Online matchmaking never crossed my mind when it came to Borderlands.

That might sound strange given that the game is undisputedly at its best when played with a group of people, but I had a set circle of friends who played the 2009 surprise-hit to death. By my last count, together we finished it nearly a dozen times. But this week, I gravitated towards the in-game matchmaking queue of the 2012 sequel for the first time, and I struck gold.

After 10 months of my friend’s excuses, religious sign-ons in which I’d stockpile Gearbox Golden Keys out of frustration, and my immediate downloads of the latest DLC the moment each tidbit launched, I finally grew tired of waiting for my “set circle” to play Borderlands 2.

Lucky for me, I found a perfect match with a group of likeminded strangers on Xbox Live, and 26 hours later, I can’t imagine playing the game with anyone else.

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