Borderlands 3‘s Bounty of Blood: A Fistful of Redemption DLC is out tomorrow! And while the game’s free events such as Bloody Harvest and Broken Heart’s Day has been met with uneven reviews. Their DLC content has been amazing. Seriously, The Handsome Jackpot and Guns, Love and Tentacles were so much fun! They had completely new worlds built-in, complex storylines with sidequests and of course a whole rework of new enemies. Gearbox is definitely generous with their DLC content so I can expect Bounty of Blood to be no exception.
The Story
Bounty of Blood launches tomorrow with a ‘Western’ themed storyline. Matt Cox, the DLC’s director, described Bounty Of Blood as a “harsh story of revenge and redemption”. Set in the harsh desert planet of Gehanna, the Vault Hunters have to claim a bounty on The Devil Riders. A vicious gang of bandits who have been terrorizing the small town of Vestige.
Unlike the previous DLCs, we won’t be getting any returning characters like Gaige and Sir Hammerlock. Sad. I was hoping to see what happened to my boy Krieg. Instead, we’ll be getting two brand new characters as well as an unseen narrator. Okay no Mancubus, I can’t decide if I’m happy or sad about that. The new characters include Juno, a reformed brawler and a katana-wielding warrior called Rose.
Interestingly we heard that “player’s choices throughout the story will have a direct impact on the town of Vestige.” It’s not actually confirmed what will happen but we do know that “your actions will have a tangible and lasting impact on the locals’ livelihoods and on the town of Vestige itself”. This could be anything to affecting the visual aspect of the town itself, or the citizens that live there. But it’s good to see Gearbox thinking of the story replayability. I guess we’ll have to see what happens tomorrow!
What’s New In Gameplay
There are five new objects coming into Bounty of Blood that will force you to change the way that you play and one that won’t.
First is something called a traitor weed. When shot it will release bugs that will force enemies to kill each other for up to nine seconds. Then there’s the core-spider that players can melee, which will allow it to shotgun high-damage shrapnel. The third is a breeze, that acts as a jump-pad to soar players into the air. Lastly, is the telezapper, which is basically a teleporter that will allow you to travel instantly.
Any Western isn’t going to be complete without a mighty steed and in Bounty of Blood, we’re getting a new vehicle called the Jetbeast hoverbike. The jetbeast is half jetbike and half creature and can be outfitted with artillery such as dual machine guns or mortar weapons.”Every Western needs a horse, and for the vault hunter, it’s the jetbeast.”
Level Cap Increase & Skills
Literally the thing I wait for with every update, the rising of the level cap. Right now we’re stuck at 57 and with the new DLC, it’s getting pushed up 3 spots to 60. I’m not sure how much fun those extra three skill points are going to be, but there we go.
On the bright side you’ll definitely need to farm some new gear in order for you to obtain the best loadout possible. So there’s that to look forward to. If you’re anything like me that’ll probably be done in a day or two. Gotta love that grind.
Bounty of Blood will also be introducing three new skills to the skill tree. These are a little easy to miss so remember to scroll down on the Guardian Rank page to see them. The first of the new skills is called Groundbreaker, which will allow melee attacks or slam to trigger an aftershock, dealing 25% of all non-melee damage over the last five seconds. Next is Dead Man Walking, which will allow the Fight for Your Life meter to drain 50% slower when not moving. Last is Lead or Alive, which will allow the player’s guns to be automatically reloaded when entering Fight for Your Life. I’m furiously nodding to that last one right now.
Gameplay
Bounty of Blood: A Fistful of Redemption is out tomorrow but for those of you that can’t wait for Gearbox released a 15-minute gameplay video. I guess it’s high noon somewhere.
For more of our Borderlands 3 guides check out our best list of endgame weapons here and vault hunter breakdown here. Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, while the Bounty of Blood: A Fistful of Redemption DLC is set to release on June 25.
