Any tips for Borderlands?

steel_spine

Hi there,

I've just picked up Borderlands for my 360, and am quite enjoying it so far.
Thing is, I don't play FPS at all normally, and basically I suck at them.
I'm playing as Mordecai, and trying to go for the solo sniper style of play as that appeals most.
However, it doesn't seem to matter how far away or how well concealed I seem to be, as soon as I take a snipe at an enemy, they seem to all be able to detect exactly where I am and I get rushed, which isn't so good if you're trying to play a long range stealthy type.
Anyone got any hints or tips on how to play to make this more enjoyable?
I only play single player btw.

Mr E

You're at the start of the game, so you're pretty underpowered to start off. You're probably only dealing with Skaggs and basic human enemies to start, so try and get critical shots for quick kills (aim for human heads, and skagg mouths). Always keep your eye out for better weapons - something corrosive will work great against those early enemies. I know Mordecai is a good sniper, but you can't beat a good machine gun or assault rifle for a tough spot.

Skaggs can't climb, so take the high ground. For humans, use cover (B to duck). Give your shields time to recharge.

Don't just lash through the main quests - you need to do all of the side quests to level up - this will ensure that you are strong enough for the later quests. If the bounty board says that a mission is "Tough" or "Insane", then believe it. Do the "Normal" or "Trivial" missions first.

Korvanica

if youre picking a single route in your leveling tree id reccomend rogue. Bloodwing can do serious damage when its leveled up, and you get loads of extra items...

steel_spine

Thanks guys, I'm juststarting to find out how useful Bloodwing can be.

Mr E are you sure about the skags not being able to reach high ground? They seem well able to leap up to me, no matter where I'm perched. Or am I just underestimating how high I can climb in this game?

Karmafaerie

Carry two or more sniper rifles if that's your weapon of choice.
Different opponants are effected by the different weapons.

So while a skagg will be taken out by corousive weapons, a bandit may need a shock or incendary rifle to get maximum damage depending on whether he's armoured or not.

Mr E

steel_spine wrote: »

Mr E are you sure about the skags not being able to reach high ground?

Sorry, maybe you're right. Its been so long since I've seen a Skag, I can't remember. A few hours into the game (when you leave Firestone), you only come across them in one area after that.

I know there are 2 huge named skags that you have to kill in 1 mission, and they can be done from higher ground.

tman

Can't really comment on playing as Mordecai/sniping...

To echo what has been said already though, if you're finding the going tough, play the missions with a "trivial" difficulty until you level up once or twice, then go back to wherever you were having problems.

Look through the talent tree and try to figure out which options will suit your style of play best, then only select those as you level up instead of picking random ones from each branch.

Flame weapons for flesh!
You'll be using flame weapons for the majority of the early game, so get a decent one instead of trying to chip away at a bandit's health with a shock weapon

Mr E

I'm just off another 3 hour session in this game. About to do the Crimson levels on my second playthrough, and the game clock is showing 3 days, 9 hours. I have never played another game so much in my whole life.... I envy anyone starting off for the first time.