Upcoming Borderlands spin-off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is heavily inspired by tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, but it’s not using the ideas of the Forgotten Realms wholesale. There’s no thief and warrior classes here; instead developer Gearbox has created unique takes in its Stabbomancer and Brr-Zerker classes.
These two classes are the first to be revealed from Wonderlands’ multiclass system, which allows you to mix and match six unique character skill trees to create your ideal character. Stabbomancer is a stealth (or as stealth as Borderlands gets) class seemingly inspired by D&D’s Rogues. These critical-hit-focused assassins can summon magical spinning Ghost Blades that can be thrown like a deadly frisbee, and use a magical cloak to disappear into the shadows and reposition for a perfect, damage-increased backstab.
Brr-Zerkers, meanwhile, are a sort of magical Barbarian class that combines heavy-hit damage with frost magic. Their Feral Surge ability allows them to leap forward with a huge ice axe and cause a cold shockwave, while the Dreadwind skill spins them around at high speed, freezing enemies and shattering them.
Characters in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands have access to magic, with a spellcasting system built around short cooldowns. Examples offered by Gearbox include roasting enemies with fire, hurling mini tornados, protective spells, and buffs that reduce cooldowns. Similar to plasmids and tonics in BioShock, guns are used in the right hand and spells in your left. Additionally, magic fits into a “combat trifecta” of guns, spells, and melee, and so every character will have access to a dedicated melee weapon at all times.
Furthering the tabletop influences, Wonderlands’ campaign will use an Overworld map for characters to travel between major locations. Explored via a third-person overhead camera, it’s designed to evoke the feeling of moving miniatures across a tabletop RPG game board. Exploring the Overworld map can also uncover shortcuts and optional locations, such as Tangledrift and Sundang Oasis. Each has multi-part questlines which Gearbox hopes will work as Wonderlands’ analogue to tabletop RPG one-shots and standalone modules.
The core quest will involve Butt Stallion, a magical diamond unicorn, who oversees the Wonderlands from the capital city of Blighthoof. Your adventure will bring you face to face with the Skeleton Army, which has been resurrected by the Dragon Lord to wreak destruction.
More from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will be revealed in the coming months, and the game itself will launch on March 25, 2022 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Epic Games Store. Here’s what you can get in each of its different editions. And for more, check out our details on weapons, loot, magic, and enemies.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
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These two classes are the first to be revealed from Wonderlands’ multiclass system, which allows you to mix and match six unique character skill trees to create your ideal character. Stabbomancer is a stealth (or as stealth as Borderlands gets) class seemingly inspired by D&D’s Rogues. These critical-hit-focused assassins can summon magical spinning Ghost Blades that can be thrown like a deadly frisbee, and use a magical cloak to disappear into the shadows and reposition for a perfect, damage-increased backstab.
Brr-Zerkers, meanwhile, are a sort of magical Barbarian class that combines heavy-hit damage with frost magic. Their Feral Surge ability allows them to leap forward with a huge ice axe and cause a cold shockwave, while the Dreadwind skill spins them around at high speed, freezing enemies and shattering them.
Characters in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands have access to magic, with a spellcasting system built around short cooldowns. Examples offered by Gearbox include roasting enemies with fire, hurling mini tornados, protective spells, and buffs that reduce cooldowns. Similar to plasmids and tonics in BioShock, guns are used in the right hand and spells in your left. Additionally, magic fits into a “combat trifecta” of guns, spells, and melee, and so every character will have access to a dedicated melee weapon at all times.
Furthering the tabletop influences, Wonderlands’ campaign will use an Overworld map for characters to travel between major locations. Explored via a third-person overhead camera, it’s designed to evoke the feeling of moving miniatures across a tabletop RPG game board. Exploring the Overworld map can also uncover shortcuts and optional locations, such as Tangledrift and Sundang Oasis. Each has multi-part questlines which Gearbox hopes will work as Wonderlands’ analogue to tabletop RPG one-shots and standalone modules.
The core quest will involve Butt Stallion, a magical diamond unicorn, who oversees the Wonderlands from the capital city of Blighthoof. Your adventure will bring you face to face with the Skeleton Army, which has been resurrected by the Dragon Lord to wreak destruction.
More from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will be revealed in the coming months, and the game itself will launch on March 25, 2022 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Epic Games Store. Here’s what you can get in each of its different editions. And for more, check out our details on weapons, loot, magic, and enemies.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Continue reading...
