Borderlands 3 End Game – What to Do After Beating the Story

You finished the main story campaign of Borderlands 3 and are now wondering about what’s next but before I tell you about Borderlands 3’s End Game, I would like to say; “Congrats”, and *HIGHT FIVE* for beating the game!

Borderlands 3 has a ton of End Game content for you to jump into. Some things might look obvious while other stuff is more obscure for new players of the franchise.

Borderlands 3 End Game Content (Base Game)

Enable Mayhem Mode

You unlocked Mayhem Mode when you beat Borderlands 3’s main story campaign. Enable this feature even if you are not looking to increase the challenge because it actually has a beneficial side effect that can help you enjoy the game.

Mayhem Mode is introduced as a way to increase the difficulty and loot drops but enemies only get a tiny bit of extra health on Mayhem Level 1. By enabling Mayhem Mode you will also scale up the enemies to your level on old maps because your Vault Hunter is likely somewhere around LVL32 and visiting old maps will let you fight lower-level enemies. This is bad for your loot and Experience Points (XP) as there is so much more to accomplish in this game.

Mayhem level 1 even gives you a positive modifier like “Lootsplosion” that increases the enemy drops.

Complete Side Quests

Borderlands 3 has a ton of side-quests. You likely didn’t complete all of them when beating Tyreen the Destroyer. If you enabled Mayhem Mode, as mentioned above, you can scale these old missions to your current character level. This way you get an appropriate challenge and rewards.

There are fun side-missions scattered throughout the game which not only make for an enjoyable experience, they also help you gain a bunch of XP to level up your character.

Complete Crew Challenges

The crew aboard Sanctuary III has some Crew Challenges for you. You can find these events on almost every map in the game. Completing these challenges can provide some interesting loot (PS. you want to be max level before collecting Zer0’s reward).

Complete the Proving Grounds

You gained a device that lets you decrypt Eridian writing when you completed the main story campaign. The Eridian Analyzer also lets you activate 6 hidden beacons which unlock the Proving Grounds. These gauntlets will challenge you as you need to fight your way through 3 stages and fight off against a mini-boss.

The Proving Grounds also have a True Trials Switch which will increase the boss’s health to raid boss levels. Yes, you get awesome loot but if you don’t have a solid build and a ton of Storage Deck Upgrades you won’t have a good time.

Discover all the Eridian Writings

You gained a device that lets you decrypt Eridian writing when you completed the main story campaign. The Eridian Analyzer also lets you access the Eridian slabs that you encountered throughout the Borderlands Universe.

These slabs will provide you with the journals from a Siren called Nyriad. They will enhance the backstory but also provide food for thought regarding the future of the Borderlands series.

Deciphering the Eridian slabs will provide you with some Eridium that you can use for Cosmetics or other End Game activities.

Survive the Circle of Slaughters

There are a few Circle of Slaughters in Borderlands 3. These slaughter-domes will throw waves of enemies at you. Can you survive all the waves and defeat the mini-boss at the end?

Circle of Slaughters are a fun way to test your build and gain Experience Points (XP). They are a good source to get World Drop Legendary Items.

Farm Bosses for Legendary Gear

Every Boss and Named Enemy in Borderlands 3 has specific Legendary Items assigned to their loot pool. You can farm Bosses for their dedicated drops but RNG is RNG. An enemy can have a 10% chance to drop a specific item but that doesn’t guarantee that you will get it within 10 kills. You do have to Save & Quit to farm a specific boss but by doing so you will spawn at the nearest checkpoint. You can go after S-Tier weapons or Legendary Weapons that complete your build.

Tip: If you find that godroll legendary but the anointment isn’t great then you should check out Crazy Earl’s Reroll Machine to get the anoint you want.

Complete the Takedowns

There are two Takedowns in Borderlands 3; The Maliwan Takedown and the Guardian Takedown. These are your true End Game gauntlets to test your build as they contain 2 raid bosses with mechanics. Takedowns are more challenging than the Proving Grounds.

Both Takedowns have a True Takedown switch at the beginning of the map that lets you toggle the map’s scaling. Normally the map will scale to the number of players but you can flip the switch and set it to 4-player difficulty even while you are playing solo.

The Guardian Takedown is more challenging than the Maliwan Takedown but that doesn’t mean the latter is easy.

Increase the Mayhem Levels

If you are comfortable playing through all the content mentioned above and reached the maximum level on your Vault Hunter, then you can increase the Mayhem Level.

Mayhem Mode will increase the enemy’s health and add more modifiers to your game to increase the challenge. If you want stronger enemies but are tired of jumping through hoops then you can activate Mayhem Level 11, this is the same as Level 10 but without the modifiers.

Level Up Your Guardian Rank

You will unlock your Guardian Rank once you reach LVL 40. With this, you can further enhance your character’s capabilities by leveling up various masteries.

Enable Seasonal Events

Seasonal Events previously were limited-time events, however, you can now enable Season Events whenever you feel like it. There are 3 events to choose from Bloody Harvest a Halloween event, Broken Hearts Day a Valentine’s Day event, and Revenge of the Cartels a Miami Vice-inspired event.

Each event has its own challenges, mechanics, and loot!

Play on True Vault Hunter Mode

You can set your character to True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM) in the main menu. TVHM is basically a second playthrough of the game. You will start the story from the beginning but you get to keep all of your character progress and loot.

There is a difficulty increase with TVHM and all the enemies will scale to your level but so does Mayhem Mode. You don’t need to go through the whole campaign again like in Borderlands 1 and Borderlands 2 to get a Max Level character in BL3 and experience End Game.

You can also do the next thing on the list instead of playing through the story with the same character.

Play a Different Vault Hunter

Instead of playing through the whole campaign again on True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM) you can also start playing a new character. Borderlands 3 has 4 different Vault Hunters to choose from, each with their own play style offering new gameplay experiences, and their personalities can make it feel fresh.

Achievement Hunting

Borderlands 3 also has achievements that you can collect. Can you complete all the challenges that Gearbox Software has set for you?

Borderlands 3 End Game with DLC

Level Up Vault Cards

DLC 6 – The Director’s Cut – added 3 Vault Cards to Borderlands 3. Vault Cards add challenges and rewards to the game. They are a nice layer of sprinkles on top of an already awesome game and I would activate them as soon as possible so you can benefit from all the XP you collect throughout the game.

Play Story Campaign Add-ons

Gearbox Software released four story campaign add-ons for Borderlands 3. Each DLC has its own story, crew challenges, collectibles, and loot to enjoy. You can find flyers about Sanctuary 3 to start these journeys.

• [DLC1] Moxxi’s Heist on Handsome Jackpot
• [DLC2] Guns, Love, and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright & Hammerlock
• [DLC3] Bounty of Blood: A Fistful of Redemption
• [DLC4] Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck

Arms Race

Arms Race is part of DLC5 – the Designer’s Cut. Salvador & Axton from Borderlands 2 challenge you to a game called Arms Race. You go on an extraction scavenger hunt in this new game mode, however, without any gear and on a map that limits your accessibly as time goes on. Collect loot to survive and bring home new and exciting loot. You can start Arms Race by interacting with the poster across from your personal room aboard Sanctuary 3.

Defeat the Raid Boss

DLC 6 – The Director’s Cut – added a Raid Boss called Hemovorous the Invincible. Do you have the perfect build to take down this powerful Varkid? Playing on Mayhem 6 or above does add an additional challenge to this boss fight.

Ava’s Murder Mysteries

DLC 6 – The Director’s Cut – added a series of side-quests to the game called Ava’s Murder Mysteries. Join Ava on her podcast series as you explore mysterious murders throughout the Borderlands Universe.

More Borderlands Challenges

Do you still want to play more Borderlands? Check out events like The Hunt, Zero 2 Hero, or Race to Wotan and become part of the community!