Differences in this game vs Borderlands 2 version

[Renfrew]

Intro

I am here to offer a neutral overview of differences that I encountered, and then a final analysis. I don't own the game on Steam and after trying it out on Epic and sitting through 5 hours of everything that was on offer, I won't be. I finished Normal Mode and I have no desire to try TVHM or see if there is a UVHM, and the comparison will make it clear why I won’t be.

The comparison

Necessary changes:

• Bank at Moxxi's (storage)
  
• Crazy Earl in Flamerock Refuge (blackmarket upgrades)

Both of these are necessary with all non-Dragon Keep areas (particularly Sanctuary) made unavailable.

Minor changes:

• Dragon Keep areas are the only locations available (makes sense)
  
• Marcus in armour in front of where Eleanor (Ellie) stands - he has a gun shop like he would in Sanctuary, only purpose is for "The Bane" mission (more on that later)
  
• Gold Chest and Gold Keys have been replaced by Skeleton Chest and Skeleton Keys. The Skeleton Chest can be found to the left of where Eleanor (Ellie) stands. Besides the appearance and name changes, it of course functions identically.
  
• Characters now have quotes specific to dice chests
  
• King Ragnar doesn't have the 4 dwarf miners near him
  
• Black Market upgrades stop at orange rarity (20 Eridium cost). See the chart here for details on where that leaves thing in terms of storage and ammo capacity: https://borderlands.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Market

Major changes:

• 2 skill points per level up - Given there is not much content this makes a lot of sense, but it also makes the game ridiculously easy if you are experienced and know what you are doing
  
• 4-7x Seraph Crystals have an extremely low chance of dropping from standard mobs, and are guaranteed to drop from bosses and very strong enemies
  
• New shield "kite shield" releases a gust of wind to push back melee attackers - Explosive only, spike shield upgrade especially because it can push back multiple enemies at the same time. This is also the only new item added.
  
• "Spell" grenades can now spawn in chests (the ones that look like mimics)
  
• Bosses and stronger enemies have higher chances of dropping Legendaries
  
• Loot drop rates seem to have been slightly buffed, so you will see higher rarities more often.
  
• The Bane side mission now appears in the Mines of Avarice
  
• Face McShooty appears in The Lair of Infinite Agony
  
• Sorcerors have a higher chance of dropping the Legendary version of their "spell" grenade

Bad design:

• Fast Travel map shows the Borderlands 2 map instead of a zoomed in map just for Dragon Keep and surrounding areas – It’s a minor detail, but such a careless oversight
  
• Spike shields are still in the game... Would have worked better if they kept the Kite shield only to stop clutter in the loot pool as well as give it more elements
  
• Kite shield is the only new item available
  
• The mere idea of unlocking a bunch of skins and heads (all over again) that are locked to one niche title
  
• Cutscenes are still unskippable

Bugs:

• Stumpy's (little trees) are unaffected by Kite Shields. I can understand why some enemies will only take damage and no knocback, but Stumpys shouldn't be completely immune to both aspects. Even Badass skeletons receive the damage and knockback...
  
• White rarity Tediore shields have the white rarity Maliwan skin for some reason

Overall:
This game is weird, it is clearly aimed at attracting a new audience, but it’s too much for someone new to the franchise to take in, it would be far simpler for them to just play Borderlands 2 in its entirety as well as its DLCs.
For existing players this game fails to justify its existence. If you want better loot, there are tons of mods that already solve that issue for you as well as balancing if you cannot manage the original game’s balance. On top of that this rebalance would apply to the whole game, instead of just one DLC. The Kite Shield is the only new item added to the game, even buying this game just to experience an item that will likely be modded in is not worth it... If the heads become transferable to Borderlands 2 then experienced players might have more incentive, but then why not just make the changes part of the original DLC?

[Jeris]

It'll be interesting to see if they do something when Wonderlands comes out to give people who played the standalone any head start items or cosmetics. Since it is tied to your SHIFT account, it wouldn't be hard to do.

And 1 note on your overview. Oddly, seraph crystals seem to drop 100% from Pixies. Who are not difficult at all.

[Renfrew]

I never kill pixies, so that's a fault from player habit, as they are beneficial for speeding through the area, but you say seems to be, so it would likely need more testing. Testing which I won't be doing.

[OneTwo]

also mimic chests are worth killing since they always drop crystals/eridium :P

[RS Faria]

Saw people complaining about the game, didn't generate save files, at all.. You close the game, boom, everything gone..

BTW, good early review..

[Renfrew]

Mimics aren't guaranteed to drop crystals, eridium is standard for any enemy that is above a regular trash mob.

[Renfrew]

Originally posted by RS Faria:

Saw people complaining about the game, didn't generate save files, at all.. You close the game, boom, everything gone..

I logged off here and there and found no issue. I also did every single quest that I could find, so I haven't experienced any quest bugs that people are reporting.

Originally posted by RS Faria:

BTW, good early review..

Thank you! Wish I could post it on the store page, but no way I am gonna buy the game just to make a review on the store page. Even if I do just refund it after.

[ホワイトタイガ!!]

So no new quest that tell the story related to that new game huh?

[=Axton=]

The FOV adjuster is broken in the epic version, you have to edit the willowengine.ini file to get it proper.

[Renfrew]

Originally posted by MePCNERD!!:

So no new quest that tell the story related to that new game huh?

I was expecting at least one thing other than a literal re-release with changes so small they can be ignored, but that's modern Gearbox and 2K for you

[Mailer]

*Technically*, the skeleton chest is also slightly better than the Golden Chest in that the side-slots can also contain loot.

Doesn't even sweeten the deal at all when you can just grab this "partial game" elsewhere for free.

OR

buy 95% of it, and the 95% of Borderlands 2 as a whole, with the Handsome Collection on sale for a much better value.

---

Still, I appreciate the info that is compiled here. It's interesting to note all of the subtle differences when you already own the DLC to begin with.

[DrLoboto]

I have BL2 and the DLCs including Tiny Tina's, but I've never been able to get to the point where I would have met Tiny Tina and played her game, although I have always been curious about that part, maybe even more so than about the rest of BL2. And I just don't know whether I ever *will* get to that part, because BL2 can be a bit of a slog in single player, and it's long (plus at some point I had to give up because I couldn't get the regenerating shields of one boss down fast enough on my own while being harassed by minions on top of it). And my friends either have played the game to death already, long ago, or they are not really enthusiastic enough about the core gameplay to want to play it on the regular with me.

So would you say that *I* might be in the very niche target audience for which playing only Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragonkeep might actually work? Or does anything speak against it?

Also, was this remastered or anything or is it exactly the same as BL2? The system requirements here on Steam are higher than for BL2 (I have an old GTX660, which is less than the GPU they name, but perfectly fine for BL2).

[Jeris]

If i remember the DLC is scaled for either level 15 or 30 in BL2. You can go there "any" time and see what level the mobs are. you dont have to finish BL2 to do the DLC.

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by Jeris:

If i remember the DLC is scaled for either level 15 or 30 in BL2. You can go there "any" time and see what level the mobs are. you dont have to finish BL2 to do the DLC.

True, but I think I never reached the required level either.

[Renfrew]

Originally posted by DrLoboto:

True, but I think I never reached the required level either.

If you couldn't make it to level 15 then what makes you think you would sit through a DLC that is a BL2 overload with a DnD overlay? It's more of the same game that failed to captivate your attention.

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by ꧁Renfrew꧂:

Originally posted by DrLoboto:

True, but I think I never reached the required level either.

If you couldn't make it to level 15 then what makes you think you would sit through a DLC that is a BL2 overload with a DnD overlay? It's more of the same game that failed to captivate your attention.

From what I gather online, the DLC is set for levels 30-35. And, like I said, the reason why I had to abort my most advanced single player playthrough is not that it failed to captivate my attention but that I couldn't beat that boss with the constantly regenerating shields fast enough on my own (maybe I messed up the build or whatever, dunno, but it was frustrating trying to do it in SP). Also, I think there's a chance the DnD spoof overlay might be extra motivating for me compared to the usual post-apocalyptic wasteland setting.

I enjoy BL2, I just think it's more fun in MP, and since my friends won't play it with me, I thought a shorter version of it with a new take on things (fantasy setting) might be an alternative for SP, with a higher chance of me finishing it.