Playing a solo run of all the Borderlands games again. In chronological order, so BL, BL:TPS, BL2, and then Tales. It's not my first playthrough of any of them, but it's been a long while. Kind of surprised just how much of BL I remember as I haven't played it since around 2012.
I am planning on playing through each at least twice, as there is content you won't see on a single playthrough, and it's pretty near to impossible to max your level out on a single run through the game and DLC just playing normally.
I'm mostly doing this because of the recent free upgrade to the remasters, which I have all of.
A few small quality of life improvements are nice, such as picking up things like ammo and money that are on the ground automatically. You still need to grab them from inside containers, but it's a huge convenience to not have to run around and manually grab all that stuff. Weapons and gear you do still need to grab, but that's not a huge deal.
Also, Gold Keys for BL 1 is kind of nice. I've never bought any for any of them, and likely never will, but they give enough away that you really don't need to if you keep up with the giveaway codes. The older gold key codes that are still active for the sequels still work.
They haven't given any key codes away for BL1 yet, but you get a bunch automatically if you have saves for BL:TPS and BL2.
You'll want to grab them while they are available, but save most of them for the end game once you've maxed your levels out. I think spending a few to get a nice starter loadout is worth it, but you should find enough nice stuff to leave the rest till the end game.
It is prettier. Obviously the biggest difference is the first game, which still has some of the original cutscenes in some places. The first one I noticed was when I went to Mad Moxxi's place to use the bank to store stuff and that cutscene was still from the original version. It really stood out against the remastered stuff.
A tip for those who haven't played for a while and may have forgotten or are playing for the first time:
Always make sure your inventory is full when you take the Claptrap Repair missions, pick up as much junk as you need to to do so. Your chances of getting the inventory expansion item are improved the closer to full your inventory is. As I recall, all of them but the very first one in Fyrestone can give you an inventory expansion.
Save before you turn them in. These missions are the only way to expand your inventory, and you are not guaranteed to get the inventory expansion as a reward for turning the mission in. Always save right before tuning these missions in, even if you need to go a bit out of your way to do it.
If at all possible, have an overfilled inventory, as that near guarantees you'll get the inventory expansion as a reward. You can do this by turning in a mission that rewards you with gear. It will still go into your inventory even if it is full. Though you will almost always get it if your inventory is just full, so you don't need to go out of your way, it's just a bit of added insurance.
If you don't get that reward, it is best to just force shutdown the game without saving. Do not exit with the in game menu. On console use the console button menu to force exit, or ctrl-alt-del or alt+f4 on PC. Also, be aware that they do not install automatically, you have to go into your inventory and activate the item for the new slots to show up.
Anyway, it's just as fun as it always was. A level and loot shooter done well.
Speaking of Loot Shooters, I'll probably be giving Enter the Gungeon a few playthroughs as well since it just had it's last expansion update as well that added a bunch of new stuff. I'll do that when I'm taking a break from Borderlands most likely. Probably between playthroughs.
EDIT:
Praise RNJesus, for he has been kind to me!
Playing as a Siren, which is my preferred class in Borderlands.
Just found a submachine gun with +10 ammo regen at lvl 20.
That's basically it for this run being remotely difficult, not that the first run really is anyway. The damage is on the weapon is 60, which is high for the weapon type at lvl 20, but even when the damage is scaled into uselessness all I have to do is hold it and it refills my submachine gun ammo automatically in less than a minute. So, effectively unlimited ammo for all submachine guns by hanging on to it. That's worth an item slot for the rest of the game, assuming I don't find a better version later.
I also found a really nice shotgun at lvl 13. It only fires two shots before a reload, but those two shots do about 590 damage each, it has a high accuracy rating, meaning tight spread, and the reload speed is really quick. Really nice for killing big tanky shit.
Have already replaced it, but it got me through several boss fights. I have a new shotgun that is a two shot at high damage, but the spread is wider and it's mostly only good for killing critters.
These are items I found in the wilds, not with golden keys.
I am planning on playing through each at least twice, as there is content you won't see on a single playthrough, and it's pretty near to impossible to max your level out on a single run through the game and DLC just playing normally.
I'm mostly doing this because of the recent free upgrade to the remasters, which I have all of.
A few small quality of life improvements are nice, such as picking up things like ammo and money that are on the ground automatically. You still need to grab them from inside containers, but it's a huge convenience to not have to run around and manually grab all that stuff. Weapons and gear you do still need to grab, but that's not a huge deal.
Also, Gold Keys for BL 1 is kind of nice. I've never bought any for any of them, and likely never will, but they give enough away that you really don't need to if you keep up with the giveaway codes. The older gold key codes that are still active for the sequels still work.
They haven't given any key codes away for BL1 yet, but you get a bunch automatically if you have saves for BL:TPS and BL2.
You'll want to grab them while they are available, but save most of them for the end game once you've maxed your levels out. I think spending a few to get a nice starter loadout is worth it, but you should find enough nice stuff to leave the rest till the end game.
It is prettier. Obviously the biggest difference is the first game, which still has some of the original cutscenes in some places. The first one I noticed was when I went to Mad Moxxi's place to use the bank to store stuff and that cutscene was still from the original version. It really stood out against the remastered stuff.
A tip for those who haven't played for a while and may have forgotten or are playing for the first time:
Always make sure your inventory is full when you take the Claptrap Repair missions, pick up as much junk as you need to to do so. Your chances of getting the inventory expansion item are improved the closer to full your inventory is. As I recall, all of them but the very first one in Fyrestone can give you an inventory expansion.
Save before you turn them in. These missions are the only way to expand your inventory, and you are not guaranteed to get the inventory expansion as a reward for turning the mission in. Always save right before tuning these missions in, even if you need to go a bit out of your way to do it.
If at all possible, have an overfilled inventory, as that near guarantees you'll get the inventory expansion as a reward. You can do this by turning in a mission that rewards you with gear. It will still go into your inventory even if it is full. Though you will almost always get it if your inventory is just full, so you don't need to go out of your way, it's just a bit of added insurance.
If you don't get that reward, it is best to just force shutdown the game without saving. Do not exit with the in game menu. On console use the console button menu to force exit, or ctrl-alt-del or alt+f4 on PC. Also, be aware that they do not install automatically, you have to go into your inventory and activate the item for the new slots to show up.
Anyway, it's just as fun as it always was. A level and loot shooter done well.
Speaking of Loot Shooters, I'll probably be giving Enter the Gungeon a few playthroughs as well since it just had it's last expansion update as well that added a bunch of new stuff. I'll do that when I'm taking a break from Borderlands most likely. Probably between playthroughs.
EDIT:
Praise RNJesus, for he has been kind to me!
Playing as a Siren, which is my preferred class in Borderlands.
Just found a submachine gun with +10 ammo regen at lvl 20.
That's basically it for this run being remotely difficult, not that the first run really is anyway. The damage is on the weapon is 60, which is high for the weapon type at lvl 20, but even when the damage is scaled into uselessness all I have to do is hold it and it refills my submachine gun ammo automatically in less than a minute. So, effectively unlimited ammo for all submachine guns by hanging on to it. That's worth an item slot for the rest of the game, assuming I don't find a better version later.
I also found a really nice shotgun at lvl 13. It only fires two shots before a reload, but those two shots do about 590 damage each, it has a high accuracy rating, meaning tight spread, and the reload speed is really quick. Really nice for killing big tanky shit.
Have already replaced it, but it got me through several boss fights. I have a new shotgun that is a two shot at high damage, but the spread is wider and it's mostly only good for killing critters.
These are items I found in the wilds, not with golden keys.
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