yep, and Iām happy that they are making the effort. But Iām genuinely curious to know who actually complained that the drop rates in BL1 were too high. I suspect nobody from the general public actually did. But I read an awful lot of complaints on that very subject (i.e. drop rates) virtually on a daily basis for BL2.
As for Legendaries being everywhere in BL1, thatās surely the point? You didnāt have to go and bore yourself to tears grinding your life away just to get that specific flavour of Hornet. One could pop up anywhere in the game, so you could play anywhere, safe in the knowledge that every chest you opened, bandit you killed or vendor you rolled up to could reward you with an exceptional piece of loot. I can honestly, without fear of contradiction, reveal that I have NEVER bought a single item (other than ammo) from a vendor in BL2, Torgue vendors excepted. Not once. And thatās because everything in there is invariably garbage. And I have put hundreds of hours into the game. What kind of whacked ratio is that?
And itās not just Legendaries, either. Once Iād levelled up, I came across purples pretty much all the time in BL1, whereas in BL2 it would often feel like Purples were Legendary themselves. If Iām a Level 72+, why throw out white and green garbage at me? Who uses that crap beyond a certain level? Itās just a cash alternative for buying ammo as far as Iām concerned. What is even the point?
I havenāt bought TPS and I know of several others who havenāt either. And the main reason is because Gearbox nerfed the weapons systems and drop rates in BL2 to such an extent that they have changed the entire reason for playing the game. In BL1, Iād explore every centimetre of each map, hoping to find a chest or hidden skag pile that would reward me with choice stuff. In BL2, much as I like the core game, I donāt bother with that anymore. Itās just not worth the effort. Iāll even pass by some chests in BL2 because I just know that opening them will be a waste of time. Thereās certainly no reward for going out of my way for them.
The trouble is that itās not just drop rates. Everything is so interlinked that adjusting one thing has a massive impact on another. Raising the probability of getting a Norfleet from Vermi still wonāt change the fact that having to farm the same boss for it over and over again is the gaming equivalent of watching paint dry for most people. Getting the Bitch from BNK-3R was quite possibly one of the most boring experiences of my life, which raises the question what is Gearbox hoping to achieve: that their games bore people? What was wrong with the old system of being able to get anything from pretty much anywhere? Why was that even an issue?
Like I said, I havenāt bought TPS. And if Gearbox keep the same system (low drop rates and specific weapons farming from specific bosses only, as opposed to throughout the game) then I know I wonāt be buying BL3, either. So they will have lost a customer just by fixing an issue that no-one was actually complaining about in the first place. Bizarre marketing strategy, if you ask me. But I, and many others, still regularly play a six year old game called BL1. Doesnāt that tell them something?
