Why Does Borderlands 3 Break Tradition with Just 4 Playable Vault Hunters?
As a Borderlands super fan since the very first game, I‘ll admit I was surprised when Gearbox stuck to 4 total Vault Hunters in Borderlands 3 rather than expanding the roster.
Previous mainline entries featured more classes – like the 6 options in Borderlands 2. So why scale back?
A Data-Driven Decision for the Franchise’s Future
Well according to Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, analytics drove the design choice to focus development resources into less Vault Hunters with greater versatility.
Reviewing usage metrics for additional characters added post-launch painted a clear picture:
| Borderlands DLC Character | Usage Rate |
|---|---|
| Gaige the Mechromancer | 12% |
| Aurelia the Baroness | 10% |
With such low pick rates after launch, Gearbox reimagined their content strategy – choosing depth over breadth when allocating resources.
Fewer Vault Hunters allowed for more refinement through expanded skill trees and gear scaling. Ultimately enhancing replayability far beyond what Borderlands 2 could offer at the endgame.
An Uncertain Future for More Playable Classes
During a February 2023 episode of The Borderlands Show, Pitchford made clear that while not guaranteed – additional Vault Hunters are not out of the question if fans demand it.
But players only have a closing window of opportunity as continued Borderlands 3 support has its limits in Gearbox‘s eyes.
No concrete plans for more characters have emerged yet. Though Pitchford‘s willingness to listen leaves the door ever so slightly open moving forward.
Maximizing Playstyle Variety with Just 4 Vault Hunters
Even if new classes never manifest – Gearbox designed Moze, FL4K, Amara, and Zane as 4 distinctly different experiences both aesthetically and mechanically.
Each Vault Hunter brings a diverse mix of action skills and skill tree branches tailored to specialized builds.
For example…
- Moze summons a mech suit for heavy firepower or focuses on splash damage and infinite ammo reserves.
- FL4K overwhelms enemies with pets, fades away for critical hits, or cripples foes with radiation.
- Amara obliterates enemies with a giant fist or ties everyone together to share damage.
- Zane equips two action skills at once for mayhem or stealthily assassinates targets.
With each playthrough, you uncover new ways to complement your gear with optimal skill point distribution. And there‘s genuine incentive to experiment thanks to how wonderfully all 4 classes stand apart from one another while dishing out destruction.
More Bang for Their Buck – A Wise Business Move by Gearbox
While speculation will persist around extra characters until Borderlands 3 support concludes, Gearbox‘s choice offered the best dollar-to-value ratio for everyone in my opinion.
Previous games struggled to adequately differentiate additional Vault Hunter DLCs beyond the initial novelty of a new class. Often they overlapped too much functionally with existing roles.
Or lacked the content breadth to justify the price tag for most people except the most devoted players.
By consolidating resources into 4 extremely polished options, Gearbox gave fans more customization tools for a lower cost than releasing underdeveloped characters individually after-the-fact.
Thus benefiting both players through enhanced replayability and Gearbox‘s bottom line. Which hopefully sets the franchise up nicely for future installments.
Because as much I‘ll always crave new Vault Hunters, improving the 4 we have pays off exponentially more in the long run than spreading efforts thin across unnecessary extras.
The Takeaway – Strategy Over Saturation
At the end of the day, Gearbox‘s choice comes down to prioritizing substance over style.
Sure, some may feel slighted by the reduced Vault Hunter count to start. But rather than oversaturate players with lackluster options just for optics – Gearbox strategically invested in the 4 roles fans would actually emphasize post-launch.
And based on player retention metrics since Borderlands 3‘s 2019 launch – that calculated design decision continues paying dividends across the board.
So while we hold out fleeting hope for even 1 more character someday…I for one feel pretty satisfied with Moze, FL4K, Amara, and Zane carrying the loot hunting torch proudly into next-gen.
How about you – are 4 playable classes enough? I‘d love to hear your vault hunter preferences in the comments below!
