This was initially a reply to another thread in another section but I thought that it was worth posting as it's own thread and expanding upon it. These are simply thoughts I have had as of late about what possible DLC for Borderlands 2 could look like and include.
There is a lot of really interesting lore in the Borderlands universe that could easily be explored and at the same time still left with the same air of mystery that makes them so interesting in the first place. Eridians would be quite the fun route, a lot of purple and floaty space things. With Eridians you could even link multiple DLCs together. You could have a DLC about the Eridians then have one about the Sirens and then turn around and have another about the cult of the vault, each containing clues/hints that all point in the same direction. 6 vaults, 6 sirens, sirens link to eridium, there is something there, something big and mysterious but most important, interesting.
But, just as important as theme and story dynamics are gameplay elements and new additions to those. Below, I have begun a list of what I believe to be some pretty interesting ideas on things that could be added to future DLC.
- New gun manufacturer, mix up the mix! You could even base an entire DLC around said manufacturer.
- Level cap increase! I think this one is vital, should be in every DLC even if it is only a 5 level increase. Adding experience and higher level guns makes the player feel much more rewarded for their time with in the DLC.
- Gun making and/or customization. Even if it is just something like being able to change the scope of a gun, something entirely new is very welcome amongst DLC.
- New types of shields/relics/class mods. Again, new is important, something different, something to look forward to finding. Shields that knockback upon melee/depletion or reflect bullets, relics that have +to magic find and class mods with different skill combinations.)
- Increased storage! At least increase the secret stash, four slots is a joke!
- Skins that function as head skins do but for the characters entire body. This one is a pain though, because they would have to map each color skin to work on each clothing skin, so I don't expect it. Too much work, too little reward.
- New skills! Adding one or two per tree would help balance out the level cap increase, making it less likely to have people finish two trees entirely. Also, fun! I really like what they did with melee overrides in this game, makes it feel like characters have "abilities" beyond just their action skill.
- Heirloom gear!? Gear that you grind out to obtain via end game that scales to your level. These items could have the stats of their blues/purple counterparts equivalent to the current level they are.
- E-tech all the way! New varieties to E-tech guns and much more. In above mentioned Eridian DLC, you could go as far as having a merchant that sales Eridian guns (much like BL1) or you could have a way to use eridium to turn a gun you already possess into an E-Tech gun, at a steep cost of money and eridium of course... but hey, that gives us a use for eridium and money, woo!
There will be more to come, later.
Also, I want to make a point to some people who might read this. I have heard a lot of groaning and complaining about the once a day bosses and I understand everyone's concerns, I just think you should see it from another point of view because in all honesty this was an act of brilliance. Randy Pitchford himself has said that he is looking to make Borderlands more of a hobby than a game you simply play, finish and put away. Now, you are going to want to log in everyday so that you can take these guys out. Doing this has extremely added the longevity of an already near endlessly replayable game.
There is a lot of really interesting lore in the Borderlands universe that could easily be explored and at the same time still left with the same air of mystery that makes them so interesting in the first place. Eridians would be quite the fun route, a lot of purple and floaty space things. With Eridians you could even link multiple DLCs together. You could have a DLC about the Eridians then have one about the Sirens and then turn around and have another about the cult of the vault, each containing clues/hints that all point in the same direction. 6 vaults, 6 sirens, sirens link to eridium, there is something there, something big and mysterious but most important, interesting.
But, just as important as theme and story dynamics are gameplay elements and new additions to those. Below, I have begun a list of what I believe to be some pretty interesting ideas on things that could be added to future DLC.
- New gun manufacturer, mix up the mix! You could even base an entire DLC around said manufacturer.
- Level cap increase! I think this one is vital, should be in every DLC even if it is only a 5 level increase. Adding experience and higher level guns makes the player feel much more rewarded for their time with in the DLC.
- Gun making and/or customization. Even if it is just something like being able to change the scope of a gun, something entirely new is very welcome amongst DLC.
- New types of shields/relics/class mods. Again, new is important, something different, something to look forward to finding. Shields that knockback upon melee/depletion or reflect bullets, relics that have +to magic find and class mods with different skill combinations.)
- Increased storage! At least increase the secret stash, four slots is a joke!
- Skins that function as head skins do but for the characters entire body. This one is a pain though, because they would have to map each color skin to work on each clothing skin, so I don't expect it. Too much work, too little reward.
- New skills! Adding one or two per tree would help balance out the level cap increase, making it less likely to have people finish two trees entirely. Also, fun! I really like what they did with melee overrides in this game, makes it feel like characters have "abilities" beyond just their action skill.
- Heirloom gear!? Gear that you grind out to obtain via end game that scales to your level. These items could have the stats of their blues/purple counterparts equivalent to the current level they are.
- E-tech all the way! New varieties to E-tech guns and much more. In above mentioned Eridian DLC, you could go as far as having a merchant that sales Eridian guns (much like BL1) or you could have a way to use eridium to turn a gun you already possess into an E-Tech gun, at a steep cost of money and eridium of course... but hey, that gives us a use for eridium and money, woo!
There will be more to come, later.
Also, I want to make a point to some people who might read this. I have heard a lot of groaning and complaining about the once a day bosses and I understand everyone's concerns, I just think you should see it from another point of view because in all honesty this was an act of brilliance. Randy Pitchford himself has said that he is looking to make Borderlands more of a hobby than a game you simply play, finish and put away. Now, you are going to want to log in everyday so that you can take these guys out. Doing this has extremely added the longevity of an already near endlessly replayable game.