Borderlands 2 Interviews

After you're done taking in an expanded version of the Borderlands 2 video interview that G4 conducted with Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford at D.I.C.E., there's an article-style interview with writer Anthony Burch and designer Scott Kester ready for your consumption over at Kotaku.
The game, Kester said, will be balanced such that a player with brute force, determination, and the stats to weather a brutal firefight, can still prevail, but tactical exploits will present themselves to those who know to look for them. Exploiting the game's "Second Wind" saving throw killing an enemy as you are bleeding out revives you with a full shield and critical health will be tougher as certain foes can be healed or rebuilt.

Players will get a more diverse skill tree in their classes, two of which are basically new. The Commando and the Siren return to fill the Soldier and Siren roles of the original. The Gunzerker is Borderlands 2's heavy-firepower class, like the Berserker. The Assassin is for those who enjoyed playing as the Hunter.

"If somebody enjoyed playing as Mordecai (the Hunter) or whoever, a lot of the skills will be similar," Kester said. "We're giving you the opportunity to play a similar role, but with a lot more variety. We felt it would have been a disservice if we simply gave you the same characters again." The new variety will come in the form of a remodeled skills tree that, for example, gives Axton (the Commando) a Longbow Turret borrowing the teleporting capabilities of the Longbow grenade in the original game. With the skill, you can place the turret anywhere that is visible, such as a nearby ledge outdoors, or on the ceiling indoors. Special talents and melee combat will also get more attention and be more useful in the new skill trees.