Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
borderlands 4 shift codes
Borderlands All Borderlands 4 Shift Codes (March 2026) and how to redeem for Golden Keys and Skins
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 retires gratuitous 154GB Steam build this month in favor of "slim" PC version
Marathon Triage runner shell throwing out medic drone
FPS Games New Marathon patch seemingly makes the whole game a touch easier as Bungie nerfs UESC enemies, to fans' relief
Ghost of Yotei Legends
Open World Games "Mark my words. You cannot win without 4 players," Ghost of Yotei multiplayer lead warns of Legends' "hardcore content"
Key art for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred showing Mephisto, a spiky and angular demon, against a red, lightning backdrop, arm and claw raised menancingly, cropped to show more of him
Diablo Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
Borderlands The best Borderlands games, ranked
Marathon runners in pre-order bonus styles
FPS Games Marathon console players can turn off PC matchmaking, but Bungie made a point to give everyone the same experience
Arc Raiders characters standing together
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders patch nerfs Hurricane Caches so you can't just "walk away from every session" with an armful of blueprints
Marathon automaton looking up
FPS Games Bungie wants more feedback on Marathon's controversial UI to make sure players can "read what's happening mid-fight"
Arc Raiders characters standing together
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders goes full-friendly PvE tomorrow with new Shared Watch event: "Team up with strangers"
Marathon automaton looking up
FPS Games Marathon will make everyone "start fresh" every season, and there'll be new features and gear that are "free for all"
South Park characters in Fortnite
Fortnite Fortnite is introducing 5-player teams for its South Park collab, but lead suggests it could become permanent
Arc Raiders trailer screenshot of a man's face in red lighting
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders devs "understand your frustrations" with Wolfpack nerf and new crafting recipes, but are changing nothing
Arc Raiders characters with shotgun and revolver
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders players make a plea to Embark: don't let PvP in trios poison your solo "aggression-based" matchmaking
Arc Raiders best weapons
Third Person Shooters "Will this blow up the server?": Arc Raiders players are so good at killing Arc that Embark eyes ways to "escalate" PvE
  1. Games
  2. Action Rpg
  3. Borderlands
  4. Borderlands 3

Borderlands 3 Takedowns will now scale for party size by default, permanently

News
By Connor Sheridan published 30 January 2020

True Takedown Mode will restore the old, tougher experience

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Gearbox)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Update - January 30: The Borderlands 3 Takedown at Maliwan Blacksite solo event was set to end today, but now it's becoming a permanent feature instead. Developer Gearbox announced that it now plans to retain difficulty scaling in respect to party size for Maliwan Blacksite as well as all future Takedowns coming to the Borderlands 3, in response to fan feedback for the level scaling event.

If you prefer to go back to the old days of facing down an end-game challenge built for four players all by your lonesome, keep an eye out for True Takedown Mode. It's coming in the Borderlands 3 February update, and you'll be able to activate it by pulling a new lever located on the right side of the initial airlock door. Then simply step out of the door and fight for your life.

Original story - January 10: Borderlands 3 was supposed to make the Takedown at Maliwan Blacksite event easier to play over New Year's, but technical difficulties kept the party from starting. Now Gearbox has confirmed that the event is still on the way, though you'll have to wait another week for the solo-friendly, bot-bashing, loot-collecting festivities to begin.

You may like
  • Borderlands 4 Gearbox is "avoiding nerfs" for Borderlands 4: "I wholeheartedly want to avoid ruining someone's countless hours"
  • Borderlands 4 Borderlands 4 players furious as drop rates are slashed after holiday event, Gearbox promises a "longer-term solution"
  • Borderlands 4 screenshot of new Siren Vex Borderlands 4 will continue to be supported says Gearbox owner, and "we still are very optimistic about that title"

The special event was originally set to run from December 31, 2019 to January 16. Now it will run through the back half of the month instead - January 16 to January 30. While the event is live, party size scaling will be enabled for the Takedown at Maliwan Blacksite mission. Normally the mission's difficulty is scaled for four players and that's where it stays - you're free to take on the Takedown in a duo or even on your own, but it's a much bigger challenge. During the special event, the Takedown's difficulty will automatically scale to match how many players are in your party, as it does for most of the rest of Borderlands 3. All that said, it's still meant to be a challenge for level 50 players with decent equipment, no matter how many of you there are.

The loot you can earn in the Takedown won't change, which means for those two weeks it will be a super effective way to grind for endgame gear. This will also be a good chance to check out the Takedown for the first time if you haven't tried it before. I don't know about you, but I feel a lot better about grouping up with randos in any game if I've at least tried the mission before.

After the event concludes, Takedown at Maliwan Blacksite will go back to its old non-scaling ways. Gearbox hasn't announced the next big update after adding in Moxxi's Heist last month, so we'll have to wait and see what's next for Borderlands 3.

See what else we have to look forward to with our guide to the best upcoming games of 2020.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
Xbox One PS4 PC Gaming Platforms Xbox PlayStation
Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan
Social Links Navigation
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+.

Read more
Borderlands 4
Gearbox is "avoiding nerfs" for Borderlands 4: "I wholeheartedly want to avoid ruining someone's countless hours"
 
 
Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 players furious as drop rates are slashed after holiday event, Gearbox promises a "longer-term solution"
 
 
Borderlands 4 screenshot of new Siren Vex
Borderlands 4 will continue to be supported says Gearbox owner, and "we still are very optimistic about that title"
 
 
Screenshot from the teaser trailer of Borderlands 4's DLC Vault Hunter, C4SH.
Borderlands 4 is finally getting Pearlescent gear this month, plus Bounty Pack 2 and new Vault Hunter C4SH in Story Pack
 
 
Arc Raiders screenshot of raider on sunny sandy background
Arc Raiders' new matchmaking option is a big letdown that almost nobody will use: "Solos vs Squads"
 
 
Games like Borderlands: A screenshot of Borderlands 3
The 10 best Games like Borderlands to play right now
 
 
Latest in Borderlands
Screenshot from the teaser trailer of Borderlands 4's DLC Vault Hunter, C4SH.
Borderlands 4 is finally getting Pearlescent gear this month, plus Bounty Pack 2 and new Vault Hunter C4SH in Story Pack
 
 
Borderlands 4 screenshot of new Siren Vex
Borderlands 4 will continue to be supported says Gearbox owner, and "we still are very optimistic about that title"
 
 
Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 Switch 2 port looks dead as Gearbox parent Take-Two "pauses development"
 
 
Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 players furious as drop rates are slashed after holiday event, Gearbox promises a "longer-term solution"
 
 
Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters posing
Everything you need to get started in Borderlands 4 in one place
 
 
Borderlands 4
Gearbox finally fixes the most frustrating loot in Borderlands 4: "Class Mods have been adjusted to drop more for your current character"
 
 
Latest in News
Gen V
The Boys prequel show Vought Rising will feature the return of a major Gen V season 2 villain
 
 
Palworld
Pocketpair lead says "apologies to all the professional Palworld haters," but "it's not really our problem"
 
 
An orc from World of Warcraft roars at the screen
Ex-Blizzard exec commands others to stop taking devs for granted as EA, Ubisoft, and more drown the industry in layoffs
 
 
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Frieren actor says the response to "wholesome" low angle Frieren meme was "beautiful"
 
 
a ditto human sitting on some logs with pikachu and pichu
Pokemon Pokopia players hope its messy storage system can copy Animal Crossing New Horizons 3.0 in a future update
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem's unintentional Half-Life YouTuber ad website will be handed back to Capcom "for free" if it wants
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. An orc from World of Warcraft roars at the screen
    1
    Ex-Blizzard exec commands others to stop taking devs for granted as EA, Ubisoft, and more drown the industry in layoffs
  2. 2
    Amazon is going zero profit mode on the best PS5 controller right now with an £80 discount
  3. 3
    The 1TB PNY microSD Express Card loaded up Pokemon Pokopia faster than the Switch 2, and now it's my go-to SD card
  4. 4
    Kiki's Delivery Service's return to theaters proves we need hand-drawn animation now more than ever
  5. 5
    After 48 hours, I've realized Pokopia is my ideal Pokemon game and humans were the problem all along

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...