Borderlands 3: Complete Guide

A practical guide to Borderlands 3 in its finished state: picking a Vault Hunter, leveling, gear and Anointments, Mayhem Mode, DLC order, and the endgame loop.

Researched September 2026 — Borderlands 3 is feature-complete (the final content drop was the Director's Cut in 2021); Borderlands 4 is Gearbox's current game. Check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Pick the Vault Hunter whose Action Skill you enjoy. All four can solo the entire game and endgame.
• Don't hoard early loot. Gear goes out of date every few levels until the level cap. Sell or scrap aggressively.
• Finish the main story first, then Mayhem. Mayhem Mode unlocks after the story and is where the real endgame and best drops begin.
• Enable True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM) only if you want a replay. It's optional; Mayhem works in Normal mode too.
• Use SHiFT codes. Redeem them in the main menu (Extras/SHiFT) for Golden Keys and cosmetics; Golden Chests in Sanctuary give level-appropriate gear.
• Pick up every Eridium. It pays for the Earl's cosmetic shop in Sanctuary, some vending machine items, and endgame entry fees (the Director's Cut raid boss costs 500 Eridium to attempt).
• Guardian Rank unlocks after the story. It's an account-wide progression system with passive stat bonuses; open it from the menu and spend tokens.
• Co-op is seamless. Loot is instanced by default (Cooperation mode), so you never fight over drops. Cross-platform play was added in April 2022.

The Vault Hunters

Vault Hunter | Class | Base Action Skills | Base skill trees | Designer's Cut addition

Amara | Siren | Phaseslam, Phasecast, Phasegrasp | Mystical Assault, Fist of the Elements, Brawl | Phaseflare

FL4K | Beastmaster | Gamma Burst, Rakk Attack!, Fade Away | Hunter, Master, Stalker | Megavore

Moze | Gunner | Iron Bear (with swappable arm weapons) | Bottomless Mags, Shield of Retribution, Demolition Woman | Bear Fist

Zane | Operative | SNTNL drone, Digi-Clone, Barrier | Doubled Agent, Hitman, Under Cover | MNTIS Shoulder Cannon

The Designer's Cut adds a fourth skill tree per Vault Hunter, each with a new Action Skill listed above. Zane is unique in being able to equip two Action Skills at once (giving up his grenade slot to do it).

Which one to play?

• Easiest start: FL4K. Pets draw aggro, Fade Away turns you invisible with guaranteed crits, and Gamma Burst lets you revive your pet.
• Most "Borderlands" feel: Moze. Huge magazines, splash damage, and a mech to hide in.
• Melee and elemental power: Amara. Brawl Amara is strong in melee; Phasecast/Phaseflare builds scale off elemental guns.
• Highest skill ceiling: Zane. Two Action Skills, lots of uptime synergies, great with Kill Skills.

Starter build directions

These are leveling directions, not min-maxed endgame builds. Respec is cheap at the Quick-Change machines, so experiment.

Vault Hunter | Leveling direction | Why it works

Amara | Phasecast plus Mystical Assault/Fist of the Elements, elemental guns | Long-range Action Skill, elemental damage stacking, easy to play from cover

FL4K | Fade Away plus Stalker/Hunter, any crit-friendly gun (Jakobs is great) | Invisibility plus guaranteed crits makes bosses melt; pet tanks for you

Moze | Bottomless Mags plus Shield of Retribution, Iron Bear as an emergency button | Near-infinite ammo, shield sustain, huge magazines

Zane | Hitman plus Doubled Agent, SNTNL and Digi-Clone | Two Action Skills for constant pressure; Kill Skills chain in mob fights

Once you hit the cap, look at a current community build (for example on a Borderlands loot database) and target-farm the specific Class Mod, Artifact, and anointed weapons it needs.

Useful early gear to look for

• Any Jakobs shotgun or pistol for crit builds.
• Tediore guns on Moze or anyone who likes reloading by throwing.
• Transformer shield (converts incoming shock damage into shield capacity) against shock-heavy enemies.
• Quest rewards from side missions often beat random drops at the same level; don't skip them all.

Leveling and Progression

• Level cap is 72 after the final updates. A skill point comes every level from level 2, and you unlock tiers of each tree as you invest.
• Side quests are worth it early for XP and quest-reward guns, but don't feel obligated to clear everything before the cap.
• Guardian Rank starts earning tokens after the story. Rewards give small permanent bonuses (critical damage, recoil reduction, shield recharge, etc.) plus perks you can toggle.
• Mayhem Mode has levels 1 through 11 and increases enemy health and loot quality. Mayhem 11 is the highest level (added in the November 9, 2020 update alongside the Designer's Cut).

Gear 101

• Rarities: Common (white), Uncommon (green), Rare (blue), Very Rare (purple), Legendary (orange). Legendaries drop more often from their dedicated sources.
• Manufacturers define behavior: Jakobs (crit ricochets, semi-auto), Maliwan (elemental charge-up), Tediore (throw to reload), Torgue (explosive, gyrojets), Vladof (high fire rate, alt-fires), Hyperion (shields while aiming, accuracy ramps), Atlas (tracker darts), Children of the Vault (unlimited ammo, overheating), Dahl (burst-fire when aiming).
• Anointments are extra bonuses on endgame gear tied to your Action Skill (for example, "after exiting Action Skill, weapons deal bonus damage"). Many builds are built around a specific anointment.
• Class Mods and Artifacts are the other build pillars. Class Mods boost specific skills; Artifacts add stats and effects (e.g., the Victory Rush, Pearl of Ineffable Knowledge, or Commander Planetoid).
• Mayhem-scaling weapons: since the Mayhem 2.0 rework (2020), some weapons gain extra damage when dropped at higher Mayhem levels, so re-farm at your final Mayhem level.

Mayhem Mode and Modifiers

After finishing the story, activate Mayhem at the console on the Sanctuary III bridge (or from the menu). Each level adds random modifiers (buffs for enemies, occasionally debuffs for you) and multiplies loot drops.

Tips:

• Reroll modifiers at the Mayhem console if a combination is especially nasty for your build.
• Start at Mayhem 1–3, then ramp up once your gear is from that Mayhem level.
• Mayhem 11 is the target for final builds and best-scaling gear.

DLC and Free Content

Content | Type | What it adds

Moxxi's Heist of the Handsome Jackpot | Season Pass 1 | Casino-themed campaign on Handsome Jackpot

Guns, Love, and Tentacles | Season Pass 1 | Hammerlock and Wainwright's wedding, Xylourgos

Bounty of Blood | Season Pass 1 | Western-themed Gehenna, jetbeast vehicle

Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck | Season Pass 1 | Journey through Krieg's mind

Designer's Cut | Season Pass 2 (November 10, 2020) | Fourth skill tree for each Vault Hunter, Arms Race mode

Director's Cut | Season Pass 2 (April 8, 2021) | Story missions, the raid boss Hemovorous the Invincible (500 Eridium per attempt), Vault Cards, behind-the-scenes content

Maliwan Takedown | Free | Endgame raid mission ending with Wotan the Invincible

Guardian Takedown | Free | Endgame raid mission ending with Scourge the Invincible Guardian

Proving Grounds, Circle of Slaughter, Slaughterhouses | Base game | Timed arenas and wave combat for loot

DLC order: Play them in any order after the story, or play them at their intended level while leveling. Many people do Moxxi's Heist first, then Guns, Love, and Tentacles for its excellent Legendaries.

Arms Race (Designer's Cut) is an extraction-style mode: you drop in with no gear, collect weapons in-match, and extract to keep what you found.

Farming the Endgame

• Targeted farming: each Legendary has a dedicated drop source (a boss or a named enemy). Use a loot database to plan.
• Slaughters and Proving Grounds give quick batches of loot and Eridium.
• Takedowns are the hardest content in the base game. Bring a group or a tuned solo build.
• Vault Cards (Director's Cut) let you earn cosmetics and loot chests by completing challenges.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Hoarding gear before level 72. Replace freely; nothing sticks until you're capped.
• Skipping Guardian Rank. It's free permanent power; spend the tokens.
• Ignoring anointments. Endgame builds almost always depend on one.
• Running Mayhem 11 too early with under-leveled gear. Ramp up.
• Not using SHiFT codes. Golden Keys are free Legendaries or high-quality gear.
• Forgetting Moze's Iron Bear fuel or Zane's two Action Skills; learn your Vault Hunter's core loop.

Advanced Tips

• Crit and splash scaling: splash damage (Moze), crit builds (FL4K Fade Away), and elemental synergy (Amara) are the three big scaling paths.
• Farm at your final Mayhem level. Mayhem-scaled weapons and anointments are worth the replacement.
• Farm for the anointment, not just the gun. Plan on farming the exact weapon-and-anointment combination your build needs rather than settling for a good base with the wrong anointment.
• Save-quit to reset bosses; nearby Fast Travel stations make farming loops quick.
• Check the Lost Loot machine in Sanctuary: it catches gear you left on the ground.
• Borderlands 4 is the active sequel (September 2025, with a free weekend and anniversary sale in September 2026) if you want new content.

FAQ

What's the max level? 72 after all updates.

Is there crossplay? Yes, cross-platform play was added in April 2022.

What's Mayhem Mode? The post-story difficulty and loot system with levels 1–11.

Which Vault Hunter is best for solo? FL4K is the most forgiving; Moze and Zane are also excellent solo.

Do I need DLC for the endgame? No. Mayhem, Takedowns, Slaughters, and Proving Grounds are in the base game. DLCs add campaigns, gear, and the fourth skill trees (Designer's Cut).

Is Borderlands 3 still updated? No new content is planned; Gearbox's focus is Borderlands 4. The Steam news feed now carries franchise news like the Borderlands: Dead ECHOs podcast.

Sources

• Borderlands 3 on Steam
• Borderlands 3 — Wikipedia
• Borderlands 3 Steam news (Borderlands 4 Free Play Weekend, Dead ECHOs)