Summary
It’s been five years since the latest mainlineBorderlandsentry, and fans have been highly anticipating what will come next for Gearbox Software’s lucrative looter shooter franchise in the intervening time. While players did a receive a full spin-off in the form ofTiny Tina’s Wonderlandsin 2022, which was generally well-liked (although its DLC content proved rather divisive), anotherBorderlandswas a shoo-in to be released eventually, and speculation has been mounting about what it might entail ever sinceBL3ended on a shocking note.
Along with some of themajor story events that the nextBorderlandshas to address, fans are equally eager to see what the next title will offer in terms of adding, iterating, and improving upon its already impressive stock of guns and other supporting items like grenade types and shields, as well as elemental effects and hilariously unpredictable traits. With a number of options at its disposal to offer players something new and exciting for the series, Gearbox should seriously consider taking a feature that has been seen inFalloutand many other games - namely, weapon and item crafting/customization - to put into the nextBL.
A recent update from its official X (Twitter) account highlighting the series “story so far” may indicate an announcement is forthcoming regardingBorderlands 4.
Borderlands 4 Should Go All-In On Crafting and Customizable Weapon Options Like Fallout, Destiny 2, and Others
Weapon Crafting and Customization Has Become an Expected Standard
A wide range of titles have long offered players the ability to craft and customize their arsenals, tailoring their preferred style and type of weapon, as well as matching stat and skill boosters etc. where applicable. Bungie’sDestinyseries, one of the othermost popular FPS looter shootersalongsideBorderlands, has had it for years. Other high-profile franchises, like the post-apocalyptic RPG series,Fallout, have gotten in on the action, first introducing the feature in itsNew Vegasspin-off before fully integrating it intoFallout 4andFO76. Weapon crafting/customization has also found its way into single-player focused games likeFar Cry,The Last of Us, and plenty of others. Crafting and customization has become more of a standard feature in a broad array of releases, and thusBorderlandsseems primed to add it too.
Borderlands 4 Implementing Weapon Crafting and Customization Seems a Natural Progression
With one of its most touted features being the staggering array of guns and supporting items available, it would almost seem to be an obvious evolution for the nextBorderlandsto go hog wild by granting players the freedom to fully craft and customize their arms, mixing and matching from its already enormous pool of armaments for optimal (or outlandish) builds. Fans may recallBorderlands' talking gunsas well, which have the potential to create even more chaotic fun, as players could possibly be allowed to endow their favorite weapons with an AI voice and personality, putting even more of a personal touch while sustaining the humor the series is also famous for.
Another related feature that has been increasingly requested and implemented across various similar genre titles is transmogrification, further allowing players to design unique looks for their weapons and transfer the most efficient weapon abilities to various cosmetic styles that provide another layer of customization, letting players truly immerse themselves and feel more in control of their avatars. Perhaps ifthe nextBorderlandsintroduces a new weapons manufacturer, one of its new key mechanics will be crafting, customization, and/or transmog options. Any of these would go a long way to bringing a fresh approach to the series, while building on the foundations that make up its core aspects, and it would be great to see Gearbox embrace them.
