The latest Borderlands 3 hotfix is rather significant, as it makes the first wave of balance changes for the game's four playable Vault Hunters. Most notably, the Borderlands 3 hotfix nerfs FL4K and buffs Zane, and the Borderlands 3 community has reacted to these changes on the game's official subreddit with some amusing memes.
As expected, Zane mains are rather happy with the Borderlands 3 hotfix. Prior to the update, Zane was by far the least viable character for the Borderlands 3 endgame, but now he is much closer to the level of his fellow Vault Hunters. In the Borderlands 3 hotfix, Gearbox increased Zane's Digi-Clone damage by 38%, as well as his Drone damage by a whopping 50%. The studio also improved Zane's Cryo Bullets, Drone Rocket damage, and Almighty Ordnance Rockets damage, which all go a long way in making Zane much more powerful in Borderlands 3.
But while Zane the Operative received a much-needed buff, FL4K has been nerfed. The Borderlands 3 FL4K nerf focuses mainly on his Guerrillas in the Mist ability, reducing its duration and halving its critical damage bonus output. In theory, this will make FL4K a more balanced character, and not quite the boss-melting machine that he was before the update.
One character that came away from the first round of Borderlands 3 Vault Hunter balance changes completely unscathed was Moze the Gunner. Gearbox didn't seem to think it was necessary to make any changes to Moze, which is somewhat surprising as Moze's mech is absurdly powerful in the right hands. However, this Borderlands 3 hotfix will be far from the last one, and more changes are definitely on the way in the future.
On the bright side, not all of the future Borderlands 3 updates will focus on character balance changes. There will also be more substantial updates designed to add fresh content to the game, with the first one being October's Bloody Harvest event. A little bit later on, fans can also expect the first Borderlands 3 DLC story expansion, which is expected to launch before the end of the year.
More information on the first Borderlands 3 story DLC should come to light in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Borderlands 3 players can get used to the Zane and FL4K changes, while farming for the best gear possible.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.