OS X How to play addons in Borderlands 2

[Rodan52]

Ok call me dumb but I have been playing macOS FPS games for over 10 years and I've never been completely stumped like I am with this one:
Having played the GOTY first edition Borderlands from the Mac App Store I naturally craved more and moved on to Borderlands 2 followed by the Pre Sequel edition . Having completed them I understandably wanted more and failing any alternative that I had not already played I looked at the Add-Ons selection. There was not much that interested me in the pre sequel so I downloaded Borderlands 2 again from the purchases section of the App Store.
I then purchased the Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Packs 1 & 2 extending the game to 72 levels.
Now I'm confused, how do I play them? Do I have to play the whole game through from the beginning to get to the added levels? How can I know if the in app purchases have been applied?
In the Start Up Panel under In App Purchases tab I see the two packs have a tick on them and there is a progress bar that reads 14% installed. If that's all there is to it then I guess I just have to work my way to the end of the game and wait to see what happens.
I accept that uninstalling the game was probably as mistake. If I had bought the add-ons at the finish of the game I would have known straight away.
I don't really mind playing the whole game again just would hate to get to the end and find the in app purchases hadn't been applied.

 

[Irishman]

Ok call me dumb but I have been playing macOS FPS games for over 10 years and I've never been completely stumped like I am with this one:
Having played the GOTY first edition Borderlands from the Mac App Store I naturally craved more and moved on to Borderlands 2 followed by the Pre Sequel edition . Having completed them I understandably wanted more and failing any alternative that I had not already played I looked at the Add-Ons selection. There was not much that interested me in the pre sequel so I downloaded Borderlands 2 again from the purchases section of the App Store.
I then purchased the Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Packs 1 & 2 extending the game to 72 levels.
Now I'm confused, how do I play them? Do I have to play the whole game through from the beginning to get to the added levels? How can I know if the in app purchases have been applied?
In the Start Up Panel under In App Purchases tab I see the two packs have a tick on them and there is a progress bar that reads 14% installed. If that's all there is to it then I guess I just have to work my way to the end of the game and wait to see what happens.
I accept that uninstalling the game was probably as mistake. If I had bought the add-ons at the finish of the game I would have known straight away.
I don't really mind playing the whole game again just would hate to get to the end and find the in app purchases hadn't been applied.

Actually, the first time I bought the UVHM packs and DLCs, I was stumped by how to play them, too, so you are not alone.

You access the extra content via the fast-travel stations in-game. You can most quickly see the new content by going into the fast-travel menu, and scroll until you can see Digistruct Peak, then just travel there.

Come back and tell me if you can see it.

 

[Rodan52]

Thank you Irishman, yes I can see it. So I guess that means everything is ok? The game continues from there and the extra levels start from that point?
I went to the Digistruct Peak location and checked the Guns vending machine. I see the weapons are all Level 34 so I suppose I will have to work my way back up to that point. Right at the moment I'm at level 12. But if I understand you correctly after the level in which Angel and Roland die I could then move on to the extra levels?
I had the idea I could play them like a separate game, like the add ons for Bioshock and others. So when I didn't see anything in the Main Menu under Options I wasn't sure if I had got things right.

 

[Irishman]

Thank you Irishman, yes I can see it. So I guess that means everything is ok? The game continues from there and the extra levels start from that point?
I went to the Digistruct Peak location and checked the Guns vending machine. I see the weapons are all Level 34 so I suppose I will have to work my way back up to that point. Right at the moment I'm at level 12. But if I understand you correctly after the level in which Angel and Roland die I could then move on to the extra levels?
I had the idea I could play them like a separate game, like the add ons for Bioshock and others. So when I didn't see anything in the Main Menu under Options I wasn't sure if I had got things right.

Yeah, when you finish the first play through in Normal Mode, go back to the main screen where you pick your character, and it should show you which modes you've unlocked - Normal, True Vault Hunter, and Ultimate Vault Hunter. Each one has its own story play through, and you can earn xp from playing the same story each time, and you can do optional side missions to earn more. Of course, you can fight Raid Bosses to get legendary loot, although most really great stuff shows up in your TVHM and UVHM playthroughs. Oh, and, yes, to answer your question about leveling up to 34, that's the level you'll usually be about halfway through your second play through.

Do you remember if you bought any of the DLCs? One popular one is "Mr Torgue's Campaign of Carnage", indicated by a location on your fast-travel map called the "bad-ass crater of badassitude".

 

[Rodan52]

Thank you soooo much. Thats great news. Honestly I searched thoroughly on the web for an answer to this question and found almost nothing. At least nothing that actually explained what changes to expect after purchasing the DLC's or how to access them.
I can see "Mr Torgue's Campaign of Carnage" in the In-App Purchases section but no, I didn't buy that one, just the two 11+ packages.