of letting loose the "well ackshually" reddit tirade every time someone criticizes your favorite franchise.

It is only game. Why do u have to be mad? Like you said, we all dislike certain games, its cool man. You're free to enjoy every borderlands project Pitchford comes up with. And we're free to criticize the declining quality of the franchise.

Only Jacobs gun that I liked that had life steal and replenishing ammo if you hit a headshot. I believe it had these perks. And as always high damage output as Jacobs does. But I got it basically before the end of the game. Again, not sure which Borderlands this was. I think it was Borderlands 1 actually where you're climbing that mountain to reach The Destroyer.

It'd be nice if there was a way to re roll a weapon for a higher level, if I get a cool weapon that meshes well with my playstyle, within 5-6 levels it starts feeling pretty underpowered and I have to trade it out for something else.

 

[Sithaer]

The videos and livestreams done by people who got early access to BL4. Also my functional eyeballs.

Oh WOWZERS! *sparkle effect*

Having ten baboobillion choices doesnt matter if 99% of the generated weapons are boring grey sludge. And so far, gameplay shown doesnt demonstrate the level of silliness we saw in previous entries.

I do know how these games work, and being low level doesnt mean you dont get cool guns. At least, it didnt in BL2 or 3. If they've chosen to restrict the fun guns to the end of the game when you are high level, that is certainly......a choice.

Perhaps you would have more luck if you tried READING people's comments instead of letting loose the "well ackshually" reddit tirade every time someone criticizes your favorite franchise.

It is only game. Why do u have to be mad? Like you said, we all dislike certain games, its cool man. You're free to enjoy every borderlands project Pitchford comes up with. And we're free to criticize the declining quality of the franchise.


It'd be nice if there was a way to re roll a weapon for a higher level, if I get a cool weapon that meshes well with my playstyle, within 5-6 levels it starts feeling pretty underpowered and I have to trade it out for something else.

There is a huge difference between critcising a game for legit reasons and spreading straight out false information just to trash on it like you seem to be doing.
Werent you the one who admited before that you've never really had any real end game character in a BL game and just play it for the story?
Sorry if this sounds me being like an ass but the blunt truth is that in ARPGs and Looter Shooters its what defines the game's success in the long run, simply finishing the story is like not even scratching the surface of the game and at that point you in fact don't know how the game works let alone make a comparison between game mechanics between the games when you did not even unlock some of the said mechanics in the first place.
Its like if I was pretending to know how Path of Exile 1 works just because I've finished the story once and started the early end game with the most basic beginner end game mapping with a crappy build cause that is my furthest experience with the game and then started trashing PoE 2 based on that and my brief experience of PoE 2 and what I've watched.
In reality NO I don't know jackshit about the game and I don't pretend to do so I avoid commenting about it and simply leave it with a simple it wasn't my cup of tea cause it really wasn't and leave its community have their fun with the game cause I'm well aware that many ppl actually do like it and its still a successful game with some decent ideas in it.

That is the only thing that makes me mad so to say, I don't care if others don't like the serie but at least try to actually know what you are even trashing and talking about and again finishing the story does not count in regards of knowing anything in this genre nor in an ARPG. 'Story you can trash all you want its a subjective thing nor do I care about it that much, its not why I play these games'

This is not only aimed at you btw.
The only thing that is objectively declining in the serie is the story writing and even then the only one in the serie with a decent story was BL 2 and mainly thanks to Jack's writing. Everything else in the serie is being upgraded and expanded even if you can't notice it on the surface cause again if you knew these games in a more in depth way you would see those changes.
Btw BL 4 is in fact getting a more positive feedback already even from the biggest BL fans/streamers out there so far so our little opinions matter little here cause after all this game is being made for the fans of the serie so theres that.

 

[Dr. Dro]

This game just can't click for me. Borderlands 3 was pretty much designed to be the concluding act in the Borderlands "story". Not that it was ever good to begin with, and its looter shooter formula is painfully dated. Borderlands 2, for instance, isn't even playable without the assistance of the Gibbed save editor anymore. The grind is so brutal that it makes gachas look reasonable with premium currency rewards.

Pitchfork is milking this franchise for all it's worth...

 

[Sithaer]

This game just can't click for me. Borderlands 3 was pretty much designed to be the concluding act in the Borderlands "story". Not that it was ever good to begin with, and its looter shooter formula is painfully dated. Borderlands 2, for instance, isn't even playable without the assistance of the Gibbed save editor anymore. The grind is so brutal that it makes gachas look reasonable with premium currency rewards.

Pitchfork is milking this franchise for all it's worth...

I mean can you really blame them after all its their biggest money maker serie.
This is not that recent but still you get the idea:

• Borderlands 3 sales reached over 18 million copies.
• The original Borderlands sold over 6 million copies.
• Borderlands 2 sales reached over 27 million copies.
• There are additional, undocumented sales through the Handsome Collection and such that bring the series’ total sales to over 75 million.
• Borderlands 3 was the game that established the series as a $1 billion franchise.
• Borderlands 3 was the fastest-selling 2K title ever.

Apparently BL 3 was made with a 100 million budget and 4 has a 200 million budget so they are defo planning to make that money back.

Looter shooter is a niche genre for sure but apparently its quite a successful one between a few of the main titles in the genre.
These are grind games thats not a secret but some of us actually find that fun and addictive for some reason.
I do play 2 gachas as you know but personally I rather sit on my ass and grind out my gear in these games than pray to the RNG gods in gachas that I will win that 50-50 or the 1% pull rate banner.. 'That 50-50 system is literally the devil.. Hate it with a passion..'

 

[LabRat 891]

Yeah, that kinda describes the entire Borderlands series for me. I dunno, shooters are supposed to be visceral in my opinion and Diablo-esque item fever gameplay loop just doesn’t work with that for me. Shooting a half-naked guy in the head with a .50 cal sniper and seeing that his HP bar barely moved just feels… wrong. *shrug* To each their own though and I recognize that the series is popular.

That, was what 'hooked' BL1 and BL2 for me. -I love FPSs, and (at the time) I liked Diablo.

I finished the Pre-Sequel, and haven't been able to find real enjoyment in any of the Borderlands games, since. I don't think it was the Pre-Sequel that soured me on the franchise, either.
I think, the gameplay loop merely lost its novelty...

 

[Apocalypsee]

This looks the same as the boring Borderlands 3, I give it a hard pass thanks. The last good, enjoyable ones for me like LabRat 891 said was the Pre-Sequel.

 

[fec32a4de]

I mean can you really blame them after all its their biggest money maker serie.
This is not that recent but still you get the idea:

• Borderlands 3 sales reached over 18 million copies.
• The original Borderlands sold over 6 million copies.
• Borderlands 2 sales reached over 27 million copies.
• There are additional, undocumented sales through the Handsome Collection and such that bring the series’ total sales to over 75 million.
• Borderlands 3 was the game that established the series as a $1 billion franchise.
• Borderlands 3 was the fastest-selling 2K title ever.

Apparently BL 3 was made with a 100 million budget and 4 has a 200 million budget so they are defo planning to make that money back.

Looter shooter is a niche genre for sure but apparently its quite a successful one between a few of the main titles in the genre.
These are grind games thats not a secret but some of us actually find that fun and addictive for some reason.
I do play 2 gachas as you know but personally I rather sit on my ass and grind out my gear in these games than pray to the RNG gods in gachas that I will win that 50-50 or the 1% pull rate banner.. 'That 50-50 system is literally the devil.. Hate it with a passion..'

People (myself included) keep forgetting that 2K is the publisher, not the developer.

2K is also known for publishing GTA V/5 "
GTA 5 became the fastest-selling entertainment product on record, achieving $1 billion in its first three days of sale. GTA 5 broke several records, including the 24-hour video game revenue high."

GTA V is the 2nd best selling video game of all time, after Minecraft.

Grand Theft Auto 5 Sells Over 215 Million Units, Red Dead Redemption 2 Crosses 74 Million

The Grand Theft Auto series nears 450 million units sold while the Red Dead Redemption franchise finally crosses 100 million sales.

gamingbolt.com

But whenever anyone tries to discuss this, most say "Rockstar Games" published it. But don't worry, RG is 100% owned by T2, hell T2 logo appears as you launch the game.

Lack of story and Pitchford's idiocy ruined Borderlands for me.

Loved BL 1, 2 and the Pre-sequel tho

 

[MentalAcetylide]

Apparently BL 3 was made with a 100 million budget and 4 has a 200 million budget so they are defo planning to make that money back.

Seriously? $200 million for a budget and the screenshots in the OP is the best graphics they can do? Fallen Enchantress looks slightly better than that and probably had a fraction of that budget, heh. I can't say anything about the gameplay though since I haven't played any of them. It must be good if a lot of people are buying it.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Seriously? $200 million for a budget and the screenshots in the OP is the best graphics they can do? Fallen Enchantress looks slightly better than that and probably had a fraction of that budget, heh. I can't say anything about the gameplay though since I haven't played any of them. It must be good if a lot of people are buying it.

I mean, they probably didn't even upgrade the Unreal Engine here lol