It looks like Gearbox have found the “Goldilocks zone”.
A fan has analysed the stats shown in Borderlands 3’s gameplay reveal and come up with a theory as to how the game’s level scaling will work.
Over on the Borderlands subreddit, user SirArkhon posted a compelling breakdown of what they’ve learned from the small amount of footage revealed so far.
“From what I can tell, HP in Borderlands 3 is given by a formula of HP = 80 x 1.09^Level and dropping any decimal remainder,” they wrote. “Every data point I’ve found fits this curve. From this formula, we can extrapolate a theoretical max HP at level 72 of 39,609; this is over an order of magnitude smaller than BL2’s baseline max of 530,564.”
“This will make loot last about forty percent longer than in 2 as stats will take log(1.09,2)=8 levels to double instead of 5.7,” they added.
The post also includes a breakdown of how the previous games worked. The first Borderlands increased player health at a flat, linear rate of 15 hit points per level, whereas Borderlands 2 offered a more variable increase of 13% of your current stats each level. The sequel’s system meant that weapons quickly became obsolete, causing weapons to feel disposable rather than important, while in the original game you would often find it difficult to find a better replacement for your current gear.
SirArkhon believes the new system, provided they have the math right, sits in a nice “Goldilocks zone” between the two.
We reached out to Gearbox to see if SirArkhon’s analysis is accurate. “The dedication and passion of our fans never ceases to amaze us!” said a Gearbox representative. “It’s worth noting that the game is still in development so the level progression and scaling is not yet final, but we’ll have more to share and show between now and launch.”
As such, even if SirArkhon’s analysis is correct, this may not be the level scaling system implemented into the final game. But if they’re on the right track, it’s encouraging to see Gearbox learning from their previous work.
If you’re into Borderlands, check out the various editions of Borderlands 3 that you can pre-order. It looks like there may not be any DLC Vaunt Hunters added to the game, but that means we won’t have to replay the 30-hour campaign with a new character. Talking of Vault Hunters, you can check out all of Amara and Zayne’s skills, too.
Matt Purslow is IGN UK’s News and Entertainment Writer. Please don’t tell him to do the math(s). You can follow him on Twitter.
