I am considering buying Borderlands 2 today, but I've read in a few places that enemies don't scale properly. Some say that this only occurs on normal while others say otherwise. I just want to make sure that if I do get it – that the enemies will scale properly as I go along. So is it true or false that enemies don't scale properly?
Borderlands – How do enemies scale in Borderlands 2?
borderlands-2
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Surviving in borderlands isn't as much about builds as it is about tactics, leveling up and gearing up.
For tactics: When you're overwhelmed, it's tempting to take out the bad guys smallest to largest. If you do that, you'll reduce incoming damage the fastest - BUT, you'll deprive yourself of "Fight for your life" opportunites. If you kill an enemy during "Fight for your life", you'll pop up with full shields! This is the main in-combat healing option.
For leveling up: do the side quests (lowest to highest). That bonus xp will push your level higher.
For gearing up: go to the last area you were able to complete. Bonus enemies will appear with extra loot. This is the best way to get a purple or orange weapon. For example, if you're level 10, go back and clear Frostburn canyon (level 8).
Test all the weapons of blue quality and up, regardless of stats. You never know what kind of wacky gun gimmick might help.
As noted in the answers to my question about DLC and levels, the DLCs scale to your level to a certain extent. If you were steamrolling in the main game in your low-to-mid 30's, but are having problems with Hammerlock or Tiny Tina's DLCs, chances are good that the enemies are just closer to your level now than they were before. You've already listed the things I would do in this case - go roll on the Golden Key box, focus on slag first, etc.
If you've beaten "Normal" and then jumped into the DLCs, are you sure you're still on your Normal playthrough? Since you can start the DLCs any time, it's possible you went into True Vault Hunter Mode and then immediately went for the DLCs, which are meant to be played after the main campaign. Worth a double check, at least.
As another Normal/TVHM note, you can go play TVHM for a few levels and the drop back into Normal for the DLCs again. The DLCs on the first playthrough won't scale to your level past the mid 30's, so you can outlevel them and then return to them to steamroll.
Some DLC specific notes:
- If you're playing Torgue and trying to repeat the tier 3 levels on some of his quests (notably Bar Room Blitz) - check the level - these are maxed out and almost certainly impossible on your first playthrough.
- Hammerlock's Hunt is a really tough DLC all around. The elemental Witch Doctors are a real pain, even if you've leveled up properly.
- Similarly, some enemies and boss fights can be super challenging in Tiny Tina's DLC. Some enemies regenerate, and there are many quests that require a lot of endurance.
As a Commando/Siren combo, there are some specific things you can do to survive better. The Siren should probably focus on survivability and elemental damage, with things like Res, higher elemental chance, and faster Phaselock cooldowns. Meanwhile, use the Commando's turret to tank, and have the Commando hide between turret deployments. If the turret is tanking and the Siren hangs back to hand out emergency Res'es, you can make slow progress even when the enemies are tough.
Best Answer
In Borderlands, enemies do scale properly. Wherever enemies scale, it does not introduce problems or imbalances.
Player's health and gun damage (values easily inspected) increase by 13% per level. Other variables, like enemy damage and enemy health, scale accordingly - while I can't readily prove that it is 13% per level, it is definitely adequate.
Some areas of the game have enemies of fixed level, while other spawn enemies of levels (player level + some constant).