Farming bosses is almost always going to be the best way to farm for specific legendary items in Borderlands 4. Most of the big baddies of Kairos can be spotted from the map screen, but unfortunately for players, Sludgemaw (and many others) only become visible after certain prerequisites have been met.
Sludgemaw is a Thresher that drops some high-value legendaries in Borderlands 4. Farming this oversized worm is definitely going to be worth it. However, you'll need to know how to actually reach this beast before you can start picking fights with it.
Borderlands 4 - Interactive Map (Kairos)
Our interactive map for Kairos in Borderlands 4. All the vending machines, Echo Logs, Vaults, and more found in the game.
Borderlands 4: Sludgemaw Location
To get to Sludgemaw, you'll need to finish All Charged Up, one of the Faction-focused side quests in Borderlands 4. This is one of the quests for the Outbounders, and here, you'll be attacking an Order base in hopes of powering up a crucial bit of machinery that the Outbounders need.
Thankfully, All Charged Up is a straightforward quest. Just follow the quest marker, shoot everything with a health bar, and face off with Sludgemaw at the bottom of the base. Once you complete the quest, the Encore machine for Sludgemaw will appear right before the hole that leads to its lair.
Fighting Sludgemaw
This boss is a little irritating to fight against, not because of its attacks or anything, but because it likes to hide underground. You'll likely end up wasting a ton of Action Skill uptime just waiting for Sludgemaw to appear. There really is nothing we can do about this, so just try to make do with what cards you have.
Ironic as it sounds, we found that standing still is the most effective way to bait Sludgemaw out of the ground. When it burrows down, stand on top of its last position, and it should pop out again after just a short while. When it does, dash away, then blast it until it goes away again.
Sludgemaw Legendary Drops
Like most bosses, Sludgemaw can drop any of the three dedicated legendary items in its loot table. These items include:
- Onion (Shield)
- Birt's Bees (SMG)
- Kickballer (Shotgun)
The Onion shield is arguably the best out of the three legendaries here, and it can work with pretty much any Borderlands 4 build. Whenever one of its armor segments breaks, you gain two whole seconds of complete damage immunity. This won't protect you from lethal falls, however, and it won't keep you from getting one-shotted by a big attack either. However, two seconds of invulnerability does wonders in big fights against mobs, especially considering how these types of shields are constantly regenerating.
Borderlands 4
- Released
- September 12, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - all platforms
- Prequel(s)
- Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2, Borderlands
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- PC Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 3, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Local Co-Op Support
- Yes
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
