Building comparison
head to head
AnthemvsBorderlands
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Anthem
Optimization · Practiced Mastery
A co-op looter shooter about flying exosuit javelins through a hostile alien frontier.
Borderlands
Optimization · Practiced Mastery
The original loot-driven co-op shooter set on the bandit world of Pandora.
Anthem leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Borderlands leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
AnthemBorderlands
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 5
Borderlands leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Anthem
Flight and shooting matter but are forgiving
Borderlands
Standard FPS aim; numbers matter more than precision
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Anthem
Enemy AI is scripted
Borderlands
Bandits and skags are scripted
Variance4 vs 4
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Anthem
Loot rolls gate power
Borderlands
Procedural loot drops gate your power
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Anthem
Javelin builds and loadout grinding dominate
Borderlands
Builds, gear math, and farming routes dominate
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.