The girlfriend on “girlfriend mode”
“Girlfriend” here. I have to admit, as a Borderlands superfan, I was initially slightly miffed with Jonathan Hemingway’s unfortunate word choice with “girlfriend mode.” By subconsciously equating “girlfriend” with “newbie,” Hemingway definitely didn’t make any female-gamer fans, but after interviewing him, it’s evident that the game designer had good intentions but spoke purely from his own personal experience with a game-newbie wife. (We’re pretty sure he’s learned his lesson.)
So how does the new Mechromancer, Gaige, help new Borderlands initiates? Her new skill tree, Best Friends Forever, is designed to give a helping hand to shaky newbie ones with Close Enough, a starting skill that allows bullets to ricochet off the ground and walls to hit enemies. No need to worry about pesky laws of physics here! “The bullet will just ricochet at a completely unnatural angle and find an enemy and hit him,” explained Hemingway. Though this can obviously help a newcomer, experienced players can also find ways to take advantage of this skill by hiding behind cover and shooting around corners, trapping enemies in tight corridors with bullets pinballing all around (and through) them.
When Close Enough is paired with Cooking Up Trouble, a skill that regenerates health for Gaige as long as her magazine is full, new players have a buffer to ease their transitions into the shooty-bang-bang FPS world. And we can’t forget the Mechromancer’s way-more-murdery-than-Claptrap pet robot, Deathtrap: He (or she?) materializes when Gaige utilizes her action skill and immediately begins melee-ing waste to all enemies nearby.
But isn’t the BFF skill tree just “easy mode” then, girlfriend? Afraid not. Ricocheted bullets don’t mean automatic kills, and newbies still have to figure out dual-analog movement control. In fact, the “easy” parts of the BFF tree took the most adjustment for me as someone who’s played over 20 hours as the Siren Maya in Borderlands 2 so far; I had to somehow unlearn my typical Phaselock and careful aiming habits and accept the unnatural benefits of Close Enough in order to give this skill tree a shot. We’ll just say I wasn’t very successful at first and died. A few times. (Investing some skill points in Cooking Up Trouble might have helped in the staying-alive department.)
I had to keep reminding myself that it was OK to not aim sometimes and that a Close Enough ricocheted bullet that does only 50 percent damage instead of an on-target bullet that does 100 percent damage is still a good bullet. I also had to stop inappropriately getting mad at Deathtrap for “stealing” my kills — selfish! Gaige’s killer robot feels big and a bit overpowered, so he’s great for distractions and extra lethal power. But he’s not as fun for players who want to feel personal satisfaction over downing a marauder with a critical hit.
Though I didn’t have time to give the Little Big Trouble skill tree a spin, this shock-heavy route actually intrigued me the most (stir up electrical storms and blow things up!), and the different directions you can take the new Mechromancer make her a versatile addition to the Vault Hunters.
Bottom line: Gaige is a pretty cool gal and a solid option for potential players new to the FPS format who aren’t as adept with dual-analog controls. Hemingway’s redemptive Best Friends Forever summary: “The ultimate goal of this tree is not necessarily ‘easy mode.’ It’s more to help new players get over those initial humps of learning how to play FPS games so they can get into the groove and enjoy all the things that hardcore players enjoy.”
Well said.