Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandsis the next game set to release as part of theBorderlandsfranchise. The new title is set to expand on the themes fromBorderlands 2’sD&D-style DLCAssault on Dragon Keep. In that DLC, the titular Tiny Tina leads Vault Hunters through a session of Bunkers & Badasses, and the short adventure wore itsD&Dinspiration on its sleeve. WithTiny Tina’s Wonderlands, the developer is looking to expand on that idea, and should definitely take a look at the current trend inD&Dsourcebooks for one feature.
D&D’s fifth edition has been around for more than half a decade at this point. In that time, Wizards of the Coast has begun to address some backlash it has received from fans. One of the biggest complaints some fans, specifically DMs, have with 5e is a lack of diversity in its enemies. This complaint comes in the form of both objective number of enemies and a lack of variety in their abilities. The last several releases forD&Dhave taken this into consideration, and whileWonderlandshas a lot to balance alreadyit should take a hard look the more recent books.
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Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Should Take a Page from Modern D&D
The main thing that WotC has done to address the issue has been to release more and more monsters. Expansive new books that focus entirely on creatures and the lore behind them likeVolo’s Guide to MonstersandMordenkainen’s Tome of Foeshave offered up sizeable new rosters of enemies. This is also set against books like the recently releasedVan Richten’s Guide to Ravenloftthat offer DMs new realms to explore, and populated its horror dimensions with new creatures like the Loup Garou, a unique twist on the werewolf based on a Louisiana folk monster.EmbracingD&DinWonderlandsshould also include a monster variety that both series have arguably struggled with.
Monsters and villains to fight are often at the heart of any adventure, and theBorderlandsseries has been no different. However, a problem with a lack of enemy variety has continued in the eyes of some fans up toBorderlands 3, and it’s an issue that mirrors one in fifth editionD&D. Both properties certainly have a lot of different enemy types at this point, but often the mechanics between them don’t feel very distinct. Some enemies have shields, some explode, some power up after certain triggers, but that’s about it. For both properties, this is more an opportunity than a problem, and thefuture ofWonderlandsis looking bright.
D&Dhas combated this problem by adding more diverse abilities to its enemies from new sourcebooks. Previously it had been almost a running joke that if a DM revealed a new enemy during a campaign, any experienced player could easily guess its abilities like Multiattack. Newer enemies have much more diverse abilities like the aforementioned Loup Garou’s enhanced lycanthropy or an allip (a sort of knowledge-obsessed ghost) that has the ability to covertly drive player character’s mad.Dragon’s Keepwas a success for sure, but it fell into many of the same traps as the original iteration of its contemporary fifth editionD&D. As both franchises look toward the future,Wonderlandswould do well to learn from what WotC has been able to do withD&Denemy diversity in the past few years.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlandsis slated to launch in early 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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