We already know enemies in Borderlands 2, the sequel to 2010's co-op first-person shooter, will be "toughened up". As Gearbox explained a while back, combat will require more strategy, not just the typical run-and-gun.
While enemies will be more powerful, Gearbox has been stressing that enemies are now more complex than in the original Borderlands game. Now, lead writer Anthony Birch has opened up about some of the strategies players will need in Borderlands 2.
Borderlands 2 will see the return of many enemies from the first game, but with improved AI.
"We’ve got a lot of enemies returning from the first game – psychos, skags, and so forth – but we’ve got at least a dozen new enemies in Borderlands 2," he said in an interview.
"We’ve also improved the AI for all the enemies in the game: skags will now transmit their elemental type to other skags (so a fire skag can do a ground pound and set all the skag pups around him on fire, turning them into fire pups), our new Loader enemies will lose and regrow arms by calling for healing beams from Surveyor bots, and so on," he explained.
He added: "Our enemies are now more complex and require more strategy – really effective teams will be able to take down, say, a Nomad Torturer (a new enemy who fights with a midget strapped to his massive, bulletproof shield) very easily by using one player to draw his aggro while another flanks him."
Of course, if you prefer solo play, there are other options for taking out these complex enemies.
"Even if you aren’t playing with a friend, however, there are always options for taking down any enemy by yourself," he continued. "For instance, you could free the midget strapped to the Torturer’s shield so it’ll fight alongside you briefly, giving you the opportunity to flank the Torturer from behind."
Since the game's announcement Gearbox has stressed diversity – both in weapons, enemy types, environments, and now it looks like actual strategy. Whereas the first game required very little planning, it seems Borderlands 2 will require some thought before spraying fire at everything that moves.
