While there are times when I wish Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was closer to the classic role-playing game that it often styles itself as, the looter shooter’s use of background stories during the character creation process makes the most out of a classic RPG mechanic.
Your background story in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands not only adds a little flavor to your character but raises and lowers some of your key stats. You’ve seen similar systems in other RPGs (most notably the Fallout franchise), but since this is kind of a new concept for the Borderlands series, you may be left wondering what your best background story option really is.
That being the case, here’s a better look at which background stories are best for your favorite class and which ones you should avoid at all costs.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: Village Idiot Background Explained
Key Stat Changes: +8 Strength (+10% Critical Hit Damage), -3 Intelligence (-3% Spell Cooldown)
Best Village Idiot Classes: Brr-Zerker, Clawbringer, Stabbomancer
Worst Village Idiot Classes: Spellshot, Spore Warden
Described by the game as “sweet large children,” Village Idiots are…simpler characters that get by on their looks and brawn. They receive a massive boost to their Strength stat and only need to endure a relatively slight statistical hit to their Intelligence.
This is a really, really good background choice. You probably won’t notice the minor hit to your Intelligence in the early parts of the game, and it’s easy enough to make up for those lost points before long. Meanwhile, you will almost certainly notice those extra Strength points every time that you do critical damage and watch an enemy’s health bar vanish.
This is an obvious choice for Brr-Zerkers and Clawbringers (two melee classes that don’t rely on Intelligence as often), but I also love this choice for Stabbomancers. Their ability-enabled critical attack bonuses really make it easy to appreciate the good work those extra Strength points are doing.
While there are obviously better background choices in the game for magic-based classes, I honestly find Village Idiot to be a reliable option for pretty much any build.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: Raised By Elves Background Explained
Key Stat Changes: +2 Dexterity (+4% Critical Hit Chance), – 4 Constitution (-10% Max HP/Ward)
Best Raised By Elves Classes: Spore Warden, Stabbomancer, Spellshot
Worst Raised By Elves Classes: Brr-Zerker, Clawbringer, Graveborn
Your time among the elves has taught your character to be more dexterous and recognize opportunities for critical strikes. Unfortunately, the elves’ good nature and peaceful lifestyles have negatively impacted your heroes’ robustness.
This is a fantastic background choice for Spore Wardens who immediately receive a sizeable boost to their critical attack chances and are able to easily work around the slight hit to their total health. It’s also a solid overall option for Spellshots for the same reasons.
While I think this background option may be overkill for Stabbomancers (the one class that typically has no trouble generating critical hits), it certainly synergizes with their overall strategy quite well. Indeed, Raised By Elves could make Stabbomancers even more deadly than they already are in the early parts of the game.
Unless you’re looking to make things difficult on yourself, though, don’t even think about choosing this background for Brr-Zerkers, Clawbringers, or Graveborns. Brr-Zerkers and Clawbringers need those higher health pools to get the most out of their melee attacks, and reducing the size of a Graveborn’s initial health pool makes that class even harder to play than it already is.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: Failed Monk Background Explained
Key Stat Changes: +4 Wisdom (+8% Status Damage), +2 Intelligence (+2% Spell Cooldown), -2 Dexterity (-4% Crit Chance), -4 Strength (-5% Critical Attack Damage)
Best Failed Monk Classes: Graveborn, Spellshot
Worst Failed Monk Classes: Brr-Zerker, Clawbringer, Stabbomancer
While your character quickly found out the monk lifestyle isn’t for them, their time spent following that path left them a little wiser than they were before. Unfortunately, it also left them less likely to go in for the kill during combat situations.
This is a really niche background choice best suited for magic users like Graveborns and Spellshots. Even then, I’d honestly recommend considering another background. While this one obviously boosts your magical abilities, the hit you take to your critical damage ends up being pretty significant.
This is also the absolute worst background choice for Stabbomancers and a pretty bad starting choice for Brr-Zerkers and Clawbringers as well. It’s not the worst Spore Warden option, but they have far more appealing background choices available to them.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: Recovering Inventory Hoarder Background Explained
Key Stat Changes: +5 Attunement (+5% Skill Cooldown), +2 Intelligence (+2% Spell Cooldown), -2 Dexterity (-4% Crit Chance), -2 Constitution (-5% Max HP/Ward)
Best Recovering Inventory Hoarder Classes: Spore Warden, Brr-Zerkers, Spellshot
Worst Recovering Inventory Hoarder Classes: Graveborn, Stabbomancer
The good news is that the years you spent carrying every item you’ve ever found have left you with a greater understanding of your natural abilities. The bad news is that your nasty hoarding habit has weakened you quite severely (possibly as a result of throwing out your back after trying to carry so much loot).
This is an interesting background option that provides incredible cooldown bonuses. That makes it a fascinating choice for Spore Wardens (who often rely on magic and skills and can make up for the slight attribute hits), as well as the mage-like Spellshots.
Brr-Zerkers and Clawbringers should also be considered outside-the-box candidates for this background as well. While those classes generally don’t want to lose HP, the damage buff they receive as a result of these bonuses is kind of nice.
Graveborns should probably avoid this background (though it does offer some nice benefits), while Stabbomancers…well, that’s a little more interesting. This background negatively impacts Stabbomancers’ critical attack chances, but it does allow them to use their abilities more often. It’s probably not worth it, but it’s certainly something to consider.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands: Rogue Alchemist Background Explained
Key Stat Changes: +8 Wisdom (+16% Status Damage), -5 Constitution (-12.5% Max HP/Ward), -2 Dexterity (-4.0% Crit Chance)
Best Rogue Alchemist Classes: Spore Warden, Graveborn, Clawbringer
Worst Rogue Alchemist Classes: Stabbomancer, Brr-Zerker
Your years spent experimenting with and selling dangerous sorceries have left you with a keen understanding of your magical potential. Unfortunately, life on the run hasn’t exactly made you any sturdier.
I find this to be the hardest background to find a solid home for. It’s ideally pretty good for Spore Wardens and Spellshots, but I think they have better overall background options to choose from.
Graveborn is another fascinating option. While it’s always difficult to advise someone to lower a Graveborn’s total health pool and keep a straight face, the damage boost they receive from this background choice is significant. Clawbringers should consider this to be a risk/reward background choice for the same reasons.
You could argue that Brr-Zerkers benefit from this background for the same reasons that Clawbringers might, but again, I feel like they have obviously better options to choose from.