The first major update toBorderlands 3has dealt a major blow toFL4K critical hit focused build. For most players there was an easy combination of skills and a weapon in order to deal massive damage to targets, but that has since been taken away. Was the nerf too harsh? That’s for players to determine.
Massive Queen’s Call Nerf
For those that might be familiar, one of the best weapons inBorderlands 3for FL4K was theQueen’s Call (or King’s Call) pistol. Combined with FL4K’s Fade Away ability, the Queen’s Call could deal tons of critical hit damage and automatically reload. It was a fast-firing option that was at the top for FL4K, and relatively useless for the other classes. Now it’s practically useless across the board.
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In today’sfollow-upBorderlands 3update, Gearbox Software made several changes that have impacted this combination. For starters, the damage on Jakobs manufactured pistols has been nerfed, which includes the Queen’s Call. On top of that, the fire rate on the Queen’s Call has been dropped by 70%. The patch notes for the update say that the fire rate has decreased by 50% but testing by players has revealed the nerf is more significant.
On top of that, the Guerilla’s in the Mist perk has had its critical hit damage and duration reduced, which means that players will deal less damage during Fade Away. Basically, the strategy of running into a boss room, popping Fade Away, and destroying a boss has become less viable, although it still can work.
The Lyuda Sniper is Top Tier
So, considering that Queen’s Call is no longer top tier for FL4K, the question becomes what the best weapon for the character and the crit-focused build is. We’ve already mentioned theLyuda sniper riflepreviously, and it has now jumped to the front of the pack. Yes, the overall nerf to critical damage on FL4K will make Fade Away burns more difficult, but the Lyuda should compensate for that.
Luckily for Lyuda owners, the sniper rifle weapon type received a 15% damage buff. This should make any variation of the Lyuda a lot stronger.Farming Graveward for loot and XPmay not be as efficient, though, because there were changes to the boss that could make him more lethal. Specifically, Gearbox discovered that Graveward’s beam attacks were not scaling with higher difficulty and Mayhem modifiers. In fighting Graveward, it definitely seemed like his attacks were weak, and now that makes more sense.
Gearbox does have a larger legendary weapon balance pass planned, so the Lyuda might get nerfed in the future. But for right now it is the best weapon for FL4K players that use the critical hit build. Queen’s Call might get buffed to compensate for that unintended 70% nerf but it’s still lost a lot of its luster.
Borderlands 3is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
