Heartwarming / Borderlands 3

Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

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Claptrap making someone happy.

Main Game

• Maya found Ava as a stowaway and decided to take her on as an apprentice. With Ava's notebook detailing how she had a ridiculously-bad childhood, she found a caring figure who took her under her wing.
  • On Sanctuary-III, Ava meets Claptrap for the first time and just starts nerding out, explaining that she's always wanted to meet him. Claptrap has become pretty sour and jaded over the past seven years, but he sounds genuinely relieved to meet someone who isn't indifferent to his presence or trying to bully him. After he successfully builds another CL4P-TP unit, he is no longer the last of his kind, either.
  • Generally, while the crew of Sanctuary-III are indifferent to him, their attitude is at least a slight improvement over the bullying and misery that Claptrap endured for years. Lilith sums it up best:
  I know Claptrap can be a little...Claptrap, but he's still one of us.
  • In addition, FL4K actually seems to care a little bit about Claptrap too.
• Quite a lot to do with Rhys, who has definitely done well for himself since his last appearance (corporate war aside).
  • He treats his Atlas employees well, taking them to theme parks, seeming genuinely motivated by their well-being, and always making sure they're fed well. Part of the reason he's so devastated by Katagawa joyfully destroying the things he loves with a Kill Sat is that those were places he would take his employees to unwind.
    • On a related note, seeing the way the Atlas Soldiers behave in this game, looking out for people, defending civilians and fighting alongside the Vault Hunters. For players of the original game, who no doubt spent many, many agonizing hours facing off against Atlas troops, it can be quite nice to see their former enemies fighting alongside them, finally living up to their claims of protecting the people.
  • He keeps a picture of Sasha on his desk and has sent Zer0 to look for her, even though Sasha seems to have disappeared off the faces of the six galaxies in the seven-year interim between 2 and 3.
  • His relationship with Zer0 has developed into a true friendship, with Zer0 of all people even referring to him as 'my bro'. Rhys' trust in Zer0 is so absolute, in fact, that he completely refuses to believe that Zer0's betraying him, telling one soldier not to slander Zer0 by saying he killed him (The soldier's final words are that he "super meant it."). Rhys is elated when he finds that his trust was not misplaced.
  • Way back in Borderlands, a recording by Atlas in the General Knoxx DLC mentioned that while Pandora was bad, Promethea was even worse. Apparently, after Atlas exploited Eridian tech taken from Promethea's first Vault and turned the planet into an ecumenopolis with the profits, the innovations dried up and Atlas stopped investing any money into maintaining the planet's infrastructure, kicking off an economic crash and throwing most of the planet's population into anarchic poverty for decades. Things got even worse with Atlas's collapse in the interim between 1 and 2. When Rhys later took over the company, he began revitalizing Promethea and made massive strides in restoring civilization. The Maliwan invasion set things back a bit, but Rhys is still set on leading Atlas and Promethea to a prosperous future with plentiful artisanal coffee shops and lazy river water parks.
• Everything about Wainwright and Alistair Hammerlock's relationship, culminating in Wainwright successfully proposing◊ to Alistair at the end of the game.
  • Bonus credits because it's rather rare to see a gay romance between two older men, and theirs is never played of laughs. Logs found through Eden 6 show Wainwright's serious self-confidence issues, and how much Hammerlock supports him and means to him, which makes their relationship surprisingly well-fleshed out and endearing.
  • The second DLC is officially about their wedding! Or at least engagement party.
• A brief scene at the end of the game reveals that Typhon's robotic servants gave his body a proper burial.
  • Other scenes at the game's end include Tina playing Bunkers & Badasses with Brick and Mordecai◊, and Rhys and Vaughn properly reuniting◊.
  • The Vault Hunters hanging out and eating together◊, showing that they truly are a "found family".
  • Moxxi and Ellie drinking together. Also of the two and Marcus taking a joyride in a Technical.
• Some ECHO logs found in the game reveal that Krieg has gained at least some of his sanity back. Not completely yet, mind you - just enough so that his more sane half can actually come out and speak and act for himself, instead of having to watch in horror as his psycho side tears people apart left and right. It's good to know Krieg's insanity isn't completely irreversible, at least.
  • There is also an additional ECHO log detailing Maya bidding farewell to Krieg before leaving for Athenas, set after the ending of the Commander Lilith DLC. Unlike in 2, it really seems that Maya is now aware of Krieg's feelings for her, and genuinely enjoys having him around as a teammate. It's implied that Krieg has been fully accepted by his fellow Vault Hunters as well.
• The beginning of the mission, Childhood's End, starts with a flashback of Angel as a child happily playing with her teddy bear and shows that at one point Jack actually was a good father who could show his love for his daughter. This was shown best when he playfully asked Angel who her toy was. Shame it all went completely downhill after that.
• A janitor runs a secret Atlas lab to resurrect his friend into a ratch body before he gets killed. Said ratch works on getting the janitor into another ratch body, and despite eating the old human body, both ratches are okay with their current bodies as long as they have each other.
  • Even better, Rhys - already a Benevolent Boss in his own right - decides to look the other way, rather than come down on either of the workers. The man really, truly cares about his people, even if they do some seriously messed-up things in the name of friendship.
  • Also worth noting is FL4K's words if you're playing them when talking to Terry.
    FL4K: You there. Form is meaningless - it is what you DO with that form that matters. You are no ratch. You are Terry!
• Claptrap's challenges, which has you finding parts to make a better friend than him. Especially when his friend is a Hyperion communications AI that was discontinued when Echo 1 came out, also making her the last of her kind.
• The Vault Hunters comforting Ava after Maya's death.
  Ava: Oh. Hey, Vault Hunter. Not much to say, you know, it's a war. People die.
  Zane: Someday, when you're old enough, we'll get absolutely shitefaced and sing songs about her till our throats go hoarse.
  FL4K: As they must. But do not fear Death. She is a friend who welcomes you at the end of your hunt.
  Moze: Yeah, they do that. But you're still here. And the war's not over.
  Amara: Yeah, you're right. Doesn't make it any easier. But Maya put her faith in you for a reason, huh? Keep fighting. Make her proud.
  • Tannis comforting Ava, as opposed to telling Lilith that people die in wars.
• The entire area of Roland's Rest, where you can find a giant stone statue of Roland, a billboard advertising the place, and multiple messages were written on the pedestal by Roland's loved ones, including the BL1 vault hunters, Tina and Ellie.
  • You'll also see a picture of Roland in Lilith's room.
• The quest to celebrate Grace's birthday, a girl that Mordecai knew. While it's tearjerking to find out she died while he was off-planet, the Vault Hunters can at least preserve her records despite how skilled they are.
• The final Clapslist mission has Claptrap and the Vault Hunters fulfilling a request from a Pandoran girl named Baby to have a dance partner. When they arrive, Baby is in no dancing mood as she's been waiting seven years for a response and has become crippled during the wait, but Claptrap refuses to be dissuaded and shows her the benefits of dancing with wheels as they share a graceful duet. In fact, Claptrap was in it for the money but decides not to take the reward and pays you out of his pocket. The best part is that it doesn't end in an Epic Fail.
  • In fact, none of the Clapslist missions end up being failures: in spite of the Vault Hunter being seven years late in offering aid, the people who put out the requests are all grateful for the help!...apart from the geologist, but he's an ass in general. Overall, the Clapslist is one big instance of Throw the Dog a Bone for Claptrap.
• The fact that Montgomery Jakobs knew there was a Vault on Eden-6, but kept it a secret because he didn't want the planet to be ravaged like what happened on Pandora and Promethea. Similarly, Typhon DeLeon didn't tell Atlas about the second Vault on Promethea because it could negatively affect the civilians who had it bad as it is.
• We finally hear from Mr. Holloway, Marcie Holloway's father. While he is still evil and trying (and failing) to murder Gaige, it's kind of heartwarming to see that his company is using his daughter's robot design (which was plagiarized from Gaige's far superior Deathtrap admittedly) and that he's still upset about her death all these years later. You see a lot of Crime Buster bots on Promethea alone.
• Typhon's last log, and his words to Leda regarding staying on Nekrotafeyo. "Baby, as long as I got you, I got the whole universe."
• Gearbox included Penn Jillette's red finger on Pain's gauntlet. In real life, Penn keeps the nail on his left ring finger painted red. While this does help draw audiences' eyes during his magic tricks, it's mainly in remembrance of his parents and daughter, particularly his mother. And now that remembrance is in Borderlands.
• When you’re first bringing Vaughn to Lilith, he goes on and on about how tight he is with her. Sounds like yet another case of Small Name, Big Ego, especially since Lilith had no idea he was leading the Sunsmashers, and the last time we saw them together she seemed pretty apathetic to him. Instead, she turns out to be genuinely glad to see him.
• While the moment is slightly lessened by what happens next, Tyreen shows an Even Evil Has Loved Ones moment. Maya has Troy held against her and threatens him in order to get Tyreen to drop Ava. Tyreen... complies.
• Marcus can't comprehend Maurice being nice so he has the Vault Hunters look around for incriminating evidence. After hearing tapes that suggest otherwise, Maurice calls the VH and allows them to deliver a gift to Marcus. Marcus ends up thinking that the gift validated his theory because of how nasty it is and Maurice accepts that misunderstanding as a diplomatic success.
• FL4K themselves is a recurring source of heartwarming with both their pets and other friendly creatures they encounter. Their lines are often affectionate requests for the pet to come closer, or that they missed it upon summoning it.
  • And it's more than just dialogue. FL4K even has little plushies of their pets as class mods! As well as a food bowl hanging off their jacket!

Mad Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot

• Moxxi recognizes Timothy on the holo-call. Granted, she's not happy to see him, but considering Timothy wasn't the only doppelganger on the Handsome Jackpot back then, he's surprised that Moxxi can see past his Jack impression.
• When the Handsome Jackpot went on lockdown, the Jack doppelgangers used their all-access hands to help the patrons. Unfortunately, the patrons really hated Jack and the poor doppelgangers became victims of Revenge by Proxy since the real Jack already died at the hands of the previous Vault Hunters.
• After beating Pretty Boy the Vault Hunters try to stop the casino from falling into a black hole, but only Timothy has the clearance to do that and he's stuck in a cage. Initially, he tells you to run and save yourself and Moxie is distraught, in the end, he figures out a solution by cutting off his hand.
  • This is doubly heartwarming as, throughout the DLC, you've seen evidence that Timothy greatly fears he's becoming too much like the man he imitated, but in the end, he did something that Jack would never do - put himself through pain and discomfort to help others.
  • Moxxi tells him that she agreed to dinner with him because she was hungry...and that if Timothy was really Jack, she'd have shot him on the spot, that she was never fooled by Timothy. For someone forced to wear a handsome if deplorable face, this makes Timothy really happy (and can also mean that Moxxi likes him on the inside).
  • If Jack's Tower is his base there, Jack does have portraits of Angel (as appeared in Borderlands 2) and Moxxi (nothing lewd), one who betrayed him and another as a company secret. Can't say if Jack loved them, but he didn't erase them from history.
• One of Timothy's stock lines when you speak to him has him note that he never held anything against Lilith, aside from her branding of Jack leading to him doing the same thing to all of his body doubles. Keep in mind, Timothy was nearly collateral damage in Lilith, Roland & Moxxi’s attempt to kill Jack during the Pre-Sequel.
• The mission Double Down, accessed after the heist, has you going against a card shark, but your crew is quick to back you up once the wagers become seemingly impossible.
• Claptrap-Constructor sacrificing itself to keep Trashopolis from getting crushed. Oh, but he's still alive, and he gets worshipers in the credits. And there's an achievement if you talk to him afterward. Not bad for someone who had almost a carbon-copy of Claptrap's personality during most of the mission.
• In the Handsome Jackpot, you can do a mission for a loader named Joy. Joy just wants you to gather picnic supplies and be his friend. Unfortunately, he reveals to be actually dying. See the Tear Jerker entry.
• Another side quest has you befriending the intergalactic jazz player, Digby Vermouth. From mixing him a pick-me-up to helping him track down his one-of-a-kind saxophone to escorting him to Foxxi's to play some tunes, it's a refreshing change of pace to find someone in Jack's casino who isn't out for their own greed.
  • If you stick around to listen to him at one point, Digby tells you how, during the lockdown, a bunch of the guests were getting ready to riot in the club where he was performing. Undaunted, he fired up his saxophone Delilah and played a few numbers to calm them down. And it worked.
• In the Handsome Jackpot, the Vault Hunters meet Ember, an exotic dancer that's also a pyromaniac. And Zane is head over heels for her. He even blurts out a marriage proposal during a dialogue exchange!
• After beating the final boss, Moxxi tells Timothy she saw through his Jack impression when he asked her out after the events of the Pre-Sequel—meaning she knew she was going on a date with him, not Jack. While her reasoning is a flippant "I was hungry," Timothy realizes this means he has a chance of a real relationship with her and returns to the Jackpot hoping for a second date. After the near-decade of unending torment that has been Timothy Lawrence's life since the Pre-Sequel, losing his identity, being a Nervous Wreck, and watching his mom laugh after his death, he finally gets a win.
• After gaining control of the casino at the end, Moxxi absolves everyone of their debt, and allows them to go free (previously, indebted people were basically made into slaves in the casino until they work off their debt.)

Guns, Love and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright and Hammerlock

• Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
  • While others can't personally attend, they send gifts. Even Marcus reluctantly gives them one.
  • The actual wedding happens in the heart of a deceased Eldritch Abomination and is officiated by the Vault Hunter. The rings are the same rings that were the cause of the original curse. It's what you would expect of a badass's wedding.
• In a twisted sense, the cult leaders. When one was absorbed into the Heart, the other started a cult to help him. Their last moment, appropriately, is to die in each other's arms.
• Deathtrap 2.0, plus the fact that Gaige was on the run for 7 years, might mean that Gaige never had to replace him on any level.
• You are Eista's friend. There seems to be a set-up that he will honestly try to betray or kill you, but by the end of his questline, he remains lovable and really only wanted to get stronger and try to fight you on level ground.
  • Eista and Hammerlock recognized each other's hunts and want to hunt together someday. Additionally, Eista promises, if you fall to the Wendigo, that he will kill it and wear its pelt to your funeral.
• The very fact that Gaige is back. For players who ran with her (and fans of her in general), it's like reuniting with an old friend.
• Moze empathizes with Gaige and her troubles throughout the campaign because she too has a robot buddy. It's nice to hear Moze gets it when Deathtrap is seemingly in danger and Gaige is distraught.

Bounty Of Blood

• Hard to tell if Zane is over-acting or genuine, but him claiming a rookie gunslinger as his son.
• Two girls fighting over beans, even fighting you over it. Once that issue is resolved, they decide to stop fighting over beans and open up a shop together.
• A man sends you to rescue his wife from a mad doctor, though she turns out to be the doctor. Even though she plans to fake her death, there is an option to reunite the couple, and the wife admits that sending the VH is still a romantic gesture.
• Once Titus helps Juno up, the issue of Juno being an ex-raider becomes a thing in the past and their barbs are taken in jest.
• One of the ECHOes has a young Rose trying to whistle like her mother, in memory of her grandmother.

Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck

• In one ECHO, Tannis admires Krieg to her own surprise.
• Sane Krieg shows that, despite evil manifestations from his mind, the Crimson Raiders treat him as an equal.
  • You'll also be able to find the good and evil manifestations next to the portal. It's nice to see Lilith even as a memory, and the good and evil versions get along swimmingly.
• Krieg would not ruin any memories of Maya, and it shows when Maya easily escapes her prison and aids you against the train. Also, following the train scene from the trailer, Maya was the first to understand Krieg, that when Krieg (says but what he really) meant that all he knew was to survive, Maya say it's not all about surviving. That's when Krieg felt hope.
  • Also nice to see Maya as a memory too, even if she's a bit jealous that she doesn't get an evil version.
  • The Vault Hunters are more than happy to fight alongside her again against Locomöbius.
  FL4K: Yes! Let us hunt together again!
  Amara: Sister, it would be an honor.
• Around Sapphire's Run, any Maya-related areas (places to put her book, for example) have roses pop up out of the ground where you walk. Krieg loves her so much that he imagines her having a Fertile Feet sort of effect.
• During the "Blast Requests" sidequest, the Vault Hunter refuses to leave Sane Krieg despite his insistence, slaps him to stop him from repeatedly blowing himself up, and cheers him up. In fact, each Vault Hunter has a completely unique pep-talk for him. And they all foreshadow how Krieg finds peace at the end.
  Zane: Look, I've been at this for as long as anybody. I could tell you a hundred stories of the fortunes I've lost, the mates I've hurt, the times I was done. But I won't waste your time, because all those stories end the same: I. Kept. Goin'. If I'd stopped after the first tragedy, I'd've never had anything nice enough for a second one! They're all worth it, every time.^note This obviously influences Krieg's final acceptance of losses and his vow to move on from them
  FL4K: Death calls to us all, friend. It is a potent lure. We search for answers, find none, and begin to consider the void. But after years of working in the archives, I learned a thing isn't beautiful because you understand it, but because you do not. We must live, and learn to find joy in the hunt for answers, not the answers themselves.^note Krieg does accept that some answers as to his past will be forever beyond his grasp and that a lot about the future is uncertain
  Moze: Well, I've never tried it myself, but I've had my share of other people tryin' to blow me up. The one thing that saved my ass every time was Iron Bear. As soon as I was back in that cockpit, I knew everything would be okay, and all those problems started looking like targets. You just need to find that one safe place. Find your Iron Bear.^note Krieg does find his Iron Bear with the Maya in his mind
  Amara: Of course I do. People like you and me, we're fighters. Sooner or later, we look at the blood on our knuckles and the black of our eyes and wonder what we're fighting for. But there's people out there who need us—people who need you—and you can't help them if you're hurting yourself. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is to give yourself a break.^note Krieg quits beating himself—or to be more accurate, selves—up over everything.
• The reason Psycho Krieg locked up Vaulthalla? It's to protect Sane Krieg from the manifestation of rage. It's as if Psycho Krieg became a psycho to keep Sane Krieg sane.
  • After Vaulthala is looted, Sane Krieg decides to stay with Psycho Krieg. They take turns building things in their mind and eventually join up with Memory Maya to catch up, walking together as one Krieg.
  • The symbolism behind the ending is bittersweet; Krieg can't have his past back and the torture he endured can never be undone. While he may not have his past and he may never be back to the way he was before, it doesn't make his new memories any less meaningful or important. Maya may be gone but she'll always be with him in his happy place, and Krieg has finally made peace with himself. It's ok to be broken, it's ok to be afraid of the future, there's no shame in looking for help and having a support system.
    Sane Krieg: We all lose things. Our pasts. Our friends. Our Minds. But we keep going. Keep fixing ourselves when we break. We may never be "perfect"...
    Maya: That's enough for now. Come on in, tell me about your day.
    Sane Krieg: But we can get close enough.
• The DLC credits have pictures of Krieg, with two being particularly sweet. One is a group photo of the B2 Vault Hunters, Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick, all in their 3 outfits. The other a picture of the B3 Vault Hunters watching Krieg and Claptrap playing a game of chess, which could mean either Krieg imagines Claptrap can play chess in his mind, or that Krieg joined the crew on the Sanctuary 3.

Arms Race

• One of the Arms Race intro voice lines has Salvador opening up a monthly patron to give children in the Borderlands firearms. Being Borderlands this is Black Comedy and would be messed up in any other work. But also knowing this universe, Salvador's doing an act of kindness to support kids who can't defend themselves.
• Seeing Axton and Salvador alive and well, and doing very well for themselves, is guaranteed to put a smile on players' faces.

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