Borderlands 3: Takedown at Maliwan's Blacksite release date revealed

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You'll get some of the game's best shields and new heads and skins if you prevail

(Image credit: Gearbox)

The Borderlands 3 Takedown at Maliwan's Blacksite release date is official: you can try out the first new post-launch, end-game challenge from developer Gearbox starting on November 21. If you've completed the campaign, you'll be able to play the new Takedown, but Gearbox warns that it will be tuned to challenge four level 50 characters with Legendary gear. Just running in by yourself as soon as soon as possible could get your Vault Hunter vaporized in the first fight (though that could be fun too, I'm not gonna judge your Borderlands 3 playstyle). 

Gearbox says Maliwan's Blacksite will be the first of several Takedowns, each of which will be added to the game via free updates. They'll have public matchmaking enabled, so you can queue up and try it out even if you you usually play solo.

Though Takedowns sound a bit like Raids in certain other loot-driven online games, Gearbox story group head Randy Varnell says the studio plans to keep them easy to play without dedicating your whole night to it: "[They're] probably a little bit longer than the Proving Grounds right now, but not too long," Varnell said on the official site. "We still like that you can come play a session, then either replay it or take a break and come back tomorrow. It's designed to be replayable content."

This Takedown specifically will send players to one of the Maliwan corporation's most secure, secret facilities. New Riot Troopers will use their shields to absorb your elemental damage and fire it back at you, Stealth Troopers will cloak to outmaneuver you, and three boss fights will test your gear and your skill. You'll encounter even bigger challenges, and commensurate rewards, if you play through on True Vault Hunter Mode. Succeed and you may be rewarded with some of the best shields in the game, as well as exclusive head and skin variants.

Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan
Former GamesRadar+ News Writer

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar+.