Borderlands 3 Beginners Guide (Choosing Your Character, Leveling Up…)

Borderlands 3 Beginners Guide

Borderlands 3 just came out and it is time for us to once again go on an epic journey where we shoot and loot through not only one but many planets full of enemies and wondrous loot.

For those who have experience playing the previous titles you may catch on quickly but a good freshening up is also great to get a jumpstart on your adventure.

Those who are new will be sure to catch on and enjoy this great first person shooter game as we run you through the basics of Borderlands 3.

Creating A New Game

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When creating a new game, you will have the option of choosing between “EASIER” and “NORMAL” difficulty whereas “NORMAL” is usually the standard mode to play.

Choosing a difficulty will only change the difficulty for you and will not affect other players so this is a good adjustment depending if you are new to the game and want to take it easy or prefer to play the game as it is.

Also Read the Other BL3 Guides

Choosing Your Character

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You get to choose between four different characters who each have unique traits and different playstyles which you can later on configure to suit your preference with their skill tree.

The choices for a character are:

  • Amara, the Siren who uses her elemental powers to devastate her enemies
  • Fl4k, the Beastmaster who fights alongside his companions and hunts his prey
  • Zane, the Operative who uses his gadgets and cunning to gain an advantage in battles
  • Moze, the Gunner who unleashes an arsenal of weapons and her iron bear on her victims

Each of the characters has a different skill tree so later on playing with another character can be a whole new fun experience.

It’s advisable to play with a character that you are more comfortable with rather than seeking out which is considered stronger or the best as this is mainly based on the way you play.

Despite his laziness and seemingly unintelligent being, you eventually progress further after the tutorial and eventually make it after almost getting killed by him leading you into a battle where he does nothing.

Missions

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Missions are basically the quests that are in Borderlands 3 and you do these to progress through the story of the game.

There are also side missions which can also be done that can give you experience and other rewards for your hard work as well as a bit of lore and laughs.

Side quests are also a convenient way of catching up on levels if you feel you are having a hard time with the games so that when you proceed with the main story, you are geared up and have an equal level to enemies.

Mission Log

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The mission log contains all of the missions that you have either accepted or completed which always includes the main mission.

If you have a side quest and would like to track it, simply select it and the ingame tracker will focus on the side quest you selected and this works the same when you click your main mission as well.

This is a good way of tracking your progress as well as checking if there are other missions that are available for you to complete.

Getting Gear

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You mainly start out with a weapon that claptrap provides you but will later on be able to pick up different weapons of different rarities.

The choice to either pick them up or equip them are available where pressing the action key will take the item and put it in your inventory or holding it will equip the item.

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You can view the different items that you have in your inventory and drop any if your backpack is full if you need to make space for a better item.

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Later on in the game you will be able to upgrade the amount of slots you have for carrying items as well as the amount of weapons you may have equipped.

You also have the option to increase the amount of ammunition you can carry for each weapon as well as upgrade space for your bank storage.

It is highly recommended that you spend on a lot early on for upgrades for your ammo of the weapons you use as well as backpack storage slots so you don’t need to keep running back to vending machines.

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There are vending machines in most of the areas where you may buy either weapons, grenades, shields, class mods, ammo and more.

It is recommended to not spend money on every new weapon you see and instead save it for later on except when it comes to ammunition.

Ammunition is cheap and its best to refill your ammo before going out on a new mission to avoid running out and having to scavenge excessively for more ammo.

Leveling Up

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Once your experience gets filled up, you gain a level which increases your health and gives you a point which you can use for purchasing one of your skills in the skill tree.

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Each skill tree has an action skill which serves as your main ability that your character may use which also can be modified by action skill augments to change the various effects.

The points you put into your skills in your skill tree will improve your character, making them better for fighting against stronger enemies and making progression much easier.

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If you are unhappy with the skills that you have selected, there is no need to worry since you have the option to respec which allows you to reset skills so you may refund the points and reassign them.

Doing a respect will cost an amount of money so be sure you have enough and try to be more careful with your builds before putting points in your skills.

Looting

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Looting is one of the most important things to do when playing Borderlands 3 since this can get you lots of gear and money.

Most of the time you can make a lot of money and save it for later just by looting and selling trash you do not need.

It is vital to always loot when you have the opportunity to do so and keep an eye out for chests that can hold several goodies for you to collect.

Moving Around

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Some of the maps are pretty big in Borderlands 3 so it is wise to make use of the vehicles that are available in the game.

Transportation is provided and can be acquired at stations once you have unlocked vehicles which is included in the main story so eventually you will be able to use them.

Vehicles also come with different weapons and upgrades which you can make use of to make it not only more safe to travel but fun as well.

Fast Travel

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You do not necessarily have to drive or run all the way back to main locations as there is a fast travel feature which allows you to do so.

This can be done by opening the map and selecting the location you want to fast travel to.

Keep in mind that you may fast travel from any location you are in as long as you have another location available for you to go to.

This can save a lot of time and avoid getting bored by having to drive back and forth between the same areas or speed things up when you need to sell extra gear and rush back.

Overview

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Borderlands 3 offers a lot of face paced combat and great characters, builds and weapons that you can choose from.

It won’t take too long before you get used to the way the game works and keeping the basics in mind is good for later on when you need to figure things out.

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Michael James

Michael James has been an avid gamer since he was young. He loves to play video games and enjoys writing about it to share his experience and ideas with others. Aside from playing, he also enjoys helping other gamers both ingame and on-site.

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