Borderlands 2
|
|
Gearbox Software |
macOS (OS X) |
Aspyr Media[1] |
Linux |
Aspyr Media[2] |
|
2K Games |
OS X, Linux |
Aspyr Media |
|
Unreal Engine 3 |
Windows |
September 18, 2012[3] |
macOS (OS X) |
November 21, 2012[1] |
Linux |
September 30, 2014[2] |
Metacritic |
89 |
IGDB |
81 |
Monetization |
DLC |
Microtransactions |
None |
Modes |
Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
Pacing |
Real-time |
Perspectives |
First-person |
Controls |
Direct control |
Genres |
Action, FPS, RPG, Shooter |
Vehicles |
Automobile, Off-roading |
Art styles |
Comic book |
Themes |
Post-apocalyptic, Sci-fi |
Series |
Borderlands |
|
Key points
- Solutions for split-screen co-op on Windows are available.
- Features every menu option promised in Claptrap's love letter to PC gamers, including an FOV slider, Vsync, and controller support.
- FPS drops affecting high-end hardware.[4][5][6]
- No support for cross-platform cloud saving. Manual intervention is required to load the save files from Windows on Linux.
General information
- Official Discord server for game series
- Official knowledge base - Windows
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- All Linux versions require Steam DRM.
- Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (includes both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel) released in 2018 contains all available DLCs for the two included games. This is the only way to receive all available DLCs as a package as the GOTY release of Borderlands 2 only includes a subset of all released DLCs for the game.[8]
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Season Pass |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition |
|
Psycho Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition |
|
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition, Season Pass |
|
Sir Hammelock's Big Game Hunt |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition, Season Pass |
|
Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition, Season Pass |
|
Mechromancer Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition, Pre-order Bonus. |
|
Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition, Season Pass |
|
Creature Slaughterdome |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition |
|
Ultimate Vault Hunters Upgrade Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition, Season Pass |
|
Ultimate Vault Hunters Upgrade Pack 2 |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Collector's Edition Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection, Game of the Year Edition |
|
Headhunter 1: Bloody Harvest |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Headhunter 2: Wattle Gobbler |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Headhunter 3: Mercenary Day |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Headhunter 4: Wedding Day Massacre |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Headhunter 5: Son of Crawmerax |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Assassin Madness Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Assassin Supremacy Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Assassin Domination Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Assassin Stinging Blade Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Assassin Cl0ckw0rk Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Commando Madness Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Commando Supremacy Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Commando Domination Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Commando Devilish Good Looks Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Commando Haggard Hunter Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Gunzerker Madness Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Gunzerker Supremacy Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Gunzerker Domination Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Gunzerker Dapper Gent Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Gunzerker Greasy Grunt Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Mechromancer Madness Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Mechromancer Supremacy Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Mechromancer Domination Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Mechromancer Steampunk Slayer Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Mechromancer Beatmaster Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Psycho Madness Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Psycho Supremacy Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Psycho Domination Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Psycho Dark Psyche Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Psycho Party Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Siren Madness Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Siren Supremacy Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Siren Domination Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Siren Glitter and Gore Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Siren Learned Warrior Pack |
Included in the The Handsome Collection |
|
Commander Lilith & The Fight For Sanctuary |
DLC bridging the story to Borderlands 3. |
|
Ultra HD Texture Pack |
Free. Remastered 4K textures. |
|
Essential improvements
- A comprehensive tweak guide is available on the GeForce website.
Skip intro videos
- The command line may cause cutscenes to be skipped in DLC Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary. Use a different method than the command line if the problem occurs.
Edit configuration file[10]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowEngine.ini .
- Find
[FullScreenMovie]
- Change values to:
[FullScreenMovie]
bForceNoMovies=FALSE
//StartupMovies=2K_logo
//StartupMovies=Gearbox_logo
//StartupMovies=NVidia
//StartupMovies=Loading
SkippableMovies=2K_logo
SkippableMovies=Gearbox_logo
SkippableMovies=NVidia
SkippableMovies=Attract
SkippableMovies=MegaIntro
//ConfirmSkipMovies=MegaIntro
|
Delete or rename video files[citation needed]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\Borderlands\WillowGame\Movies
- Delete or rename
2K_logo.bik , Gearbox_logo.bik , and NVidia.bik .
|
Shorter body decay
Edit configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowGame.ini .
- Find the following lines and set them to these values.
SecondsBeforeConsideringRagdollRemoval=5.0
SecondsBeforeVisibleRagdollRemoval=15.0
SecondsBetweenRagdollRemovalAttempts=1.0
SecondsBeforePhysicsShutsDown=10.0
Notes
- Notable performance improvement,[citation needed] as by default most bodies disappear only after ten whole minutes.
|
Disable the launcher
- A Vulkan-based translation layer for Direct3D 9/10/11 intended for allowing 3D applications to run on Linux.
- Works on all operating systems as long as your GPU supports Vulkan.
- Fixes all performance problems with Borderlands 2, maintaining a consistent frame-rate throughout and FPS increase around 200%.[11]
{{Fixbox|description=DXVK|fix=
- Download DXVK here.
- Extract the contents of the
dxvk-*.tar.gz
file with 7zip or WinRAR.
- Copy
d3d9.dll
and dxgi.dll
from the x32
folder and paste it in the game's executable folder (<path-to-game>\Binaries\Win32
).
- If the launcher of the game crashes, add
-NoLauncher
command line argument or run Borderlands2.exe
in (<path-to-game>\Binaries\Win32
)
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands 2\WillowGame\Config\ |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Library/Application Support/Borderlands 2/WillowGame/Config/ |
Linux |
$XDG_DATA_HOME/aspyr-media/borderlands 2/willowgame/config/ |
- This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands 2\WillowGame\SaveData\ |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Library/Application Support/Borderlands 2/WillowGame/SaveData/ |
Linux |
$XDG_DATA_HOME/aspyr-media/borderlands 2/willowgame/savedata/ |
- Saves are crossplatform.
- Saves manually migrated from Windows to Linux must have all lowercase characters in the filename.
System |
Native |
Notes |
Epic Games Launcher |
|
Can be disabled.[12] |
OneDrive |
|
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Steam Cloud |
|
Approx. 100 MB available. No cross-platform syncing to prevent version mismatch when patches are delayed for OS X or Linux.[13] |
Mods
Unofficial patches
- A community-created patch exists which resolves many of the game's outlying issues, as well as adjusts drop rates, adds cosmetic tweaks, and more. There also exists a mod manager, which allows you to turn off certain changes in the patch. It is highly recommended. The mod manager can be found here, and the Community Patch can be found here or here.
Video
HBAO+ (Nvidia GPUs only)
Force HBAO+[18]
|
- Disable the in-game SSAO.
- Download and open Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- Under
Profiles select Borderlands 2 .
- Under
Ambient Occlusion compatibility insert the compatibility code 0x00000021 .
- Under
Ambient Occlusion setting select Performance ,Quality or High Quality .
- Under
Ambient Occlusion usage select Enabled .
- On the top right hand corner click on
Apply changes .
- You now have HBAO+ enabled.
Notes
- This setting can have a heavy impact on frame rate depending on your specs, if you get unplayable frame rates with
High Quality try lowering this value progressively.
|
Disable camera shake when sprinting
Use jackfuste's fixed .exe[19]
|
- Download Borderlands2_no_shake.7z.
- Replace
Borderlands2.exe in the game folder.
As of November 2021 the .exe no longer works.
UPDATE Exact same code from no shake mod author but compiled as a Cheat Engine script. Can be download here
|
Input
Logitech GamePanel
- Information such as mission log, friendlist, level, exprerience points, money and weapon proficiency stats can be displayed on the LCD panel or smartphone application.[20]
Display |
Notes |
Arx Control application |
|
G19 color screen |
Native support. Displays mission log, friendlist, level, exprerience points, money and weapon proficiency stats. |
G15 monochrome screen |
Native support. Displays mission log. |
Change controller prompts
Edit configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowGame.ini .
- Find the following line and set it to 1 for an Xbox 360 controller or 2 for a DualShock controller.
FakePlatform=-1
If the above does not work, try the following. credits go to Echo127
- Make a backup of the
DefaultGame.ini file. Just in case. I think the game would replace this file on it's own if it disappears...but...just in case.
- Open up
DefaultGame.ini and use CTRL+F to find the sections titled ; 360 controller mappings and ; 360 mappings. Delete those sections. Should be about 22 lines of text in each section (not including the titles). You probably only need to delete the 360 controller mappings section, but I deleted both.
- In the ; PS3 mappings section (near the 2 sections deleted above) find every instance of Set="PS3" and change it to Set="PC-360"
- Still in
DefaultGame.ini , use CTRL+F to find the section titled // Scaleform button mappings. Now, from this point in the document until the end of the document, you need to do two things: 1: Delete every line that contains Set="PC-360" AND 2: Find every instance of Set="PS3" and change it to Set="PC-360". You can use Notepad++ to make deleting full lines slightly quicker.
Alternatively to the method indicated in Step 4, you could instead find the portions of the Set="PC-360" lines that reference the icon type and change the reference from the X360 button to the PS3 button (for example, MappedText="<IMG src='xbox360_B' becomes MappedText="<IMG src='ps3_Circle').
|
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Music, sound effects and dialogue. |
Surround sound |
|
Auto configures up to 5.0 output.[21] Horizontal HRTF with DSOAL |
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
Enable HRTF
- The game uses Wwise audio API but still supports DirectSound output
Use DSOAL
|
- Download DSOAL from here.
- Drop
dsound.dll , alsoft.ini and dsoal-aldrv.dll near the game's executable file (<path-to-game>\Binaries\Win32 )
|
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
|
Traditional Chinese |
|
|
|
Windows only. |
French |
|
|
|
|
German |
|
|
|
|
Italian |
|
|
|
|
Japanese |
|
|
|
Windows only. |
Korean |
|
|
|
Windows only. |
Brazilian Portuguese |
|
|
|
Fan translation, download. |
Russian |
|
|
|
Russian users get two versions of the game on Steam. The Russian version is only for Windows and multiplayer incompatible with the base version. Fan voice acting. |
Spanish |
|
|
|
|
Polish |
|
|
|
Fan translation. Download |
Network
- Windows, OS X and Linux players sometimes need the same game version to play together. Mismatch issues might be caused by delayed OS X and Linux versions of the patches.[22] Currently, cross-play between Linux and Windows or Mac is temporarily disabled.[23]
- Steam and Mac App Store players cannot play together.
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
27014-27050 |
UDP |
3478, 4379-4380, 27000-27030, 14001 (LAN only), 7777 (LAN only) |
- This game supports Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) for automatic port configuration.
VR support
Issues unresolved
AMD FX chipset restart after launcher
- Game resets when clicking on launcher.[25]
- Some users have reported that updating your BIOS to the latest version solves this and other problems for users with AMD FX chips.
Items falling through the world
- Once in a while dropped loot may fall through the world.
- Setting PhysX to Low or Disabled is reported to help.
Issues fixed
Co-op doesn't connect properly
Check the ports[26]
|
- May allow people to join your game.
- Will cause decreased network protection.
- Game seems to use strange ports for networking which aren't covered by most routers' 'unblocked ports' by default. These ports are
UDP/TCP: UDP 50000-65535 .
|
Disable your firewall or add an exception[citation needed]
|
- Will allow Borderlands 2 and associated ports to go through system firewall.
- Will cause decreased computer protection.
- Make an exception for the Borderlands 2 application in Windows Firewall.
- If that fails, make an exception for the ports themselves.
- Disable Windows Firewall or your firewall provider entirely before launching the game.
|
Use the -tcp command line argument[citation needed]
|
- This forces the game to use TCP network connections over UDP.
|
Check integrity of game cache on Steam[citation needed]
|
Reboot Steam[citation needed]
|
Run Steam or the game as an adminstrator[citation needed]
|
- Close
Steam.exe .
- Right click Steam and select 'Run as Administrator'.
- Log into Steam then make a Borderlands 2 shortcut on your desktop.
- Right click and run the shortcut as Administrator.
|
Windows
Running in slow motion
Shutdown Gigabyte's OC Guru overlay[citation needed]
|
Remove all devices that tether to your PC via USB (a mobile phone with USB tethering enabled, for example)[citation needed]
|
Bridge USB tethered internet connections with physical ethernet connections when using internet via tethered devices such as mobile phones[27][28]
|
Disable Borderlands 3 Banner Advertisement
Delete or rename the following file: <path-to-game>\WillowGame\CookedPCConsole\UI_Frontend_Upsell_SF.upk [29]
- Doesn't removes the Borderlands 3 menu item.
|
High-end Nvidia cards FPS drops
Update PhysX[citation needed]
|
- Download NVidia PhysX installer and unpack it.
- Copy all files from
PhysX-SystemSoftware\PhysX\files\Common to <path-to-game>\Binaries\Win32 . Overwrite when asked.
|
Fix Microlag/Stuttering on Windows 10 or 11
Disable fullscreen optimization[30]
|
- Go to the
<path-to-game>\Binaries\Win32
- Right click on
Borderlands2.exe and select Properties
- Go to the Compatibility tab and disable fullscreen optimizations
|
Microsoft .NET Framework Client Profile Restarting Install
Make installation folder writable[31]
|
- This is the preferred solution as it is the simplest, most convenient and safest option.
- Right click on the folder <path-to-game>.
- Click Properties, and uncheck the 'read-only' option.
- When starting the game, the .NET should update one more time.
- The next time the game is launched, the .NET will not attempt to install again.
|
Click 'No' To Allow Changes[32]
|
- After launching the game, it will ask to allow it to make changes to your computer.
- Click 'No' at this stage.
|
Fix value in registry[33]
|
- Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Valve\Steam\Apps\49520
- Right click and add a DWORD named
NET40Redist and give it a value of 1 .
|
Ultimate editing steps[33]
|
- If you have other installers launching, look at the
installscript.vdf which you can find in the installation folder.
- Open
installscript.vdf with Notepad and look at the names in quotes before each line of process 1 .
- Add the DWORD with a value of
1 which will tell Steam the process has been completed and it will not launch again.
|
Linux
Game crashes instantly
- This is caused by one symbol having a different size in shared object.
Use LD_PRELOAD to use libraries from your system
|
Run the game with LD_PRELOAD="/usr/lib32" %command% in Set Launch Options
|
Run the game in Steam Native Mode
|
- If you have core dumps enabled and the game crashed once, it won't start anymore.
Delete core file from the games folder
|
rm <your steam game library path>/steamapps/common/Borderlands 2/steamassets/binaries/win32/core
|
SHiFT login issue
- This happens due to the fact the game uses
/usr/lib/ssl
path to store the certificates in Ubuntu-based distros. Some other distros however uses /etc/ssl/
path instead.
Change the direction to store certificates[citation needed]
|
Create a symbolic link to directory:
ln -s /etc/ssl /usr/lib/ssl
Or add this command to the Launch Options...
SSL_CERT_DIR=/etc/ssl/certs %command%
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9 |
|
OpenGL |
3.3 |
OS X and Linux only. |
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
macOS (OS X) | |
|
|
Linux | |
|
|
Middleware
Console commands
Parameter |
Description |
Stat FPS |
Displays the current FPS in game. |
ToggleHUD |
Toggles the HUD on and off. |
FOV |
Allows you to adjust the FOV beyond the range available from the Video Options menu. Note that some rendering issue may occur with very large or very small FOV settings. |
Exit Quit |
Allows you to quickly exit the game. |
Gamma value |
Allows you set the Gamma value (brightness) beyond the bounds of the Video Options menu. Value is a floating point number (for example, 2.5). |
SetRes HxV |
Allows you to set a custom screen resolution to a value other than what is offered in the Video Options menu. H is the horizontal resolution. V is the verical resolution (for example, "setres 1024x768"). |
Shot Screenshot |
Take a screenshot. |
TiledShot 6 128 |
Take an ultra resolution screen shot, more info here. To take a tiled screenshot you must turn the cell shade off, Disable black outlines. |
Enable the console
Edit configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowInput.ini .
- Find the
[Engine.Console] section and add these values:
ConsoleKey=Tilde
TypeKey=Backslash
Notes
- Open the console with Ctrl+~ or Ctrl+\.
|
Engine tweak to fix blurry textures at short distance
Edit configuration file[35]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowEngine.ini .
- Find the
[SystemSettings] section and change this value:
OnlyStreamInTextures=True
|
Engine tweaks to reduce lag
Tweaks to increase frame rate and reduce lag[6]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowEngine.ini .
- Change these lines:
[MemoryBudgets]
AnimationMB=5000
AudioMB=5000
CodeMB=5000
LevelObjectsMB=5000
TerrainMB=5000
GameDataMB=5000
MaterialMB=5000
ParticleMB=5000
PhysicsMB=5000
ScaleformMB=5000
ShadersMB=5000
SkelMeshMB=5000
StaticMeshMB=5000
TextureMB=1000
and
DefaultPostProcessName=WillowEngineMaterials.CinematicScenePostProcess
- Removes original cell-shaded look.
as well as:
[Engine.Engine]
MaxParticleResize=128
PhysXGpuHeapSize=512
PhysXMeshCacheSize=256
|
Disable black outlines
Disable outlines[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowEngine.ini .
- Find the following line and set it to this value.
DefaultPostProcessName=WillowEngineMaterials.RyanScenePostProcess
Notes
- This will force Ambient Occlusion to be disabled, regardless of in-game settings.
|
Disable dynamic shadows
Disable dynamic shadows[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowEngine.ini .
- Change
DynamicShadows=True to DynamicShadows=False
Notes
- Dynamic Shadows are a big resource hog, causing computers that exceed the recommended specs to see big FPS drops.
|
Disable reflections
Disabling reflections[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowEngine.ini .
- Set
AllowImageReflections and AllowImageReflectionShadowing to false
|
Reduced particles
Edit configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowEngine.ini .
- Find the following line and set it to this value.
MaxParticleResize=512
|
Disable software PhysX
Edit configuration file[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
WillowGame.ini .
- Add the following to the end of the file and set as read only:
bPhysXEnabled=False
- Open
willowengine.ini
- Under
[Engine.Engine] add this:
bDisablePhysXHardwareSupport=True
|
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP SP3 |
Vista, 7 |
Processor (CPU) |
Dual core 2.4 GHz
| Quad core 2.3 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
2 GB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
13 GB |
20 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Nvidia GeForce 8500 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible
| ATI Radeon HD 5850 Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 512 MB of VRAM |
- The game is quite CPU dependent and as such it is recommended to use a CPU with at least two logical cores.
macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
10.12 | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz
| Intel Quad Core 2.2 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
4 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
13 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Nvidia GeForce 8800 Intel HD Graphics 3000 256 MB of VRAM
| ATI Radeon HD 5750 Nvidia GeForce GTX 650M Intel HD Graphics 4000 512 MB of VRAM |
Controller |
Xbox 360 wired gamepad PlayStation 3 DualShock 3 Wireless Controller | |
- The game is quite CPU dependent and as such it is recommended to use a CPU with at least two logical cores.
Linux |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
Ubuntu 14.04, SteamOS |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHz AMD Phenom II X4 2.4 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
13 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 260 1 GB of VRAM |
- ATI/AMD and Intel video cards are officially unsupported on Linux.[36]
- The game is quite CPU dependent and as such it is recommended to use a CPU with at least two logical cores.
References