Borderlands 2: Streets Ahead

One of the four classes in Borderlands 2(B2), the Assassin. I'm surprised more people aren't playing him..

I did the unthinkable last night: I pug'ed with people in Borderlands 2(B2). I normally prefer to solo for the sole fact that I hate pugs. No voicechat was a double-edged sword: Pro - I don't have to listen to pushy or bossy people. Con - It wasn't organized very well; we got very distracted in town and never left when we got there. The experience last night wasn't too bad; the lag was intermittent but very playable, people jumped into your car and went to the same area to quest. It was bad, in that because you don't owe anyone anything, people snatched up loot quickly. I was surprised at the mix of classes I was playing with last night; I thought it would all be people playing the Assassin. Instead we had the Gunzerker, Siren, and Assassin coupled with my own Assassin. I'm hoping for very diverse parties.. but hope to play with friends in the future (midnight shift doesn't help this).

Some random thoughts/observations of Borderlands 2 so far:

• no weapon proficiencies; so use whatever weapon you like
• I don't know how non-preorder people go through the first part of the game with only a pistol (preorder people start with a SMG, rifle and sniper rifle)
• Fire is very effective against Bollymogs (jumping Yeti's)
• it seems like it is either harder to aim in B2, or the enemies avoid your fire much better
• there is a purple currency in the game, Eridium bars that allows you to buy ammo/bank upgrades; they drop off enemies and are found in containers; don't panic: they are like money and are picked up by all party members
• once you hit Sanctuary (2nd zone), there will be a greater assortment of weapons and not just pistols everywhere
• I don't know how to kill guys with shields effectively
• when you die, you get back some ammo if you ran out of it when you died

I really wish.. that B2 was like Diablo 3 in that everyone's loot was instanced. Because like I wrote above, people run to the chest, sometimes at the most inopportune times (say.. during battle!) and snatch all the gear. I guess thats where voicechat would help and some leadership. I think the best thing to do is if you do snatch something and use that item, then the item you replace should be dropped for your party. Hopefully they are able to use that and will return the favor in the future when they're faster looting than you are.