Borderlands PC Walkthrough
An Introduction To The World Of Pandora
Gearbox Software’s pseudo-sandbox action, first-person shooter RPG, Borderlands, has become a landmark addition to this generation of gaming, introducing a number of innovative and spectacular features. Some of the things in Borderlands are just standard improvements on features present in older shooter games, such as multiple-player vehicular control, as introduced to gamers in Halo on the original Xbox, and brand new functions such as a gun manufacturer’s matrix that consists of many randomized weapons put together within the Borderlands universe using the game’s multiple, fictional gun manufacturers.
This Borderlands PC walkthrough will guide you through many of the game’s features for PC, as well as some of the resources available here at Bright Hub to help improve your experience with the game.
Difference Between Console Version And PC Version
There are a few things to keep in mind when playing Borderlands for PC as opposed to playing on either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. For one, the original PC version of the game is gimped and gimped badly. That is to say, of course, it’s nowhere near as bad as Ubisoft’s crippled port of Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 onto PC, but it does come awfully close.
For some PCs running on an ATI brand card, you might notice after the initial install and boot-up of the game, that there are some graphical issues with the shaders. Yes, right out of the box the PC version of Borderlands has some serious graphical issues. To remedy this problem you’ll need to grab the latest patch for the game, which is instantly available once you try to join an internet multiplayer game. A pop-up should direct you to the official website where you can update Borderlands to the newest version, and it makes a world of differences for both the visuals and gameplay mechanics.
Another thing where the PC version differs from the console versions is the lack of split-screen support. But, most PC gamers are well aware of this for most PC ports.
The highlight of the PC version, if you didn’t already know, is the modification support and this too can add quite a bit of life to an already engaging and addictive game.
Controls: Keyboard And Mouse Versus Gamepad
Odd as it may seem, but Borderlands is actually a game that’s best played with a game controller, even on PC. For hardcore PC enthusiasts, this might sound like sacrilege given that it would seem almost impossible to fathom that a gamepad could emulate the pin-point precision offered by a mouse, especially when the combination works so well for games like Crysis, Counter Strike, Operation 7 and Combat Arms.
Nevertheless, whether gamers would like to believe it or not, Borderlands for PC is actually a port of the Xbox 360 version of the game. Seems wrong, right? Anyway, the controls are best suited for an Xbox 360 controller, and rumble is only supported for an Xbox 360 controller. Hence, if you don’t have an Xbox 360 or Microsoft related controller, you won’t get full rumble support.
Still the game isn’t unplayable with the keyboard and mouse and those who prefer that setup can very well stick with it.
Character Classes
There are four playable characters each attached to a somewhat RPG archetype class. The four classes include:
Berserker: This is equivalent to the tank for most RPGs. The Berserker’s name is Brick, and he basically pummels his way through opponents using his special abilities. The class guide for the Berserker further details some of his special abilities, as well as skills.
Siren: Known as Lilith in the game, the Siren has a lot of spectral abilities, including Phase Walk where she becomes translucent while dealing moderate damage to nearby enemies. You can find out all about her class skills and abilities in the provided link to the Siren class guide for Borderlands.
Soldier: The Soldier in Borderlands is about as standard-fare a character class you can get. He’s equivalent to most warrior archetypes in other games. You can learn more about his special abilities and skill sets here at Bright Hub through the provided link for the Soldier class in Borderlands.
Hunter: Housing a cool name like Mordecai and using a Blood Hawk as his special ability, the Hunter class in Borderlands is a unique long-range type character that combines elements of most RPG Assassin class characters along with skills equivalent to most RPG Archers. The complete Hunter guide here at Bright Hub breaks down the rest of his skills, weapon affinities and special abilities.
Downloadable Content
There are a number of expansion packs or DLC (downloadable content) additions that both expand and prolong the Borderlands experience.
The Island of Dr. Ned was the very first expansion pack released for Borderlands, offering gamers a dynamic zombie-filled adventure with tons of new quests, weapons and enemies to fight. The game also incorporated the ability to shoot off body parts while enemies still came pursuing after the player.
Mad Moxxi’s Underdome was more like a supplemental expansion, and while gamers weren’t entirely too thrilled about its lack of content, it did open up the option to store items and weapons, as well as arena-based mission structures for players who wanted to do nothing more than go around and shoot the living daylights out of bad guys with friends.
The Secret Armory of General Knoxx was the largest and most expansive content pack released for Borderlands. Gearbox added tons of additional gameplay content, including brand new items, new level caps and even a brand new vehicle.
Claptraps New Robot Revolution was the latest DLC made available for Borderlands, and offers up brand new missions, items and multiplayer experiences, along with an increased level cap.
Modding Borderlands And Weapon Guides
As of the writing of this walkthrough guide, there are no SDKs (software development kits) available for Borderlands. However, there are tools available to build custom weapons as well as some PC console tools to enhance, modify and alter the game to your liking.
Borderlands Mods and Hacks is a guide that focuses on getting the most out of the game using gun mod tools and hacks for the game.
Borderlands PC Weapon Guide provides gamers with inside information about the weapons, weapon classes, weapon types and weapon grades available in the game. Find out exactly how specific weapon types work and which kind of guns you can look forward to using in the game. The Xbox 360 version of the game has a slightly different weapon cache than the PC version, and you can check out the Borderlands weapon guide for the Xbox 360 here as well.
For those who don’t know, Borderlands has seven different weapon categories that includes shotguns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, pistols, rocket launchers and revolvers. Under each class of weapons there are sub-categories, including automatic shotguns, scoped pistols or revolvers, or hunting rifles. There’s literally a gun in the game somewhere at some point for everyone.
Hopefully this basic Borderlands PC walkthrough helped set you on the right track for gathering all the necessary information about the game. For more walkthroughs and guides for Borderlands, be sure to check them out right here at Bright Hub.
This post is part of the series: Borderlands Walkthrough
A walkthrough of borderlands covering all of the main storyline quests and giving tips for leveling and getting items as well.
