Ever since the official Borderlands 3 reveal earlier this month, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford hasn’t been shy about answering fan questions about the upcoming game, including gameplay-related ones. The most recent gameplay detail confirmed by Pitchford on Twitter is that Borderlands 3 will not have slag.
Slag was an element introduced in Borderlands 2 that made enemies coated in it take more damage, recognizable for its purple color. Borderlands 3 will have no slag, and will instead feature a new element that will function roughly the same way, with at least one difference. Pitchford has described this new element as having a “nuclear radiation effect” that will also deal damage-over-time to those hit by it. Essentially, the new Borderlands 3 element will be like an upgraded version of slag.
Pitchford stopped short of giving this new element a name, but we already know what it’s called thanks to a leak in a Borderlands 3 gameplay advertisement. By pausing the Borderlands 3 ad at just the right time, fans discovered that the new Borderlands 3 element will be called Radiation, which is a fitting name given Pitchford’s description of it.
Presumably, Borderlands 3 fans will be able to see the Radiation element in action on May 1 during the game’s gameplay reveal stream. Other Borderlands 3 weapons will likely be shown off as well, in addition to the Vault Hunter abilities, new vehicles that players can use, and more.
Something else that might be touched on during the Borderlands 3 gameplay reveal stream is split-screen co-op. We know that Borderlands 3 will have split-screen co-op, but it’s unclear at this point if the split-screen co-op will support just two players or up to four like Borderlands remastered and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. Since Borderlands 3 has more complicated graphics and gameplay mechanics than its predecessors, it seems likely that split-screen will be limited to just two players, but that’s just speculation at this time.
More on Borderlands 3 co-op and other features will come on May 1. While they wait for the Borderlands 3 gameplay reveal stream, fans may want to consider following Randy Pitchford on Twitter in case he reveals anymore information on the game ahead of time.
Borderlands 3 will launch on September 13 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.