But there are some things to know before diving into this intense difficulty mode. It makes some subtle changes to the game that can work in your favor and are incredibly useful, or can create unnecessary headaches if you aren’t prepared for them. Before you dive in, keep the following in mind.
10 You Must Beat The Game First
Before you can access True Vault Hunter Mode you must beat the main storyline first on Normal. This means playing the game start to finish in either singleplayer or multiplayer. Once the credits have stopped rolling you can access the main menu and True Vault Hunter Mode will be available as a difficulty option.
If you haven’t beaten the game yet, focus your time on completing the quests in normal first, even if there was a way to access it before beating the game you’d honestly want to finish out the story to build up a strong character, otherwise you’re just making things too hard on yourself.
9 New Game
True Vault Hunter Mode is essentially a New Game Plus which means you start over at the very beginning with the new difficulty in place. You start the story over from the beginning and must proceed through the entire quest line before you can access the end game content.
If you were wanting to jump right into the Raids and Arenas then spend some time there in Normal first as going back through the story on True Vault Hunter Mode will take some time. But don’t spend too long as you’ll see in a few entries why it’s worth it to go through the story again.
8 You Can Skip The Intro
That’s right that beginning intro that teaches you the core mechanics of the game can be entirely skipped when you start over with True Vault Hunter Mode. Learning how to play the game, performing meaningless activities, and probably most important of all the dialogue with Claptrap can be entirely skipped.
You can obviously play through the intro again if you want to, but if you’ve managed to reach True Vault Hunter Mode then there’s really no point, unless you enjoy spending time with Claptrap or something.
7 Keep Your Stuff
The other nice thing about True Vault Hunter Mode is that you don’t lose any of your progress when you start over. All of your weapons, class mods, shields, grenade mods, and anything in your inventory will carry over with you.
You’ll also hang onto to your level and the skills you’ve chosen in the previous playthrough. This way you start out strong and with the same setup you’ve become familiar with in your previous playthrough. Finally you’ll also have your Guardian Rank so you’ll keep all those bonus stats you’ve accumulated as well.
6 Does Not Overwrite Old Progress
Another thing to know about True Vault Hunter Mode is that you will not lose your old save file on Normal difficulty. If you’re finding the new mode to be too difficult or you’re tired of the questline for whatever reason and want some mindless fun in the Circle of Slaughter then you can pull up the old save and play it there.
Just know that if you create a TVHM save file and go back to your Normal file none of that new progress will carry over when you go back to TVHM, for that you’d have to start another new game with your now stronger Normal character.
5 It’s The Hardest Difficulty
True Vault Hunter Mode is the highest difficulty setting in the game so this means you’re in for a real challenge. If this is your first playthrough because you’re using another person’s account then you honestly need to go back and play through Normal first.
If you’re looking for the ultimate Borderlands 3 challenge then setting your playthrough to TVHM is going to give it to you. If you’re finding things a bit too easy still then rest assured this article will go over a way to nudge the difficulty up a little further.
4 Tougher Enemies
The reason True Vault Hunter Mode is so difficult is because combat is a lot more dangerous. The enemies will have deeper health pools, better regeneration (if they have it), and will do a lot more damage with more severe status effects.
If playing multiplayer then keep in mind the enemies’ levels will be set to whoever the group leader is, so consider making the weakest player your leader to avoid getting steam rolled. You’ll definitely have to up your game to offset the damage and health bonuses the toughest enemies are going to receive.
3 Great For Power Leveling
A positive effect of stronger enemies is that the amount of experience they provide will also go up meaning you can get to level 50 a lot faster in True Vault Hunter Mode than you would in Normal. It will also help you get Guardian Ranks faster as you now have all the quests and side quests available again to go towards your rank.
In theory you could even use this to power level new characters. Simply blitz through the story on Normal mode and then dive into TVHM as quickly as possible to ratchet your levels up fast.
2 Better Loot
Because your enemies are more challenging the game also increase the loot drop rates and the odds of that drop being more valuable than if you were in Normal mode. After playing for a while you’ll notice less Common and Uncommon drops (White and Green) and a lot more Rares and Epics (Blue and Purple).
In fact if you’re looking to load up on Legendary items then TVHM is almost the best way to do it as the odds of legendaries and the amount of legendaries dropping is excellent in TVHM.
1 You Can Add Mayhem
The reason True Vault Hunter Mode is almost the best way to get Legendaries and is nearly the toughest version of the game is because there’s one last thing you can do to nudge the loot and difficulty up a little higher.
While in TVHM you can also apply the Mayhem Mode which makes enemies even tougher thanks to random modifiers that can also net you better loot. You will have to reach Sanctuary to apply this mode to your TVHM playthrough, but it’ll give you the best challenge and the best rewards this game has to offer.
Next: Borderlands 3: 10 Tips For Getting The Best Gear
