Playthrough 2

For the second playthrough of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3, see True Vault Hunter Mode.

Playthrough 2 is a feature in Borderlands that allows players who have completed the game's story-line to start the game over again with the same character on a more advanced mode. It is unlocked once The Destroyer is defeated on Playthrough 1 and can be accessed immediately by loading the character's game. The character retains all items and levels gained in Playthrough 1 and will face off against similarly higher level enemies in an otherwise identical story. The enemy levels range from level 32 at the start, to level 50 by the end, downloadable content enemies will similarly undergo level increases as well. Items will be encountered in higher level versions to match the enemies and general difficulty of Playthrough 2. Mission rewards will also scale.

Playthrough 2 Structure

The structure of the missions in Playthrough 2 does not change. The player is forced to buy a shield and grenades despite having them from the first Playthrough. The maximum number of Weapon Equip Slot SDUs still remains at four equip slots; the missions that featured these as rewards in the first playthrough will offer different rewards in the second.

Mission rewards will otherwise be enhanced quite noticeably with higher level items offered and in the case of the Claptrap Rescue missions a number of Grenade Mods appear as rewards instead of SDUs, though there is a small chance of obtaining "bonus" Backpack SDUs.

Ammunition pickups are also upgraded in Playthrough 2, yielding twice as much ammo per pickup.

Post Playthrough 2 (Playthrough 2.5)

When The Vault is first entered in Playthrough 2, all enemies throughout Pandora will see their level increased to 48-52. Items will likewise be encountered at maximum levels, with the vast majority being level 48. This setting is frequently referred to by the player community as "Playthrough 2.5" or "Playthrough 2+". The goal of this world modification is to allow players to fight balanced enemies anywhere.

Playthrough 2.5 is unlocked as soon as the mission Find Steele completes upon entering the Vault. Killing the Destroyer, or leaving it alone, has no effect on this global difficulty change.

Once Playthrough 2.5 is unlocked, Claptrap Rescue missions in Playthrough 2 (including DLC missions) stop providing rewards.

Missions

No new missions are available at this point, but unfinished missions can still be started or completed. In the base game, mission rewards are the same as they were in Playthrough 2, but the higher level enemies can lead to better mission-specific loot. It is a unique chance to encounter higher level unique enemies or high quality chests. Some missions can be useful to retain for better loot in post Playthrough 2, such as:

• King Tossing: For King Wee Wee's Wee Wee's Super Booster
• This Bitch is Payback: For Kyros' Power
• This Bitch is Payback: For the Typhoon
• Purple Juice!: For Chiquito Amigo
• Bandit Treasure: X Marks the Spot: For the Dahl Headlands one-time only Red Chest reward.

DLC missions award more money and XP in Playthrough 2.5. Their suggested level is always one level higher than the player's, and their difficulty is always listed as "Tough." As the player levels up, DLC mission rewards steadily improve. For example, when the player is level 59, Core Collection awards 15624 XP and $1346395, but at level 60, it awards 15876 XP and $1507963. DLC missions scale with the player's level even after they have been accepted or completed, as long as the player has not turned them in. Items awarded by DLC missions also scale with the player's level.

Note: missions in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx will not scale with the player's level until they have completed all story missions in that DLC.

Patch 1.4.0

Main article: Patch 1.4.0

The higher level cap provided by The Secret Armory of General Knoxx "broke" Playthrough 2.5 in the sense that enemy levels (48-52) were no longer matched with that of the player (61). Patch 1.4.0 changed Playthrough 2.5 by making all enemies scale to the character's level. For example, a level 61 character will encounter level 60-64 monsters throughout Pandora.

Patch 1.4.1

Main article: Patch 1.4.1

Patch 1.4.1 increased the level cap by 8. Most enemies in Playthrough 2.5 scale to the new cap, but enemies in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx do NOT scale until the player has completed the DLC's story missions. This is true for both the original and enhanced versions of Borderlands. If other DLCs are completed in Playthrough 2.5 before starting The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, the player will be over-leveled compared to enemies in that DLC.

Enemy Names

For the second Playthrough, the names of all the enemy types are changed. The new enemies are more difficult but otherwise unchanged - for example, Bruisers become Brutes, but their behavior remains the same. In addition, the description "Badass" is replaced by "BadMutha," and enemies with this description are considerably more powerful than the Badasses of Playthrough 1. Reaching the end of Playthrough 2 again changes all the names, including changing "BadMutha" to "SuperBad".

Notes

• Badass Skags are called AssKicking Skags in Playthrough 2.5
• None of the DLC enemies, such as Zombies (all variations, including species), DLC3 Crimson Lance, Prisoners and Loot Midgets receive a name change.

Badass Psycho (PT1)

BadMutha Maniac (PT2)

SuperBad Lunatic (PT2.5)