Today we will release an update for Borderlands 3, which will be live on all platforms by 12:00 PM PST (with the exception of Mac, which is planned to go live on June 18). This update adds the new takedown: Takedown at the Guardian Breach, addresses the first phase of changes to Mayhem 2.0, and addresses some player-reported concerns.

The seasonal event Revenge of the Cartels officially ends today at 9:00 AM PST! We hope everyone enjoyed the experience, the music, and the gear! With today’s patch and hotfixes, players will no longer be able to travel to the Villa—until next year! For those worried about the availability of the awesome Anointments that dropped as part of this event, those are here to stay! Make sure that you have your hotfixes applied to ensure that they are part of the pool of potential dropped Anointments! 

To apply hotfixes, wait at the main menu until you see a sign that says “Hotfixes Applied”! If you are experiencing any issues or want to provide feedback, please submit a ticket to support.2k.com.

New Content

• Added support for new free content being added to the base game of Borderlands 3: Takedown at the Guardian Breach!

Resident Eridian expert Patricia Tannis has discovered a mysterious Guardian signal on the distant planet of Minos Prime and has asked that you investigate it. 

• Fight For Your Life (FFYL) Improvements:

- Added cooperative reviving. When more than one person is reviving a downed player, the player will be revived faster. This is only supported for cooperative players
- Slowed the movement speed of downed players who are actively being revived by a cooperative player
- Increased the interactive radius around downed players to make it easier to start reviving them
- Added visual FX to the downed player being revived and the player reviving the downed player to help visualize the act of reviving

• Added support to show Mayhem Levels on Item Cards

Stability

• Addressed a reported concern where some players could experience a crash after being kicked three times in a row from a host’s game
• Addressed a reported concern of a crash that could sometimes occur after a client respawns in the mission “Angels and Speed Demons” in Konrad’s Hold
• Addressed a reported concern of a crash that could sometimes occur when engaging with enemies with the Wedding Invitation with the Galaxy Brain Mayhem modifier active
• Addressed a reported concern of a crash that could sometimes occur when the host entered combat at the beginning of the fourth round in Cistern of Slaughter
• Addressed several reported crashes

Optimizations

• Improved performance when navigating vending machines
• UI Optimizations for consoles
• Improved Inventory performance
• Improved Quick Menu performance
• Improved Main Menu performance
• Improved Item Inspection performance
• Improved Buddy Widget performance
• Improved Modal Tutorial performance
• Improved memory by removing unnecessary frames from the Skill Tree menus
• Improved performance when dragging and dropping items in the inventory menu
• Addressed a reported concern that players would sometimes experience a noticeable frame rate drop when navigating the character menu in splitscreen
• Addressed a reported concern that performance would somethings drop after picking up the ECHO log during “The Demon in the Dark” in Konrad’s Hold
• Improved HUD performance

General

• Addressed a reported concern that the camera would sometimes tilt sideways when using a high fire rate weapons and strafing at the same time
• Disabled all controller input when the game window is not in focus on PC
• Disabled access to the Quick Menu when players are in vehicles or turrets
• Addressed a reported concern that an Outrunner can sometimes be launched into the air and out of playable space when a user enters the vehicle in Meridian Metroplex
• Addressed a reported concern that the bodies of dead enemies would sometimes stretch when inside the elevator in Konrad’s Hold
• Addressed a reported concern that the Host player can escape the map when crouching in the doorway of a client’s room when they leave their session in Sanctuary
• Addressed a reported concern that hitting an out-of-bounds area with a vehicle would trigger FFYL
• Adjusted the cost of ammo at vending machines to derive from the player’s level instead of the vending machine’s level
• Addressed a concern that pinstripes and filigree were sometimes missing from some player skins
• Addressed a reported concern that the Anointment “300% Damage above 90%” didn’t work properly with non-flesh enemy types
• Addressed a reported concern that Guardian Perks would only be considered active during the session you unlocked them in
• Addressed a reported concern that elemental puddle decals would sometimes remain for clients when reloading the map while the puddles are present
• Updated Credits
• Added previous Hotfixes to the game
• Addressed a reported concern where the hint bar would appear spaced out and stretched across the bottom of the screen in the Skill Tree menu
• Addressed a reported concern that the Play button in the ECHO log menu would sometimes be displayed incorrectly

Borderlands Science

• Added a 10-second cooldown timer until a player can request to skip the current puzzle and get a new one in Borderlands Science
• Addressed a reported concern where a Borderlands Science booster could be removed when joining another game session

Character

• Addressed a reported concern that the Operative’s Action Skill Anointed effects can be affected by other Action Skills when activating two Action Skills at the same time

ECHOcast

• Added an in-world marker to improve the discoverability of Moxxtails chest in-game
• Addressed a reported concern in ECHOCast where the Moxxtail buff was lost when joining another game session
• Addressed a reported concern with ECHOcast where the Rare Chest winner count stat was incorrect

FX

• Addressed a reported concern where smoke or steam would flicker in Sanctuary after extended gameplay

Mayhem 2.0

• Rebalanced Mayhem stats for enemy health, shields, and armor in Mayhem Levels 7, 8, 9, and 10

Mayhem Levels 7, 8, 9 and 10 have had their stat bonuses to Health, Shields and Armor reduced.  On Mayhem 10, the bonus is now 10,000% instead of 12,500%, and the curve to from Level 7 to 10 has been adjusted accordingly.

• Made a change so only the Host player can roll or apply modifier changes to Mayhem
• Addressed a reported concern that Agonizer 9000, the Kraken, Wotan, and Eista were sometimes not spawning Mayhem Level gear

While we wait for chests and vending machines to support Mayhem Level gear in the next patch, as stated in our Mayhem 2.0 Dev Update, these enemies were fixed so they support Mayhem as a stop gap.

• The Mayhem modifiers Mob Mentality and Chain Gang can no longer be rolled together
• The Mayhem modifier Floor is Lava now fires off less frequently and the damage taken no longer counts towards keeping the player in combat
• The Mayhem modifier Chain Gang now creates beams when the player is closer and dissipates when further away, allowing them to fire less frequently
• Optimized combat timer refresh for Mayhem

The four changes above were made to keep Mayhem 2.0 running smoothly, and we will continue to monitor the performance of Mayhem 2.0 and make adjustments in the future. The Boundary Issues and Drone Ranger Mayhem Modifiers are continuing to go through testing and are not going to be turned back on at this time.

• Addressed a reported concern that players would sometimes not load in correctly after throwing grenades and making changes to Mayhem mode
• Addressed a reported concern that the travel countdown timer would sometimes not display the map name when applying Mayhem modifier changes after the player activated a New-U Station that was not a Fast Travel Station
• Addressed a reported concern that the numerical indicator on the Mayhem pedestal would not display properly after adjusting the level
• Addressed a reported concern that the UI for the boundary turret warning would remain on screen when changing Mayhem settings while in a restricted area
• Addressed a reported concern that the enemy DEATH from the Post Mortem Mayhem Modifier was unable to cause damage to Moze’s Auto Bear or to players in Iron Bear’s gunner seat
• Addressed a reported concern that the enemy DEATH from the Post Mortem Mayhem Modifier would circle in place if spawned from an enemy that the player did not take down
• Added a limit to the number of visual impact effects spawned when projectiles take damage with Post Mortem and Freeze Tag Mayhem Modifiers
• Post Mortem, Healy Avenger, and Freeze Tag will now check for the dying enemy’s allegiance relative to the player when deciding if they should spawn
• Addressed a reported concern that player could be briefly put into FFYL when the Mayhem Modifier Rogue-Lite is active
• Addressed a reported concern that beams spawned from the Boundary Issues Mayhem Modifier could sometimes become visually attached to the player
• Addressed a reported concern that beams spawned from the Boundary Issues Mayhem Modifier would sometimes stay attached to the player after defeating an enemy NPC turned friendly
• Addressed a concern that a beam effect would sometimes not trigger from the Boundary Issues Mayhem Modifier if there was an obstruction between the player and the enemy
• Addressed a reported concern that some heads were sometimes not scaling properly with the Galaxy Brain Mayhem Modifier active
• Addressed a concern that Mayhem Modifier abilities would occasionally not run properly on enemies
• Addressed a reported concern with weapon drops from enemies downed via critical hit while the Lootsplosion Mayhem Modifier was active sometimes not always matching the current Mayhem Level
• Vehicles can now be the targets of Mayhem Modifiers

UI

• Addressed a reported concern where D-Pad glyphs to change the tracked mission were still displayed on the HUD when playing with the Classic button scheme
• Addressed a reported concern where an empty prompt would be displayed on the HUD above the experience bar after spending skill points
• Addressed a reported concern where multiple message slideouts would appear and overlap after disconnecting a controller
• Addressed a reported concern where the speed of the UI menu would vary when adding a splitscreen player
• Addressed a reported concern where the client’s countdown would not appear on the screen after accepting a duel invitation
• Added improvements to text chat
• Updated hint text for changing the viewed event to “Change Viewed Event”
• Addressed a reported concern that parts of the HUD would sometimes be missing when quickly pausing and resuming the game

Hotfixes

This week, we have a variety of gear balance changes, as promised in the Mayhem 2.0 Dev Update, and hotfixes specifically for Takedown at the Guardian Breach. To get the changes and avoid seeing any of these issues arise, make sure that you have your hotfixes applied at the main menu.

To apply hotfixes, wait at the main menu until you see a sign that says “Hotfixes Applied”! If you are experiencing any issues or want to provide feedback, please submit a ticket to support.2k.com.

• Added Revenge of the Cartel Anointments to the permanent drop pool for gear
• Addressed a reported concern that spikes from Mantakores and Korax ignored Zane’s Barrier
• Re-balanced the number of enemies active at one time during Takedown at the Guardian Breach
• Re-balanced the health of some enemies during Takedown at the Guardian Breach
• Addressed a potential progression blocker when fast traveling during Takedown at the Guardian Breach
• Addressed a concern with the Operative’s SNTNL not targeting enemies in some cases

Weapon Adjustments

As stated in the patch notes, we have adjusted the Health, Shield, and Armor stats for Mayhem Levels 7 and higher. As part of that change, we need to adjust gear to reflect that. With the decrease in enemy health, shield, and armor in later levels of Mayhem, all the gear you have currently will feel more effective as you take down enemies in those higher levels. SMGs have proven to be one of the most popular weapon types, so we’ve focused on them with this update. We decided that this amount of change was all we were comfortable with when paired with the scaling changes. We will observe player feedback over the coming weeks and likely make further adjustments as needed.

Weapon Buffs

The number of viable SMGs felt low, compared to the relative depth of weapons of that type.  As a result, several them have had damage increases this week.

• Increased weapons damage on Bitch
• Increased weapons damage on Handsome Jackhammer
• Increased weapons damage on Devoted
• Increased weapons damage on Cloud Kill
• Increased weapons damage on Tsunami
• Increased weapons damage on Ten Gallon
• Increased melee damage bonus on Ripper

The Ripper’s melee damage bonus wasn’t providing enough incentive to execute its intended loop.  We’ve buffed the damage on the melee strike.

• Increased weapon damage on Vanquisher

The base damage for the Vanquisher and its bonus damage while sliding have been buffed. Like the Ripper, its core loop wasn’t being used as the slide bonus wasn’t significant enough prior to this change.

• Increased bonus damage while sliding on Vanquisher

The Ripper and Vanquisher should be very effective now when embracing their unique loops.

Weapon Nerfs

We found that a few pieces of gear were overperforming or not working as intended, which unintentionally pushed players into builds exclusively using them. It also allowed players to bypass the intended growth of moving up the Mayhem Levels over time.  By lowering these values and addressing some data, players should feel able to experiment with other pieces of gear.

Sandhawk

The Sandhawk was creating too many particle systems which we found creating issues related to performance. It also was creating too much damage relative to other sniper rifles. To combat this, we’ve made the following changes.

• Increased Shot Cost from 2 to 3 – We’ve increased the cost of firing the weapon, so that players have to more thoughtfully manage ammo.  With the additional SDUs that were added in The Revenge of the Cartels patch, players should still be able to use this weapon quite a bit.
• Removed 2 projectiles – As stated, the performance cost of this weapon was too high, so we’ve removed two particle systems from each shot.  This also removes some damage output from the weapon.
• Increased Accuracy Spread – To make up for the difference for the missing projectiles, we’ve spread out the pattern, so it still covers the same space.
• Lowered lifetime of projectiles – Too many active particle systems from consecutive shots was really hurting performance, so we’ve lowered the lifespan of the projectile.
• Increased projectile speed – It was important to use to keep the weapon still effective in combat, so to counter the lowered lifetime of the projectiles, we’ve sped them up.  The result is a weapon that still feels as effective as before, and even more responsive.

Yellowcake

We discovered an unfortunate issue with the Yellowcake that effectively added an extra 100% damage beyond its intended output. We are fixing it today.

• Changed Damage Scaling – The wrong scaling math was applying to the Yellowcake, greatly increasing its damage beyond its intended value.  We are changing it to use intended math.
• Split Projectile Damage Decrease – We are lowering the damage of each of its split projectiles as they were overperforming as well.

Kaoson

The Kaoson was providing more power than intended, which made it the go-to SMG.  With today’s changes it should still provide plenty of damage that focuses on explosive damage bonuses, but not quite at the scale as in the past.

• Accuracy Impulse Increased – Its accuracy allowed players to deal pin-point damage, then with the added explosive damage, it was further maximizing output. We are increasing the accuracy impulse to account for the explosive damage bonus better.
• Max Accuracy Increased – At full auto, the spread proved exceedingly tight, again allowing more damage to be maximized than we intended.  We’ve increased the maximum accordingly.
• Critical Damage Reduced – The explosive damage provided by this weapon allows critical hits more frequently, so we are lowering its critical bonus by a small amount.
• Base Damage Decreased – As the Kaoson basically has two points of damage—the initial bullet, and then the explosive round—it was providing way more damage than a typical SMG.  We’re lowering the base damage to better account for its dual damage feature.

Anointment Buffs

Several Anointments in the game were not providing enough value, effectively making them non-viable for players.  In an effort to increase build diversity, we are buffing a number of Anointments.

• Airborne Anointments – We’ve increased the effectiveness of the While Airborne Damage, Critical Damage, and Fire Rate Anointment.  The Airborne Fire Rate Anointment had a bug as well, which is being fixed to substantially improve this Anointment.  We’re anxious to see what builds will be used in Takedown at the Guardian Breach in particular.
• Slide Fire Rate – It had a bug as well that prevented it from providing the intended bonus; we’ve resolved that in these hotfixes.
• Action Skill End – A number of these types of Anointments have been buffed to make them more useful for more builds.  Fire Rate, Next 2 Mag Bonus Damage, and Splash Damage have all received damage increases.
• Auto Bear Active Incendiary Damage – This has received a significant buff to make Iron Bear builds more effective.