Best Mayhem Modifiers in Borderlands 3

Gearbox Software added 25 new Mayhem Modifiers to Borderlands 3 with their Mayhem Mode 2.0 update. Depending on the Mayhem Difficulty Level, you are confronted with a different set of modifiers that augment the gameplay. The higher the Mayhem Level the more challenging the game becomes, however, there are Mayhem Modifiers that are actually beneficial if you use them in the right way. In this Borderlands 3 Guide, I will tell you what the best Mayhem Modifiers are and how you can take advantage of them.

Reroll Mayhem Modifier

Playing Borderlands 3 with Mayhem Mode enabled, the game offers a random set of Mayhem Modifiers. These gameplay augments persist when traveling to different locations and when Save-Quitting the game.

You can re-roll the Mayhem Modifiers in the Mayhem Mode Tab on your EchoMenu. A new set of modifiers is generated based on the current Mayhem Level parameters.

• PC: Press “Q” while on the Mayhem Mode Menu Tab.
• PlayStation: Press “Square” while on the Mayhem Mode Menu Tab.
• Xbox: Press “X” while on the Mayhem Mode Menu Tab.

Random = Random! Yes, it would be great if we could choose which Modifiers we want but the game isn’t set up that way. If you don’t want any modifiers, check out Mayhem Level 11.

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Mayhem Level Modifier Breakdown

Mayhem Modifiers are categorized into 4 tiers; Easy, Medium, Hard, and Very Hard. Here is an overview showcasing which Modifier Categories roll at each Mayhem Difficulty Level.

Mayhem Level	Modifier 1	Modifier 2	Modifier 3	Modifier 4
1	EASY	–	–	–
2	EASY	MEDIUM	–	–
3	EASY	MEDIUM	MEDIUM	–
4	EASY	HARD	–	–
5	EASY	MEDIUM	HARD	–
6	EASY	MEDIUM	MEDIUM	HARD
7	EASY	HARD	HARD	–
8	EASY	VERY HARD	–	–
9	EASY	MEDIUM	VERY HARD	–
10	EASY	MEDIUM	HARD	VERY HARD
11	–	–	–	–

Mayhem Level 11 provides the same stats and gear as Mayhem Level 10 but doesn’t add Mayhem Modifiers.

Best Mayhem Modifiers

The recommendations are grouped based on each Mayhem Modifier Category. I will give you options for the Easy, Medium, Hard, and Very Hard modifiers.

• Best Easy Modifiers
• Best Medium Modifiers
• Best Hard Modifiers
• Best Very Hard Modifiers

Best Easy Modifiers

No matter which Mayhem Level you are playing on there will always be 1 Easy Mayhem Modifier during Mayhem Mode. There are 6 different easy Mayhem Modifiers to choose from and these are the best options, I’ll explain why.

Galaxy Brain

Enemy head size is increased by +100%.

You can use this easy modifier in conjunction with the very hard modifier “Holy Crit” as this makes scoring crit hits easier and you can benefit from that 25% additional critical hit damage.

Beware that the Holy Crit modifier will reduce the non-critical hit damage by 50% but those giant heads are hard to avoid.

Speed Demon

After killing an enemy, Movement Speed is increased by 50% for 10 seconds. This effect can stack up to 3 times.

Having a bit of extra speed can be very beneficial, especially on the slower characters. It can help you maneuver through the combat zone and even dodge incoming projectiles.

While Zane can already be a speedy character, he does benefit from the additional speed with his skill ‘Violent Momentum’. Because the faster Zane moves, the more damage he does. The same can be said when you are rocking the Spiritual Driver Class Mod on Amara.

There are actually a few skips in the Guardian Takedown that require extra movement speed.

More Than Okay Boomer

Grenade Damage is increased by 25%. Additionally, enemies drop grenade ammo when they die. WARNING: Grenades may be live!

Grenade damage falls a bit short with Mayhem Mode enabled, therefore, this can be a nice modifier boost to your build especially if you are running the Moze Minesweeper build.

Slayer

Non-boss enemies below 15% total armor, shields, and health glow blue, and will explode into shield and health boosters if damaged by melee.

Amara can combine the Slayer Modifier with the ‘Ties That Bind‘ Phaselock Augement because you can kill every linked enemy with a single Melee punch.

Get a single enemy to 15% health to trigger the Blue glow from the Slayer Modifier, Phaselock that specific enemy, and then perform a melee attack on that enemy. The insane damage will be shared across all enemies which even kills bosses in 1 punch.

Best Medium Modifiers

There are six Mayhem Levels that feature a Medium Mayhem Modifier. These are LVL 2,3,5,6,9,10 with LVL 3 and 6 having two Medium Modifiers. There are 10 different Medium Mayhem Modifiers to choose from and these are the best options, I’ll explain why.

Healy Avenger

Enemies have a chance upon dearth to release a powerup that will heals the enemy it touches or drops health and shield boosters if destroyed.

The healing hearts that get released upon an enemy’s death aren’t really doing all that much. You probably had some target practice during the Broken Hearts event. Just shoot the hearts and you will get some boosters that restore your life bar.

The Floor is Lava

While in combat, standing still will cause an Incendiary damaging pool to form underneath you.

You are likely already moving a lot during combat, therefore, this won’t impact you that much.

Beware of the lava if you want to check out loot during combat or directly after the final kill.

While I occasionally still feel like this modifier has me jumping through hoops, it’s a lot better than Freeze Tag which sends out this Cryo Orb at you.

Best Hard Modifiers

There are five Mayhem Levels that feature a Hard Mayhem Modifier. These are LVL 4,5,6,7,10 and these modifiers only occur once. There are 6 different Hard Mayhem Modifiers to choose from and these are the best options, I’ll explain why.

Drone Ranger

Enemies have a chance to spawn with a Healing Drone supporting them. If the enemy is killed, the Healing Drone will find a new target to support.

Enemies can have a healing drone but you can rip through enemies faster than they can heal. They don’t really hinder you as you can easily take them out and they aren’t a threat to you.

Pool Party

Enemies drop Corrosive, Shock, or Incendiary Pools when their armor, shield, or health are depleted. Come in, the water’s fine.

Personally, I don’t like this modifier as it can really mess up the combat zone and have you jumping through hoops the whole time.

You can let the Shock Pools work for you by equipping a Transformer shield because of the Shield’s Legendary Effect this elemental puddle will recharge your shield capacity.

Laser Fare

The lasers from Spinner traps are contained by the environment and, therefore, less annoying than the elemental puddles from Pool Party.

You can use the Brainstormer or Reflux on these Spinner Traps and chain nearby enemies but not the other way around.

Best Very Hard Modifiers

There are three Mayhem Levels that feature a Hard Mayhem Modifier. These are LVL 8,9, and 10 and these modifiers only occur once. There are 6 different Hard Mayhem Modifiers to choose from and these are the best options, I’ll explain why.

Rogue Lite

You no longer enter Fight For Your Life before dying. All enemies drop insta-health upon death.

This is the most neutral modifier. If you don’t go down during mobbing then Rogue Lite won’t be a problem. I wouldn’t bring this along during my on Hemivorous the Invincible run.

BTW: There is still a very small window where you can trigger a Second Wind and continue the fight but you need to score a kill at the same moment you go down.

Buddy System

Enemies may be supported by an Invunerablity Drone, which grants immunity to all damage until it is destroyed.

I like this as a modifier as it creates an additional enemy you have to prioritize before you can continue taking out the other target.

If you use weapons with a large splash damage radius you can often hit the supporting drone while still shooting at the shielded targets. Moze is very good at this due to the Torgue Cross Promotion Skill.

Holy Crit

Critical Hit Damage is increased by 25% but non-Critical Hit Damage is reduced by 50%.

This very hard modifier can be combined with the easy modifier, Galaxy Brain. This makes scoring Critical Hits easier and more effective.

FL4K Players can use the Megavore skill to turn every hit into critical hit damage.

Post Mortem

Killing an enemy has a chance to release DEATH, which follows after you. If DEATH touches you, you instantly enter Fight For Your Life.

This Modifier sounds scary, however, Death is pretty easily defeated with a solid End Game build.

What are your favorite Modifiers or Mayhem Mode 2.0 exploits? Let me know in the comments below.

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