Borderlands 2 has been on the market for about three days now, and already there are a lot of cheats and hints out there. The Internet is like the Mos Eisley cantina, a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and there are plenty of "tips" sites that just have bots churning out nonsense so you can glimpse a banner ad. Fortunately, honest hardworking people (like myself) do what we can to sift through all the BS and bring you, the reader/gamer/ad consumer, the real deal. The goods. The info you can actually use to make the most of your Borderlands 2 experience. If you're like me, you've been playing this game until your eyeballs bleed, and while you might not want to cheat you are curious about how to do it. So, here's the deal on the most reliable, proven cheat out there for the Xbox 360 version of the game (its unverified for PS3 so far) and a few tips for gameplay that should help you get the most out of a game that offers a whole helluva lot.
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Infinite Money:
The video above comes from IGN, an ultra-reliable source for this kind of information. The cheat is a fairly simple save/load exploit. You need to have a friend who is playing co-op with you to pull it off. Here's what you do. Have your friend give you all of their money via the trade screen. Then save your game. Re-load the save file, hand all the cash back to your friend (including your own) and then exit the game to the Xbox home screen WITHOUT saving. (You hit the big silver button in the middle of the controller. Seriously? Do you NOT know this?) When you re-load your game you will have all your cash, and your partner will have the cash you've given them. Now do it again. And again and again and again until your greedy little urges are satisfied.
Infinite Guns:
Again, the video comes from IGN and basically details the same process above. Have a friend give you stuff, save, re-load, give it back and then DON'T SAVE. What's cool about this cheat is that it allows you to share sweet-ass items instead of cash because, honestly, the vendors in Borderlands 2 tend to have mediocre stuff compared to what you find off all the thugs and uglies roaming around Pandora. And, thanks to Claptrap's Secret Stash, you can share items between characters. So this means that if you play a certain class in co-op mode, but use a different class for single player, you don't need to sell class mods or weapons you loot but don't use. And, with the item duplication trick, you can now do both!
Best Tips from the Tipsters:
A lot of so-called tips websites just tell you stuff you already know. Like, "make sure you search containers to find more loot" or "don't use fire weapons on guys who resist fire." But hidden amongst the piles of unreliable, obvious crap there are some nuggets of wisdom. Here's a few of the good ones, plus some of my own nuggets for you to digest and reprocess as your own mad skillz.
Catch A Ride! (But treat it nice):
Borderlands 2 features the same Catch-A-Ride system found in the first game, where you can instantly create an armed-to-the-teeth hooptie to cruisre around in. The health of the vehicle is linked to the driver's overall health, a great feature that keeps vehicular combat challenging. And, since the vehicles feature unlimited ammo and no cooldown for turrets, it's awful helpful to park a vehicle at a distance and start raining hellfire and destruction on your unwitting foes. Just watch that health bar! When your ride goes BOOM!!! it really sucks to hoof it across a map to find another one. And all those pesky little spiderants and thrashers you drove past are not too happy to see you again.
Badass Rank leads to MORE Badassery!:
The implementation of the Badass Rank system adds the fun of leveling up without having to actually level up. Completing the challenges and earning tokens to spend on small upgrades give the feel of constant progress, but unlike leveling up there isn't much notice you've earned a token. A small message appears in the lower-left corner but when you're in a frenzied firefight it barely registers. And, if you're playing co-op, the action doesn't stop when you pause so you can't automatically stop what you're doing and spend the points. Keep an eye out for Badass Token messages, and get in the habit of checking your token collection after each optional mission or heavy firefight. The bonuses are small (.5 percent here, .7 percent there) but the skills they apply to, like recoil reduction or maximum health, are applied to all of your characters. It's a great way to get a head start, skill-wise, for new classes you want to experiment with.
Co-Op is King!:
Borderlands 2, like sexual intercourse, is better with a live partner. And, like sex, you can develop an addictive, co-dependent relationship with someone you barely know. Suddenly, you find yourself experimenting with two or three partners. And you're having the time of your life. I've praised the co-op system at length already, I won't detail all the perks here. But if you're going it alone you're just not having the fun you should be. Not to mention the added XP from tougher baddies and the sweeter loot they drop when you liquefy their skulls.
Respec That Skill Tree Son!:
The new and improved skill tree in Borderlands 2 can lead to some agonizing decisions. For your early levels, say 1-10 or 1-15, you're going to spend points on health, ammo and shield upgrades because your character has minimal health and, probably, a lackluster shield. Onec you start creeping into the teens and twenties, though, the eight percent health boost you spent two skill points on is less useful. Thank your lucky stars Gearbox knows how to make a user friendly game! Respec your skill tree and reassign those points for maximum effect. Having 20 points to work with leads to a different kind of budget than adding it all up one point at a time. Tinker, tinker, tinker until you find a skill set that works best for you.
One-Armed Bandits!:
There's nothing like a little harmless gambling to pass the time in Sanctuary. You'll see slot machines in a variety of locations and I HIGHLY recommend playing them. For starters, the jackpots can dish out some decent loot. And that's all it takes to get you hooked. In true Vegas fashion the machines dole out a lot of small wins, i.e. cash or items worth half of what you put into it, so you feel compelled to keep pulling the lever and crossing your fingers. It's a fun distraction and great source of premium loot. Except for the occasional live grenade ...
