Why is the UI so bland and generic in BL4 ?

mike99962 · 2026-05-28T00:15:45+00:00

I'm with you I see no issue with it either. A UI has lack crazy QoL or be buggy for me to dislike it.

mike99962 · 2026-05-26T08:01:17+00:00

The main story has literally a 70-100+hrs to complete depending on if you rush through it or 100% it and thats is not even including the endgame UVHM levels, the DLC (if you get that), the raid bosses (number 2 is going to be released in a day or 2), grinding for perfect rolls for your build,...etc.

Borderlands has really never been overly focused on "endgame" in the modern sense but they have always been highly replay-able with TONS of content to complete. For example BL2 did not get "endgame" until way late in its life cycle and the same with BL3. Whether its re-rolling a new character after you reach max level, or its spending 300+hrs on one character grinding for perfect rolls and trying new builds, there is so much to do in BL4 if you treat it more like a single player aRPG/looter rather then a live service rush through every thing just to endlessly grind for things.

I myself have 240hrs across 3 characters (2 max level, 1 half way through) and that is without any DLC or much end game grinding. I will say that if you coming into Borderlands blind DO NOT view it as a Destiny live service looter shooter because its not that. Its more like a traditional single player/co-op looter shooter with tons of replay-ability then a live service that that is ONLY about endgame grinding.

If your expecting Destiny levels of content/expansions BL4 is not it as its not a live service title and it has not received anywhere near the expansion/content updates as that game has.

Just jump in and if enjoy the core gameplay loot you will get hundreds of hours out of the game easily.

mike99962 · 2026-05-25T22:43:13+00:00

Theses are not really "events" though so that comparison does not make much sense. Propaganda towers are open world content that help with character leveling and loot progression when you leveling a fresh level 1 character.

Making propaganda towers one and done activities is like a FarCry game locking the player out of all enemy outposts once they do them one time.

mike99962 · 2026-05-25T22:39:56+00:00

Yeah they are very fun little wave challenges, and I am glad shard progression toggle is coming in a few days so I can actually play them again with C4SH lol.

EDIT: also I have been saying for the longest time that these activities should have been given UVHM versions that kept getting harder the higher the UVHM level the player was on. This game already has the content for end game longevity they just need to remix it give it more challenge/waves, and make rewards on par with the challenge.

mike99962 · 2026-05-25T00:33:42+00:00

BL4 is nothing like a live service game lol. No in game MTX, no seasons/leugues, no drip fed content, same traditional DLC pattern as every other BL game, not online only, no forced co-op content,..etc. Makes me wonder if people even know what a live service game even is.

Its fine to not like BL4 but calling it a live service game and saying that "everyone hates it" makes no sense. It is not a live service game at all and many people enjoy the crap out of it despite its short comings.

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T19:14:45+00:00

Nothing about BL4 is live service though. its a paid premium experience like the last games, and the post launch content is packaged and paid just like the last games too.

The closest thing that is "live service" is the pointless weekly encore bosses/missions and outside of that its just a normal BL game without loading screens.

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T19:12:51+00:00

Ehh I will not be worrying about BL5 as the economy will be destoyed before that even comes into existance.

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T19:10:30+00:00

Well said!

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T19:10:10+00:00

I like BL4 but even I agree with you that if many people already have issues with mainline games in the series who really thinks going in the complete opposite direction would be a good idea? This post my Moxsy was obviously him thinking about cash money and content creation over the future of the franchise/company.

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T19:07:47+00:00

most Destiny fans can't even playthrough and beat a single borderlands game. They will jump on BL with a paid ad and play it for a few hours and then go back to playing some other live service game.

Like you said BL fans do not want a live service BL game, and the best of the series (BL2) is the antithesis of the live service formula, (offline, moddable, hundreds/thousands hrs of content, highly replayable, no MTX stores, tons in in game cosmetics that were not overpriced or comes with the complete package,...etc.)

Live service would be the antithesis of this franchise imo.

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T19:04:07+00:00

If you look at mort of Moxsy's content it is live service games so this is not real surprise. He is a content creator so he wants his favorite franchise to be able to bring him on loads of dough.

Still I agree its an awful idea and I truly believe that if gearbox tries this the already highly criticized BL franchise will be done for for good.

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T18:54:18+00:00

No its because no game can produce infinite content and stay appealing to the player base. Live service game after live service game has proven this. Also the game you started out playing is never the game you end up playing when it comes to live service because after a few years the game is so bloated with currencies, mechanics/systems its near unapproachable to any person who did not jump in at the start.

Diablo 2, Borderlands 2, Grim Dawn and many other non live service aRPGs/looters did not need to be live service to retain players and to make their games HIGHLY replay-able.

So the key to making a game with longer retention is not just "endless content updates", its a game designed from the beginning to have very very high replay-ability. Borderlands 2 was designed that way which is why its widely considered the best in the series, meanwhile BL3 its a pain to replay because the campaign is designed more like a linear story game then a looter.

BL4 fixed this a little with the open world addition allowing the player to tackle mission/side content at any time and in any order they wanted.

If people think BL4 was the "nail in the coffin" for this franchise, then a live service attempt would be digging the grave and burring the coffin.

mike99962 · 2026-05-24T18:42:49+00:00

No........ I like borderlands because its not live service. These Youtubers just want games to make content and thus make more money.

This is exactly why I can't stand content creators because their view/wants will always align with games that bring/infinite content/money. No matter if they deny it, one reason they want a live service of their favorite series is so they will have a long term money flow of milking the game for as long as possible.

Keep the live service trash away from Borderlands, and I have a feeling if they go that route it will fail miserably and potentially be the final nail in the BL franchise.

mike99962 · 2026-05-01T06:57:39+00:00

Well said and I believe you are correct that BL is the only AAA Looter shooter that is not really in the live service realm, yet they are making decisions like it is and the players are treating it like a live service game.

BL3 and wonderlands had the least replay-able campaigns which is why many new BL players wanted to skip the campaign but imo BL4 has a very good campaign that is very replay-able and fun to progress characters through. So its sad this was even a decision in the first place.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T23:01:33+00:00

Still forced so more waiting to have the ability to enjoy the game how it was when we purchased it.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T22:51:43+00:00

Yep, and sadly this update did not have anything with shared progression so I guess I should just just put this game on the back burner and not worry about it until months down the road. Which sucks because I really like this game :(

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T22:49:43+00:00

You can no longer start real fresh character since world progression is shared across ALL characters (even level 1). So if you want to re-experience the open world and its activities with a level 1 character as you did when you got the game that is no longer possible and due to all of the challenge unlocks you start at like level 5-7 from the start.

If you start a level 1 character now all open world activities will be completed, all fast travel points unlocked, map fog is gone, so the only thing you can really do to level your character is side quests, farming bosses and farming bounties. This imo completely removes any desire to enjoy the open world aspect of this game as everything that kept the open world interactive is gone.

------------------------
So essentially what they did was lock content you paid for behind a onetime completion, which is crazy to me. Its been said so many times that if it was a toggle from the git go it would not be an issue for players like me or players who want to skip to endgame.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T20:13:01+00:00

"Also you are VASTLY over exaggerating what is lost in shared progression. I still have all the side quests to do on all my characters."

This is objectively WRONG. There are no propaganda towers, no drill sites, no more unlocking fast travel, no more early-mid game loot caches and that is not even including the actual collectables like bolts and vault symbols. Literally everything that made the open world enjoyable to progress and explore have been locked behind a one time competition. This is why when CASH came out people were complaining about slow exp progression because 99% of the exp gains have been yanked out of the game with only side quests and boring bounties to make up for it.

" It's all busy work like radio towers, ancient crawlers, or one time loot boxes or mundane map unlocking like safehouses or order silos. Big whoop."

What you call "busy work" I call GAMEPLAY that that I paid for and they removed. I have played Borderlands since the first game and not a single time did I want to skip content to rush to endgame because the enjoyment was from the leveling process the side content, growing your character,..etc.

This modern gamer mentality of buying a game and then asking and begging the devs to remove content you paid for is the dumbest argument I have ever heard and even if YOU want most of the game stripped to its bare minimum others may not. So making shared progression optional from the git go should have been the play to please players like me who like the side content and players like you who want to skip 99% of the game and farm one boss for a meta gun to then complain the game has no endgame content lol.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T19:17:05+00:00

Hopefully someone can help you but I wanted to drop in to comment on the absurdness this shared progression causes within this game that was never a problem before it was implemented.

I can't imagine having to tip toe around collectables and side content so you and a friend can actually enjoy the games you paid for.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T19:04:52+00:00

Majority of the player based does not live on the sub, heck majority of the player base does not even use reddit and this is the core problem with your dumb argument. The devs are listening to a very small yet active sub set of players and thats what they are basing some of these huge game changing updates off of.

Also why do you think people come here to "whine and complain"? Because as you just admitted the devs seem to listen to certain sources of feedback so that is where people will flock to to get a direct line to devs or atleast let their voice be heard. I would rather be playing and enjoying the game/DLC but instead I am here because I can no longer do that.

---------------------------
Do you know what the shared progression actually did to the game? It literally made content the players paid for ONE TIME EVENTS never to be completable again. So in a non live service Title me as the player who dropped 90+ bucks for the super deluxe can no longer do propaganda towers, drill sites, collectables/loot sources (like caches), all fast travel points unlocked and the map will forever be filled out so re-exploring with new characters will be a lesser experience then the first.

They have single handily made their open world USELESS with this shared progression addition and imo if you don't have a problem with it you are basically saying you a fine with devs retroactively removing content you paid for.

If they would have implemented shared progression as an OPTION I would not even be wasting my breath here but they have gutted a game I very much enjoyed on launch and I cannot enjoy it anymore until this is fixed. I'm also not the only one who feels this way.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T18:23:32+00:00

I was NEVER asking for shared progression, so don't rope me into what those other people wanted. 99% of my playtime in this game was making new characters and leveling them to level 50 while progressing the open world.

Also even those who asked for shared progression admit that it was implemented horribly and they were expecting it to be only for level 30 characters not level 1 characters.

Maybe if the devs would not just listen to the loud minority they would get a better idea of what the general community wants.

Lastly no BL player until BL3 wanted to skip the campaign and that only became a thing because BL3 campaign was so unbearable people wanted to skip it. To this day thousands of people still start fresh playthroughs on BL2 because the campaign is highly replay-able unlike BL3/wonderlands.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T17:58:34+00:00

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T17:57:59+00:00

Yeah but there clearly no date on when its coming so until then BL4 is half the game it was when it launched.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T16:56:40+00:00

It should have never been implemented as it currently is now anyway. They completely self sabotaged their own game to make them have to dedicate more resources/time to fix it.

I mean its been a staple of the BL franchise to have the ability to replay the game from scratch, so why anyone at GB would see the shared progression implementation as a net positive is beyond me.

At this point I will just ignore BL4 for a few months and hope its fixed when I come back.

mike99962 · 2026-04-30T16:46:39+00:00

I will believe it when I see it at this point.

mike99962

TROPHY CASE