Krieg is the sixth Vault Hunter, but only the second that has been added to the Borderlands 2 roster post release. We got some hands-on time recently and inarguably, he’s definitely the sort of character that fits in very well with the rest of the cast.
As a psycho type character, Krieg is highly aggressive, and this is abundantly clear from his fighting style. His most destructive technique is Buzz Axe Rampage where, unsurprisingly, he uses a very sharp axe to go to town on anything moving nearby. Not only can he bring the axe down on any enemy, but he can also throw it over a sizable distance. It’s an extremely versatile special attack that’s very useful when facing various enemies.
The fact Krieg is a psycho also means that his fighting style is similar to that of a person who has clearly lost his/her sanity. Most of his skills revolve around the basis of gaining various bonuses in return for reckless killing.
Gaining these bonuses is a bit of a gamble as it involves lowering the Vault Hunter’s health to a point where a few hits may result in death. On the plus side, Krieg gets an adrenaline rush from being on the brink of death. In return, players will get the chance to unlock his full potential.
One of the benefits of fighting is being able to gain back health, therein lies the pay-off for risking death in order to make the most of what Krieg has to offer. It also encourages players to engage enemies more often and in a very different way from any other Vault Hunter.
Krieg is also surprisingly fast for a character that walks around with a heavy axe. Perhaps this is a way to balance out the fact he is a killing machine. It basically means players can avoid being hit when Krieg doesn’t have a lot of health.
Krieg has a few boosts that increase stats, such as health and shield points. The development team have done a good job of making these boosts fair by increasing the time it takes to recharge the health and shield points. It’s a fair compromise and fits in with Krieg’s destructive nature. After all, it’s not a challenge if he is being given such boosts without some limitations.
The various skills Krieg has are just as unique as those of other Vault Hunters, and as you might expect, they’re all inappropriately named. It’s difficult not to snigger when skills have names like “Feed the Meat”, “Blood Bath” and “Burn Baby Burn”. The last suggests that there are some fans of the band Ash at Gearbox. One thing is certain, all skills are built around being the most insane, crazed powerhouse the game has ever seen.
Ultimately, it feels like Krieg is comfortable being part of the main cast. The development team set out to make this one of the craziest character Borderfans have encountered so far and they’ve even gone as far as to introduce the character properly with back-story. The result? It feels like Krieg has always been in and belonged in Borderlands 2.
Krieg feels like a character anyone can use. It’s easy to go all-out berserker on any enemies that dare attack you. However, some of Krieg’s unique abilities that require losing most of his health certainly feel like something only the hardcore Borderlands 2 players will master and enjoy. Perhaps this is Gearbox’s way of expressing gratitude for all the players that supported the series from the start.
Playing as Krieg the Psycho is exceedingly fun and his unique skills should provide players with another reason to jump back into the fantastic world of Borderlands 2.
Join us soon for an exclusive interview with the Borderlands team, as well as some hands-on with Tiny Tina’s upcoming DLC. Among other things, we ask the team about the process for developing a new character and how they fit them in to an already established world.
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