An Unexpected DLC

The new Borderlands 2 DLC “Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary” caught me completely off guard. A good friend of mine had told me relatively recently that Borderlands 2 might be getting a new DLC that would set up for Borderlands 3, but I told him he was crazy because it made no sense for a game as old as Borderlands 2 to get a DLC update. It turns out I was totally wrong, and frankly I’m glad that I am.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

“Commander Lilith an the Fight for Sanctuary” takes place after the main campaign of Borderlands 2 and the game makes sure that you acknowledge that. Because of this, it is suggested that you clear the rest of Borderlands 2, as well as some of the DLC, but the game doesn’t punish you if you don’t.

I personally really enjoyed the DLC, mostly because it gave me a reason to play Borderlands 2. A few years ago, I got Borderlands: The Handsome Collection for my Xbox One, and it just so happened that that month, Xbox Games With Gold had the original Borderlands, with all DLC, available for free. Needless to say, I quickly became well acquainted with Borderlands and made sure to complete (almost) everything. A few months later as the summer was getting underway, I finally delved into Borderlands 2. I enjoyed the game immensely, but I ran into a major problem towards the end. Since normal mode caps out around level 30, I found myself slogging through quite a few of the DLCs, completing missions with trivial rewards while fighting pathetically easy enemies. I’m a perfectionist, so I refused to skip a DLC and I forced myself to complete everything. However, I had recently started my True Vault Hunter playthrough where the level for everything is raised a little bit, so I ended up running through this new DLC with everything actually being around my level, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Commander Lilith” brings a lot to the table. It includes an enjoyable story with enough side missions that I had a lot to do, but not so much that I felt completely overwhelmed. During my initial playthrough of Borderlands 2, I remember that sometimes I would find myself overwhelmed with the sheer amount of side quest that I had available, but I never felt that way doing the “Commander Lilith” DLC.

And truth be told, I was also somewhat worried that some of the humor in Borderlands 3 would have to be toned down since the last Borderlands games came out in 2014, so some topics and jokes aren’t as socially acceptable as they once were. However, the humor in “Commander Lilith” is just what I expected from a Borderlands DLC, so I have no worries that Borderlands 3 will be great.

As for the story itself, an army of Dahl soldiers led by a Colonel Hector and known as New Pandora invade your main base of Sanctuary. Once forcibly evicted, you must work to set up a new base of operations so everyone can reunite and defeat Hector. Hector also has a dangerous gas that he plans to unleash over Pandora in order to turn it into a paradise, even if it means killing a lot of people. In the end, you’re able to defeat Hector, but Sanctuary is destroyed in the process and the vault key is lost. This DLC definitely does set up for Borderlands 3, and I am incredibly excited to see exactly where everything goes.

SPOILERS END

In addition to new missions, new locations, and new enemies, this DLC adds in plenty of new guns, including a brand new rarity known most commonly as rainbow. These new rainbow items are all similar to existing legendary weapons, but with a twist here and there. I for one welcome the new addition, plus I really enjoy their aesthetic. The new DLC also raises the level cap to 80 and it may or may not add in two new OP levels (my friend told me that but I’m not leveled enough to know for sure).

However, of everything in “Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary”, I’d say the thing that I appreciate the most is the fact that it was free. All of this fantastic content was free, and it will remain that way until early July. Therefore, it is easy to see why I would recommend this DLC. “Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary” is definitely worth picking up if you have Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. And even if you have never played Borderlands 2 but are interested in Borderlands 3 or the series as a whole, now is honestly the perfect time to pick up Borderlands: The Handsome Collection.