Borderlands 4 is a very big and mostly great game that you’ll likely spend over 50 hours in if you try to do everything it has to offer. It also might be your first Borderlands in a long time, or possibly ever. This all might seem really intimidating. 10 billion guns! A giant open world! What should you do? Well, I’ve got your back. Here are 12 tips to help you get started and kick ass in Borderlands 4. And be not afraid, there are no spoilers below.
Don’t Get Distracted By Side Quests Until You Get Your Hover Bike
Look, I get it. Running around and doing every little side quest is fun, but I’d recommend focusing on the main story until you get your hoverbike. It won’t take more than two hours and it’s worth it. Well, unless you like walking everywhere in a big open-world game. And speaking of side quests and not doing them…
Maybe Don’t Do Every Side Quest Before Finishing The Main Story…
I’m a map cleaner in open-world games. I get it. I love to methodically clear out every piece of content in a big open world. But maybe don’t do that until you complete the main story. That’s because once you do that, regardless of your level, you unlock “Specializations,” which is a new set of passive bonuses and skills that act as an endgame grind. And you level this up with XP. So it might be better to mainline the story and then turn around and do all the side stuff later.
But…Focus On Getting SDU Credits To Make Your Backpack Bigger
While I advise not doing every side quest before the credits roll, I do suggest you look out for Propaganda Towers, Bunkers, and other open-world activities that reward you with SDU credits that can be used to upgrade how many items you can hold at once in your backpack. Trust me, you want to upgrade this ASAP. You are going to be grabbing so much random junk to sell and sort through, and running out of space sucks. So prioritize getting that backpack upgraded.
Use The Loot As Junk Button
New to Borderlands 4 is the ability to loot items as junk. This means that you can instantly sell it and every single item you’ve marked as junk with the press of a button just by walking up to a vending machine. It saves a lot of time and is one of the best features in Borderlands 4. Use it. You’ll thank me later.
Keep An Eye Open For Elemental Weapons To Help You Kill Quickly
It’s very easy to focus exclusively on getting guns with bigger numbers. But hold up! It’s not all about DPS. You might want to keep that SMG or shotgun because of its elemental damage type. You see, enemies in Borderlands 4 all have different weaknesses to different elements. Enemies with red health bars burn fast, baddies with blue health bars are weak to shock, and aliens or robots with yellow health bars get melted quickly with acid.
So before you drop that slightly weaker SMG for a cool new one, stop and think. Does the weaker one do acid damage? Is it your only weapon that does acid damage? You might want to keep it, then, so you can fight robots with ease.
Don’t Have Four Of The Same Type Of Gun Equipped
I love a good assault rifle in Borderlands 4. I’m always on the lookout for a new Daedalus AR to add to my collection. But I never run around with more than one AR equipped. Why? Because if all your guns are the same type–like all shotguns or whatever–then you’ll burn through that ammo type much faster. Variety is the spice of life, and it also means you don’t use up all your shotgun shells in a matter of minutes.
Look Down Your Character’s Skill Tree Before Unlocking Anything
Simple one, but important: Before you start upgrading your character’s skills, take a moment to look at what you’ll be able to unlock later on. You might see a skill you just desperately want, or you might realize the particular skill tree you are examining features bonuses and abilities you’ll just never use. And sure, the game lets you respec everything, but why waste time earning skills you don’t like when you can take a moment to plan ahead and have a much better time.
When Playing Co-op, Use Your Buddies As Fast Travel Stations
Playing with your friends is always better, but in Borderlands 4, that’s especially true as you can fast-travel to them whenever you want. Tricky platforming section that you don’t want to do? Fast travel to your bud! Get lost and can’t find your way to the next part of the quest? Fast travel to your friend. Want to sell a bunch of stuff in the middle of a big fight? Fast travel to an area with vending machines, sell your junk, and then fast travel back to your friends. This feature is so useful and powerful that it almost feels like cheating.
Use The Newly Added Repkits!
It’s easy to forget about Borderlands 4‘s newly added Rep Kits, which are small items that can heal you during fights. They are brand new to the franchise and the game never warns you to use one when your health gets low. But use your Rep Kits! They can make a challenging ambush much easier.
If Lost, Just Use Echo 4, aka Hit Up On The D-Pad
Remember, you can always ask Echo 4, your new robot companion, to guide you to your next quest objective or your custom marker. This can be really handy when deep in a cave or building filled with multiple rooms and hallways. Just hit up on the D-pad, and Echo 4 will generate an easy-to-follow holographic line in the world pointing to your target location.
Grab Contracts Before Heading Out
Whenever you return to one of the many hub and town areas in Borderlands 4, take a moment to check the bounty board and grab some bounties. Many of these are very easy to complete and just want you to kill a few random enemies. You were going to do that anyway, so why not get some extra XP and rewards for doing so?
Hold Onto Gold Keys Until You Level Up
The moment you walk up to your first gold chest in Borderlands 4, you’ll be tempted to use any gold keys you currently have. Don’t do this. I know, it’s fun to open a big shiny box and get new guns, most of which will be pretty good. But if you’re below level 40, I’d avoid using your keys as the loot you get from them at that point will be made worthless in the not-too-distant future. That level 7 legendary sniper ain’t going to be worth using when, a few hours later, you’re level 12 and find a much better one. Save your gold keys for when you’re in the endgame portion of Borderlands 4.
And if you need help getting more (or any…) gold keys, don’t you worry, I’ve got a guide just for you that walks you through the process and even includes some codes you can use to get some fancy rewards.
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