Advice for newbie?

Borderlands General Discussion
#1

I’ve played the crap out of 2 and TPS but am just getting around to the original. Any good general advice from the vets here? Also, couple questions:

  1. Does the save quit function work the same here as the following two games? I ask because I did a save quit at one point and when I started the game back up I had lost some progress.

  2. Am I able to create mules like the other two games (i.e. using a second profile on my console)? So far the uniques seem to have set parts so maybe it isn’t useful until later missions/play-throughs…? Just wondering.

Thanks in advance!

#2

  1. It should save your progress, but that doesn’t mean when you restart you’ll be where you were. That’s actually the same in all three games - not all save points are spawn locations, and when you save/quit/restart you’ll be at a respawn location rather than the nearest save point to where you were. This is actually frustrating in the DLCs, since you always end up at the starting point for the DLC (and not the entry point to the last map you were on)

  2. If you have the GOTY, fast travel to the Underdome: there’s a bank vault there for storage, and you can purchase storage upgrades from one of the vending machines as you level up. You can also purchase ammo storage upgrades the same way. Note that you get your back-pack storage upgrades from Claptrap rescues.

1 Like
#3

Not a lot off the top of my head, but I do have a couple. But first to answer your two questions:

  1. The save system is mostly the same as BL2 and TPS. Whenever your wander past a checkpoint or Fast Travel it triggers an automatic save. It also saves when you change your name at a Fast Travel, perhaps when you re-spec too but I’m not certain about that. The only things you have to be careful of:
    -If you quit a game before 30 seconds of in-game time passes, the game will not save your progress. If you spawn near a vendor and are farming something you could wait for the timer to say “19:29”. It will be okay to save then.
    -If you are playing on Xbox 360, the game will only save your progress if you are logged into a profile.

To be certain, when you’re ready to quit a session, read the message that pops up before you hit quit. It will tell you when your progress will save successfully.

  1. You should be fine with using multiple profiles. Personally I stick to my own profile and just create toons for loot mule purposes, but alternate accounts will be fine too. The problem is, you can’t bring toons in freely in BL1- you have to save & quit with both characters and select new ones individually. So always, ALWAYS pick up everything before you quit the session.

As for suggestions:

Money & vendors are actually relevant in BL1, so be sure to pick and sell loot because you will likely find something fantastic in them. Also check skag piles, dumpsters, and lockers regularly. Some lockers & skag piles always produce loot of some kind, so don’t pass them up.

Melee cancel with shotguns that have under a 1.0 fire rate by melee’ing after firing off a shot. It will reduce the time you have to wait before firing again. Great for most Jakobs shottys.

Loot chests in BL1 can be highly lucrative, and as such are very well hidden. Take the time to do some exploring and you might come across that one piece of weaponry that you’ll fall in love with.

Avoid Combat Rifles- those are always burst fire. Dahl, Tediore and Hyperion manufacture CRs, while Torgue, Vladof, S&S and Atlas make Assault Rifles- those are the ones you want.

1 Like
#4

There is no UVHM or repeatable playthrough/missions. Everything main game scales to 2.5 after you enter the vault, not after you complete the mission for it and other semi spoilery stuff.
One thing regarding vehicles, you can lock on to target when in the driver seat and vehicles regen slowly and grazing stuff sometimes damages you and stops the regen for a bit.

1 Like
#5

You don’t have to replace your gear nearly as often. The right level 5 shield can carry you to 30 or higher, or a revolver at 48 which will hold you to 69.

It might also help to know which character you’re using. There are some useful tips for each one (example: Brick’s berserker rage really falls off late game, but it can still be useful. If you activate it at the right time while opening your inventory, you’ll get a big speed boost.)

1 Like
#6

Regarding the ‘avoid CRs’ advice, I strongly disagree. They’re not at the stupidity level of Gimmick Dahl as there is no delay between bursts.
Stompers make the most powerful rifles in the game clocking up to about 600 damage per round at 15 rate, again with no stupid delays ala BL2/TPS

Just be aware that Dahl/Hyperion/Tediore rifles are bursters, and make your own mind up to your own tastes/needs.

TBH I wish someone had hinted to me to give burst rifles a chance on my first run as I was stuck with terrible MGs the whole way. Yes, avoiding them was more of a noob trap than using them in my case. =P

1 Like
#7

I agree with this too. I actually really like CR’s, but take my opinion with a grain of salt.

#8

Well I only spoke about CRs negatively because it’s actually pretty difficult to find a good one. Finding useful ARs are a bit more common, except for Vladof ARs when starting a new character since level scaling for Vladof weapons early are pretty bad.

1 Like
#9

The Stompers are excellent. The main thing with CR vs. AR is to know which type you have in your equipment slot so you don’t get caught out when the gun behaves one way and you were expecting something else. There are times when continuous fire is what you want, but there are also times when concentrated bursts delivered to each enemy’s noggin in turn is highly effective and very satisfying.

1 Like
#10

  1. yeah, I figured the spawn points would work similarly. The confusion was that I turned in a mission before save/quitting and when I restarted it was at a point before I turned that mission in. Also lost a shield I had just bought. I’ll just have to get more careful going forward.

  2. Yes, GOTY version. I’m about to enter Sledge’s Safehouse. Am I even able to fast travel yet? Also, when I load the game I see a second disc icon that I believe contains the DLC. I’ll take a closer look tomorrow as I guess it still needs to be installed.

Thanks !

#11

Many great tips - thank you!! And great info from everyone about CR vs. AR. I’ll definitely give both types a try. I’m playing as Brick and my friend as Mordi. So far so good. :smile:

#12

I actually am playing as Brick and this is great to know - thanks!

#13

In that case you should call dibs on EXPLOSIVE stuff if you’re planning on going down the right tree, IIRC one of his skills lets you regen rockets if you deal EXPLOSIVE stuff.
On the topic of explosions, Torgue does not have gyro rockets nor a corner on the explosive market so you could get an explosive Maliwan shotty which also leads to another thing; manufacturers make more weapon types than in TPS and BL2. Also, elements take up the acc. slot so no double bullet acc. and elemental effect is legit.
Closest would be the Tsunami but it has two elemental effects and is a Pearl.

1 Like
#14

Good to know. If his action skill does become lacking later in the game, explosive sounds like it might be the way to go!

#15

OK, so to clarify for myself, each play-through is totally stand-alone? No TVHM or UVHM, just a 2.5 up-scale later in the game once you enter the vault? And once you beat it, you can try to farm top gear for fighting Craw but that’s pretty much the extent of it? Am I able to save side quests with uniques until the up-scale or is that not possible or even necessary? Also, what’s the highest level you can reach? I definitely want to keep as much of the experience as fresh as possible but also don’t want to make any annoyingly stupid mistakes. I’m researching the Claptrap rescues in advance as I want all the backpack upgrades possible.

Sorry if some of my questions are a bit obvious or covered somewhere else. The backwards transition is a little confusing after two games with virtually the same controls, interfaces, etc. Very much appreciating everyone’s responses!

#16

No problem, it is a bit different/confusing compared to BL2 and TPS.
Yes, each playthrough is a one time deal and after entering the Vault you are limited to DLCs you haven’t completed or finding that perfect loot to fight some boss of your choice. As for side missions, I believe the reward you get from turning it in doesn’t scale to the “correct” level but the enemies that’ll spawn do as well as the loot they drop (King Wee Wee being a prime example). The highest level is 69 but you do receive a total 4 extra skill points to spend, 1 from Moxxi’s Underdome and one from Claptrap’s Robolution and you can get them both once per playthrough.

1 Like
#17

Thanks. I’m sure it will all make better sense once I’m actually in it but right now it’s an adjustment.

#19

One last piece of advice: facing enemies while vastly underleveled is a VERY bad idea, particularly if you don’t have great loot. If you’re underleveled by 3-4 levels the damage reduction is fairly significant- this is very apparent when facing badass enemies, mini-bosses and bosses of course. You won’t get away with facing enemies being underleveled like you could in BL2 or TPS- this game is very strict in that regard.

Facing enemies 5+ levels above you is outright suicide. Definitely not a smart thing to do.

#20

Yeah, I’ve had my ass handed to me a few times now trying to be a little over-ambitious. The first few mission rewards were helpful at the time (Clipper, TK’s Wave) but I’m just getting by at the moment with so-so gear. Which I guess is part of the fun. :smile:

#21

Speaking of being underleveled, might as well mention overleveling.
If you wanna keep the challenge up throughout the game, you’re gonna want to be sure to stay on level. Especially when you hit the Rust Commons, you get a ton of side missions that can easily put you overleveled.

Here, this should help a lot. http://oldforums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=112350

1 Like