Borderlands

This page is for the original 2009 version. For the 2019 GOTY Enhanced version, see Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced.

Borderlands

Developers
	Gearbox Software
	Demiurge Studios
	Shadows in Darkness
	Darkside Games
macOS (OS X)	Feral Interactive
Publishers
	2K Games
macOS (OS X)	Feral Interactive
Engines
	Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows	October 26, 2009
macOS (OS X)	December 3, 2010
Reception
Metacritic	81
IGDB	80
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, RPG, Shooter
Vehicles	Automobile, Off-roading
Art styles	Cel-shaded, Comic book
Themes	Post-apocalyptic, Sci-fi
Series	Borderlands

Borderlands
Borderlands	2009
Borderlands 2	2012
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel	2014
Tales from the Borderlands (series)
Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced	2019
Borderlands 3	2019
Borderlands 2 VR	2019
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure	2021
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands	2022

Warnings

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Borderlands is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, FPS, RPG and shooter game in the Borderlands series.

The online component of retail disc copies is not functional as of September 15, 2014. Retail owners who did not use the granting tool on Steam to convert their retail disc copies into a digital Steam copy before March 27, 2019 must purchase Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced to play online.

Steam owners received all four DLCs for free for the original game following the release of Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced.

General information

Official Discord server for game series

Manual

Official support knowledgebase

Gearbox Forums - Borderlands Tech Support

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM DRM disc check. Original disc: SecuROM DFA DRM release date check. GOTY disc: SecuROM DFA DRM for the DLC. Non-functional online mode following the shutdown of GameSpy.
Developer website		GOTY Edition. Five machines limit.
Amazon.com		GOTY Edition. Bundled with the GOTY Enhanced version.
Steam		GOTY Edition. Bundled with the GOTY Enhanced version.
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable)
Mac App Store (unavailable)		GOTY Edition

SecuROM DRM was removed from the Steam version on July 28, 2014 from the main game and all of its DLC.

From September 15, 2014 and up until March 27, 2019 owners of retail disc copies could use a granting tool on Steam to convert their retail disc copies into a digital Steam copy, as part of a multiplayer service transition to Steamworks following the shutdown of GameSpy. This tool was disabled shortly before the announcement of Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced.

Version differences

Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition

Not to be confused with Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced released in 2019.

Complete edition released on October 12, 2010 which included the base game as well as the four DLCs.

Also included Duke Nukem Forever First Access Club Code that granted early access to the demo of Duke Nukem Forever.

While the granting tool only unlocked the base game on Steam, the included GOTY product key in the retail copy could be used to unlock the four DLCs.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Steam owners received all four DLCs for free following the release of Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced.

Name	Notes
Claptrap's New Robot Revolution	Included in the Game of the Year Edition.
Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot	Included in the Game of the Year Edition.
The Secret Armory of General Knoxx	Included in the Game of the Year Edition.
The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned	Included in the Game of the Year Edition.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Instructions
See Command line arguments. Use -nostartupmovies or -nomovies (will turn off all video including cutscenes)

Delete or rename video files
Go to <path-to-game>\WillowGame\Movies. Delete or rename 2K_logo.bik, Gearbox_logo.bik, and NVidia.bik.

Manual fix
Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config Open WillowEngine.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Find: StartupMovies=2K_logo StartupMovies=Gearbox_logo StartupMovies=NVidia StartupMovies=Loading Replace it with: ;StartupMovies=2K_logo ;StartupMovies=Gearbox_logo ;StartupMovies=NVidia ;StartupMovies=Loading Save changes.

Skip splash screen

Instructions
See Command line arguments. Use -nosplash

Delete or rename the splash file
Go to <path-to-game>\WillowGame\Splash\PC. Delete or rename Splash.bmp.

Improved mouse aiming

Edit configuration files[citation needed]

Go to the configuration files location. Open WillowInput.ini. Change LookUpScale=-250 to LookUpScale=-300 Open WillowEngine.ini. Change OneFrameThreadLag=true to OneFrameThreadLag=false Notes Feel free to adjust the mouse sensitivity as needed. This can be done with the in-game slider or by changing MouseSensitivity=100.0 (WillowInput.ini) to your desired value See also disable mouse smoothing Setting OneFrameThreadLag to False may cause a drop in performance.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/8980/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\SaveData\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/8980/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud		Approx. 100 MB available.

Video

In-game video/audio settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Vert-. See the community files page for Hor+.
Multi-monitor			Vert-. See the community files page for Hor+.
Ultra-widescreen			Vert-. See the community files page for Hor+.
4K Ultra HD			Vert-. See the community files page for Hor+.
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		Toggle with Alt+↵ Enter or add -windowed parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See GeDoSaTo or Borderless Gaming.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See Anti-aliasing (AA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See Vertical sync (Vsync).
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Capped at 62 FPS by default. See High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)

Field of view (FOV)

Borderlands Configuration Editor

Download Borderlands Configuration Editor. Run the tool and set your FOV in the middle-bottom section. You must set the FOV change to a key. Hit apply and close the hack. Then run Borderlands as normal and press your set FOV changing key. The FOV will "snap" to the Hor+ value. Notes Using a vehicle or triggering a video in the game resets the FOV. Setting the FOV key to a movement key is recommended to instantly set the FOV again.

Alternative fixes[citation needed]
Borderlands Config Tool Flawless Widescreen v1.0.1.2

Modify .ini file[citation needed]
Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config. Open WillowInput.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Find under [Engine.PlayerInput] the section: Bindings=(Name="F8",Command="shot"). Add the following: Bindings=(Name="F11",Command="FOV 90",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False).

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Anti-Aliasing[citation needed]
Use the Borderlands Config Tool. Force AA through the graphics control panel. Force AA through a third party utility such as nHancer for Nvidia-cards or RadeonPro for AMD. This may cause large performance drops. Use an FXAA-injector such as this one.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

V-Sync[citation needed]
Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config. Open WillowEngine.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Change UseVsync=False to UseVsync=True.

High frame rate

Edit configuration file[citation needed]
Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config. Open WillowEngine.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Change bSmoothFrameRate=TRUE to bSmoothFrameRate=FALSE or change MaxSmoothedFramerate=62 to your choosing. Notes Setting the frame rate too high can adversely affect physics.

Input

In-game keyboard/mouse settings.

In-game key map settings.

In-game general gamepad settings.

In-game gamepad layout settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		See Mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Left stick axes reversed on generic controllers.
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Presets only.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Logitech GamePanel

Information such as mission log, friendlist, level, exprerience points, money and weapon proficiency stats can be displayed on the LCD panel or smartphone application.

Display	Notes
Arx Control application
G19 color screen	Native support. Displays mission log, friendlist, level, exprerience points, money and weapon proficiency stats.
G15 monochrome screen	Native support. Displays mission log.

Fix mouse smoothing and aiming

Modify config files

Launch the game once after installing in order to generate config files. Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config Open WillowInput.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Change bEnableMouseSmoothing=true to bEnableMouseSmoothing=false Change LookUpScale=-250 to LookUpScale=-300 Open WillowEngine.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Change OneFrameThreadLag=true to OneFrameThreadLag=false

Enable scroll wheel in text boxes

Enable scroll wheel[citation needed]
Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config. Open WillowInput.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Search for all instances of InputKeyName="MouseScrollUp",ModifierKeyFlags=42 and change them to InputKeyName="MouseScrollUp". Search for all instances of InputKeyName="MouseScrollDown",ModifierKeyFlags=42 and change them to InputKeyName="MouseScrollDown".

Enable Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 controller UI

Modify .ini file[citation needed]

Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config. Open WillowGame.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Change the FakePlatform= value to one of the values listed below: -1 - disabled/auto 0 - PC 1 - Xbox 360 2 - PlayStation 3 If this fix works, the "Online Game" and "LAN Game" main menu options will change to "Xbox LIVE" and "System Link." The loading tips and training tooltips will still show keyboard bindings.

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, SFX, and microphone volume.
Surround sound		Auto configures up to 7.1 output.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish				A Polish patch made by distributor is available here. Note that this patch requires at least game version 1.41, and DLCs are not included. Separate fan translation for The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is available here.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download.
Russian				Official localization by 1C-Softclub retail only.
Russian				Fan translation by «Dimon485 / TTL T.Community».
Spanish
Turkish				Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		4	Co-op See this Steam Users' Forums Guide on hacking splitscreen into the game.
LAN play		4	Co-op
Online play		4	Co-op The official GameSpyservice has been shut down, but the Steam release was migrated over to Steamworks on September 15, 2014. Retail owners who did not use the granting tool on Steam to convert their retail disc copies into a digital Steam copy before March 27, 2019 must purchase Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced to play online.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP		Add the target IP and port as a command line argument.

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	7777, 28900, 28902, 28910
UDP	7777, 27900, 28902

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Borderlands 1.
vorpX		G3D, DirectVR Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest

Issues fixed

Cannot install disc-based copies

This section details the necessary procedure and workarounds required to install a retail disc-based copy of the game on modern machines.

Note that online will not be functional unless using a LAN/VPN-based workaround (e.g. Hamachi) to create a virtual LAN over the Internet with those you intend to play with.

Install and update Borderlands from a retail disc

Ensure that the retail disc is available and ready, and that the game is not currently installed on the computer. Use the instructions for the Manual Release Date Check tool to generate a proper activation license for the computer. Now insert the retail disc and go through the installation as usual. The game should be fully playable after the installation has been completed, given that the disc is legit and is inserted in the disc reader when launching the game. To update the game to the latest available patch for retail versions, use the Borderlands Worldwide Patch v1.4.1. Notes If the activation license had not been generated beforehand the installation process would fail after all files and folders had been copied over, when SecuROM DFA DRM tries to perform an online-based check that the release date of the game have passed. Instead of failing on that step, however, the process will just skip it entirely as a valid activation license already exists on the computer. GOTY owners might want to check out the WaybackMachine archived SecuROM support page for instructions (at the bottom) on how to activate the DLCs manually.

General Protection Fault

General Protection Fault
Go to <path-to-game>\Binaries. Make a copy of cudart.dll in the same folder and call it physxcudart_20.dll. Both copies of the DLL files needs to be retained, or otherwise the game will not launch at all. Launch the game.

General Protection Fault / R6025 runtime error[citation needed]
Some users are experiencing a General Protection Fault, followed by an R6025 runtime error. One fix is to run Windows Update and install the KB2600217 update also found here. A collection of additional troubleshooting steps can be found on the Steam Users' Forums

Fixing performance issues

Fixing Performance Issues[citation needed]

Some systems, despite exceeding the recommended specs, simply do not run Borderlands well. Even after turning down graphical options, the frame rates can be much lower than would be expected. Taking these steps can help make the game much more responsive and raise frame rates significantly. If Borderlands is running poorly on an otherwise stout system, try the following: Add -dx9 to the command line (helps fps) Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands\WillowGame\Config. Open WillowEngine.ini file with Notepad or other text editor. Find UseVsync and set it to True (helps with tearing). Another known issue has been with the inclusion of Dynamic Shadows, for some users having this graphical setting turned on causes huge drops in frame rate, no matter the specs of the computer. Turning off this setting can greatly improve performance.

Progress not being saved

Progress Not Being Saved[citation needed]

Sometimes Borderlands will not save your progress when you exit. To fix this there are two methods: First Method: Add -nohomedir to the command line arguments; this is less than ideal as it will start you over from the beginning as it causes the game to create a new save folder. Second method This fix worked for some people, is to ensure that your SaveData folder (located in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands) and all its contents are NOT set to Hidden and/or Read Only.

Some weapon stats are not visible

Weapon stats visibility fix[citation needed]

The default font size allows for only 4 lines of stats to be visible, while weapons can have up to 5 stats. Go to <path-to-game>\WillowGame\Localization\INT. Find gd_globals.INT and create a backup copy. Open gd_globals.INT with a text editor. Search for: AttributePresentationTranslation="$NUMBER$ $CONSTRAINT$ $DESCRIPTION$" Replace it with: AttributePresentationTranslation=<font size="14">$NUMBER$ $CONSTRAINT$ $DESCRIPTION$</font>

Game freezes in Lockdown Palace (General Knoxx DLC)

Lockdown Palace crash fix[citation needed]

The problem lies with the grass rendering inside the Prison and affects no other part of the game. Go to <path-to-game>\WillowGame\Config Find WillowEngine.ini and create a backup copy. Open WillowEngine.ini with a text editor. Search for: FoliageDrawRadiusMultiplier=1.000000 Replace it with: FoliageDrawRadiusMultiplier=0.000000 Do not alter Foliage Quality within the game settings as that will reset the edit. However, as this problem only affects Lockdown Palace, it is fine to allow it to reset for any game session that you don't plan to go to that zone.

No sound through headphones on laptops

Some laptop users struggle to output the game sound through headphones when they have laptops with built-in microphones.

No Sound through headphones on laptops[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open WillowEngine.ini with a text editor. Change bHasVoiceEnabled=True to bHasVoiceEnabled=False

Disable Microphone Array[citation needed]
Go to the sound options (Control Panel/Sound and Hardware/Sound) go into the recording tab and disable Microphone Array.

Issues unresolved

Crashes on startup (Windows XP)

Some users, after having installed and successfully played the game on Windows XP, experience a standard "Borderlands has encountered an error and needs to close" message after some time. There are no known solutions for this problem.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
OpenGL	2.0	OS X only.
Shader Model support	3

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX
Audio	FMOD, SpeechFX
Interface	Scaleform
Cutscenes	Bink Video
Multiplayer	GameSpy, Steamworks	Original retail version used GameSpy, but was migrated over to Steamworks on September 15, 2014. Retail owners who did not use the granting tool on Steam to convert their retail disc copies into a digital Steam copy before March 27, 2019 must purchase Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced to play online.

Mods

Borderlands Config Tool

Borderlands Config Tool unlocks a number of settings not available in the in-game menu.

Run the game and change a keybind in the options menu at least once before using this tool. This will create the necessary .ini files and should fix options being disabled in the tool.

This tool unlocks many options including the following:

• Disable startup movies
• Disable mouse smoothing
• Disable in-game voice chat
• V-sync
• Change FOV

Skip new character movies

Delete or rename video files[citation needed]
This method disables the unskippable video sequence that plays every time you create a new character. Go to <path-to-game>\WillowGame\Movies. Delete or rename Prelude.bik, Attract.bik, and VoG_Transition_Movie.bik.

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	Vista
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz Dual-core
System memory (RAM)	1 GB (XP) 2 GB (Vista)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	8 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon HD 3000 series Nvidia GeForce 7000 series 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible	ATI Radeon HD 4000 series Nvidia GeForce 9000 series

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.6.4
Processor (CPU)	Intel 1.4 GHz	Intel 2.8 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	128 MB of VRAM	512 MB of VRAM