With Borderlands 4 nearly upon us, launching on September 12th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC (Switch 2 players will have to wait until October 3rd), it’s a good time to look back on everything that’s changed and improved over Borderlands 3. The latter divided fans pretty heavily, which is a nice way of putting it, but Borderlands 4 does a lot more than just address those misgivings. Here are 15 significant differences between the titles before you buy.
Serious Tone, Only One Meme
Perhaps the most important point among many is the more grounded tone of Borderlands 4 compared to Borderlands 3. Gearbox admitted to IGN that the latter, in its “worst hours” (which were many), sometimes crossed over into parody. The sequel is aiming to avoid all that for an overall darker, more serious tone. This isn’t to say there’s no humor whatsoever, but at most, you can expect at least one meme (and no, it isn’t Skibidi Toilet).
Grapple, Double-jump, and More
Borderlands 3 dabbled a bit with improved mobility and smoother movement, but Borderlands 4 takes it to another level. In addition to sliding, you can glide across gaps (and shoot enemies while in mid-air), clamber up ledges (and automatically climb up certain surfaces), double-jump on the regular, and yes, swim. Even more impressive is how some of these tools are leveraged in combat. See an explosive or elemental barrel? Use the grappling hook to grab and throw it at a nearby enemy. You can even dash in mid-air. Traversing the world is also much easier thanks to the new Digirunner (which can be summoned anywhere) and the Silos, which let you soar into the sky and glide around at a much quicker pace.
Seamless World With No Loading Screens
Though this isn’t an open-world title, Kairos does sport some “open-world-like features,” per Gearbox. The regions feel more dynamic, with a variety of events and activities to discover, and travelling between zones is now seamless. No loading screens or downtime – just straight into the action. A huge improvement over the segmented feel of Borderlands 3 (and other previous titles).
More Dynamic World Design
There are four regions on Kairos that we currently know of, and compared to Borderlands 3, some serious work has gone into making them feel more dynamic. Random events can occur a la Destiny; World Bosses await to be challenged; and while you can pick up various side quests, you no longer have to turn them into the quest giver. You can also hunt down Vault Key Fragments and track down the Vaults in question, challenging (and re-challenging) them for better loot.
Dedicated Ordnance Slot
Grenades and rocket launchers no longer occupy a weapon slot like in previous titles. Instead, they get a dedicated slot for Ordnance, which also allows for equipping other heavy weapons and throwing knives (a new weapon type). As restrictive as this may sound, they’re no longer bound by ammo and can thus be used in combat more often.
Way More Passives, Bigger Skill Trees
Between multiple Action Skills, Skill Trees for each, Augments, and Capstones, there’s a lot of customization in Borderlands 4. The biggest distinction is that the skill trees are bigger than Borderlands 2 and 3 combined, and there are more passives than all previous titles combined. Lead character designer Nick Thurston confirmed to Polygon that each Vault Hunter in 4 has about 80 passives, with Amon, the Forgeknight, offering 87. So, regardless of your choice, there are a lot of options to dive into.
Eight vs. Nine Weapon Manufacturers
Compared to its predecessor, Borderlands 4 features a slight drop in weapon manufacturers – there are eight instead of nine. Hyperion, Children of the Vault, and Atlas are all gone, but in their place, three new manufacturers have been added – Order (which focuses on charged shots at the cost of more ammo), Ripper (which fires full auto after a brief start-up period), and Daedalus (which utilises multiple ammo types).
Claptrap Volume Slider
As annoying as Claptrap, the mascot steward bot who’s been in every mainline title, can be, Borderlands 3 somehow took it to new, aggravating heights. Thus far, he doesn’t seem as bad in Borderlands 4, at least based on snippets we’ve seen, but Gearbox has added a compromise. There is now a separate volume slider for Claptrap, allowing you to turn him down as necessary. Or even turn him up. We won’t judge.
No Minimap
Another major departure from previous titles is the complete lack of a minimap, with only a compass and the main map available for navigating Kairos. ECHO-4 is also on hand for guiding you to objectives, but to help in combat, Gearbox has confirmed the addition of a combat radar. You have to enable it upon starting the game.
Boss and Mission Replay
Tired of having to save reload constantly to farm a boss? Want to replay a mission just to mix things up? Borderlands 4 addresses both with Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine, allowing for rematching against bosses, while mission replay lets you simply replay missions with your current character. It’s truly a brave new world.
Cross-Play at Launch
Unlike Borderlands 3, which added cross-play post-launch, Borderlands 4 will have it upon release, allowing PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 players to matchmake together. You will need a ShiFT account, though, and while that isn’t ideal for many, you can use it to redeem codes for things like Golden Keys. Cross-save and cross-progression, both absent from previous titles, have sadly not been confirmed.
More Challenging Boss Fights
While the Borderlands franchise has its raid-like Invincibles, the story bosses haven’t usually posed too hefty a challenge. Comparatively, Borderlands 4 sports bosses with far more mechanics and tougher challenges. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford even told Insider-Gaming in an interview that he’s “a little nervous” because some points are “more challenging.” And while you could level up and lay the smack down on said bosses, he admitted that the team has “pushed the challenges quite a lot, especially with bosses and boss fight mechanics.”
Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode and Ranks
Usually serving as the de facto New Game Plus Plus in Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel, Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode was conspicuously absent in Borderlands 3, replaced by Mayhem Mode instead. It’s coming back in Borderlands 4, this time as a post-campaign endgame. There are five difficulty levels to unlock and “curated mission challenges” for gaining ranks, which means not having to replay the campaign.
Each rank confers a new Firmware, providing set bonuses for your gear. You can transfer these to a new item once, destroying the original item in the process to ensure your late-game weapons and gear remain relevant. Weekly Wildcards, another new feature, provides guaranteed Legendaries in exchange for partaking in challenging missions (which rotate regularly). You can also battle a special weekly boss who offers increased drop rates, and search for Maurice’s Black Market Machine across the planet.
30 Billion+ Guns vs. 1 Billion+
Remember when Borderlands 3 was touted to feature over one billion guns (thanks to procedural generation)? Borderlands 4 tops that with over 30 billion guns, again thanks to procedural generation (and also because Licensed Parts allow for different manufacturer parts on the same weapon). During development, the team displayed the number of available weapons courtesy of a gun wall, not unlike that legendary scene from The Matrix.
New Playable Vault Hunters Post-Launch
For the first time since Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Gearbox will add new playable Vault Hunters post-launch. Those who purchase the Super Deluxe Edition can access two Story Packs, the first due next year and adding Ellie, the beloved Borderlands mechanic, alongside a new zone, story and side missions, Legendary gear, and much more. The second Vault Hunter remains unknown, but they’re arriving sometime “beyond Q1 2026.”
