Gearbox Software finally confirmed it. Borderlands 4 is real. After years of speculation and that cryptic teaser at Gamescom, the looter-shooter king is returning to the spotlight in 2025. But there’s a recurring anxiety bubbling up in the community, specifically among those who feel like they’re constantly playing catch-up. I'm talking about the player who doesn't own DLC Borderlands 4 content and suddenly realizes they can’t join their friends’ raid or pick up the latest "broken" legendary pistol.
History repeats itself. If you look at Borderlands 2 or 3, the base game was just the starter course. The real meat—the Level Cap increases, the Mayhem-tier weapons, and the weirdest story beats—usually lives behind a paywall.
Honestly, it’s frustrating. You spend $70 on a "full" game only to find out six months later that the most powerful build in the game requires a class mod found only in a specific expansion. This creates a weird class system within the player base. If a player doesn't own DLC Borderlands 4 packs, are they even playing the "real" version of the game? Or are they stuck in a demo version of a world that has already moved on?
The Pay-to-Win Shadow Over the Borderlands
Let's get real about the "pay-to-win" argument. Borderlands isn't a competitive PvP game like Overwatch or Call of Duty, so Gearbox usually gets a pass. But in a co-op setting, it feels bad. Imagine you’re running a Takedown with three friends. They’re all using the latest elemental SMG from a Season Pass 1 mission, melting bosses in seconds. You’re sitting there with your base-game gear, struggling to strip a shield.
It’s not just about the damage numbers. It's about the mechanics. In Borderlands 3, the fourth skill trees were locked behind the Designer's Cut. That wasn't just a new map; it was a fundamental change to how your character functioned. If a player doesn't own DLC Borderlands 4 equivalents of those skill trees, they are effectively playing a different, less complex character than everyone else. That sucks.
Gearbox has a habit of "power creeping" their own game. It’s a classic RPG cycle. To make the new content enticing, the rewards have to be better than what you already have. This means the base game gear eventually becomes obsolete. If you aren't buying the passes, you're essentially watching the meta evolve from the sidelines.
What Happens if You Skip the Season Pass?
If you decide to stick to the vanilla version of Borderlands 4, you're likely going to hit a wall. Based on how Randy Pitchford and the team have handled previous launches, the base game will probably be a solid 30 to 40-hour experience. You'll get the main story, a handful of side quests, and the initial endgame loop.
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But then the updates start.
First, it’s the level cap. In previous games, Gearbox sometimes gave these away for free, but other times they were tied to specific expansions. If you're capped at level 50 while the rest of the world is hitting level 72, you can't even play together anymore. The scaling will break. You'll be a liability in high-level lobbies.
Then there are the "Pearlescent" or "Seraph" equivalents. These ultra-rare tiers are almost always DLC-exclusive. If a player doesn't own DLC Borderlands 4, they are essentially locked out of the "Chase." And the chase is the only reason people play Borderlands for a thousand hours. Without the new loot pools, the endgame turns into a repetitive grind of the same three bosses you've already killed a hundred times.
The Community Split
Fragmenting the player base is a genuine risk. Borderlands thrives on its "drop-in, drop-out" multiplayer. But when the game checks your licenses before letting you join a friend, that seamless experience dies. "Oh, wait, I can't go to that planet," is a sentence that has killed many a gaming night.
Lessons Gearbox Needs to Learn from BL3
Borderlands 3 had a messy DLC rollout. The first Season Pass was great—classic story expansions like Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot. But then Season Pass 2 felt... thin. It added the Arms Race mode and the extra skill trees. Many fans felt like they were being nickeled and dimed for features that should have been in the base game or part of a larger expansion.
For Borderlands 4, the stakes are higher. The looter-shooter genre is crowded now. Destiny 2 (despite its flaws), The First Descendant, and even Warframe offer different ways of handling content updates. If Gearbox sticks to a rigid "Buy the DLC or get left behind" model, they might lose the casual audience that just wants to shoot psychos on a Friday night.
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There’s also the issue of the "Ultimate Edition." You know the drill. A year after launch, Gearbox releases a version that includes everything for $60, while the early adopters have spent $150 total. It makes you feel like a sucker for buying in early.
Navigating the Gear Gap
If you find yourself as the person who doesn't own DLC Borderlands 4 content, you have to get creative. In past games, you could sometimes have friends "drop" DLC weapons for you. But usually, the game won't let you equip them if you don't own the license. It’s a hard lock.
You end up becoming a "Base Game Specialist." You find the one or two legendary items in the vanilla world that somehow stayed relevant despite the power creep. In BL3, the Hellshock or the The Monarch (if you could handle Mayhem 6+) were lifesavers for non-DLC players. But it’s a constant struggle to stay viable.
The Story Problem
We also have to talk about the narrative. The Borderlands 3 DLCs actually had better writing than the main campaign. Many fans argue that Psychoreach and Guns, Love, and Tentacles were the "real" stories of that game. If you skipped them, you missed the actual character development for Maya, Krieg, and Gaige.
Borderlands 4 is moving to a new planet (or staying on a ruined one, depending on how you interpret the moon-crashing teaser). If the best lore is hidden behind a paywall again, the "Standard Edition" players are going to feel like they’re reading a book with every third chapter ripped out. It creates a disjointed understanding of the universe.
Practical Steps for the Budget-Conscious Vault Hunter
Look, games are expensive. Dropping $100+ on a "Complete Edition" at launch isn't feasible for everyone. If you’re worried about being the one who doesn't own DLC Borderlands 4, here is how you should actually handle the launch:
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Wait for the first Sale Cycle. Gearbox games go on sale fast. Within three months of launch, you can usually find the "Gold" or "Deluxe" editions for 30% off. If you can resist the Day 1 hype, you’ll save enough to cover the first two DLCs.
Monitor the Level Cap. Check the patch notes religiously. If Gearbox announces a level cap increase that requires a DLC purchase, that is your signal that the base game is about to become "Legacy" content. That's usually the best time to bite the bullet and upgrade.
Check the "Director's Cut" trap. Don't buy "cosmetic" packs. They’re a waste of money. Focus your budget on "Content Packs" that include new maps, skill trees, or rarity tiers. A skin for your Vault Hunter doesn't help you kill a Raid Boss, but a new skill tree might.
Use the Trading Community. Even if you can't equip DLC gear, the community often discovers "world drop" glitches or crossover events where DLC-tier loot becomes available in the base game for a limited time (like the Loot the Universe events). Stay active on the forums to catch these windows.
Ultimately, the "Standard Edition" of a modern Borderlands game is a ticking clock. Eventually, the world moves on. The developers focus their balancing efforts on the new content, and the old areas stop receiving the same level of polish. You can survive for a while, but if you want the full experience, the DLC isn't optional—it's the second half of the game.
Keep an eye on the "Season Pass" roadmaps Gearbox releases post-launch. They usually telegraph exactly how much "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out) they plan to bake into the experience. If the roadmap shows new elements, new rarities, or "Vault Cards," you know the base game is just the foundation, not the whole house. Stay informed, don't buy into the "Super Deluxe" editions unless you're a die-hard fan, and wait for the inevitable bundle deals that appear around the six-month mark.
The best way to play is to be patient. Let the "Whales" test the DLC content and tell you if it's actually worth the money. Sometimes the DLC is a masterpiece, and sometimes it's just a few recycled assets and a boring arena mode. You don't need to own it all on day one to be a legendary Vault Hunter. Just be smart about when you choose to expand your horizons.