Line #2 Fridge/Borderlands


1	!! Index:
2	[[index]]
3	* ''Fridge/Borderlands1''
4	* ''Fridge/Borderlands2''
5	* ''Fridge/BorderlandsThePreSequel''
6	* ''Fridge/Borderlands3''
7	* ''Fridge/TalesFromTheBorderlands''
8	* ''Fridge/TinyTinasWonderlands''
9	* ''Fridge/NewTalesFromTheBorderlands''
10	[[/index]]
11	----
12	!! The series in general/Non-game specific:
13	[[foldercontrol]]
14
15	[[folder:Fridge Brilliance]]
16	* The entire series, seems to be a giant TakeThat against the idea of [[MegaCorp letting corporations act in a government's place]]. In the first game alone you have a corporation that literally abandoned a planet of people to mutated raiders and deadly wildlife (Dahl), one that didn't even try to save lives during a zombie outbreak (Jakobs), and one that treated its best military commander with the same respect you save for a data entry clerk (Atlas). Then there's Hyperion, a corporation where assholery is not just encouraged but also ''is the law'' and which, by the time of ''2'', had waged a war with the population of Pandora for 3 years, turned into a Orwellian corporation full of backstabbing corporate climbers, and run by a CorruptCorporateExecutive whose policies were on par with Stalin's regime. And in the third game, one of the remaining big corporations (Maliwan) becomes the backbone of a cult of bandits led by a Siren bandit and her brother, both of which suffer from [[AGodAmI God complex]], while the other two engage in a very bloody war out of which there was only one survivor. And the less said about one of those latter corporations' (Tediore) actions in ''VideoGame/NewTalesFromTheBorderlands'', the better.
17	* This is the first FPS universe where FPS tropes make perfect sense: How can governments and megacorps afford to field giant armies all the time? The market only supplies that kind of resources when nobody's at war, and with the constant violence in the Borderlands-verse who has the time to actually produce anything? If there are that many guns everywhere, why are there still jerks to shoot? MoreCriminalsThanTargets... Why do human bosses reappear after a while? Robots like the Claptraps keep everything running, [[MatterReplicator digistruct technology]] makes everything literally dirt cheap, [[HealThyself health syringes and kits]] keep everyone going, and the [[BodyBackupDrive New-U stations]] keep bringing everyone back when they die. Thus, people have no reason ''not'' to beat each other up and/or kill each other for fun and profit because violence has no consequences anymore.
18	* The New-U stations:
19	** Bosses can still be fought even after being defeated and the respective missions they appear are marked as complete. Thanks to them, you aren't fighting the real deal anymore, just a digistructed clone that can still be destroyed. As said by one of the stations in ''2'':
20	--> '''Hyperion New-U station:''' ''Hyperion suggests that you do not think about the fact that this is only a digital reconstruction of your original body, which died the first time you respawned. Do NOT think about this!''
21	** Jack was either [[RevengeBeforeReason too blinded by revenge]] to consider [[FailedASpotCheck checking himself if he was still registered on the stations]], or he was too confident he (or the Warrior) could kill the Vault Hunters and didn't set up the New-U Station accordingly. So, while the Warrior can still be fought against, Jack, in spite of being Hyperion's president, is truly nowhere to be seen. Alternatively, Jack crossed the DespairEventHorizon after the death of Angel and didn't bothered to set the stations, so if he lived, at least he managed to take revenge on his daughter's "killers", and if he died, he would be reunited with her.
22	** In ''3'', they still work for the Vault Hunters, which seems like a PetTheDog from a previously villainous company, but it could also be pragmatism, assuming Jack's hatred for bandits remained.
23	* Why do many of Pandora's creatures have some form of split jaw? Biological competition led to the convergent evolution of creatures with the ability to eat things bigger than their own head in one bite.
24	* Vending Machines:
25	** Looking at the games, how CAN you buy something like a rocket launcher from a vending machine? The same way you get everything else: the vending machines are just another digistruct platform. It also explains why a Vending Machine can work even though it's been stuck in a massive sandworm for days; as long as it can maintain a signal to Marcus and transfer credits, it can digistruct and buy guns from and for the Customers. The limited stock could also be the machines manually rotating their stock; it always has that many guns for sale and so Marcus doesn't need to keep track of his inventory; he just takes the entire stock out and replace it with a new set, then takes whatever guns weren't sold from the removed stock and put it into the next set for rotation.
26	** If the vending machines are digistruct platforms then the stock isn't actually limited. The Catch-A-Rides can make as many cars as you want. So why do they act like there's a limit? Marketing. If there's a new set of guns every day, customers will check the machines every day. People will be more likely to buy something if they think they'll never have a chance to get it again.
27	** This also explains how there are EleventyZillion guns. Dahl and Maliwan aren't designing and manufacturing a thousand different variations on every model of pistol they make. They design the parts, Marcus scans them (so when you sell a gun to a vending machine it isn't the gun that's worth anything, it's the scan of its components), and his vending machines procedurally generate guns from the compatible parts. ''Just like the game's engine does.''
28	** Also, the machines aren't actually digistructing anything. The equipment you're buying and selling is the data your ECHO uses to digistruct them when you equip them.
29	* A small one spanning all the series, but one of the reasons that, on Earth, the largest land animal is the elephant is because of the square-cube law. By this logic everything from Crawmerax to Terramorphous to Vermivorous should not be able to exist, let alone be so damn hard to put down. However, in the first game, it's stated that you don't suffer fall damage because of the lower gravity of Pandora, which explains why such ridiculously large creatures can not only exist, but thrive on the planet; the gravity is so low here that they can grow to that size.
30	* Notice something unusual about the Bandit mask? The mouth-piece looks like an air purifier. And there's a crapton of bandits with zero personal hygiene living near each other, with old blood and dirt on the clothes they wear every day, soooooo...
31	* The logic of the weapon manufacturers and what they make across the games:
32	** Atlas: In the first game they were a master of all, with their weapons being rare and expensive yet rarely suck. After the events of ''The Secret Armory of General Knoxx'', they were left in a poor state, and some time before ''2'' they were bought out by Hyperion.
33	*** In ''3'', with Rhys in charge, their handguns and rocket launchers became wrist-mounted, no wonder due to [[Characters/BorderlandsHandsomeJack Rhys's former idol being a known wrist-mounted handgun user]]. Their assault rifles still require two hands to use though. All 3 weapons come with alt-fire trackers that lock-on to the enemies. Submachine guns wouldn't benefit much from homing trackers and bullets, nor would shotguns or sniper rifles, hence their absence in Atlas manufacturing. However, with 3 exceptions, most of their guns don't have any elemental enhancements at all as the grenade mods fill that niche. This is due to Maliwan and the [=CoV=] invading Promethea, which no doubt interrupted any attempts to enhance their firearms with elemental powers, given that there's a ''planet-wide invasion'' going on.
34	** '''S&S/Bandit/Scav/[=CoV=]:''' They make almost everything because bandits are an individualistic lot and don't take kindly to being told they can't have the kind of gun they want.
35	*** They don't make sniper rifles, because Pandora's bandits are pretty consistently AxCrazy {{Blood Knight}}s who are largely incapable of the kind of long-distance focus and discipline required to use a sniper rifle effectively. The exceptions are the Longshot Fanatics and even that's stretching it.
36	*** They don't make lasers in ''TPS'' because they would be too stupid to make their own lasers.
37	*** ''3'' doesn't modify the tendency of ''2'', except for one thing: COV guns draw ammo from the backpack, effectively eliminating manual reloading, allowing their troops to fire non-stop... which is basically [[AttackAttackAttack their one and only strategy in combat]]. However, this comes at the cost of overheating and repair if the guns ever break, hence the need for spare parts and water bottles, squirt guns and portable hoses. Also they had to abandon their shotguns and [=SMGs=], probably because they didn't mesh well with the MoreDakka philosophy being bumped up to eleven. You can imagine the bandits not being happy about this, as it hinders them to some extent in close range, which, admittedly, is somewhat made up for them retaining their trademark ActionBomb and Close Quarter Combatant tendencies. The Calypsos tried to compensate for this loss by having their cult join forces with Maliwan which has both shotguns and [=SMGs=] followed by allying with Aurelia Hammerlock (with Troy literally getting into bed with her) to acquire the vaunted Jakobs shotguns.
38	** '''Dahl:''' They make pistols, [=SMGs=], sniper rifles and assault rifles - pretty straightforward military gear, but ''precise'' military gear. Dahl prizes accuracy and minimal collateral damage above all else, which is why you can only burst fire when aiming down sights - and why they don't make equipment that hurls fragments of metal everywhere or guns that create huge explosions (even the Grenadier has a pretty small blast radius).
39	*** The primary Dahl multi-target weapons are Bouncing Betty grenade variants - which are mostly emergency panic buttons for when cleaning an entire room quickly is necessary.
40	*** In ''3'', after receiving complaints about their guns being restricted to aim at the sights to bring out their full potential, and after no-doubt witnessing first-hand (via the events of ''2'' and ''The Pre-Sequel!'') what happens if people armed with their weapons get caught at ranges where the fire-mode is ineffective, the company decided to install alt-fire modes to their weapons. Now Vault Hunters can burst fire or go full automatic at both the hips and sights! Now if only they can break away from their DirtyCoward[=/=]PaperTiger tendencies...
41	** '''Hyperion:''' Hyperion weapons are designed largely for the idiosyncratic Hyperion corporate culture - in which being, or at least seeming to be, smart and ruthless, is better than simply appearing strong.
42	*** They don't make Assault Rifles because they are too ''military'', and that's Dahl's and Vladof's approach - Hyperion is for people who are businesslike, and that means mostly weapons that can be carried fairly easily, and/or are designed for deadly accuracy rather than spreading carnage around (hence the sniper rifles).
43	*** They don't make Rocket Launchers because the Hyperion proprietary stabiliser - the reason their accuracy goes up as you fire - is an extremely awkward fit for a rocket launcher, given their low rate of fire and bottom-of-the-barrel ammo count.
44	*** They stopped making handguns in ''3'' for three reasons: their awkwardness, lack of real killing power despite their accuracy, and just being associated with Jack as the weapon that murdered a renowned Vault Hunter.
45	*** In ''3'', they added shields while aiming to their shotguns, [=SMGs=], and sniper rifles, which no doubt helps their intended audience - the corporate layman, of whom is likely neither heavily armored nor particularly battleworn - survive in Borderlands' cutthroat corporate world. They also shoved the Jack A.I. into a SMG and installed Tediore firmware, which diversified the company's portfolio, going from being the guns that were the most accurate to guns that are more adjusted for the dynamic battlefield.
46	** '''Jakobs:''' They have a "Wild West" theme, so the weapons they don't make (Rocket Launchers, [=SMGs=], Lasers) simply don't fit the theme.
47	*** In ''3'', some of their purple quality or higher assault rifles became hand-cranked - referencing the early Gatling Guns - and any critical hit made by their weapons will have the bullet ricochet to the next target, allowing a skilled marksman to make the most of their shots. Their shotguns also have the potential to possess larger magazines, likely due to Wainwright's preference for them given his disability.
48	*** Despite their reputation from having low-tech yet effective weapons, some of the Jakobs guns have alien barrels. Why? Possibly due to Clay modifying them for aftermarket in order to help out his adoptive brother Wainwright and avenge his father-figure Montgomery Jakobs, who was slain at the hands of Aurelia Hammerlock and the Calypsos. Clay probably also created the Hellwalker to counter Aurelia's ice powers.
49	*** Wainwright dreaded the notion of his family's weaponry in the filthy hands of the [=COV=]. It happened once before when one of his family's manufactured shotguns fell into the hands of an extremely uncouth brute named Sledge who claimed it as his own. Then it happened again right after murdering Wainwright's father, The Calypsos stole another legendary shotgun, desecrated it with their graffiti and teleported back to Pandora and gave it to Hot Karl whom rebranded it as "Sledge's Shotgun".
50	** '''Maliwan:''' They build weapons to make their designers feel clever. This means either weapons that are precise (pistols, sniper rifles) or weapons that let them push the boundaries with their tech - rocket launchers as a power level and blast radius test, submachine guns as a speed test.
51	*** They don't make Assault Rifles because they aren't a new experiment, they're just big submachine guns.
52	*** They don't make Shotguns because they don't make them feel smart, because those are weapons with a lot of scatter and very little precision. (Mr. Torgue's obsession with shotguns would not help the case of any would-be Maliwan shotgun designer in ''2'').
53	*** Additionally, Maliwan is commonly stereotyped as a "hipsters" weapons brand, and if we were to run off of that then their weapon preferences become clearer: their customers would prefer to brandish a sleek and colorful sniper rifle or a compact and portable SMG/pistol than a gaudy and bulky assault rifle or an inaccurate and hick-associated shotgun. And their rocket launchers make dramatic and brightly colored elemental explosions compared to other brands traditional and mundane explosions, a great way to stand out from the crowd.
54	*** In ''3'', with Katagawa in charge of Maliwan, the rocket launchers were dropped in favor of shotguns as he felt that shotguns give the enemy a personal sense of fear. That and he was probably tired of hearing complaints from Torgue, and to fit in with their "stylish corporate executive" aesthetic. Their weapons also added in alt-fire elemental capacitors like incendiary/shock in order to deal with enemies that have shields or incendiary/corrosive to those who have armor, likely as a result of finding out the hard way that having a powerful elemental weapon means absolutely ''nothing'' if the opponent in question can NoSell the oncoming fire. The new, almost alien like design of their guns, as well as the ability to shift between two elements, also explains their presence on Nekrotafeyo.
55	** '''Tediore:''' They don't make guns for the military, they make guns for ordinary citizens to use cheaply in home defense and possibly hunting for food.
56	*** They don't make Assault Rifles because they would be considered overkill in most of the more civilised areas (and especially in Hyperion-controlled ones, that would likely clamp down very hard on unauthorised gun ownership)
57	*** The Sniper Rifle's problem would be the Tediore explosive construction showcased in ''2'': unless you have the strongest throwing arm in your galaxy, at sniper rifle ranges, your discarded gun is unlikely to hit anything even semi-reliably, and in a military context you're likely to be grenading your own men.
58	*** Before the events of ''3'', after having their asses handed to them by Vladof's Iron Bear Corps, they decided to make changes to their reload system. Instead of being simply grenades, they become turrets that fire down on the enemy or drones that hunt down their prey. While other companies still see Tediore as a joke, they won't be laughing as much when hordes of Baby Maker, Turbo Ten Gallon, Fire Musket, Scorpio, Mother Too, Smart Gun XXL, and Dark Army drones move in for the kill. Plus, the newfound diversity of Tediore means that they have something other than being a ''very'' cheap brand to buy from going for them. Their guns having a wide range of gimmicks and abilities means that people who would've either passed them over or sold their weapons to the nearest vendor the moment they had the opportunity will now be taking them seriously when picking out weapons to carry into battle. They had to abandon their rocket launchers in order to make this feature work.
59	** '''Torgue:'''
60	*** They don't make Sniper Rifles. Mister Torgue, as the company gunsmith (he designed all those weapons himself after all), is the sort of HotBlooded BoisterousBruiser who would decide that sniping wasn't as badass because it lacked the in-your-face thrill of shotguns... which also explains why his company stopped manufacturing sniper rifles by the second game. He's decided that sniping bores him, so he isn't going to encourage it by building sniper rifles, even if their bullets explode.
61	*** They don't make [=SubMachine=] Guns. Mr. Torgue's obsession with "bigger" and "louder" means that even if you told him to design a submachine gun, he would immediately ignore the "sub-" and give you a full-on minigun (along the lines of a Spitter).
62	*** They don't make Lasers in ''TPS'' because, outside of one unique legendary, lasers don't explode (said straight from the man himself, Torgue Flexington).
63	*** Between ''Tiny Tina's Wonderlands'' & ''3'', when Torgue was reinstated as the company face, he was forced to compromise by having weapons get elemental enhancements since explosive damage is no longer considered an element as shown with the New Pandora Army, and the new radiation element could fill the niche of making things explode. On the other hand, having sticky gyrojets alt-fire on your rifles, shotguns and handguns is perfect, due to enemies having a nasty habit of escaping your line of fire, and the gyrojets mean that there's not much they can do once an explosive bullet is latched onto them. Torgue saw how terrible the E-Tech pistols were and decided to make sticky bullets with more damage. Apparently Jakobs liked the idea as well when they created The Duc pistol based on Torgue firmware. So did Hyperion and Dahl with their Proprietary License and Kaoson [=SMGs=] respectively.
64	** '''Vladof:''' Vladof take a very simple and direct approach to designing guns.
65	*** They don't make [=SubMachine=] Guns because they lack in impact compared to Assault Rifles.
66	*** They don't make Shotguns because their low ammo counts would not fit well with the Vladof rapid-fire approach. Leave that mess to the likes of those corporate pigs at Hyperion.
67	*** They don't make lasers in ''TPS'' because lasers tend to "fire" at maximum speed anyway, so for Vladof's schtick, laser weapons would be redundant.
68	*** Before the events of ''3'', after the Darzaran Bay Massacre (which, unbeknownst to the company, Moze was the sole survivor), they, like every other company, learned from the weaknesses of CripplingOverspecialization that were demonstrated in the first three games, and added more firepower to their weapons so incidents like that never happen again. For their alt-fire modes, we have zip rockets, tasers, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, mortars, double-barrels, and shotguns. As a matter of fact, Vladof created the Sickle, an assault rifle with shotgun properties as an homage to their discontinued Hammer shotgun from the first game. MoreDakka, while effective, will only carry the company so far, so their subsequent foray into all sorts of under-barrel attachments is at least rooted in making their weapons more competitive with the other companies.
69	* The Sirens:
70	** Each of them have powers that match their personalities:
71	*** Lilith is powerful and confident, but also reckless and impulsive, and tends to charge into things without thinking, which ends up causing her quite a few problems over the course of the game. Fittingly, Phasewalk is an ability that allows her to charge into combat and tear enemies up, with the risk of leaving her in a bad position after she returns to normal, or it can act as a crutch to escape from enemies if she's gotten herself into trouble.
72	*** In Maya's ECHO logs, it is shown that she refused to hurt someone without first trying to analyse the situation and get context on why she's being asked to hurt them, but once she realises what's happening, she shuts down the corrupt priest who raised her and kills him without a second thought. Fittingly, Phaselock allows her to lock enemies down and gain some breathing room to analyse the situation and decide what to do next, and allows her to immobilise enemies for an easy kill once she's acquired her target.
73	*** Angel has been locked up, abused and pumped full of Eridium for years on end by Handsome Jack, and wants nothing more than to escape his grasp. [[WordOfGod The devs stated on record]] that Angel's siren power is to create alternate realities, and that the original plan was to meet her in a house that she'd simulated with her power. She wants to escape her prison, and her power allows her to do it, at least temporarily.
74	** Their name seems a tad non-indicative, as their powers never rely on voice and seldom hypnotize people (Maya's "Thoughtlock" ability is the only example). However, when you look at the Sirens we know, each of them DOES somewhat hypnotize others through their voice and presence:
75	*** Lilith leads the Crimson Raiders along with keeping them together, and has (inadvertently) created at least a couple cults that worship her.
76	*** Commandant Steele from the first game led an elite group of Atlas soldiers to The Destroyer's vault.
77	*** Angel both led and misled the Vault Hunters as an enigmatic voice over the [=ECHONet=] in order to do Jack's bidding, and would later repent for it.
78	*** Maya was instrumental in the leadership of the Monks, first as a mere figurehead and "voice" for them, and later as a true leader.
79	*** The only one that we haven't seen deliberately influencing and directing people is Amara, and that's because she's far more focused on fighting anything she runs into than her predecessors... and even then, she's a celebrity crime fighter back on her homeworld, to the point of needing her own publicist and manager to maintain her personal media presence.
80	*** Tyreen makes it meaningful in a different sort of way. She and her brother manage to charm the bandits across the galaxy and frequently make use of propaganda centers and radio stations to spread their influence, all the while luring many of their followers to their death for sustenance.
81	** Why are there specifically SIX sirens at any one time? There are four players who could all be sirens, and 2 [=NPCs=] who were sirens in each game:
82	*** Steele, Angel and PC Lilith in ''1''
83	*** Lilith, Angel and PC Maya in ''2'' (and, by extension, ''The Pre-Sequel'').
84	*** Lilith ([[DePower later]] Tyreen [[YouAreInCommandNow and]] Ava), Maya (and [[KilledOffForReal later]] Tannis) and PC Amara in ''3''.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Fridge Horror]]
88	* The motto on the Welcome To Pandora billboards: "Your final destination, GUARANTEED!" Even leaving aside the implications from the [[Film/FinalDestination film series]] of the same name...
89	* Related to the FPS justification brilliance; Borderlands is a good example on how TheSingularity won't fix a CrapsackWorld full of [[HumansAreBastards vicious jerks]].
90	* Why are there so few women on Pandora as compared to men? Several possibilities, some more horrifying than others.
91	** Most likely, the bandits target them for kidnapping more often, for [[RapeAsDrama fairly obvious and horrifying reasons]].
92	** In one of his ECHO logs in ''2'', Handsome Jack chews out his assassins for murdering random women and doodling tattoos on them to turn in as "Sirens". Not that he has any moral standards, just that he's irritated they're trying to swindle him with such an obvious ruse, seeing as how there are only six Sirens in the universe and he already knows of three. He even says "I will admit it was mildly amusing the first dozen times you idiots tried it, but now my office smells like blood and marker fumes". Yeah, even though we can all agree that RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil, being murdered and basically having your corpse sold off as a faked alien isn't much better.
93	** Or, it could just be because the "criminals that would make good unskilled laborers" demographic is predominately male.
94	** Interestingly enough, Episode 3 of ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' has a female bandit as part of Vallory's hit squad, who unsuccessfully searches for Rhys and Fiona in the beginning.
95	* A Crimson Lance soldier says in ''2'' that [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil even if Jack is defeated, someone else will take his place]]. Case in point: The New Pandora Army in ''2''[='=]s ''Commander Lilith'' DLC followed by The Children of The Vault in ''3''.
96	* Related to the New-U Station point from FridgeBrilliance: What about [[PlotlineDeath the exceptions]]? Hyperion gets to decide who lives and who doesn't. This explains why characters such as T.K. Baha (a Fyrestone resident murdered during the Hyperion cleanup that transformed the area into the Arid Nexus), Bloodwing and Roland don't respawn. So yeah, the line about the lack of higher power than Hyperion said by the stations in ''2'' [[ExactWords wasn't a joke]].
97	[[/folder]]

Context Fridge / Borderlands