The Underdome

[mmosu]

So as I said in a couple of the Borderlands threads already, I started playing Madd Moxxi's Underdome Riot this weekend, and so far it has been a challenge.  Keep in mind I haven't played it online yet, so everything I'm saying applies to fighting in the dome by yourself.  You start off having to "prove" yourself by surviving 5 rounds in each of the arena's (Hell-Burbia, the Angelic Ruins, and the Gully) - sounds simple right?  But then you find out that a "round" consists of 5 waves of enemies of increasing strength and variable rules, which Moxxi will alter at her whim.  The "rules" can effect anything, from negating player shields, to increasing enemy speed, to taking away damage bonuses for critical hits.  You are informed at the start of each wave of any sudden rule changes and have a few seconds to devise your strategy before feet are on the ground and they're comin' for ya!  I even encountered one round where I was forced to use shotguns, as damage from all other weapon types was decreased and shotguns were given a damage bonus. 
In addition there is the penalty box, which is postioned high above the arena.  It only effects multiplayer, so I haven't directly experienced it yet, but the idea is that when you are defeated in the arena you end up here.  You can still shoot out of it, but you can't leave unless the rest of your team manages to finish the wave, so I would imagine some strategy might be employed here (for example, letting your sniper go to the penalty box on purpose to allow them a bird's eye view of the arena  ;))
Altogether it seems that this DLC will be very challenging and have lots of replay value, and I'm sure I'll be spending lots of time here.

[Fiach]

so is underdome just an arena, no outside quest areas?

[mmosu]

There is a central "staging area" - this is where the bank is located, as well as some vending machines.  From here you can enter the three arenas as you choose, fight as long as you want, and then exit back to this central area.  Outside of this, no, there are no outside quest areas. 

[Fiach]

cheers mate, i'm glad i checked, think  i'll give it a miss then. :-X

[JRD]

Bumping!!!  ;D ;D

So I started playing The Underdome and even though I had read your first post here, I was surprised to see that each round consists of 5 waves of increasing difficulty enemies, culminating in a boss wave, which means that you need 25 waves on each arena to get the "Prove Yourself" mission done.

25 x 3 = 75 waves of assorted ferocious enemies over and over.  ????

I survived one round thinking I'd gone through five!!!  :D

I assume that it will unlock a few more missions from the board at the lounge in the Underdome that leads you to... yet more waves!!!  :'(

Thing is... what about XP? Do I get some for the slaughter? I just finished the challenges at Rust Commons West with Chuck Durden to get a few more XP and loot. My idea is to go through all DLC before moving to the Secret Armory so I can get the most out of my exp points, level up and kick some Lance @ss!!

[mmosu]

You unfortunately do not get exp for killing enemies in the underdome, and as a result you do not gain weapon proficiency either! (I know,  :D).  The only way to gain exp and skill points in the Underdome is to complete the "Prove yourself" mission on both playthroughs  (Keep in mind, you get a skill point as a reward for turning in on both playthroughs).  Also, soloing the Underdome is tough as you are finding out - much easier with a team, even if that team consists of just you and one other person.  Sorry JRD, I know that's probably not the answer you wanted to hear  :(

[JRD]

Hahahaha... chillax mmosu!

I was hoping for a different answer, I admit, but The Underdome is clearly a DLC made for co-op and MP so it`s quite obvious it won`t affect the SP exp, and after my incursion there last night it became clear I wasn`t getting any exp. Actually, I don`t really fancy arena matches by itself, so if I could get some exp there I`d see it as a chore instead of a fun part of the game, so in the end I`m glad it doesn`t  ;)

Anyway, there`s the safe, which is absolutely fantastic for keeping those precious-although-quite-useless rarities I bump into every now and then. My Eridian Cannon acquired from Master McCloud for instance... it looks nice but the blast is so slow and inaccurate I didn`t managed to hit anyone or anything yet  :-(