Complete noob - please help

Borderlands 3 Borderlands 3 General Discussion
#1

Hello everyone,

Apologies, I have a really basic question but I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer anywhere. I’m absolutely loving the game, have about 70 hours in it now, but I fundamentally do not understand the loot system or the structure of end game.

I am farming bosses and moving between maybe 3 and 6, but the drops seem to be continual garbage and the higher mayhem level adds nothing in terms of quality. I have one gun - a Boom Sickle, and it shreds everything. But that dropped at Mayhem level 1. My drops at level 6 are terrible in comparison. It’s base damage is 3500x10. The guns I’m seeing drop now are less than a tenth of this, with assault rifles putting out a measly 2000 or so, and smgs are even worse.

I have absolutely zero problem with this in general. I love grinding and I love the core gameplay. But I feel completely directionless at the moment. All these guns are dropping and I have no way of evaluating them. So, is the goal of the game to find that gun that is massively better than everything around it, which can drop anywhere and at any mayhem level. Or, in contrast, should I be looking for gradual improvements in my weapons and them moving through the mayhem levels?

In short, I’m confused.

Thanks for reading.

#2

The devs did not scale the rest of the legendaries properly. As you increase in mayhem level less weapons become viable. In example a mayhem 10 legendary will feel like its meant for mayhem 6.

The only legendarys that damage scales properly are few and the m6+ exclsuive boss drops.

Thats the game at the moment. Unique hard to find boas drops.

As you increase in higher mayhem levels youll notice less drops and the quality becomes less.

If you look aeound sinxe mayhem 2.0 ull see alot of unhappy customers who were enjoying the game previous 2 mayhem 2.0.

I dont mind the difficulty i mind loot not being rewarding and build diversity died from lack of quality testing before release on the devs part in regards to mayhem 2.0

Im just being real i dont mean to insult anyone.

6 Likes
#3

If you’re having fun, you’re doing it right. If you want to evaluate a particular gun, ask here. You will certainly need to sift between opinion posts about whether or not a gun is worth using (some of us will use whatever trash the game throws our way, where some will not touch anything but the top four weapons in the game), but this won’t necessarily tell you if you will enjoy a weapon. However, you should get a sense of how the weapon works, from which you can take that weapon for a real test drive and make your own decision about whether to sell or keep it.

For increasing weapon quality as you level up, the impression I get from the sporadic developer commentary and design decisions is that you sort of drift your way up in level, using whatever better weapon comes your way, but that is similarly up to you. You can have a friend grind/mail you a fresh, on-level overpowered weapon du jour that can carry you for many levels at a time before it thins out, and just bounce from one of these to the next. You can nurse off the Golden Chest and coast for as long as you can on those drops. You can re-farm bosses for a fresh weapon that you’re fond of, and ride that until it fades… really, whatever floats your boat.

It’s always been one of the charms of all the Borderlands game for me: there is no right answer for how to play as long as you are enjoying yourself. Light couch co-op with family? Time trials with raid bosses? Farming only? One-Lifes? Trash mobbing? Some mixture of these?

6 Likes
#4

This^^

Also a Boom Sickle is a beast so comparing it to a lot of other weapons is slightly unfair, you’ll eventually hit a level where it’s not spectacular anymore and have to play with new gear.

1 Like
#5

To be honest, not all the best guns are legendaries. I played with Blue rarity x18 Double penetrating shredded bang stick for the longest time before I started looking for specific weapons. I replaced the bang stick when I came across better ones and found other weapons that complimented the particular character I was using. Their no real science here, it’s what feels right to you and keeps the game fun to you. I have been following Moxsy, Joltzdude139, and Ki11er Six on YouTube. They give great insight and decent weapon tutorials. Subjectively, you pick and choose what works for you and keeps the game fun! Hope this helps.

2 Likes
#6

You lucked out and got one of the better legendaries. Enjoy!

Almost every legendary in this game has what’s known as a “dedicated drop”: a named enemy with an increased chance to drop that weapon. The Boom Sickle has a dedicated drop – Warden in the Anvil on Eden-6 – so if you want to get a higher Mayhem level version of it, you can.

1 Like
#7

Thanks for all the answers everyone.

Yes, I certainly get that impression. It feels a little like the OPQ system gun that I got during levelling (I actually stopped using it as it just felt like I was cheating).

What’s confused me is that it dropped from Warden (I think) on Mayhem 1, but is vastly superior to anything I’ve seen drop in Mayhem 6. The scaling seems off. I would expect base damage to be fundamentally scaled so that an excellent gun dropping at level one can only really out perform the level above or, if it’s a beast, two levels above. But anything in level 4 should, in terms of basic dps, be superior. If this isn’t the case, I may as well just farm mayhem 3, where things fall extremely quickly but I still get a healthy drop rate.

I think my error is that I’m treating Mayhem levels like a structured end game rather than a goofy side show.

I’ll finish up the DLC and then start TVHM.

Love the game though. Best gunplay going.

2 Likes
#8

When it comes to gear in this game, what you must know is that there are only a few weapons that are good.

These weapons change almost everytime GB adds new content.

When they release new content, the previously good weapons are nerfed to force you to get the new weapons from the newest content. Then, they will get nerfed on the next patch.

1 Like
#9

Im late to the party but, personal opinion, 300 hours in the game:
ignore mayhem for now. Im going back to UVHM, i find mayhem pointless, a struggle without fun.
The only reason to play mayhem is to get mayhem level weapons for more mayhem levels later on.
And the current mayhem estate smells of reverting back to the original, or some HEAVY tweaking. So id say its best to stay out of it until it gets a solid fix.

#10

It’s really just “one of those guns” some will play fine many levels above their own level, LOTS won’t. As @Adabiviak said, do what feels fun, I mostly hung out at Mayhem 8 before they scaled it all back because over that enemies had way too much health to be fun.

Fair warning at higher Mayhem levels you’re gonna find that annointed and badasses are tougher that the bosses in the game. They also tend to hunt in packs, it gets messy :rofl:

1 Like
#11

Just a list of weapons and anointments viable in M10.
Anointments depend on who you play
Amara - ASE dmg, 1CH, siren 130. phaseslam and Phasecast are more specific one
Flak - ASE dmg, gamma, 1CH, Rakk
Moze - 50/150, 1CH, IB 125 & 160, AB 130
Zane - sntnl 100

Weapons
SMG
Smog
Redistributor
Kaoson still viable
Bitch
Oldridian
Tsunami

AR
OPQ
Monarch
Clairvoyance
Soulrender
Good juju
NoPewPew

Pistol
Moonfire
Maggie
Thorn
Multi tap

Shotgun
Anarchy
Reflux
The Lob
Recursion
Tigg Boom

Sniper
Krakatoa
Unseen threat
Skullmesher
Sand Hawk

Launcher
Backburner
Plaguebearer
Nukem
Yellow cake

I might miss out some. Many are not scaled properly but those above should provide plenty of variety until 25 Jun when more fixes are coming.
Enjoy.

1 Like
#12

@kenet_550111

I seriously doubt any of the weapons above will be viable once the new DLC 3 is released and the next patch breaks the game even more.

I applaud your optimism but history has proven otherwise.

2 Likes
#13

No one does!

Also 50/150 for those who don’t want a pesky fly around them :wink:

2 Likes
#14

Viable UNTIL Jun 25.

Whether those guns are viable after DLC 3 is speculative.
OP just wants to enjoy the game now.
Let him be.
Anyway, there are a lot discussions similar to your concern in other posts. Please don’t start one in here. Let OP be.
Thanks.

1 Like
#15

Here are some: (I am posting diff weapons since GBX won’t look into most, hopefully they can see the difference in weapons at M10 since they won’t listen or read, it is my last resort, suffication, no breathing, dont give a,…)

#16

Ha! Great quote on the current state of Mayhem and scaling.

#17

What’s this? New weapon?!

edit - back to Minos Prime!

#18

Real funky, this one. No masive gimmicks, just one for more damage. Id say it pairs well with zane and fl4k

#19

Amp damage while scoped if your shield is full? And it’s not even my birthday.

Speaking of funky, I did get an Asclepius shield… not quite sure what its gimmick is other than some nice defensive options as listed. One of those might work well with a Bloodletter (though it’s a waste of the other). Need to take this for a spin.

shield
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