Grinding for stronger guns and gear are at the heart of what makes theBorderlandsfranchise successful. What comes with those guns is often dependent on the game’s vision, which is why players received anointments inBorderlands 3. However, players could see a change in design philosophy byBorderlands 4.
DespiteBorderlands 3’s widespread popularity, not all of its features were universally loved. Anointments were one of those features, as many players complained it ruined how the loot pools work and that it messed with the class identity of a vault hunter.Borderlands 4could abandon this feature for something that amends both of these issues in one move.
RELATED:Borderlands 4 Needs to Take One Key Feature From Destiny 2
The Future of Borderlands' Meta
To be clear, anointments were a step up fromBorderlands 2’s meta. Previously, players had to rely on the slag debuff to deal the most damage they could. This led to the game becoming incredibly stale, as the strong reliance on slag homogenized many of the classes and their respective gameplay styles. Gearbox Software likely understood this, hence slag being excluded fromBorderlands 3’s long list of guns. Anointments were a more varied take on what the endgame of aBorderlandsgame should look like, as they strictly relied on character abilities to provide the player with unique buffs.
Despite this, many players thought that anointments put a damper on both the loot pool and the gameplay. For the loot pool, anointments would often be a make or break for how good the weapon was. Even a strong legendary weapon could be considered basically unusable at higher Mayhem levels if its anointment wasn’t strong. The gameplay experience was weakened simply by how many of the abilities were activated. Many of them had the condition of “on action skill end,” meaning characters like Moze would be hopping into their Iron Bear only to immediately hop out to get the buff.Borderlands 3’s best skillswere completely diminished by this, making the classes feel more like vehicles for activating anointments.
At the end of the day, anointments were also somewhat of a mundane way of introducing a true meta. Many of them consisted of straight stat boosts, with the most popular often being movement speed and damage dealt. It repeated theBorderlands 2issue of somewhat homogenized gameplay, as players had to rely on their skills activating these abilities in order to achieve their desired effect.Borderlands 4’s vault hunterscould avoid this issue if anointments were made more relevant to the skills more than they were to the boosts they unlock.
Rather than simple stat boosts to a players damage, anointments could become alterations to the functionality of certain skills. This would enhance the class identity of certain vault hunters, while also allowing the class to feel creative. UsingZane and his digi-clonesas an example, a new anointment could create two different digi-clones rather than the usual one, both of which the player could swap places with.
This isn’t to say that all anointments should go away. Some, like speed boosts, greatly enhance the blazing fast gunplay experience. On the other hand, damage boosts often and easily superseded any need for skills to do damage. These should be exchanged with anointments that boost a vault hunter’s skill damage potential, which would enhance its class identity. While it is unknown howBorderlands 4will approach anointments, hopefully Gearbox Software takes another look at them. Of allthe features to come out ofBorderlands 3, anointments should be on top of the list of reworked content.
MORE:Borderlands 4 Might Move Away From One of The Series' Defining Features
