Last week I was: putting off playing Battlefield 2042 just to earn cool cosmetics in Battlefield 6, and eventually caved in.
This week I've been: planning builds for every single skill tree in Borderlands 4, hoping it would help me pick a character, but actually leaving me more conflicted.
Most Borderlands fans would say that the game only really gets going once you've finished the campaign and reached the endgame, and I'd agree; that's when you officially start grinding post-campaign activities and gearing up your Vault Hunter.
That's not changed in Borderlands 4. In fact, it's getting a handful of really great changes that'll make it hard to go back to previous games. I'm glad that we're finally able to skip the campaign and jump straight to level 30 on alternate characters, making playing all four characters a much more enjoyable experience. Likewise, I love that gear score doesn't increase with each Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode tier, so you don't need to re-farm gear each time you climb up the ranks anymore.
Perhaps best of all, the new Wildcard Missions are full of potential. You'll need to complete these capstone challenges to progress through each of the five UVHM difficulty levels. While these are just amped up versions of campaign missions, so long as each one is a unique test of your skill at making builds, it could be just what this system has always needed. It reminds me of Borderlands 2's OP level system, but hopefully less repetitive, pushing you towards creating different builds to beat unique challenges.
Unfortunately, these great foundations support what seems like a very weak structure. As the official endgame overview blog and a Q&A with Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins on X hammers home, at launch, the endgame boils down to replaying campaign missions and repeating bosses in Wildcard Missions and Moxxi's Big Encore, respectively. Unsurprisingly, I'm very sceptical this'll be a hit.
When explicitly asked about ways to farm gear besides old bosses and missions, like Circles of Slaughter, Takedowns, and Proving Grounds, Timmins explained that farming dedicated loot pools for all bosses is the primary way, on top of weekly rotating systems. Likewise, content creator Moxsy straight-up asked whether there'd be new content exclusive to the endgame, and Timmins noted the first Invincible boss that's arriving months after launch, weekly rotations, and a free event in October.
In other words, no, these fantastic endgame modes of yesteryear aren't in Borderlands 4, and no, there's no way to farm gear outside of repeating campaign moments or open-world bits you've likely already done.
I just want something to use them on that won't give me a severe case of déjà vu.
I've done all this before, and it's a shame it feels like we've taken one step forward but one step back, especially because of the activities we're missing from Borderlands 3. Outside of Mayhem Mode woes, BL3 launched with a pretty strong endgame thanks to Proving Grounds and Circles of Slaughter, and Takedowns were such a great post-launch addition. I'd at least expect equivalent endgame activities in what's otherwise quite a drastic overhaul of the series, not rehashing the campaign. After all, the endgame is post-campaign, is it not?
Of course, Borderlands 4's endgame will eventually be fleshed out more. A few months after launch, we'll be getting our first Invincible boss (for free). We'll also get pearlescent rarity returning in Bounty Pack 2, releasing in Q1 2026, which'll give you more rare loot to chase. Obviously, there will also be the occasional free event (like Horrors of Kairos for Halloween) and DLC that'll add more content. Nevertheless, waiting a few months or more for the 'perfect' endgame is far from ideal, not least because the foundations of it are sitting right there.
Can we have strong endgame systems and activities, for a change? I could spend hours cooking up builds for each of Borderlands 4's Vault Hunters—in fact, I already have—I just want something to use them on that won't give me a severe case of déjà vu.
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