Borderlands 4's October 23 patch notes are still a total doomsday scenario for me

I won't lie: when it was revealed Border 4 Developer Gearbox Software was delaying Vex's Infinite Bleed build until October 23rd, I breathed a sigh of relief. I even send a text message to my group chat: “My build didn't stop, nerf was a week late.” And here we are, approaching that week, and I'm still not convinced that a nerf is even necessary. If anything, this past weekend convinced me that the build isn't that broken. I think, ultimately, it depends on what the gearbox does with this build, but putting it into oblivion is my biggest fear.

Border 4 Has found a pretty permanent position in my friend's video game rotation, at least semi-permanent. We play every weekend, although this past weekend we didn't have as much time as usual. Such is life. But I wrote about me Border 4 Experience last weekend, and here I am wanting to do it again. Ultimately, as we tried to cover all the achievements/trophies, my “brittle” build didn't help at all in particular situations. To recover what we have done,

• Along with some mid-week play, my friend Harlow went back to level 50 after one. BL4 The bug wiped out his SDU and specializations (he had to create a new character).

• We finally covered all the sidequests Border 4.

• We also unlocked UVHM5 after playing through UVHM2 the past few weekends.

• We also knocked out the bounty achievement/trophy.

• We also worked on gear challenges by farming foundry freaks with armored bods.

As it stands, we have all achievements/trophies except Catch-A-Ride, Gear and Maker Challenges, and Dave the Burrito. We'll continue to work on it, but after we looked at Catch-A-Ride, we realized that—as you know—you have to get to level 50 with every Vault Hunter to finish it. And despite this, my “broken” build of Vex did little to “trivialize” the material this past weekend.

Vex's Eternal Bleed build is a one trick pony

Is Vex's Eternal Bleed build broken? Yes, absolutely. Is the combination of Crit Knife and Bloodletter unexpected? yes But some of the best things in gaming are unexpected or unexpected; This is called Emergent Game Design. Should it be fixed? Yes, sure. My biggest problem is that we lack communication and expectations. I need to point out that Vex's Infinite Bleed Build will still be viable post-nerf, even if it isn't “infinite” anymore. This makes sense, but my biggest concern is that the gameplay loop no longer works. This is no secret, but let's talk about what a bleed build is.

• The Throwing knife with penetrator augment It is mandatory for construction. However, this is basic world loot Border 4Players are reporting dozens of hours (if not making it to UVHM5) without ever seeing it. My friends and I searched for this (in four-player co-op play) for at least 10+ hours.

• After that, there is a certain skill selection for Vex centered around BLudletter and critics.

• You want a strong one-shot weapon to stack the bleed build damage. Some people run certain class mode + sniper rifle; I drive a Hot Slugger + Rending Psion Class Mod. (I haven't found a +4 Bloodletter mod that I know exists).

• I use it too Amp shield, an amp repkitAnd there is one Jakobs enrichment.

• It's enough to trigger a bleed, but players will want it Pollution expertise To really click it.

Overall, it takes some decent grinding to put it all together. I don't remember if we managed to find it in a weekend or two, but we were all grinding for our build that we wanted to make. Of course, power is a big draw for this build; I won't lie about it. But the gameplay loop is very satisfying. I love throwing knives in general, and have used one since the jump Border 4-The fact that I can use the construction, which has a Jacobs gun on it (the best manufacturer Border 4), really speaks to me.

Ultimately, it depends on what the nerf does. I can live with this in many scenarios, but in the name of “build diversity”, I don't see why this specific gameplay loop should die. Maybe that's not the plan, but the point is, we don't know the plan. If I am still able, I will be happy. I could use other Vex builds, sure, but I like this one regardless of power; I just want to be viable (sorry, trying to be clear here).. In most scenarios, my friends and I already despise content without involving me. Our builds, collectively, can run through any owner in a matter of seconds. I speed it up…when I can.

The thing is, the build isn't so broken that it makes the game universally trivial, and it's not like it's not easy to achieve. If so, Border 4The patches already fixed it. It is good against bosses, especially big bosses. Players, at least me, have to amp up, hit a target with a knife, and then pop them a couple of times (maybe that's overkill). That is, it is simplified. But if it's not grinding the owner, its use is unreliable at best.

My Vex Infinite Bleed Build didn't help much this weekend

Let's talk about it. We did some driller site grinding last weekend, and while I'm useful against those bosses, I don't mind using my bleed build against mobs. If there's a pesky big enemy, sure, pop it out and bleed them. But the setup takes a few seconds, which is precious Border 4battle of I would just run Vex's Reapers + Specters and use another weapon in these scenarios because it makes more sense. Armored Bod is my primary from Hot Slugger right now because of, you know, gear challenges.

Grinding bosses is where I shine, helping my friends get their loot without spending, hopefully, hours hunting for new and improved gear. But it wasn't my friend's ability to one-shot bosses that turned Harlow into 50, not often. Fortunately, we were still working on side quests, so that's where most of his experience came from. Yes, it helped against any bosses Border 4 We wrapped up the side quests, but the mob? no Whatever we did, I had a role; When it was time, I released my Eternal Bleed build. But I didn't use it for most of the weekend, because it's a one-trick pony build, and I didn't feel any more useless than I did for the Catch-A-Ride achievement when I realized what we had to do.

Catch-A-Ride right out of Infinite Bleed Build

The Catch-A-Ride achievement requires players to get each character to level 50. I have a level 41 Harlow that I'm playing with my wife, but that means getting Amon and Rafa to level 50. It's easier to jump to level 30, right? Right…as the players know, great level farms Border 4 are Driller Sites and Vile Bounties. In any case I'm not effective at “trivializing” the material, and we're still trying to figure out how to mix/match the level 50s with the level 30s to do it efficiently (we spent the least amount of time on it). When we get to the bosses on the driller sites, if I'm not grinding the weapon challenges, sure. But that means fighting through it all, against the crowd, which for me doesn't always mean trying to bleed.

Corrupt bounties? Despicable enemies in general? You cannot bleed them. I mean, yeah, after I break all the Ordonite, but Vex isn't the most effective at that. My Rafa friend uses slippies to defeat them quickly, but my build doesn't work, so I have to switch weapons to deal with them. Vex's bleed build is broken, but it's not universally broken. I have a clear party role: grinding bosses. On top of that, it's playing the game as intended, and on top of that having a good time with my friends.

I'm okay with losing Infinite Bleed buildBut I don't want to lose Bleed Build. I understand everything Gearbox said about diversity creation and trivial content, and I understand that this is a story compared to Gearbox's player data. I also understand that I can beef up my builds if I want to, but I push back that any build should die in the name of 'build diversity' and that Vex's bleed builds “trivialize” all content. border area Games, as I remember the Conference Call + B Shield days. I mean, I guess, Gearbox doesn't want a build that trivializes upcoming Invincible bosses, and I mean, sure, fix the infinite part—just don't break the build in the other direction? Anyway, that's all to say: Vex's bleed build is broken, it should be fixed, but I hope the nerf doesn't kill the core gameplay loop. I think I'll find out on October 23rd, or more likely, this coming weekend when my friends and I have time to play again.

issued

September 12, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, User Interaction