How Will Borderlands 3’s New Elemental Damage Type Change The Game?

In more joypuking news concerning Borderlands 3, a Twitter ad from the game’s official account revealed that there will be a new elemental damage type to replace Slag (ie the purple element that makes enemies susceptible to damage). That new element? It’s called Radiation.

Unleash awesome mayhem as a team but reap rewards that are yours alone – no one misses out on loot.

— Borderlands (@Borderlands) April 3, 2019

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford confirmed on Twitter that, yes, Radiation will replace Slag. The damage type will not only increase vulnerability by those affected, but also have a damage-over-time component. DOTs for you MMO players out there.

There is no slag – we replaced it with something that actually makes a little sense. The new “element” damage type, which is like a nuclear radiation effect, has a similar effect to slag (increased vulnerability by those affected) and also has a damage-over-time component.

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) April 16, 2019

That’s cool and all, especially if Borderlands 3 will have the equivalent of Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM). Back in part 2 (which I’m still playing now BT-dubs), UVHM features a crapload of enemies with high regeneration and resistance. Weapons-switching from slag guns to fire/corrosive/lightning guns is a requirement to survive the tougher fights. Of course, this mean that a team of four Vault Hunters will have a “Slag guy” to help take down raid bosses and go through OP8 modes.

Will we have “Radiation guys” in the party mix for Borderlands 3‘s endgame content? Will Radiation be the new Corrosive? Time will tell when the title is out 13 September on the Epic Games Store for PC, as well as on PS4 and Xbox One.