During its PAX East presentation, Gearbox Software unveiled plenty concerning the future of Borderlands 3. It formally revealed the Guns, Love, and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright and Hammerlock DLC, the return of Gaige the Mechromancer within it, the spring 2020 roadmap, teaser art for DLC 3, and reportedly even touched on the eventual return of everyone’s favorite psycho.
However, it seems that there could be more here than what meets the eye. For example, the Borderlands 3 spring 2020 roadmap seemingly suggests Gaige will not be the only returning Vault Hunter, due the plurality of “returning characters,” and it could perhaps even shine some light on Borderlands 3 DLC 3 when it releases likely in June.
Wainwright and Hammerlock’s Wedding Invitation
First, it’s worth establishing a relationship between in-game events and DLC. No one knew it at the time, but it’s clear now that the Broken Hearts event and DLC 2 were intrinsically connected. From a design standpoint, it seems Borderlands 3 players were collecting Wedding Invitations, and many thought this was simply connected to Valentine’s Day. It looks as if players were actually collecting invitations to Wainwright and Hammerlock’s wedding, which is hilarious looking back at it now, and if this were to become a pattern, that means there could be connections between future events and story DLCs.
That said, this could have been a one-off. There’s no real connection between the Bloody Harvest event and the Heist of the Handsome Jackpot DLC, but patterns established last fall were seemingly bucked when January flew by. As such, it’s a possibility worth consideration in Borderlands 3.
Borderlands 3’s Revenge of the Cartel Event
The spring 2020 roadmap shows that the next in-game event will be called Revenge of the Cartels. Despite there being a lack of any real between the Handsome Jackpot and Bloody Harvest, though, there are already some connecting stands for Revenge of the Cartel and DLC 3. First, this event will see players hunting down and killing cartel operatives in a 80s Miami Vice-type event. There will be various divisions within this cartel, but one goal: Maurice.
It’s uncertain what Maurice has done to earn the ire of the cartel, but Maurice is a saurian and the cartel are likely ne’er do wells, desperadoes, and general space-faring bandits. This is the connection, as the only thing mentioned officially of Borderlands 3 DLC 3 is “cowboys and dinosaurs.” It’s possible that the cartels and cowboys are somehow related, and this event proves to be some sort of set up for Maurice and his fellow saurians. But despite the connection between Broken Hearts and Guns, Love, and Tentacles, this is tinfoil hat territory until something more official is revealed. However, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Maurice play a bigger role in story DLC 3 if this is what it’s hinting at.
Borderlands 3 Spring 2020 Roadmap and Borderlands 3 DLC 3
Aside from there potentially being a connection between Revenge of the Cartel and DLC 3, there are some more solid details likely established by the above roadmap. Namely, it seems the rotation of DLC could be changing, either making it harder or perhaps even easier to predict. After Guns, Love, and Tentacles, Mayhem Mode 2.0, Revenge of the Cartel, and a new Guardian Takedown will keep players busy. Summer 2020 is not touched on, and there is no June here.
Given the time between story DLCs though (December to March), June seems like a likely release window for DLC 3. In short, while it may not be much more, fans may see the events connect with future story DLCs, and the proof of that in Borderlands 3 will likely come in June.
Borderlands 3 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. Guns, Love, and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright and Hammerlock releases March 26, 2020.
