Do Not Play Borderlands Online

It's like some games just have bad karma or maybe the universe feels the need to impose a perfect balance of ying and yang in every single thing. Borderlands managed to stand out as a really great game right from the start, as incredibly fun and really addictive. But the multiplayer seems to suffer from a horrible bug. More than horrible, it's disastrous.

Most RPGs that come over to the land of online play usually suffer from somewhat minor issues. Lags, server and connectivity issues, engine glitches and skills acting out of place are the common foes of multiplayer, but Borderlands managed to anger such a powerful evil, that it makes you fear the very thought of playing online. Some of you that decide to co-op or just go on an online match with your character might end up coming out of the fight with more than a bruised ego. Apparently, the game has a habit of resting your skills and weapon proficiencies when entering or leaving an online session.

The problem isn't that you would have to reassign your skill points, which would become frustrating anyway after a few times, but that you lose them completely. All your advanced perks and tricks you get from leveling up are lost in an instant and you'll end up with a seriously underpowered character. You might be able to restore weapon proficiencies on your own, with enough patience, but skills can only be restored by the developers. Something they haven't yet figured out just how to do exactly.

The problem has been posted on the Borderlands official forum and it has received a very discouraging answer. "Your report has been heard and we're working on it. Unfortunately there isn't a fix just yet, but when one is available we hope to be able to repair as much of your character data as possible." In case you have a little bit of hope left in you, let us be the ones to strip you of it, since, apparently, the bug occurs on all platforms, so no one is safe. Your best bet is to steer clear of any form of online interaction with your character until the problem is solved. Or, if you just can't fight the temptation, which is indeed great, you can try to make a remote save of your character before joining an online session. Still, this is a serious blow to the game.