TheBorderlandsseries has always put a strong emphasis on its wide variety of weapons and equipment.Borderlands 4is no exception, and it has even built on the foundation of the other games by introducing new ways to take out enemies. Although exciting new weapons shouldn’t be a surprise from a game in this series, I was shocked by which new weapon stood out as my favorite when testing the game. Although I couldn’t have predicted it, I am very glad that this weapon was included, and I can’t wait to shoehorn it into all my builds.
I was fortunate enough to play afew hours ofBorderlands 4during a preview event last month. Overall,the game played better than I had expected, and I was already going in with high expectations. Aside from new weapons, the game’s new movement mechanics are a major improvement. This, combined with the new Repkits that allow you to heal when you want to, and also provide meaningful buffs, makes you feel much more in control of combat than in previous titles. If you’re looking to spice things up further, I can’t recommend a specific new weapon enough.
Borderlands 4 Introduces A Throwing Knife
The Throwing Knife Can Replace Your Grenades
Going into the preview event, I was mostly looking forward to seeing how the new licensed parts mechanics worked. As was initially explained duringBorderlands 4’s State of Play, the game’s guns can feature qualities from a variety of manufacturers, instead of just one like in previous games. While licensed parts are a great feature, and I enjoyed many of the guns I tested out, I was surprised how muchthey were overshadowed by one new feature: throwing knives.
Borderlands 4’s throwing knives can be used in place of your grenade slot, so you don’t need to switch off your guns to use them. Similar to how throwing knives works in other FPS games, you’ll need to be pretty precise to hit with these projectiles, but the trade-off is that they do a significant amount of damage. They are also a more immediate way to output damage than grenades which take some time to detonate.
Grenades and throwing knives inBorderlands 4refill over time, so you don’t have to worry about running out of knives or constantly running to retrieve them like in other games. This gives you all the inherent benefits of this type of weapon without the usual drawbacks. Also, it’s worth mentioning that using the throwing knives is also a ton of fun, andan addicting way to challenge yourself inBorderlands 4.
Borderlands 4 May Convince Me To Bring A Knife To A Gun Fight
Borderlands 4’s Throwing Knife Is A Fun Challenge
While previewingBorderlands 4, I couldn’t get enough of the throwing knife.It is incredibly satisfying to score a difficult hit with one and watch your enemy’s health bar plummetas a result. Combined withBorderlands 4’s movementand environmental weapons, like explosive barrels you can grab with your Point Grapple, the throwing knife is one of many creative ways to score kills. Honestly, while the gunplay is a lot of fun too, it almost started to feel like cheating when going up against weaker enemies. It was a lot more fun to challenge myself by relying on throwing knives.
Although I didn’t find any myself, me and the other playtesters were informed in a conversation with senior project producer Anthony Nicholson that there will be ways to upgrade your throwing knives, making them more viable against stronger enemies. It is possible this can be done usingBorderlands 4’s new enhancements, and likely also by finding more powerful versions of throwing knives as loot. Whatever the method, I am already excited to create a throwing knife build for Rafa and pair it with his melee action skill to see how much I can achieve without firing bullets.
