Weapon parts crafting

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Handsome Collection General Discussion
#1

Here’s my question/idea :slight_smile:

How hard would it be to implement weapon parts crafting in BL2 and TPS ? The reson behind it is simple, even though you have improved the drop rates getting the right combination of element grip/stock/sight is nearly impossible by legit means. It takes a lot of fun away from the game to have to endlessly tediously farm hundreds of times to even get a shot at a combination that’s half of what you want. People have school/jobs etc. - I understand farming is a crucial part of the game and it can be fun when the drop rates are decent - after the drop rate fix getting something you want has a good effort/payoff ratio - what I’m after is something for all the dedicated people who finished the game 3 times on all difficulties and done the OP challenge up to level 8 - I think it’s only fair to give players a new customization option for getting through all this. I’m thinking something along the lines of maybe coding Earl in Sanctuary (I play BL2) and some similar NPC in TPL to give players the option to say buy parts for Eridium ? Wouldn’t this give the game much more depth, take away the endless hours of tedious farming to get that ideal grip/stock/element combo and give an additional option to customize weapons cosmetically with different sights as well ?

#2

Probably unrealistic, since you’d have to add a weapons station, figure out how to manage a list of parts on top of everything else in the save files, etc. BL2 is already straining the limits of the older consoles (and breaking the Vita port by all accounts), but implementing something for new consoles/PC only would be unfair at this stage.

This is an idea that’s been suggested quite a few times as a potential feature for the next game (or as a specific DLC add-on), but opinion on desirability has been pretty evenly mixed for/against. Some like and want it, others are against it. I’m undecided on the issue. I personally like the Grinder in TPS as a compromise solution, but even that isn’t universally popular.

We’ll see what GBX thinks about the idea in due time, I hope!

#3

You don’t need a part list if its too complicated, just a full list of combinations or just make a list of parts and make the game switch the whole weapon for the one you choose instead of just swapping out parts.

#4

I was thinking more in terms of the parts a particular player had. For comparison, think about the workshop in FO4 etc. Parts are going to take up space somewhere - either an extra bank in your inventory, or a separate list in the workbench (kind of like your bank storage or the stash).

Unless you were thinking that you’d just purchase from a list of upgrades/parts at a workshop, and they were automatically added to your selected weapon with the displaced parts simply being discarded?

#5

You choose say an element or a part from a list and all the game does is switch your current weapon for a version witch your selections included. If you did this on a one upgrade per say 500 eridium basis, people could switch only one thing at a time - that wouldnt be too complicated for the game to switch your say rustlers jakobs shotgun with a torgue stock for a rustlers jakobs with a hyperion one, or switch the primary accessory and thus just switch the prefix. All the combinations are already in the game.

#6

Btw i can’t imagine why people would have anything against it, it allows more customization and personalization of the weapons, every decent loot game has some crafting system. It would allow people to get that perfect gear they want through legitimate means of playing, the base item wouls still have to be farmed (legendary/unique) it detracts from hours upon hours of tedious idiotic grind with no assurances you ever find the combination you’re looking for. Where’s the problem ?

#7

The perception was that it would change the nature of the game from actively pursuing loot by taking on mobs and bosses, to repetitive workshop grinding/tinkering. I guess folks were comparing it to the ways crafting has been implemented in RPGs such as the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games; the feeling of those against was that it would dramatically slow down the co-op game (more than it is already). The counter to that (much like the grinder in TPS) is of course, don’t use it if you don’t like it. I think there is definitely a spectrum amongst Borderlands players between the hardcore grind/craft/skill RPG and the first-person twitch shooter specialists. I find myself somewhere between those two extremes, so the existing BL1/2/TPS suit me just fine.

#8

Yeah but how is just changing parts in guns change the nature of farming? Like I said the base you still have to farm, you may get lucky and get some of your desired parts in it even, and then after the looting is done you can enjoy the option of customizing your guns say after you finished OP8. How does that detract from the game instead of adding it more depth is beyond me - not only would people have more options to play with, but wouldn’t have to grind a single boss 500 times and waste a month on it to then give up anyway, because like I said getting a legendary is one thing getting one with a desired prefix is aonther - getting it with a prefix parts and element you want is impossible through legit means now. I understand farming but there’s farming and there’s tedious mind-numbing waste of time that actually makes you not want to play the game instead of actually playing it and having fun. One last thing is that it would allow to tweak builds to an even more interesting level having the option to control all avliaiable aspects of guns to a degree that the game allows.

#9

Because most folks in previous discussions were thinking of a complete crafting system rather than just a one-part purchase upgrade. Your version is actually a reasonable option, and it would provide a use for eridium once storage is maxed other than raid boss fights and slot machines. I’d still think it unlikely to be added at this late stage, but it’s worth dropping into one of the “things we’d like to see in BL3” threads (of which there are many!)