Borderlands 2's Mechromancer Class Drops Today

@Hippie_Genocide: Nope i would not buy it seperately if I did not preorder at least not at the full $10. But this has less to do with the quality of the new character and the fact that there are already 4 bloody great classes in the game. I've sunk 100+ hours into Bordelands 2 and only have 1 class at level cap. There really is little need for a 5th class unless you are already done/bored of the existing 4 classes.

To those that did preorder, knowing what you know now, would you have paid $10 for the mechromancer pack if it had not been a pre-order bonus? I'm kicking myself for not preordering BL2, but I hadn't even played BL1 when it came out. Now that I'm caught up, looking at the trailer it looks really fun. I wish it was part of the season pass but oh well.

@Erlog: You paid $90 for the game and the Season Pass, so you get the game and the content in the Season Pass. From the second it was announced, the Season Pass said "You're pre-ordering four Campaign DLC packs for the price of three."

Nobody scammed you, no one misrepresented anything, no one did you wrong. You chose not to support Gearbox by pre-ordering from one of the select retailers, so pay $10 or no Gaige for you.

Don't like it? Pick up your phone and call someone who cares.

Bought her on PC, £3 something. So I don't think it can be $10/800MSP.

@gkhan said:

As for the whole season pass not getting Gaige though, that's total fucking bullshit. If you pay for a thing that says "You get all the DLC!", you should get all the DLC.

"Includes for brand new individual add-on packs!". You paid for four individual add-on packs. Nowhere does it say that you will get ALL THE DLC. You get what you paid for.

Along with the Mechromancer dropping, so did a bunch of peoples' badass ranks, keys, customization skins, and character saves :D Things droppin everywhere!

@gkhan said:

You should never, ever, have the mindset "Well, I'm gonna buy it no matter what anyway, so lets just preorder it!". Wait for reviews and quick looks,

Which were out days before I would have been required to pickup the pre-order.

@Erlog said:

There's no extra value for pre-ordering because you still pay $60, and you still get the game on launch day.

Well, Amazon customers got a free Mechromacer and a 10 dollar credit, and Best Buy customers who are part of their gaming rewards program received both a 20 dollar credit and the Mechromancer, so I would disagree with both of those statements.

@gkhan said:

As for the whole season pass not getting Gaige though, that's total fucking bullshit. If you pay for a thing that says "You get all the DLC!", you should get all the DLC. She's real fun to play (that Deathtrap can fuck dudes up!), though.

It does not say "You get all the DLC!" It clearly says that you get the four upcoming expansions and that is all.

@ghkhan Oh come on, preordering doesn't mean someone isn't informed about what they're buying. I am a GOTY buyer 95% of the time and preordered BL2 less than a week before it came out because by then there was enough info and videos out there supporting the game. As for the season pass, I hope you've written to Gearbox about it with as much fervor as your reply here :)

@Silvergun said:

@mewarmo990 said:

@RoyCampbell said:

Her skill tree is rife with MLP references. This game's writing is insipid, and revolting. The flagrant use of memes, the pandering. Eurgh.

B2's humor writing is really hit and miss for me.

Yeah, but I can't think of any game out there that tries to pack so many jokes into itself. Maybe that's a bad thing, but I think the net effect is positive. It seems for every failed piece of reference humor you have Salvador humming 'Hall of the Mountain King' while Gunzerking, Claptrap's birthday party, Handsome Jack's violin solo, or Psychos reciting Hamlet.

Like I said, hit and miss. The ones you mentioned were good.

I still love the game. But a few parts for me, like Tiny Tina, were just.... argh.

@knitlife said:

@Erlog said:

Pre-ordering doesn't cost any extra money, though. So there's no complaining about "value" when pre-ordering. It's just a dumb marketing tool to try to get people to buy at specific retailers. Games aren't scarce. There's no reason for pre-ordering beyond marketing.

There's no extra value for pre-ordering because you still pay $60, and you still get the game on launch day.

I used to be on the fence about whether pre-ordering media products is A Good Thing(TM), but pre-ordering can provide extra value to a consumer who was going to purchase the product anyway.

I just fundamentally disagree with this argument. What if Borderlands 2 had been Resident Evil 6, and had totally stunk? Think of all those poor sould who preordered Steel Battallion based on people saying "Tried the demo at PAX, looked pretty cool" (which I remember Patrick saying a version of on the podcast) and bought into that whole "first hardcore game for Kinect!" thing. You should never, ever, have the mindset "Well, I'm gonna buy it no matter what anyway, so lets just preorder it!". Wait for reviews and quick looks, don't let gaming companies fool you into buying something you have no idea if it's going to be good or not. Games cost too much money for those kinds of mindsets.

As for the whole season pass not getting Gaige though, that's total fucking bullshit. If you pay for a thing that says "You get all the DLC!", you should get all the DLC. She's real fun to play (that Deathtrap can fuck dudes up!), though.

@Erlog said:

Pre-ordering doesn't cost any extra money, though. So there's no complaining about "value" when pre-ordering. It's just a dumb marketing tool to try to get people to buy at specific retailers. Games aren't scarce. There's no reason for pre-ordering beyond marketing.

There's no extra value for pre-ordering because you still pay $60, and you still get the game on launch day.

I used to be on the fence about whether pre-ordering media products is A Good Thing(TM), but pre-ordering can provide extra value to a consumer who was going to purchase the product anyway. Amazon, for example, not only included the premiere club/free Gaige, but also a $10 credit for the site. Taking those into account, the pre-order price of the game becomes $40. I very rarely pre-order anything, but found value in it this time around.

Now, should Gaige be full-price for those who bought the Season Pass? No. Purchasing the Season Pass at/near launch, before any of the DLC comes out, is a show of support for the product just like pre-ordering. If you're not going to include it with the story DLC (which they were very clear on w/ the terms of the pass), at least give Gaige at a discount/half price for anyone who buys the Season Pass in the first few months.

Also, Deathtrap is a right beast. I still get a bit of a "girlfriend mode" vibe from Gaige given how powerful that noisy dog is, but it doesn't make her any less fun to play.

@iAmJohn said:

@Suits said:

@iAmJohn: If you pre-ordered it was.

Preordering is and always will be a scam.

And why is that? Loved the first game. I've finished 2 walkthrough of the 2nd game and still playing for loot. I leveled a Gaige to level 23 yesterday. Who robbed me? I really can't tell...

@SpaceInsomniac: Pre-ordering doesn't cost any extra money, though. So there's no complaining about "value" when pre-ordering. It's just a dumb marketing tool to try to get people to buy at specific retailers. Games aren't scarce. There's no reason for pre-ordering beyond marketing.

There's no extra value for pre-ordering because you still pay $60, and you still get the game on launch day.

The bottom line is that I've paid $90, and I'm being treated to a lesser product than the people who paid $60. Does that sound like good customer service to you? From a business standpoint there's zero incentive for me to buy anything from them or give them any benefit of the doubt in the future.

Why should I bother paying the extra money for something in the future when I know can probably expect less content than people who paid 1/3rd less money than I did?

@Erlog said:

Them not giving the new class to people who bought the Season Pass is really terrible business, and they should fix it. I understand looking at the text of the Season Pass they're technically in the right, but it still feels shitty. I spent $90 on their game between the thing itself plus the pass. Now they want $10 more when the whole idea of a season pass in the first place is that you're pre-ordering future DLC in bulk.

Then they start rules-lawyering about what DLC that includes. It makes me not ever want to give them a penny in advance ever again because it's obvious they aren't putting customers first. I spent $30 in advance after buying their $60 game, and for some reason that's not worth as much as pinkie-swearing before-hand that I was going to buy the game. How much is a pre-order worth to them? I can't actually believe from a business standpoint it's worth more than $30.

I showed my dedication buying their dumb Season Pass. Isn't that enough for me to be considered as important or more important than people who preordered from officially-partnered retailers? The whole thing makes me regret buying the Season Pass in the first place since it's obviously not worth a damn.

Timeline: Gearbox announces Borderlands 2, announces Mechromancer as a free pre-order bonus, announces season pass, announces that the season pass will include four campaign DLC add-ons, announces that the mechromancer DLC will NOT be included.

Now, I along with loads of other people purchased the game as a pre-order, and we primarily did so to get the free class. Many of us will also be buying / have bought the season pass. This means that either...

1) Gearbox gives us something that we already have, and pretty much completely invalidates our incentive for our early support of Borderlands 2.

2) Gearbox rewards pre-orders with the new class, and keeps the pre-order incentive a pre-order incentive.

They absolutely made the right choice. If they would have done it the other way, and if you would have pre-ordered the game and bought the season pass, you'd be complaining how your pre-order bonus was pointless, and how the season pass is a better value to people who didn't pre-order.

And you would be right.

Them not giving the new class to people who bought the Season Pass is really terrible business, and they should fix it. I understand looking at the text of the Season Pass they're technically in the right, but it still feels shitty. I spent $90 on their game between the thing itself plus the pass. Now they want $10 more when the whole idea of a season pass in the first place is that you're pre-ordering future DLC in bulk.

Then they start rules-lawyering about what DLC that includes. It makes me not ever want to give them a penny in advance ever again because it's obvious they aren't putting customers first. I spent $30 in advance after buying their $60 game, and for some reason that's not worth as much as pinkie-swearing before-hand that I was going to buy the game. How much is a pre-order worth to them? I can't actually believe from a business standpoint it's worth more than $30.

I showed my dedication buying their dumb Season Pass. Isn't that enough for me to be considered as important or more important than people who preordered from officially-partnered retailers? The whole thing makes me regret buying the Season Pass in the first place since it's obviously not worth a damn.

@BigDaddy81: Yes.

@MormonWarrior: SWEET! Small world, eh?

@Sparky_Buzzsaw: Have you downloaded the compatibility upgrade? Or have your friends?

Is anyone else having trouble connecting to other players on their friends' list after the patch and DLC is downloaded? I can see their games, I can even start the process to join them, but in every case, I've been kicked from the host before the game can load. Normally, i'd say they're just sane and kicking me out prematurely, but some of these people actually invited me to their game. So... yeah.

@VincentLonga said:

I can honestly say I feel left out here. I DID pre-order, but I pre-ordered from a local, small video game store because I want my dollars staying within my community and I also want to support the valiant efforts of the folks who run Game Vault in Ogden, UT. Turns out they were not offered to be part of the pre-order bonuses so I'm out of luck. But I still don't feel scammed. I payed $60 and got an outstanding experience with BL2, bottom line. $60 is a good value for most games, and was certainly a good value for BL2. I don't feel scammed, but I DO feel left out and whether the onus falls on Gearbox or 2K, the small game shops not getting in on pre-order bonuses is something I'd like to see addressed.

What the crap...when I saw you mentioned a "local, small video game store" I immediately thought of how Game Vault was like that...and then saw that was exactly what you were talking about!! I guess I have a fellow Ogdenite on here!

I can honestly say I feel left out here. I DID pre-order, but I pre-ordered from a local, small video game store because I want my dollars staying within my community and I also want to support the valiant efforts of the folks who run Game Vault in Ogden, UT. Turns out they were not offered to be part of the pre-order bonuses so I'm out of luck. But I still don't feel scammed. I payed $60 and got an outstanding experience with BL2, bottom line. $60 is a good value for most games, and was certainly a good value for BL2. I don't feel scammed, but I DO feel left out and whether the onus falls on Gearbox or 2K, the small game shops not getting in on pre-order bonuses is something I'd like to see addressed.

@Jazzycola: My main point was against it being called a "scam" because that seems...absurd, there's no bill of goods being sold, there's no deception, etc. And what you're describing doesn't precisely make me wrong, it's all a matter of opinion. I saw Gearbox's track record and paid attention to the preview material, so I decided to take a gamble that Borderlands 2 would be awesome (lucky me, it is), you decided not to. Neither of us is right or wrong in this case.

@iAmJohn said:

Ten bucks? Fuck that shit, she should've just been part of the base game.

This is why I never buy new games anymore. I wait for "GOTY" or "compelte" etc editions. If they want to pull BS like that, they lose my sale.

I think ill wait, just dont see the point in paying that for a character class.

hmmm. if this is a better turret plan than i'm in.

@iAmJohn said:

@Suits said:

@iAmJohn: If you pre-ordered it was.

Preordering is and always will be a scam.

Said the person who didn't download a free character class today.

Seriously though, the original Borderlands was my GOTY, I was positive I was going to buy the game on day one, I am seriously enjoying Borderlands 2, and I think the new class is fantastic. How was I scammed?

@iAmJohn: I put money down on a game I was going to buy day 1 anyways, and got free bonus content for it.

I'm curious as to how I got scammed?

@AlKusanagi said:

Any word about the patch erasing/resetting Badass levels/keys/etc?

Friend of mine said Gearbox is working to patch it. Told me about it while I was at work so luckily I hadn't d/l it yet myself.

Holy crap that's a lot of pony... Even as someone who appreciates the references, isn't that a bit much? Or is it so much that it goes beyond being too on the nose and actually becomes funny because of how blatant it is...? I- I don't know anymore...

@JoeyRavn said:

@JasonR86 said:

I find it shitty that I payed for the season pass and yet would have to pay for this separately.

I'll play devil's advocate. If Gearbox had said that it would include all DLC, and then they put out the Gaige DLC outside the Season Pass, you'd have a reason to complain. But the Season Pass explicitly says that it includes 4 new campaigns, and just those 4 new campaigns. You are basically "pre-ordering" those 4 campaigns at a discounted price.

I suppose. I can't help but feel disappointed though. This is my first season pass and I was expecting to have the 'key to the city' so to speak. Apparently I don't.

@PenguinDust said:

I have got to get me some of that tonight. I'm eager to try her out but I'm working my way through my first play-through with my Siren. I was considering an Assassin next, but I might try the Mechromancer instead.

Go ahead and skip Zer0. He doesn't get fun until late game. All of his early abilities are mostly basic damage and health buffs. Pretty bland.

@JasonR86 said:

I find it shitty that I payed for the season pass and yet would have to pay for this separately.

I'll play devil's advocate. If Gearbox had said that it would include all DLC, and then they put out the Gaige DLC outside the Season Pass, you'd have a reason to complain. But the Season Pass explicitly says that it includes 4 new campaigns, and just those 4 new campaigns. You are basically "pre-ordering" those 4 campaigns at a discounted price.

@Undeadpool: I'm going to be honest you're wrong. Trying to rationalize pre-order bonuses based on the so-called reputation of a developer or company is going to be bad for us in the long run. Also, this is Gearbox not Rockstar or Blizzard we're talking here. Gearbox only has 3 franchises under it's belt. Brothers In arms is a good but not great series. Borderlands was good but had a lot of problems (some of which they haven't fixed in BL2). Last and certainly least Duke Nukem Forever which should've never been released at full price. Mind you, I know that Gearbox had little to do with the fact that DNF was a bad game, but it damaged their reputation in the long run. This isn't a developer that has a long storied history of making great games. This is a developer that has made okay - good games for the past 5-6 years.

Look if you knew you were going to buy BL2 that's fine, but I think the majority of us would like to know if the game is actually worth the full price. In the end, I'd honestly rather them charge everyone 10 dollars.

(Oh and I know that they used to do stuff for HalfLife, but I doubt they were in control of the direction the game went.)

I find it shitty that I payed for the season pass and yet would have to pay for this separately.

Really enjoying the new class, I'd say if you're really enjoying the game and fancy a new class, give her a look because she's probably worth the price of entry. I didn't have to pay because I pre-ordered, but had I not done I would have been happy to pick her up, the content feels worth it to me at least.

I have got to get me some of that tonight. I'm eager to try her out but I'm working my way through my first play-through with my Siren. I was considering an Assassin next, but I might try the Mechromancer instead.

@AlKusanagi said:

Any word about the patch erasing/resetting Badass levels/keys/etc?

I have the 360 version. So far I still have my two gold keys and my badass levels. I notice that early game Michael Mamoril seems to be a lot more scarce in Sanctuary than he was before. So they fixed the bug that makes him ALWAYS show up before that SPOILER crazy plot thing happens. Mechromancer mods and skins are already showing up in loot. Gaige's voice work is kind of um..obnoxious in a bad way. Really her default colors look a lot better than any of the skins I've found. Extra heads should be fun.

Played around with the class a bit (only level 7) and I think it is my favorite even more so then Zero. That Anarchy skill mixed with a powerful shotgun is fucking brutal and looking at the rest of the skill tree makes the Mechromancer seem completely different then the 4 original characters instead of being a slight variation of them.

Can't wait to get the game and this bonus will be nice to get to help enhance the funness

I count at least 7 or 8 pony references in her skill tree... now there's some lazy referential humor I can get behind!

I'm not a big fan of familiar summoning classes in general, but she seems fun enough to power through the singleplayer with, while my siren remain on co-op duty.

@mewarmo990 said:

@RoyCampbell said:

Her skill tree is rife with MLP references. This game's writing is insipid, and revolting. The flagrant use of memes, the pandering. Eurgh.

B2's humor writing is really hit and miss for me.

Yeah, but I can't think of any game out there that tries to pack so many jokes into itself. Maybe that's a bad thing, but I think the net effect is positive. It seems for every failed piece of reference humor you have Salvador humming 'Hall of the Mountain King' while Gunzerking, Claptrap's birthday party, Handsome Jack's violin solo, or Psychos reciting Hamlet.

@RoyCampbell said:

Her skill tree is rife with MLP references. This game's writing is insipid, and revolting. The flagrant use of memes, the pandering. Eurgh.

B2's humor writing is really hit and miss for me.

pfff keep your mechromancer people i found the real secret class the sirecomando

Great timing with this DLC. My friend just got this game and will be fun to co-op with him using this class

Yep , Steam updated my game and game will not load anymore at this time... Hope steam can fix my cache and get me back into the game... :(

Already?
I expected it a little farther down the line.

Pretty fun so far.