With less than two weeks to go before launch, Gearbox has finally outlined the endgame for Borderlands 4 at PAX West. This “very ambitious” approach sees the return of Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, but instead of another New Game Plus tier after True Vault Hunter Mode, it’s a post-game scenario.
Rather than playing through the campaign again, players will take on challenging new activities, unlocking higher, more difficult levels. Specializations also become available, and similar to Diablo 3/4’s Paragon system, you can put points into raising stats across four categories. Loot includes set bonuses called Firmware with higher ranks offering additional options.
If you’re after a specific set bonus but don’t like the item, it can be transferred to another (though this is only possible once and destroys the first item). To keep players busy in the post-game, there’s the Weekly Wildcard, rotating missions that award guaranteed Legendaries, and the Weekly Big Encore Boss, which costs Eridium. You can also traverse the planet for Maurice’s Black Market Machine for loot.
All activities are playable solo, but also include online matchmaking. Borderlands 4 launches on September 12th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, while the Nintendo Switch 2 version lands on October 3rd.