Borderlands 2 is a 2012 action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. Taking place five years following the events of Borderlands (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. The story follows a new group of Vault Hunters who must ally with the Crimson Raiders, a resistance group made up of civilian survivors and guerrilla fighters, to defeat the tyrannical Handsome Jack before he can unlock the power of a new Vault. The game features the ability to explore the in-game world and complete main missions and optional side quests, either in offline splitscreen, single-player or online cooperative gameplay. Like its predecessor, the game features a procedurally generated loot system which is capable of generating numerous combinations of weapons and other gear.
With the unexpected success of the first game, Gearbox was able to secure a budget of $30–35 million to develop the sequel. Like its predecessor, the game adopted the "concept art style", which features graphics inspired by both photorealistic imagery and comic-book-inspired visuals. The team attempted to address players' feedback from the first game, and recruited Anthony Burch who wrote the game's script which is seven times longer than that of the original game. Among the game's diverse cast of characters, Handsome Jack, the central antagonist, was created to be a charismatic "douche" that mirrors Burch's own personality.
Borderlands 2 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in September 2012, and an updated port was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as part of Borderlands: The Handsome Collection in March 2015. A virtual reality version titled Borderlands 2 VR was released for PlayStation VR in December 2018 and Windows in October 2020.
The game received generally positive reviews upon release. Critics generally praised the game's visuals, writing, gameplay, and online multiplayer, as well as its variety of guns, while criticizing its mission design and content fillers. The handheld and the virtual reality versions of the game were regarded to be inferior to the console and PC versions. More than 20 million units were shipped upon release and the game became 2K's most successful release. It was nominated for multiple year-end awards by several gaming publications. Gearbox supported the game with four add-on campaigns, new characters and five content packs. The game was followed by Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel in October 2014, Borderlands 3 in September 2019, and Borderlands 4 in September 2025. Since its release, it has been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.
Gameplay
Similar to its predecessor, Borderlands 2 is a first-person shooter with elements drawn from role-playing video games. Four playable character classes are available in the base game, each with their own unique Action Skill: Axton, "the Commando", can summon a turret to provide offensive support. Maya, "the Siren", can "phaselock" enemies by trapping them in a sphere of energy for a few seconds. Zer0, "the Assassin", can temporarily become invisible and spawn a hologram decoy to distract enemies. Salvador, "the Gunzerker", can use his titular ability to temporarily dual-wield weapons. Action Skills have a cooldown time during which the player must wait before they can use the skill again. Similarly to the original, completing the main story campaign unlocks "True Vault Hunter Mode", a New Game Plus which increases the difficulty of the game by making enemies stronger, improves the probability of finding rare and higher-quality items, and allows the player's character to reach level 50.
Weapons can be bought from vendors, picked up from fallen enemies, and found inside containers. The game features six weapon types—pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers—with a procedurally generated loot system capable of generating numerous variations of these and other gear. The in-game manufacturers of the weapons provide them with distinct characteristics. Each weapon also has different stats and properties, such as producing different damage and having varying accuracy, fire rate, reload speed, and magazine size. A color-coded scale is used to indicate the rarity of the weapon or item. Some weapons are infused with additional elemental effects that deal extra damage to enemies. In addition, players can collect mods which would alter the stats of grenades and Action Skill, and Relics, which are rare items that can change any gameplay aspect. Players need to manage their inventory regularly as they cannot equip all the weapons they have collected.
The player is protected by a shield, which can automatically regenerate from damage. If the shield is destroyed, the player's health would start to deplete. Insta-Health vials can be picked up to restore health. If they lose all their health, they enter a downed state and must either wait to be revived by another player or attempt to kill an enemy to achieve a "second wind". Otherwise, they will be regenerated back at the last "New-U" station that they passed. As the player completes missions and kills enemies, they gain corresponding rewards such as experience points (XP) and new weapons. Once they gain enough XPs, they level up, which unlocks new skill points to upgrade abilities. Each Vault Hunter can progress in three different skill trees after unlocking the basic class-specific Action Skill. In addition, levelling up increases the maximum health capacity and unlocks new weapons, some of which cannot be used until the player reaches a certain level.
As the player explores and completes missions, new areas of the game world are unlocked. The game has a semi open world structure, as the world is divided into several sections which can be freely explored. In each area, different non-playable characters are encountered who provide side missions for the players. Players can spawn vehicles in order to quickly traverse some areas. The in-game currency can be collected from loot drops, loot containers, completing missions, and selling unwanted equipment, and can be used to purchase items from vending machines. Players can also gather Eridium bars, a new currency for purchasing storage upgrades and other premium items. A major addition to the game is the "Badass Rank" system; completing various in-game challenges award points, which convert into tokens that can be redeemed to increase the base stats of the player's characters. When exploring the world, players can access certain New-U stations in order to fast travel, and Quick-Change machines allow players to customize their avatar's look, clothing and name.
The game supports four-player cooperative multiplayer, though the PlayStation Vita version only supports two players. As more players join a session, the game's difficulty increases along with the loot rewards. Players can trade items and cash, or can duel for the agreed-upon stakes. The game also features split-screen multiplayer.
Synopsis Setting and characters
Five years have passed since the events of Borderlands, when four Vault Hunters—Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick—were guided by a mysterious entity known as "The Guardian Angel" to the Vault, an ancient alien structure that was rumored to hold exotic technology and riches. On entering the Vault, they were instead confronted by an alien abomination known as "The Destroyer". After defeating The Destroyer, a valuable mineral called "Eridium" started flourishing through Pandora's crust. Handsome Jack (voiced by Dameon Clarke), CEO of the Hyperion Corporation, secures this new resource and makes use of it to attempt to "bring peace" to the planet. Now, Handsome Jack rules over the inhabitants of Pandora with an iron fist from his massive space station, Helios. Meanwhile, rumors spread of an even larger Vault, drawing a new group of Vault Hunters who search for it.
Like its predecessor, Borderlands 2 features four playable characters: Axton the Commando (Robert McCollum), Maya the Siren (Martha Harms), Salvador the Gunzerker (John Swasey), and the Assassin (Michael Turner). Two additional characters are available as downloadable content (DLC): Gaige the Mechromancer (Cherami Leigh) and Krieg the Psycho (Jason Douglas). The four player characters from the first game, Roland (Markus Lloyd), Lilith (Colleen Clinkenbeard), Brick (Marcus Mauldin), and Mordecai (Ernesto Jason Liebrecht), return in the form of non-player characters (NPCs). Other NPCs originating from the first game and its DLCs include the Guardian Angel (Jennifer Green), Claptrap (David Eddings), Scooter the mechanic (Michael Neumann), Dr. Zed (Ric Spiegel), Marcus the arms merchant (Bruce DuBose), Mad Moxxi (Brina Palencia), Crazy Earl (Randy Pitchford), and the insane archaeologist Patricia Tannis (Clinkenbeard); new NPCs include the cyborg hunter Sir Hammerlock (J. Michael Tatum), Scooter's sister Ellie (Jamie Marchi), and explosives-obsessed girl Tiny Tina (Ashly Burch).
Plot The game opens with the Vault Hunters aboard a Hyperion train on Pandora. Their employer, Handsome Jack, suddenly sabotages the train and leaves the Vault Hunters for dead in a frozen wasteland. The Vault Hunters are found by the last remaining CL4P-TP ("Claptrap") unit. The Guardian Angel contacts the Vault Hunters and instructs them to accompany Claptrap to the city of Sanctuary, and to join the Crimson Raiders, an anti-Hyperion resistance movement, in order to defeat Handsome Jack.
Upon arriving at Sanctuary, the Vault Hunters are asked to rescue Roland, leader of the Crimson Raiders, who has been captured by a bounty hunter called the Firehawk. The Vault Hunters meet the Firehawk, who turns out to be Lilith, whose Siren powers have been enhanced by the new supply of Eridium. Lilith informs the Vault Hunters that Roland was actually captured by a group of bandits. After fighting through the bandits' territory, the Vault Hunters rescue Roland and return to Sanctuary.
Roland and Lilith learn that the Vault Key, stolen from Tannis by Handsome Jack, is being transported aboard a Hyperion train, and ask the Vault Hunters to retrieve it. The Vault Hunters derail the train, but instead of finding the Vault Key they encounter Wilhelm, a Hyperion cyborg and one of Handsome Jack's enforcers. The Vault Hunters kill Wilhelm and recover his power core, which Roland recommends be used as the power source for Sanctuary's shields. The power core turns out to be a trap; it allows the Guardian Angel, who is revealed to be working for Jack, to lower the city's shields, leaving it vulnerable to an orbital bombardment. Lilith saves Sanctuary, which was originally a large spacecraft, by activating its engines and teleporting it away.
Handsome Jack's plan is to open Pandora's second Vault and unleash the "Warrior", a powerful Eridian monster controlled by whoever releases it; as the Vault Key only charges itself every 200 years, he is using Eridium to forcefully charge it. Angel communicates with the group in Sanctuary, and divulges that the Vault Key is kept with her in a heavily guarded Hyperion facility. The Vault Hunters prepare an attack on the facility, enlisting former Vault Hunters Brick and Mordecai. Roland and the Vault Hunters assault the Hyperion compound and meet Angel, who is a Siren and Jack's daughter. She reveals Jack is using her to charge the Vault Key, and requests to be killed in order to stop her father. Against Jack's efforts to defend her, Roland, Lilith, and the Vault Hunters destroy Angel's life support, killing her. An enraged Jack kills Roland and captures Lilith, forcing her to obey him, as he had done to Angel. Before Jack can make Lilith kill the Vault Hunters, she teleports them back to Sanctuary. Jack then uses her to continue charging the Vault Key in Angel's place.