With Borderlands 4 set to launch on September 12th, the buzz isn't just focused on the campaign; Gearbox is pushing hard on the endgame, but not everyone is happy about the decision to dial back the number of skill points we'll have to play with.
Creative director Graeme Timmins recently told Game Informer about Borderlands 4's "very ambitious" endgame, explaining that Gearbox's focus was baked into the core design. "I care about it a lot personally, as my role on Borderlands 3 was curating what became endgame for that… We made purposeful decisions with our Action Skill tree, assuming what will come in the future with our endgame."
However, balancing meaningful endgame content so that it feels fluid with the core design of the game without creating a jarring before-and-after effect is a challenging task, especially when it comes to level caps and skill trees. Balancing is essential to Timmins, who says, "OK, if that's going to still be in our future, how can we make our Action Skill tree this time anticipate that and be balanced from the jump?"
Timmins also admits that Gearbox is dialling things back this time, learning from the pitfalls of Borderlands 3: "In Borderlands 3, we ended at 72 skill points… You lose build diversity as you add more skill points because everyone's homogeneous because they all have the same skills, ultimately unlocked."
That fewer-skill-points approach has sparked community debate. On Twitter, popular Borderlands YouTuber Joltzdude139 cheers the change: "I'm so glad to hear that we won't be bloated with so many skill points in Borderlands 4. They will matter immensely where you put them and make you think about your build."
Reddit users aren't in agreement with the skill changes, however. Redditor Main-Huckleberry7828 is worried that it'll now scale too far in the other direction, saying they "feel like 50 is gonna be too little, but I guess we'll have to see." Meanwhile, Ireverent_Alligator doesn't want it to be "easy and obvious to become overpowered."
That push and pull strikes at the heart of Gearbox's dilemma. By thoughtfully reducing skill points while building depth into each tree, each featuring multiple augments and three capstones, the developers hope players will be encouraged to craft distinct builds that shine in endgame modes.
Timmins stresses this isn't an afterthought, "it's built into the high-level design," meaning planned content and cap bumps will seamlessly align with the original vision.
At its best, Borderlands 4's endgame could reward thoughtful customization, strategic depth, and replayability. Yet the community's split over how far to push this, from fearing too little freedom to craving meaningful constraints, shows the challenges ahead.
Gearbox has ambitious goals; now, it needs to strike a balance that keeps the player base divided by creativity, not compromise.
Borderlands 4 is set on an "all-new planet" rather than series mainstay Pandora
