Hello! I thought about making this an actual (my first!) blog about my experience finishing all Borderlands games + all story dlc for the first time in 2016, but I figured there’s actually not that much to write about – after all it is very much a podcast game that most people play while doing something else.

So instead – and unlike other, obviously inferior rankings - this is an exhaustive list of all relevant borderlands content, ranked from best to worst. And it is of course just as highly scientific as these other ranking formats that shall not be named.

1. The Pre-Sequel

It does have the dumbest name, but there are several things that made it my clear No.1: the stingray is the best vehicle in the whole series, I feel like every other vehicle at best is unbothersome, but that one’s actually fun to use. Characters don’t just talk to themselves, they react to others and to what’s happening, which – besides the Tiny Tina and the Claptrap dlc – makes this the only story I actually care about to some degree. Usability aspects are improved, like waypoints directing you to fast travel points. And finally I also like the moon specific stuff: the added verticality and air control in low gravity feel great, the butt stomp is the thing I missed most when playing the previous games, and the oxygen is not a hindrance at all and instead something of a slight tactical consideration when fighting enemies.

2. Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragons Keep

It does the thing Bastion and Call of Juarez Gunslinger do: change the game around you as the story gets told. It has completely different environments and enemies, plus an allstar cast of borderlands characters. It’s funny and a bit touching.

3. Claptastic Voyage

It has all the gameplay benefits of the pre-sequel, an interesting storyline with a number of references even back to the first game, and also new environments and enemies in its very own “cyber”-style. And a whole new type of rare (glitch) weapons that are pretty awesome.

4. Mr Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage

I like the character of Torgue. I like the structure of the dlc as fights on your way to the top. I like Tiny Tina as Burgess Meredith.

5. Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty

As is probably clear by now, I think very highly of a lot of the BL2 dlc, they are mostly very well made products. This one has pirates, which should speak for itself.

6. Borderlands 2

It’s good, solid, it has a great cast (Scooter, Moxxi, all the heroes from the first game, Hammerlock), more customization options compared to BL1 and the graphics embrace the cartoonish look more than the first game did. I also like the skilltrees post BL1 better.

7. Borderlands

You can definitely still see the “gritty” roots, it’s the most greyish, dire looking game of the bunch – which on the one hand makes it less interesting compared to other games, but more so compared to the other entries in the franchise itself. I also feel like Gearbox must have reused some of the assault rifle models from Brothers in Arms here, which adds to this game feeling a little less cartoony. Something that, again, is not necessarily negative. I like the direction the series has taken, but it also made this game more interesting to play after 170hrs of BL2 and Pre-Sequel. Something I preferred here: increasing the ammo limit doesn’t require an extra currency like moonstones.

8. The Secret Armory of General Knoxx

Athena looks weird in this. The highway levels feel quite different to the main game though, and getting some backstory on Athena is nice as well. Also, considering the fact it is relying on the series mostly questionable driving a lot, it is surprisingly good.

9. Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution

It’s short enough that I’m willing to view the very obvious recycling of enemies from the main game as robo-zombies as a fun idea instead of laziness.

10. The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned

Kind of a Halloween special, but actually not that special. Probably hurt by the fact (as was also the case with Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution) that I was wildly overleveled for that dlc.

11. Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt:

Not that much to this dlc. Mostly boring environments and with only a few recurring character appearances apart from Hammerlock. I also got a bit lost in the main area at times. Hurt by the fact the other BL2 dlc is as good as it is.

So, that’s that. Some general info to close this out: I’ve started at the end of last year with the Pre-Sequel, then 2, then 1. I have, according to steam, 116 hours in the Pre-Sequel, 55 in BL2 and 40 in BL1. I played all of it by myself, on normal, plus one playthrough on true vault hunter mode in the Pre-Sequel. My characters were Athena, Nisha, Mechromancer and Lilith.

Congratulations if you made it all the way through. I'd also be curious about other peoples rankings (though as stated above, there's no denying this lists science).

Yes hello I noticed that you did some "science." Having consulted with actual science I have come back with the following list:

1) Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. To understand why this is the top-shelf Borderlands game, simply walk from a low-gravity setting to one with normal gravity. It just got worse! Adding the third dimension adds a whole lot of fun, and reworking Slag to instead be Freeze fixes a well-meaning but not necessarily fun mechanic from Borderlands 2.

2) Borderlands 2. Man, fuck Borderlands 2. I love it. It features what is easily the worst writing in the series (by which I mean "the series of ALL videogames," not just "the Borderlands series"), but it shoots very well. I still think the best character classes are DLC and man I really should move on before I talk myself out of giving this the #2 spot.

3) Boderlands. Not to be confused with the inevitable reboot called "The Borderlands." What a weird little game. I think it's got the best moment-to-moment writing of the core titles, despite a story that doesn't do much with it. It's a fun, if somewhat janky, framework that has served its better-playing sequels well.

Story DLC (because Science knows that you can't have put everything in the same list what are you DOING?)

1) The Secret Armory of General Knoxx. The character of Knoxx is unmatched, and that's Science you can take to the bank. In a world of hyperactive psychos, he's ennui made flesh and power armor, and his utter disdain for annoyances big and small is always good for a laugh. Not that he cares.

2) Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty. Of all the franchise's DLCs, I think this one builds the best world. It's got some good characters, fun locales, and the sort of understated dark humor that was mostly missing in the base Borderlands 2.

3) Tina Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep. Tina's actually not super annoying in this one! This DLC does a great job of actually feeling like it's being played on a tabletop, from the cross-talk, the oddly inquisitive "PCs," and the DM frantically trying to keep things fresh for the party. It's a (shockingly long) excuse to have a lark, and I think it succeeds at that.

4) Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot. Finally, DLC that knows that shooting things in Borderlands is a lot of fun. Qualifies as story DLC because every run on the Underdome creates its OWN story boom emergent narrative.

5) The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned. It wears out its welcome, but the opening half is both funny and fun-nay. If I'm not mistaken, this was the first Borderlands DLC, and while it's not a slam dunk, I think it made a good argument for doing funky stuff with DLC.

6) Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage. I love Mr. Torgue but hate everything else about this DLC. Both this and our Shameful Last Place DLC kind of just feel like More Borderlands.

7) Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. It exists. You can play it. I should have loved this because I rooted for Van Pelt in that Jumanji movie, but this is probably the most soulless, dispassionate bit of extra content I've ever seen.

Edit: Forgot about New Robot Revolution, which just about sums up my experience of New Robot Revolution.

I haven't played Claptastic Voyage, but according to the internet, that doesn't bar me from judging it and, more importantly, people who have opinions on it. Game: OK, I guess? You and your opinions: About a B+.

I think it's worth mentioning that as much as I enjoy the series, I'm still waiting for a Borderlands game to deliver an unqualified success. All three core games have massive structural, narrative, and mechanical flaws that make me say "I really like Borderlands, but..." Science would appreciate ways to play outside of the story missions (see Diablo 3's Adventure Mode), especially since the writing tends to be bad more than it is good, changes to how DLC deals with character level, "sidekicking" or other options to make co-op easier without having to keep a "solo character" and a "play with friends" character to keep levels synced, and maybe scale back the bullet-sponginess at higher difficulties (especially a problem with solo where you either can kill a thing or you can't).

That's sounds like "you can't say humans evolved from lower life forms, you have to look at them differently". That's creatonism. NOT SCIENCE.

Can't say I share your sentiment on the Moxxis DLC - yeah, the shooting is good, but not for 25 waves at once and with no xp earned from individual kills. Otherwise, nice list. And yeah, an xp farming mode would go a long way, one that cuts out story and more importantly intro stuff like having to unlock vehicles and maps again on ng+.

Tales from the Borderlands > Borderlands 2 > Borderlands 1 > Pre-Sequel

*Note: No science was involved in this half-assed ranking and may or not represent my actual opinion. Mostly just want to point out that Tales is criminally underappreciated.

@zeik: You're not wrong. TFTB was what got me into Borderlands proper in the first place.

Tale From The Borderlands>>>>>Borderlands>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>garbage>>Borderlands 2=The Pre Sequel.

I appreciate this list and the thought you've put into each entry. It's not the way I'd go, but I still like reading what people liked about each of the games (I think they're all great).

Okay, here's my take (super basic explanations else I'll be here way too long I still wrote a lot):

TFTB (just a straight up hour of holding down ">") BL2 > BL1 >>>>>>>> Pre-Sequel

I like the whole series, but TFTB is just on a whole other level. Best BL game, best Telltale game... I simply can't praise it often enough. Best soundtrack, too.

My list contains one thing.

1.Bloodwing

That is all.

BL2 > TPS > BL1

I liked a lot of the little details that TPS added like the grinder and the characters responding to dialogue (seriously, this would've made the characters a lot better in BL2), but I can't place it over 2 because of all the gltiches that hampered my experience and the insane backtracking combined with the spacious level design (that area with all the open space and bottomless pits is in my nightmares). Animations sometimes got super bugged, I think at least one quest was messed up, and the DLC had a crushing moment in my experience where my brother and I were locked out of the quest that starts the final boss. Somehow we fixed it, but that left a bad taste in my mouth from an otherwise fun DLC. Here's hoping the inevitable BL3 takes the best parts of TPS and BL2 to make a game better than both of them.

I wouldn't count Tales because it's in a league of its own, and that game's draw is opposite of the draw from the normal series, strong story rather than strong gameplay.

I appreciate the detailed answer. And I think I can agree with that statement. The main reason I felt a little down on the claptrap revolution and dr. ned dlc compared to almost everything else was mostly just the fact all the enemies were like 5-10 levels below me when I played it, which made it a bit too trivial to play. Not enough time for colorful numbers to pop up when they all go down after three bullets.

1. Borderlands 1 - Quirky, OK writing. I regularly got awesome drops that made the experience fun well into TVHM. Finished the game twice. Maliwan Hellfire!
2. Borderlands the Pre-Sequel - Stupid-ass name. A couple fun, new mechanics. Lasers are pretty good. Writing is meh, but I like the all Aussie cast. Decent guns on hand most of the time.
3. Borderlands 2 - Gave up a short ways into TVHM. Always needing a better gun, never getting one. TERRRIBLE writing!

My Borderlands experiences were heavily loot dependent. I always thought 2 was the worst for that. It might have had something to do with playing a Berserker and being very dependent on rocket launchers and shotguns though. Siren in 1 had no shortage of awesome SMGs. I don't even remember what class I played in PS, but I could use just about any type of gun with decent results.

I'm glad that everyone is rating TPS highly because it's truly fantastic

I slept on it for awhile after not liking 2 at all, but it's really really good

I don't have much to contribute, but I want to point out some science here:

Tiny Tina. TenCount. Both has 8 letters and 3 vowels. Coincidence? I think not.

Hi there I read your post and because of this part I'm pretty sure we're friends now?

I thought people stopped pretended that the BL2 writing was like some horrible atrocity committed on mankind while ago. Look, I'm not going to defend it as as being outstanding or anything, but there is plenty of legitimately good stuff in there. More than anything, I like the light-hearted chaotic tone of the game. The world is just fun and enjoyable to be in.

That said, it is definitely my least favorite out of the mainline trilogy. BL1 is still the best. It has better loot and better shooting, more specifically. The weapons truly felt more random and weird than in either BL2 or TPS. And although the game is easier overall, I would take that over the terrible scaling for single-player in terms of difficulty and loot drops in BL2. BL2's harder modes are completely unplayable by yourself, and barely playable with others, not to mention all of the content locked out solo players for end-game stuff. That wasn't cool. TPS fixed those problems for the most part. It wasn't frustrating to play, the loot system was fair and actually allowed you to find legendaries, and the writing was better and more engaging. Oh, and the low gravity movement and butt slams made traversal and combat SO MUCH more enjoyable. It's hard to go back to 2 after that.

Where BL2 really edges out the others is the art design, though. That game still looks gorgeous and is just brimming with colorful personality and impressive vistas. TPS comes close, but its setting really limits the environmental variety.

I played Tales From the Borderlands about a month ago and fucking loved it. Like, a lot. Fantastic writing and characters that I actually cared about. I didn't think something like that was capable of coming out of Borderlands, nor did I think I ever really wanted that, but that game made me appreciate the BL universe a lot more.

Borderlands 2: I think it has the best mechanics of the lot and I think the writing is fine. It's good enough to move me along in my question to shoot everything in sight.

Pre-Sequel: The gravity stuff is fun once you get used to it, but all of the character classes in this one were kinda boring to me.

Borderlands: It's fine. Loved it at the time. Can never play it ever again the other games improved on it too much.

Tales from the Borderlands is the not so secret best thing associated with Borderlands though.

I haven't played Pre-Sequel yet.

1. Borderlands
2. Tales From the Borderlands
3. Borderlands 2

BL2 > BL1 > Pre-Sequel

I havent played TFTB to add it to the listing

It's interesting seeing the like for The Pre-Sequel. I equally rate all 3 of them as I feel like they're all flawed and unique in their own ways.

The first one was a nice jump into a co-op story driven loot shooter, it had it's flaws but there was a real charm to the world it had and the characters you played. There was no semblance of game balance but that was fine because it was all about dumb fun with your mates. It also had great enemy lines like "Strip the flesh, Salt the wound."

The second game blew the first games gun variety out of the water and coloured the world up a bunch. The enemies and level design was drastically improved which made progressing through it a lot more fun. Sadly the writing is some of the worst writing I've ever had inflicted upon me in a video game. I consulted a doctor and they assured me I was fine, but I'm still convinced I have some sort of life threatening disease.

The Pre-Sequel was an interesting game in that I think overall it's a better game than the others but it didn't improve leaps and bounds over them thus resulting in a 'another one of those' reaction. The levels were expanded out to accommodate the low gravity and the slight mechanical changes were welcome. I also really enjoyed the Gladiator lady I played as she had a cool combat loop going on that mixed up defense and offense in a fun way. The other thing that I loved about the Pre-Sequel was how much of a piss take it was on Australian stereotypes, some of the things characters said and how overly exaggerated their accents were was fucking hilarious. The biggest problem with that is most people not from Australia probably didn't even know the characters were speaking English.

Pre-Sequel is the best for me because of the vendor that accepts items and has a chance to spit out a higher tier. This SIGNIFICANTLY makes the loot game better. As an Australian, I also enjoyed a lot of the little nods towards Australian culture. Hell, there was a location that referenced 'The Castle', and that's just great.

I agree with Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragons Keep. For a series that can have very hit or miss writing (more miss than hit), the scenes regarding Tina and her memories of Roland genuinely caught me off-guard, and it's possibly the first and only time the series has brought across some measure of emotion to me in the story.