I've really wanted this to be in a Borderlands game for some time, but ultimately is implemented as the co-op we all love. But what I would love to see in the next Borderlands game is a multiplayer component. And no, before you start commenting on "this is just another CoD spinoff that will turn disastrous", this isn't going to be another "Carl on Duty: Modern Whorefail 2" multiplayer experience. Hear me out on some things I would love to see in this multiplayer.
Before I get started, I'd like to say that I actually missed the Arenas in the first Borderlands game. They were a lot of fun to go into if you didn't want to just do co-op or farm bosses for loot. But one thing that turned me off about the Arenas were the amount of players that were allowed in the fight. You were only limited to four players of two teams, which wasn't a lot of fun. But imagine if there were 4v4 or even 8v8 team battles where anything can happen?
One of the major factors that made Borderlands so successful is the fact that it's a shooter with 87 gazillion guns with different attachments, stats, elements, etc. It made looting much more fun when you were shooting someone with a gun as opposed to a sword or a hammer. It really revolutionized loot based games with a shooter twist to it. No matter what item drops, that item will be different no matter what circumstance arises, which I love about Borderlands. But what if that feature were implemented on a much larger scale?
What I hate about multiplayer games this day and age is that when you level up, the gear you unlock are all on a fixed progression that will never change (Level 5 unlocks the M16, Level 6 unlocks Juggernaut, Level 7 unlocks the Claymore, etc.) I hate how you can view an item and see when you unlock itand it'll stay that level for everyoneand become anticipated to get it.
What I want out of a Borderlands multiplayer game is for the items you unlock from leveling up to be 110% random, just like in the single player. You and a friend level up to Level 15 and each one of you will receive something completely different from one another, with random stats, attachments and possible elements. You unlock a shotgun that does 364 x9 damage, while your friend unlocks a new shield with 826 shield capacity. And each item you unlock has its own rarity level (White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, and Pearlescent), and the more times you level up, the higher the chances become to unlock a Blue, Purple, Orange, or even a Pearlescent item. It's something like this that could completely change the way multiplayer works.
And speaking of random, how about when you level up, you can upgrade a set of Skill Trees specific to what class you select when you first start off in multiplayer? Another thing I hate about Perk systems in multiplayer games is that they're superficial at best. All they really do is improve one or two traits from the benefit of one perk; that's not enough to keep me alive. Say someone has two Perks that are in use right now. They have a perk that allows you to detect players moving close to your proximity and a perk that increases the amount of ammo that you carry. The problem with this is that, what if I wanted to have the Perk that lets me walk silently or to reload faster, or even be able sprint for a longer time? I can't equip those Perks unless I put them into different classes. It's this fluctuation of classes that I don't want. I want multiple perks to be available to me at once.
Now what if you could spec out your Trees like you can in Borderlands, where the "Perks" are what you put your points into? Imagine if two players were playing as a Siren in a multiplayer match and both of them have entirely different perks that gave each of them an advantage in a certain scenario? Imagine how groundbreaking that would be if everyone were different in every essence of the word, as opposed to everyone using the same weapons with the same perks and the same grenades and the same everything.
But what do you do after you hit the highest level (we'll use 50 as the highest level)? You can do two thing after hitting Level 50: You can start over with a new character (not the same as Prestige), or you can continue with your character and unlock more items after hitting the highest rank. After hitting Level 50, every time you win a gamenot lose or tie, you get a new, random set of items after winning the game, with the chance for an item to be a Rare, Epic, Legendary or Pearlescent item.
At the end of a match, you gain money to spend on a virtual vending machine to buy itemsall of them are random with their own stats and etceteraand change every time you start a new match. The items scale with level just like in the single player.
I also think that for this to be a fun multiplayer experience, the game modes have to be fun as well, with a tongue-and-cheek twist to the modes.
These are just examples of the game modes that may be available if there is a multiplayer for the next Borderlands, but I really would love Gearbox more if they came up with a multiplayer experience like what I have conceived.
Before I get started, I'd like to say that I actually missed the Arenas in the first Borderlands game. They were a lot of fun to go into if you didn't want to just do co-op or farm bosses for loot. But one thing that turned me off about the Arenas were the amount of players that were allowed in the fight. You were only limited to four players of two teams, which wasn't a lot of fun. But imagine if there were 4v4 or even 8v8 team battles where anything can happen?
One of the major factors that made Borderlands so successful is the fact that it's a shooter with 87 gazillion guns with different attachments, stats, elements, etc. It made looting much more fun when you were shooting someone with a gun as opposed to a sword or a hammer. It really revolutionized loot based games with a shooter twist to it. No matter what item drops, that item will be different no matter what circumstance arises, which I love about Borderlands. But what if that feature were implemented on a much larger scale?
What I hate about multiplayer games this day and age is that when you level up, the gear you unlock are all on a fixed progression that will never change (Level 5 unlocks the M16, Level 6 unlocks Juggernaut, Level 7 unlocks the Claymore, etc.) I hate how you can view an item and see when you unlock itand it'll stay that level for everyoneand become anticipated to get it.
What I want out of a Borderlands multiplayer game is for the items you unlock from leveling up to be 110% random, just like in the single player. You and a friend level up to Level 15 and each one of you will receive something completely different from one another, with random stats, attachments and possible elements. You unlock a shotgun that does 364 x9 damage, while your friend unlocks a new shield with 826 shield capacity. And each item you unlock has its own rarity level (White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, and Pearlescent), and the more times you level up, the higher the chances become to unlock a Blue, Purple, Orange, or even a Pearlescent item. It's something like this that could completely change the way multiplayer works.
And speaking of random, how about when you level up, you can upgrade a set of Skill Trees specific to what class you select when you first start off in multiplayer? Another thing I hate about Perk systems in multiplayer games is that they're superficial at best. All they really do is improve one or two traits from the benefit of one perk; that's not enough to keep me alive. Say someone has two Perks that are in use right now. They have a perk that allows you to detect players moving close to your proximity and a perk that increases the amount of ammo that you carry. The problem with this is that, what if I wanted to have the Perk that lets me walk silently or to reload faster, or even be able sprint for a longer time? I can't equip those Perks unless I put them into different classes. It's this fluctuation of classes that I don't want. I want multiple perks to be available to me at once.
Now what if you could spec out your Trees like you can in Borderlands, where the "Perks" are what you put your points into? Imagine if two players were playing as a Siren in a multiplayer match and both of them have entirely different perks that gave each of them an advantage in a certain scenario? Imagine how groundbreaking that would be if everyone were different in every essence of the word, as opposed to everyone using the same weapons with the same perks and the same grenades and the same everything.
But what do you do after you hit the highest level (we'll use 50 as the highest level)? You can do two thing after hitting Level 50: You can start over with a new character (not the same as Prestige), or you can continue with your character and unlock more items after hitting the highest rank. After hitting Level 50, every time you win a gamenot lose or tie, you get a new, random set of items after winning the game, with the chance for an item to be a Rare, Epic, Legendary or Pearlescent item.
At the end of a match, you gain money to spend on a virtual vending machine to buy itemsall of them are random with their own stats and etceteraand change every time you start a new match. The items scale with level just like in the single player.
I also think that for this to be a fun multiplayer experience, the game modes have to be fun as well, with a tongue-and-cheek twist to the modes.
- Hot Potato: Similar to Halo's Oddball, the objective is to capture and hold onto a LIVE grenade for as long as possible before it blows up in your face, resulting in an excellant orgy of dismemberment. The grenade will detonate at randomthe time it takes for the grenade to go off can vary between 10 seconds to the entire match, though the latter is extremely rare with a 2% chance to happenand will make a fast "beeping" sound when the grenade is about to go off. If the grenade goes off in the player's hand, it results in an instantaneous death, and a longer respawn time, as opposed to everyone else that dies to other causes (other players, suicide, etc.) When you're carrying the grenade, you can shoot other players attempting to kill you, albeit you cannot aim down the sights, your melee is replaced with a heavy punch that does more damage, and you can throw the grenade to teammates and enemy players. If you throw the grenade to an enemy player before it goes off, they will be affected with a longer respawn time when it detonates in their hand.
- :dukeking::
"Hail to the King, baby!"
Duke Nukem
Similar to King of the Hill in many games, the objective is to reach a specific point on the map and stay inside the hill for as long as possible before it moves. Literally. At one point, the hill will begin moving on its own, shipped with legs, feet, arms and hands, will begin walking away from the player and will even attempt to kill anyone standing in the hill. You still gain points for being in the hill, but it becomes harder to consecutively gain points from not only the hill itself, but also the enemy team who is trying to either get onto the hill or kill the hill in order to stop the opposing team from gaining more points. The hill will eventually die out, and a new one will be made available for capture, with the same rules applying to this hill, and the next, and so on.
- Capture the Flag: Similar to the quest Capture the Flag in Borderlands 2, it's not a game of grabbing the enemy flag and returning it to your base, but more of an offensive-defense style of game, where you have to grab your own flag, reach the enemy flag, attach it to the post, and protect it while your flag is being raised to the top and the enemy's flag drops. If everyone on the post dies, the flag being raised will begin to descend back down. Whoever's flag reaches the top wins.
These are just examples of the game modes that may be available if there is a multiplayer for the next Borderlands, but I really would love Gearbox more if they came up with a multiplayer experience like what I have conceived.