Borderlands’ Cutest Enemy Type Could Be More Valuable Than Ever in BL4

Alongside the big swings Borderlands 4 is taking with its open-world, Gearbox is taking a step back and refining the series’ all-important loot system. Fresh mechanics like the boss rematch feature will make farming significantly easier, while the farming itself will be a necessity since Borderlands 4 will resemble the older games of the franchise in terms of its Legendary drops. Gone are the days of Borderlands 3, where players expected to see a dozen Legendary drops in every single play session, as Gearbox is lowering the drop rate for its orange-colored guns considerably.

This back to basics approach to weaponry will make reliable sources of Legendary drops more valuable than ever. Raid boss farming will undoubtedly be a regular activity once again, while Golden Keys will be highly sought after, as early footage from content creator Ki11er Six has shown that the Golden Chest will still drop orange weapons often – at least in the beta build that was used for Borderlands 4’s previews. Alongside farming tough bosses and scouring the internet for Golden Key Shift codes, there will be more pressure to chase down the always-cute Chubby enemies whenever they appear, assuming that they will be returning in the new game.

Borderlands 4 Has to Get One Feature Right By Any Means Necessary

One of Borderlands 4’s brand-new systems changes everything about certain weapon types, but if it’s not tuned just right, the game could fall apart.

Borderlands’ Chubby Enemies Have a Well-Earned Reputation

Like their names suggest, Chubby foes are small, huskier variants of existing Borderlands enemy types. Given their size and stature, nearly every Chubby (or Tubby, on higher difficulties) variant will have players fawning over their cuteness, but they can’t let themselves get distracted, as Chubbies will leave the map if they are not killed fast enough. Borderlands’ Chubby enemy types thus far include:

Skags
Rakk
Spiderants
Varkids
Stalkers
Tinks
Skeletons

As for how these Borderlands foes got their cute looks, it’s actually due to eating weapons, class mods, shields, and any other loot they can get their hands on. When killed, players are guaranteed a Lootsplosion, making the prospect of gunning down something so adorable a much easier pill to swallow. On higher difficulties, gamers are practically guaranteed stellar loot from Chubbies and Tubbies, and even on Borderlands’ base difficulty the loot is consistently solid. While it is currently unclear if Borderlands 4 is planning on bringing back the Chubby enemy type, fans could only hope that Gearbox will do so, as this variant would be more valuable than ever with drop rates being lowered so drastically.

How Borderlands 4 Could Make Chubbies Bigger Than Ever

Assuming that Chubbies do make a comeback in Borderlands 4, they would be a welcome addition even if they were left exactly the same. However, Gearbox shouldn’t miss the chance to evolve its Chubby system, which could be done in a number of ways. One possibility would see Borderlands 4 letting players get more loot from Chubbies by shooting them in a specific location – perhaps anywhere but their bloated stomachs, as doing so could risk destroying some of the weapons held within. Another option would be a Chubby difficulty modifier, where their spawn rate is drastically increased, but each Chubby has a 50% chance to drop primed grenades instead of loot. Lastly, Borderlands 4’s mob density concerns could be proven meaningless via an incredibly rare multi-Chubby spawn, with dozens of Chubbies appearing at once and players needing to quickly pick their targets in all the chaos.

In addition to these ideas, Gearbox could always introduce more Chubby types, as Borderlands 4’s Timekeeper will undoubtedly have some fresh factions at his disposal that would make good candidates. Players have never fought a Chubby Guardian, Thresher, or Loader, with plenty of existing enemy types yet to get a rotund variant. Regardless of whether Borderlands 4 expands upon Chubbies or leaves them the exact same, hopefully they will return in some form, as it would be a joy to see how they’d look within Unreal Engine 5. For now, all fans can do is hope that they’ll stumble across these foes – and their guaranteed piles of rare loot – when the game launches in September.