Skip to main content

Gearbox lays out the future of ‘Borderlands 2,’ starting with new character Krieg the Psycho

Borderlands 2 Krieg the Psycho
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When it comes to their other projects, Gearbox Software isn’t exactly known for their timeliness. It took them more than five years to deliver Aliens: Colonial Marines after first announcing the game. Two years back Gearbox announced Brothers In Arms: Furious 4 at E3 and then promptly never brought it up again. On the bright side, though, Gearbox never keeps its legions of Borderlands fans waiting for long. Whether it’s new downloadable content, new patches, or even full-fledged sequels—Borderlands 2 did hit just three years after the original—there’s been a steady stream of Borderlands in the world since 2009. The studio started teasing big changes for Borderlands 2 at the beginning of the month, including a new playable character, and now it’s shared all the details.

Borderlands 2 will get the brand new, aptly named Pycho Pack expansion in May. The $10 downloadable content’s main course is the new playable character, Krieg the Psycho. Krieg will give people their first chance to play as one of the game’s iconic bad guys, the mask-wearing psychos, and his unique skill sets will be built around their charming, unhinged personalities. His skills are broken into Bloodlust upgrades that focus on combat boosts, the fire-based Hellfire abilities, and Mania skills that turn him into a berserker. No word on whether Mania skills will make Krieg start muttering hilarious nonsense, but knowing Borderlands’ writing staff, it seems likely.

Recommended Videos

Before Krieg comes out, though, there’s also the Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade downloadable content that comes out on Apr. 2. This $5 set raises the level cap in the game from 50 to 61, and introduces a new difficulty mode only for characters above level 50. That mode has whole new weapons and rebalanced enemies for masochistic and/or obsessive players to throw themselves at. This set is included for Season Pass holders.

Neither of these expansions are the fourth and final campaign expansions promised for the Season Pass. That will follow in June. There may well be more downloadable content after that, though. At SXSW when Gearbox first teased Krieg, it said the fourth campaign expansion would only be the last entry in the “current” Season Pass, implying that another round of paid campaign expansions will follow in late 2013 and 2014.

Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
Gearbox to roll out free Borderlands 3 next-gen upgrade, 4-player split screen

Owners of Borderlands 3 will get a free upgrade for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X once the next-generation consoles arrive in this year's holiday season, in addition to an up to four-player split screen feature.

The free next-gen upgrade was revealed at the Gearbox PAX Digital Showcase, where it was also announced that cross-play capabilities will be coming to Borderlands 3 in 2021.

Read more
Gearbox employees reportedly denied promised Borderlands 3 royalty bonuses
best halloween gaming events of 2019 borderlands 3 captain haunt

Gearbox Software employees were reportedly denied promised royalty bonuses linked to Borderlands 3, despite the looter shooter's massive sales success.

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford told employees that they will receive bonuses, but nowhere near the up to hundreds of thousands that many expected, Kotaku reported, citing six anonymous sources close to the studio.

Read more
How does the Regen Shield work in Valorant?
Jett illustration from Valorant.

A Valorant fans know well, the only types of armor you can purchase were Light and Heavy Armor. Now, with Patch 9.10 out and available to the public, players have access to a new type of Shield called the Regen Shield.

With any new weapon or mechanic in Valorant, fans will rightfully be a little confused about how it works and if it's even worth purchasing during a match. We'll explain what the Regen Shield does, how much it costs, and any other details that will help you decide whether it's a good addition to Valorant.
What is the Regen Shield in Valorant?

Read more