In the vein of the Bloody Harvest and Broken Hearts Day events before it, Borderlands 3's Revenge of the Cartels seasonal event is slated to begin soon. No release date has been revealed yet, and Gearbox seems to be holding most of the details closely to its chest. However, whether intentional or not, Borderlands 3's newest mini-events may have slipped up on a key factor for the upcoming event.
Revenge of the Cartels is currently slated to last for six weeks (but it can be toggled off). Basically, Maurice the Saurian on Sanctuary III owes a massive debt to a new character named Joey Ultraviolet, who is attempting to collect. Players will have to defeat these new neon-attired Borderlands 3 enemies Defeating enough of them will allow players to travel to The Mansion, Ultraviolet's HQ, where players will face off with one of three gangs who currently have control of it. It won't be the same every time, and different gangs beget different rewards and challenges. However, the latest mini-events have something to say about that.
Borderlands 3 Slaughter Bosses, Making It Rain
In preparation for this new event, Borderlands 3 has introduced two new mini-events. The first is Mr. Torgue's Slaughter Onslaught, which increases the number of BL3 dedicated drops from Slaughter bosses. The second is titled the Making It Rain Mini Event, which increases the money drops from normal, Badass, and Anointed enemy types, but that's the thing. As seen above, this increase in money drops is designed to "come in handy when fighting the cartels."
There's a couple of ways this can go, of course, but the very fact a money-making event is released now before the Revenge of the Cartels event is striking. Namely, most players are going to be at the BL3 level cap now and have wads of cash already. It stands to reason that most players could easily afford most in-game expenses now, especially those who've played every event and every Borderlands 3 DLC that has released thus far.
Secondly, the Borderlands Science Arcade game rewards players with a variety of boosts, one being an increase in money drops. Some may have already taken advantage of this, but in conjunction with the Making It Rain event, that's a ton of money that can be made rather easily. The question then becomes: what is this money for?
Borderlands 3's Cartel Event: An Event for An Event, Release Date?
It's not often that an in-game event needs an in-game event before it to best take advantage of the upcoming event. That sentence may seem confusing, but that's exactly what's going on with the Borderlands 3's Revenge of the Cartels Event. A mini-event is setting it up and giving players the cash they'll need before it launches. This could manifest in several ways, some of which may be dependent upon when Revenge of the Cartel launches.
As noted above, both mini-events end on April 23. This could suggest that Revenge of the Cartels could begin anywhere from the 23rd to the 30th, seemingly the most reasonable release date for it. Having built up money beforehand means something about the event will cost a ton of money, whether this just be in-game purchases that are introduced, a new way to buy loot, or perhaps, just perhaps, it's tied into one of two things: The Mansion or Maurice's debt.
It would stand to reason that, because The Mansion is unique, has several factions to face, and has several rewards to collect, it would also cost money to get inside. The gameplay loop would ostensibly look like tracking down the new enemies, opening the portal to The Mansion, and then paying one's way inside. If this comes at a high price, then Borderlands 3 players may want to get the most of this event. On the other hand, perhaps there's some solo or perhaps even community challenge to pay down Maurice's debt. If so, those numbers could be astronomical for pure Borderlands 3 insanity.
However, it's not unreasonable that the Revenge of the Cartels event launch sooner than expected and in conjunction with this event. If so, it's possible that this ties into making more money off the Cartel members for pure money-making purposes. This doesn't negate the above either, but it also makes it seem less likely than the money is as directly related to the event as it seems. Nonetheless, this Borderlands 3 event sounds like players need to protect their wallets, earn money, and not die.
For now, waiting for the Borderlands 3 event to begin to see why it sounds so expensive may be fan's best bet.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.