Once players have beaten Borderlands 4's main campaign, they are in for an exciting and challenging endgame. The ride isn't over just because the credits roll, and the true thrills and quest for loot begin during the Borderlands 4 endgame. Below, players can find out everything that they can do in the endgame, along with explanations of each of these endgame activities, so that players know exactly what they can expect to do after the main story of Borderlands 4.
Rise Through the Ranks with Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode
Wildcard Missions Provide New Loot and Challenges
Something that players should immediately begin the grind for in the endgame, even after hitting Level 50, is the hunt for Ultimate Vault Hunter Rank 5. Players can start Ultimate Vault Hunter Rank 1 from the moment they finish the campaign by following the new quests made available to them, but to go even further beyond, players must complete associated challenges. Once players have completed these challenges, return to Moxxi's Bottoms Up and accept a Wildcard mission. These Wildcard missions will have players take on powerful new challenges, with enemies equipped with wild modifiers that could drastically change the way each mission is played. Completing these Wildcard missions provides a rank up to Ultimate Vault Hunter, which might increase the damage of enemies along with their health, but it also increases the amount of loot drops players can get, ensuring that they're always geared up.
Farm Familiar but Stronger Boss Fights with Moxxi's Big Encore
Moxxi's Big Encore Machines Provide Replayable Boss Fights for Legendary Loot
It's a staple of the series by now to have some boss fights drop exclusive rewards. Whether that's a side mission boss, main mission boss, a Guardian found in a Vault, or simply one found throughout the world, each boss has a unique list of legendary weapons and items that can be claimed upon defeating them, albeit with a random chance. In previous games, players had to save and quit, then reload into their game to respawn the boss, but Moxxi's Big Encore makes that the way of the past. With this machine, players can enter boss arenas to respawn the boss with Cash and sometimes Eridium, providing players with opportunities to re-fight bosses and farm up some powerful legendary loot.
Purchase Legendary Loot with Maurice's Black Market
You're in the Endgame, So the Loot Needs to Feel Like It
One aspects of the endgame in Borderlands 4 involve players easily acquiring Legendary loot. The first and most important of this new format is Maurice's Black Market, which is a unique vending machine supplied to players by Maurice for Cash. The gimmick of this vending machine is that it features 2 Legendary items, unique to every player, but the location of the vending machine randomizes each week, meaning players will have to hunt for it alone or together.
Hunt for Firmware and Upgrade Gear with Zane's Transfer Machine
Unlock a Variety of New Perks by Using Firmware Gear
Along with a vending machine for free and guaranteed Legendary items, players can also visit any main HUB area to find Zane's Transfer Machine. At Level 25+, Firmware might begin to drop on items like Enhancements, Shields, Ordnance, and Class Mods. These Firmware slots provide players with additional bonuses to their playstyle, and the item that holds it can be consumed into a more powerful piece of gear through Zane's Transfer Machine. This machine will allow players to get more bonuses from their builds by matching their loadout with a Firmware that best suits their playstyle, like Lifeblood, which grants bonuses to healing actions. Being able to take legendary gear and invest new Firmware into it will further enhance your loadout for the endgame.
Grow Fat in Strength with Specializations
A Separate Leveling System for Passive Investment
Separate from the Skills levels, players can invest into Specializations, which uses its own XP bar that's far easier to invest into and provides more points than the standard Skills. With Specializations, players are able to invest across seven nodes, using Specialization Points to passively increase certain stats like gun damage and movement speed, while also unlocking new Skills to help your Vault Hunter's loadout. Specializations are seemingly infinite, so the more XP you obtain, the more investments you can make into strengthening your Vault Hunter outside of Skills and gear.
Experience Weekly Activities for Unique Loot
Dedicated Loot Drops and Weekly Activities Take Shape
Borderlands 4 takes on a weekly model for players to try out, allowing everyone to experience the same (optional) content, which changes each week. This content comes in the form of a unique weekly location for Maurice's Black Market, a unique weekly boss fight from Moxxi's Big Encore, and a weekly Wildcard mission. With these weekly activities, players will face harder challenges, superior to previously established modifiers, but with far greater rewards. These weekly offerings are repeatable, so players can continue to run them in the hopes of acquiring the perfect gear or simply to amass an arsenal of XP and currency.
Try Out Different Vault Hunters That Start At Level 30+
There's No Need to Replay the Campaign From the Start
Once players have beaten the main story of Borderlands 4, they can enter the Main Menu and select New Game, where they will be able to then select New Game - Ultimate Vault Hunter. This will start a New Game with the main campaign completed, and with the Vault Hunter you select already established at Level 30. This not only allows players to skip most of the legwork to get to the endgame, but it also provides players with an opportunity to try out Vault Hunters that they did not start with, ensuring that they don't have to just stick with their OG Vault Hunter choice from the start of their game. It's a rewarding endgame experience to know you can just switch out to another Vault Hunter at Level 30 without redoing everything from scratch.
Complete Contracts for Eredium
Endgame Contracts Open Up New Rewards
Contracts are repeatable activities that players can find at bounty boards from their safehouses and faction towns, and each of them can offer a unique activity. Whether it's killing a great beast, a hostile human, or even collecting something, there's an endless stream of contracts to find and complete. However, the endgame opens up exclusive contracts where players can get Eredium, which is an essential currency for the endgame for upgrading Firmware, purchasing Specialization respecs, and even investing in an assortment of other goodies.
Fight Raid Bosses and Vault Guardians
The Most Powerful and Invincible Boss Fights Reward the Best Loot
While Vaults can be accessed as soon as players manage to locate the Vault and the Vault Fragments to craft the key, they are rather challenging and best reserved for the endgame. However, invincible raid bosses are locked for the endgame, and once players have found them, they're on track to become the most powerful Vault Hunter. These boss fights are unforgiving, extremely deadly, but oh so rewarding when players manage to beat them for perhaps the best loot possible.
Borderlands 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
