Takedowns are 30-to-40 minute pieces of endgame content in Borderlands 3 that allow up to four players of maximum level (50) to test their might against each Takedown’s final boss. They are a great way to keep players coming back to the game, something both 2009’s Borderlands and its sequel sorely lacked. The thrill of acquiring new loot is largely pointless when there isn’t some kind of postgame to use them. Though Borderlands 2 has a New Game+ in the form of True Vault Hunter Mode, reviving Jack so players can kill him again doesn’t give off the feeling of true progression. Takedowns were a step in the right direction, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands can go even further.
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How Tiny Tina Could Fix Past Missteps
The seven-year wait for Gearbox’s Borderlands 3 was long, even with a brief stop to uncover Handsome Jack’s origins in 2014’s Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel temporarily satisfying fans - despite poor pacing and a rushed development cycle. In September 2019, the actual third Borderlands game released, and while it made some small and significant changes, its Takedowns were an entirely new addition.
Yet Takedowns, for all their advancements, have flaws. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has the opportunity to improve on a winning formula, as the allure of tabletop RPGs is overwhelming freedom of choice, and the endless possibilities that can occur through weeks-long campaigns. Having weapon perks, health boosts, ability perks, and damage bonuses be dependent on luck could make each combat scenario feel fresh. Being lucky and nabbing a shield upgrade could make battles more manageable, and in some cases drastically shorten the often lengthy objectives seen in Takedowns.
The Way Takedowns Should Be
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is different from what players have come to expect of the series, as it shifts focus entirely to Tiny Tina and swaps post-apocalyptic mayhem for Dungeons & Dragons-inspired fantasy worlds. While some tabletop staples like death-saving throws may be absent from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, there should be ways to ensure players don’t have to restart an encounter upon a single death. Equipping a party member with the “Cure Wounds” spell to revive their teammate, or giving a low-health player the change to sacrifice themselves for a high-damage attack would present enticing decisions, would make failed attempts feel like a honorable sacrifice.
Dying in a Borderlands 3 Takedown is annoying, and runs the risk of making endgame content a frustrating meta of trying not to die rather than using an endless supply of guns to dish out damage. Takedown at the Guardian Breach had its enemies’ health reduced in summer 2020, confirming that the difficulty was a known annoyance among Borderlands 3 players, so the top priority if this mode returns would surely be to make enemies less bulky.
The open-ended dice roll nature of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ tabletop setting allows for many opportunities to correcting the rough, yet promising Takedowns from Borderlands 3. Throwing away the mode entirely would damage the game’s endgame content, so evolving its formula to best complement what the game’s visuals, atmosphere, setting, and gameplay are aiming to achieve could be a significant step in the right direction.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands launches March 25 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
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