Every time Gearbox and 2K release new details about Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, I get stupidly excited all over again. The combination of Borderlands shooting and looting, magic, melee, Dungeons & Dragons and Tina’s absurd sensibilities is something I am really keen to check out.
Today, new details have been unleashed about two of Wonderlands classes, the Stabbomancer and Brr-Zerker, new locations and features to look forward to on release. Gearbox has also updated Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ Game Guide online and published the first Dev Diary.
All in all, a huge amount of information has been released, so let’s glove up and wade in. You know, like Ellie Sattler? It’s an infodump joke…MOVING ON!
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
The video above, introduces us to the Stabbomancer and Brr-Zerker. The Stabbomancer is a stealth-based class that uses magical knives and the element of surprise to stab and murder. Focused on dealing critical damage to enemies, Stabbomancers excel at taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves, exploiting weaknesses and then vanishing into the shadows.
Look, Stabbomancy isn’t really its own school of magic—it’s a way of thinking. Specifically, “How do I stab that guy?” Up close with a dagger in the dark? A well-aimed bullet from afar? Or even an ethereal psychic ghost sword? The thing is, Stabbomancers are all about creating, and capitalizing on, opportunities. Jacks of all trades, masters of none, the skillful Stabbomancer exploits foes’ weaknesses to stealthily strike vital targets to bring enemies down before they know what hit them.
The Brr-Zerker is the “polar’ opposite. Geddit?
These “frost-infused” hulks use a combination of firepower and all-out melee assaults to smash their enemies to pieces. Brr-Zerkers come from the mountainous regions of Wonderlands and have developed a resistance to the cold over many generations.
When confronted with a problem, a Brr-Zerker’s first instinct is to turn it into a popsicle and punch their way to a solution. Brr-Zerkers are hardy warriors who hail from the frozen mountains, with a long line of ancestors who trained their bodies to withstand and even harness the bitter cold of icy winters. In battle, Brr-Zerkers prefer to do their fighting up close and personal, taking point on the front lines as a whirling maelstrom of exceptionally chilly death.
In addition to details about the Stabbomancer and Brr-Zerker, 2K and Gearbox details some of the locations in Wonderlands and details on spells, melee and the Overworld. In Wonderlands, players will have the chance to visit Brighthoof, Butt Stallion’s Castle, Sunfang Oasis and Tangledrift. Brighthoof contains Butt Stallion’s Castle and is “the crown jewel of Queen Butt Stallion’s bodacious queendom and a beacon of light to all who yearn to bunker or be badass.”
Sunfang Oasis and Tangledrift are “optional regions” according to Creative Director Matt Cox. “Optional regions like the Tangledrift and the Sunfang Oasis are expansive environments complete with their own multi-part questlines. ‘We treat these huge maps like standalone modules from a tabletop game that feel different from the main quest,’ Matt explains. Braving these areas and completing their meaty side quests can help power you up before you take on the more difficult trials that await.”
We’ve already seen snippets of the Overworld but now, Gearbox is dishing out way more detail. In a nod to the tabletop aspect of tabletop games, players explore via a bird’s eye view. Gearbox has promised “Once you’ve gotten used to the sight of your Fatemaker’s big ol’ noggin in the Overworld, you can start poking around the many nooks and crannies of the game board. Some discoveries might be minor—a quick dungeon encounter here, a smattering of gold-filled chests there—but you could end up stumbling onto an entirely optional area that some adventurers might miss altogether.”
While guns are a huge part of Wonderlands, it wouldn’t be a fantasy game without magic. In Wonderlands, spellcasting gives players all-new ways to fight. Spells are on a cooldown system “that let you fire magic from your fingertips frequently.”
The team has done a fantastic job of having fun first, especially with the spells,” says Matt. “I think that’s a hallmark of how we do things in our games, and particularly with Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands—it’s about having fun first before you start addressing balance. That doesn’t mean balance isn’t important, but I think players will have the most fun if we put it at the forefront. The things that are super out-there will probably become Legendary spells. It’s a matter of getting all those crazy ideas out there first and then finding the right place for them in the rarity balance.”
Alongside guns and magic, players will have a dedicated melee weapon they can use when they get up close and personal. “Melee combat completes the combat trifecta of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, as you’re able to keep a dedicated melee weapon constantly equipped in addition to your guns and spell loadout. It’s not likely to take precedence over the guns in your right hand and the powerful spells in your left, but weaving a few close-up strikes into the flow of your firefights can go a long way.”
March 25, 2022 can’t come quickly enough. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will launch for PC (Epic Games Store), PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S|X. It will launch for other PC storefronts later in 2022.
