Summary
In a sense,Borderlands 3opened up Pandora’s Box by bringing the franchise to several planets that players had never seen before, most of which featured their own vaults. However, some of these planets ultimately didn’t get the attention that they deserve, soBorderlands 4should arguably revisit them to hopefully solve some of the franchise’s unanswered questions.
Especially considering how many times players have gotten to explore deeper and deeper into Pandora, it’s time that some of the other prominent planets in theBorderlandsfranchise got this same treatment. Among these underutilized planets that deserve to be further explored in futureBorderlandsgames, Athenas arguably stands out as one that deserves the spotlight more than any other.
Pandora is the Heart of the Borderlands Franchise
The story of the Vault Hunters begins on the planet Pandora, with the originalBorderlandsgame.Borderlands 2also takes place exclusively on Pandora, except players get to explore the farther reaches of the planet, revealing it to be quite a diverse environment.Borderlandsthe Pre-Sequel begins on Pandora as well, though the majority of this game is set on Pandora’s moon, Elpis.
By the timeBorderlands 3’s story takes place, it’s revealed that several other nearby planets in the galaxy host their own Eridian vaults. So while Pandora is still revisited inBorderlands 3, the great hunt for these vaults takes players across the galaxy.
As the beginning of the players’ journey, Pandora will always be a special place in theBorderlandsfranchise that hosts some of the mostmemorable moments inBorderlands’ ongoing story.
Getting to see how this planet has evolved throughout each newBorderlandsgame has been a sweet treat for longtime fans of the franchise. Rather, by now it’s time thatBorderlandsgave this same treatment to other planets, considering that some of these planets have played a major role in the franchise’s ongoing story, except they haven’t gotten their proper time in the spotlight.
Borderlands’ Siren Lore is Still a Mystery
Among all of the new planets that have been introduced by the recent games in theBorderlandsfranchise, the one planet that arguably deserves to be revisited most is Athenas. Athenas is the planet where Maya trained as a Siren, who later trained Ava as a Siren.Borderlands’ Sirens are some of the most powerful beings in the entire game’s universe, except the majority of information about their origins is still unknown, hence whyBorderlands 4should revisit Athenas to clarify some of the missing lore surrounding theBorderlandsfranchise’s mysterious Sirens.
Athenas is also home to an Eridian Vault, which is one of the main reasons that the story ofBorderlands 3takes players to this planet. By prioritizing the Vault over Athenas’ history as being a training ground for Sirens, this noteworthy bit of lore goes underutilized.
One way thatBorderlands 4could give the Sirens’ home planet Athenas more time in the spotlight is to feature alternate starts for the different characters, meaning that any player that picks theSiren Vault Hunter character classcould begin their journey here and potentially undergo similar Siren training as Maya and Ava did, firsthand. Alternate starts could be a win-win opportunity forBorderlands 4to experiment with, as it could shine more light on the origins of theBorderlandsfranchise’s Sirens and other Vault Hunters, while also incentivizing lore enthusiasts to play as multiple characters to experience each alternate start to the game.
Otherwise, revisiting Athenas in any capacity would be a well-deserved journey. Considering how much lore surroundingBorderlands’ Sirens is still unknown, revisiting the planet dedicated to training Sirens seems like the franchise’s best opportunity to answer some of theBorderlandsfranchise’s unanswered questions. Ultimately, compared to Pandora, each of the new planets that the recentBorderlandsgames have introduced still deserves more time in the spotlight, especially Athenas.
