How Borderlands 3 Is Making Co-Op Better

Borderlands 3 is going to make things more co-op friendly with a set of features that will no doubt help players of any level and skill have a good time with one another. Not only will each player get their own loot stream, but level sync will cut out the need for players to be similar levels to play together.

In a new post on the PlayStation Blog, Gearbox art director Scott Kester triumphantly declared there will be "no more loot ninjas!" This is because Borderlands 3 co-op players will each get their own loot drops, as opposed to the system in Borderlands 2 where every player had to fight over the loot from the same pool.

If you prefer to fight it out over the treasure, there will be the option to turn this setting off for a more classic ruleset. This will make Borderlands 3 more like Borderlands 2, where the loot is shared and the fastest looter gets the good stuff.

There's also a new level-sync system in Borderlands 3 that will make it so that anyone playing together, either online or split-screen co-op, can play together and do "a meaningful amount of damage" based on their level. Online games like Final Fantasy 14 and Anthem also utilize level-sync to cut the need for newcomers to grind to play with their more experienced friends.

With both changes, Borderlands 3 is really making a push to become a truly modern co-op experience. Honestly, it's wild that Borderlands 3 doesn't have some kind of live-service element to it, but I appreciate Gearbox's decision to update a more classic multiplayer experience with modern mechanics.

Check out our Borderlands 3 guides hub for more coverage. Borderlands 3 is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Epic Games Store on September 13.