In preparation for Borderlands 4 I played through Borderlands 3, and I'm torn on how to deal with the Ava problem

Years precocious to the party? Absolutely. But wow, what connected Earth bash you bash astir Ava?

I, similar many, americium rather excited for Borderlands 4. Gearbox, portion not a saintly workplace with a past of thing but bangers and bully news, inactive has a knack for creating breathtaking gunplay similar nary 1 else. Years ago, the archetypal Borderlands was 1 of the archetypal games I bought myself, and Borderlands 2 holds a beardown grip connected my bosom adjacent still.

I missed Borderlands 3. I had different worldly going connected and didn't person the tendency for the series' marque of popular culture-laden humour astatine the time. But, going backmost to it present with caller eyes and nary cognition of its story, I'm near with 1 large takeaway. Dude, Gearbox has got to bash thing miraculous to woody with Ava.

Consider this your spoiler informing for Borderlands 3, arsenic you benignant of request to cognize however that crippled ends to recognize the problem. Roughly a 3rd of the mode done Borderlands 3, Ava and Maya (a beloved returning quality from Borderlands 2) travel with you to a vault. Ava, not meant to beryllium determination owed to being a child, is lectured by Maya arsenic you spell wrong and get your loot. When you permission the vault, the brace are attacked by the antagonistic Calypso twins. Ava, capable to bash nothing, talks trash to the evil siblings which results successful a scuffle and Maya's untimely decease and her Siren powers getting leached.

The twins weren't determination to termination Maya, but to sorb the powers of the dormant vault monster. They didn't adjacent cognize the member could leach Siren powers. It's a decease straight caused by Ava's actions. Later, erstwhile you instrumentality to the main hub, Ava berates the person of the Crimson Raiders, Lilith, for Maya's death, blaming her for the nonaccomplishment contempt the information that Lilith had precise small to bash with the full affair. Ava does person quality maturation passim the remainder of the story, easing up connected the blasted game, but by the extremity of the communicative she's near successful complaint of the Crimson Raiders and inherets Maya's powers, some boons she did not deserve.

Now, I would larn aft hitting credits that this caused quite the uproar among Borderlands 3 fans backmost successful 2019. Her aggro property and the consequences of her actions rubbed folks the incorrect way. Having experienced this fresh, I tin wholly spot wherever they're coming from. She is surely grating, and someway manages to acceptable a much aggravating relation than Claptrap. Claptrap. The quality intentionally written to beryllium annoying.

Lilith flies distant and leaves the car keys successful a child's hands. This indispensable beryllium addressed! | Image credit: Gearbox

But the occupation is this: You can't truly disregard Ava going forward! She's been placed successful an incredibly important presumption narratively. Not lone does she pb the de facto "good feline faction", she's a Siren too. You can't truly expanse Ava nether the rug unless you outright termination her, which Gearbox has proven reluctant to bash but successful the astir hard hitting affectional moments. If Ava does get domed oregon sucked retired an airlock, arsenic it stands it won't get the aforesaid bittersweet absorption arsenic Roland oregon Bloodwing. It'll beryllium met by cheers.

There is anticipation though. Gearbox has proven rather skilled astatine redeeming characters. Tiny Tina - present conscionable Tina - is possibly the top illustration of this. She excessively proved somewhat abrasive successful Borderlands 2, but the Assault connected Dragon Keep DLC did a batch for her character. Then, erstwhile she returns successful Borderlands 3, she's inactive got her chiseled benignant of humour but successful a crippled with a much modern tone, the effect being this fantastic modulation from this hyper memey kid to an older-sister-esque wacky broadside character. It works brilliantly, and is simply a existent item of the game.

But it's worthy noting that Tina is precisely that: a broadside character. Ava does not get the luxary of being a love-it-or-hate-it broadside experience. She has been placed close astatine the centre of the communicative going forward.

As specified Gearbox has 2 choices: It tin either wholly revamp Ava arsenic a character, accelerating her arc and doing a batch of increasing up disconnected surface successful the anticipation it'll delight the fans, oregon it tin anticipation that Ava arsenic she's near astatine the extremity of Borderlands 3 is simply a refreshing blast from the past erstwhile placed straight adjacent to newer personalities.

It's a pugnacious one. But adjacent with this Ava problem, I person anticipation for Borderlands 4's narrative. The folks who've worked connected anterior games person proven their worthy erstwhile it comes to creating lovable characters, and portion they person their enactment chopped retired for them with Ava, I volition inactive take to spell successful with an unfastened mind.