Borderlands 3 has now been out for around two-and-a-half months, and in that time many of its players will have had ample time to reach level 50 and get stuck into its endgame content. As a result, the latest major Borderlands 3 patch focuses heavily on the endgame. In addition to the new Takedown at the Maliwan Blacksite and Mayhem 4 difficulty, Gearbox has also made an array of tweaks to the endgame balancing of three of the four Vault Hunters. (Gearbox are apparently happy with Amara’s current balance.)
Borderlands 3 Endgame Balance Changes to the Vault Hunters
“For this patch, we adjusted many passives involving companions such as Iron Bear, Digi-Clone, and FL4K pets in general,” explains Gearbox; “We wanted to increase their viability for later levels of Mayhem while also targeting some passives that were underperforming compared to some others.”
When it comes to Moze, Iron Bear’s damage has gone up per level, up to 150% at maximum level. The Experimental Munitions skill also now deals bonus fire damage on critical hits, while the Scorching RPM also gives +5% Hard Point damage per level. Vampyr will now grant Iron Bear half the healing bonus when it deals area damage. In addition, Iron Bear’s Bubble Shield has gone up from 20% up to 50%, and the mech now has the ability to send barrels flying when you melee them.
Zane has also had a buff to some of his skills. SNTL damage has gone up by +2% per level, for instance. The bonuses from Donnybrook, Pocket Full of Grenades, Cool Hand, Violent Violence, and Violent Speed can now stack twice. The Best Served Cold damage and radius are up by +2% per level. Confident Confidence now increases max damage to 35% instead of 20%. Meanwhile, Trick of the Light now does 36% bonus instead of 18%. (And has the Cryo element now.) Borrowed Time’s duration is up to 30% per active skill and Double Barrels’ bonus is up to 25%. Meanwhile, the bonuses from Violent Violence and Pocket Full of Grenades have been slightly decreased. Finally, Quick Breather now restores 50% of your Digi-Clone’s health.
FL4K’s endgame changes focus mostly on boosting pet damage. In general, pet damage now scales 10/5% per level instead of 9%. Plus, numerous pet skills now add a pet damage bonus; Grim Harvest (7% per level), The Most Dangerous Game (9% per level), Interplanetary Stalker (1% per stack, per level), Furious Attack (0.6% per stack), and The Fast and The Furryous (10% per level). Lick the Wounds now grants a pet damage buff after the pet revives a player. Plus, the damage from Psycho Head on a Stick and Pack Tactics has gone up. Finally, Megavore no longer rewards critical hit bonuses from self-damage.