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★ I finished the Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC. My feelings are...mixed? The story bits are great, but the level cap increase was implemented in the weirdest way possible and honest to god, it took the community like an entire week to figure out what happened to Overpower levels and equipment. I spent most of my time from levels 72 to 80 wondering "what level is this thing that just dropped" and "can I use this--I guess so?" so THAT was a good time.
★ Story-wise, I LOVED this DLC. I loved the horrifying backstory for the main villain, a former Dahl commander who was buried alive in a mining accident--buried alive by design, as the Dahl corporation decided it would be easier to seal up the ruined mine rather than attempt a rescue operation. He manages to keep his company alive and eventually escapes; his obsession with taking over Pandora and terraforming it is how he movtivated his men and himself so they wouldn't, y'know, die from despair after their employer tried to kill them and hide the evidence. I also like how Dahl's sudden retreat from Pandora in the years before the series starts continues to have serious consequences in the present. (Zarpedon and the Lost Legion were one of my favorite parts of TPS
★ I felt the "Lilith grows into a true leader" theme was a bit heavy-handed, but I guess it was necessary given how bloodthirsty she came across in the pre-sequel. The ending did have a bit of a "very special episode" vibe but then, Borderlands does not exactly excel at portraying serious moments.
★ So, the whole plant monster infection thing is really interesting: Pandora has no matured flora in its biomes, but there are spores that naturally fill Pandora's air and, if activated, turn into rapidly growing vines and flowers. The spores are also present in every living creature's lungs, and they become parasitic when activated in a creature's lungs. Anyway, when it's mentioned that Pandora doesn't have any mature flora or forested biomes or anything like that, I was like, "Wow, they're right, absolutely no map in any Borderlands game has what you'd consider 'mature flora.' Not even places that should, like the tropical island map or the 'jungle' in Hammerlock's DLC--there's just a lot of water and a big leafless tree." It's just...a really neat detail that I never noticed before. Then again, I don't know shit about plants so maybe there's a lot of mature flora and I just don't know it when I see it.
★ I was disappointed that the Vault Hunters don't have any character-specific dialog in the DLC when the last few Headhunter Packs included it but OH WELL. I would have liked to hear what Axton would say to a former Dahl commander who went nuts, or Salvador's feelings on seeing his homeworld turned into a lush, green paradise (just because all the other native Pandorans clearly hate it in a rather amusing way).
★ I think Brick and Mordecai might actually be married (or at least a couple?) in Borderlands 3? Like there's literally a mission where Tiny Tina calls Brick and Mordecai Dad and Mom, respectively, partly as a joke but also....not a joke??? There's another mission where you help Brick make Mordecai a super special sniper rifle to celebrate a year of sobriety and it's really sweet and also titled "BFFFs" which...I mean....I don't know for sure what that extra F is for but....hmmm. HMMMM. And Brick, Mordecai and Tina are clearly some kinda found family unit in BL3 so...yeah. Anyways, their relationship is super adorable here.
★ And finally, favorite lines from the new DLC:
"Vault Hunter, we have a problem. A bee landed on me and I think we're married."
"You get up there and punch Hector right in his... cloaca! Is that a plant thing?"
"Good thing I had that bio-scanner sittin' around, huh? Please don't ask what I was doing with it, though. That is between me and my glutes."
★ Story-wise, I LOVED this DLC. I loved the horrifying backstory for the main villain, a former Dahl commander who was buried alive in a mining accident--buried alive by design, as the Dahl corporation decided it would be easier to seal up the ruined mine rather than attempt a rescue operation. He manages to keep his company alive and eventually escapes; his obsession with taking over Pandora and terraforming it is how he movtivated his men and himself so they wouldn't, y'know, die from despair after their employer tried to kill them and hide the evidence. I also like how Dahl's sudden retreat from Pandora in the years before the series starts continues to have serious consequences in the present. (Zarpedon and the Lost Legion were one of my favorite parts of TPS
★ I felt the "Lilith grows into a true leader" theme was a bit heavy-handed, but I guess it was necessary given how bloodthirsty she came across in the pre-sequel. The ending did have a bit of a "very special episode" vibe but then, Borderlands does not exactly excel at portraying serious moments.
★ So, the whole plant monster infection thing is really interesting: Pandora has no matured flora in its biomes, but there are spores that naturally fill Pandora's air and, if activated, turn into rapidly growing vines and flowers. The spores are also present in every living creature's lungs, and they become parasitic when activated in a creature's lungs. Anyway, when it's mentioned that Pandora doesn't have any mature flora or forested biomes or anything like that, I was like, "Wow, they're right, absolutely no map in any Borderlands game has what you'd consider 'mature flora.' Not even places that should, like the tropical island map or the 'jungle' in Hammerlock's DLC--there's just a lot of water and a big leafless tree." It's just...a really neat detail that I never noticed before. Then again, I don't know shit about plants so maybe there's a lot of mature flora and I just don't know it when I see it.
★ I was disappointed that the Vault Hunters don't have any character-specific dialog in the DLC when the last few Headhunter Packs included it but OH WELL. I would have liked to hear what Axton would say to a former Dahl commander who went nuts, or Salvador's feelings on seeing his homeworld turned into a lush, green paradise (just because all the other native Pandorans clearly hate it in a rather amusing way).
★ I think Brick and Mordecai might actually be married (or at least a couple?) in Borderlands 3? Like there's literally a mission where Tiny Tina calls Brick and Mordecai Dad and Mom, respectively, partly as a joke but also....not a joke??? There's another mission where you help Brick make Mordecai a super special sniper rifle to celebrate a year of sobriety and it's really sweet and also titled "BFFFs" which...I mean....I don't know for sure what that extra F is for but....hmmm. HMMMM. And Brick, Mordecai and Tina are clearly some kinda found family unit in BL3 so...yeah. Anyways, their relationship is super adorable here.
★ And finally, favorite lines from the new DLC:
"Vault Hunter, we have a problem. A bee landed on me and I think we're married."
"You get up there and punch Hector right in his... cloaca! Is that a plant thing?"
"Good thing I had that bio-scanner sittin' around, huh? Please don't ask what I was doing with it, though. That is between me and my glutes."
