Wotan the Invincible is a Raid Boss you encounter at the end of the Maliwan Takedown in Borderlands 3. In this Borderlands 3 Guide, I’m going to tell you how you can prepare for the fight, guide you through the various phases and tactics of this encounter, and go over Wotan’s weaknesses so you can beat this boss battle.
Table of contents
Introduction
The Maliwan Takedown is Gearbox Software’s take on Raids and was introduced as a free DLC for Borderlands 3. The content was originally designed to be played with a group of 4 Max Level Players, however, due to feedback, Gearbox Software scaled the Maliwan Takedown accordingly to your party size with their February 2020 patch update.
That said, the Maliwan Takedown is still a super challenging piece of End Game content but if you like you can enable to original 4-player difficulty by flipping the switch the the start of the Maliwan Blacksite.
Loadout & Build
A good character build is required when taking on the Maliwan Takedown and Wotan the Invincible. You want to equip yourself with Top Tier Weapons that also focus on dealing Shock and Corrosive damage because Wotan has a beefy Shield and Armor. Dealing Damage at the End Game also involves having the best anoints on your gear.
The Reflux and the Light Show are my favorite weapons for this boss battle. The Tiggs’ Boom could be helpful during phase 3.2 but you get this weapon from Wotan so you might not have this item when looking at this guide.
How to Beat Wotan the Invincible
The name Wotan translates to Odin in German. Odin appears as a prominent god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples. Like the name and title suggest Wotan is a tough boss to defeat. Throughout the fight, he will go through multiple phases. Each phase will throw new challenges your way. Wotan has 2 main attacks that will continue throughout the fight:
Attacks
- Missile Barrage: Wotan will unleash multiple rockets into the sky that will target your current location. The location of the impact is highlighted by red circles on the ground. Stay clear of these red circles and keep moving during this segment of the fight.
- Laser shots: Wotan will fire multiple laser shots. These are hard to evade, therefore, it’s best to hide behind cover. Wotan can only target 1 player at the time, so having a buddy helps out.
General Tips
- The key to staying alive is to keep moving.
- You can take cover behind the various objects and takedown the additional troops who have joined the fight.
- Shoot through the gaps of his shield to damage him.
- Use Shock weapons for his (blue) Shield gauge as this deals 200% to 250% damage.
- Radiation Damage could be a replacement as this deals 120% to 150% damage.
- Use Corrosive weapons for his (yellow) Armor gauge as this deals 150% to 175% damage.
- Cryo Damage could be a replacement as this deals 120% to 150% damage.
Phase 1 – Single Shield
In the first phase of the fight, Wotan will be behind a single shield. Shoot through the gaps of his shield to deal damage. You’ll need to take down Wotan’s shields with Shock weapons. Once you have done that you will need to damage his Armor with Corrosive weapons.
At the start of the fight, some Maliwan troopers will spawn next to Wotan. You can easily target them with the Brainstormer and deal damage to the troopers and Wotan.
The next phase will commence if you manage to bring down his Armor Gauge to 75%.
Phase 2 – Rotating Shield
In the second phase of the fight, Wotan will take cover behind a rotating shield. There is a vertical opening in it so that you can shoot through it. It’s better to run and find the opening than to stand still and wait for it to appear.
But before you go up against Wotan, you better first take care of the Valkyries. These are “tiny” versions of the Valkyrie Squad you encountered earlier during the Maliwan Takedown. These tiny versions can be phaselocked. Once you have taken them out or at least a few of them, you can go for Wotan’s shield.
Once you have broken it he will start to jump around the arena. The next phase will commence if you manage to bring down his Armor Gauge to 50%.
Phase 3 – Double Shielded
In the third phase of the fight, Wotan will summon 2 shields. This is the last time where he will take cover behind his shields. Because Wotan has 2 shields you will also have to take down 2 shield bars in order to expose him.
You can go inside Wotan’s outer shields without taking any damage. Once inside, you need to find the vertical opening in the inner shield again in order to damage him. If you have taken down his first shield bar the vertical opening will close off and you will need to attack Wotan from above.
Go to one of the nearby pillars and travel upstairs through the center. Now you can attack Wotan as you will see that he is not shielded from above. The Tiggs’ Boom would be useful here but you could also use the Flakker while standing next to Wotan and aim above his head.
Beware; once you have broken Wotan’s outer shield he will summon Kraken and Thor. These two robots function similarly to Wotan, so it’s advised to take them out as quickly as possible.
If you manage to bring his Armor Gauge down to 25% the next phase of the fight will commence.
Phase 4 – Multi-Vector Assault Mode
In the fourth phase of the fight, Wotan will split into two. Something I like to call Multi-Vector Assault Mode (Yes, from that Star Trek Voyager episode, Message in a Bottle). You will have to take down both Wotan’s lower part and ‘Wotan’s Better Half’ to successfully complete the takedown.
I recommend you first defeat Wotan’s flying upper body because he is more dangerous than the lower part. Wotan’s upper section isn’t shielded, therefore, you can directly start attacking it with your Corrosive weapons.
Wotan’s lower section does have a shield, therefore, you should attack it with a Shock weapon but keep an eye out on the missile barrage.
Once you manage to strip Wotan’s lower section from its shield, it will start jumping around because it is now lighter and therefore faster. Every time the lower body lands on the ground it will send out energy orbs in all directions, similar to the Epicenter Grenade Mod. You can easily avoid these energy orbs by having some distance between you and the initial impact because the orbs will spread out more apart from each other the further they travel.
I recommend using the Barrage during this phase. The legendary effect of this Dahl Assault Rifle is very effective against Wotan’s lower section because the corrosive orbs can directly impact the remaining segment of Wotan.
Legendary Loot
Wotan the Invincible will drop the following loot when you defeat this Raid Boss, however, there are a few things you can do to increase the amount of loot you receive.
- Wotan’s Brain: When you defeat Wotan’s lower body, his brain will run away. Defeat it for extra loot.
- Wotan’s Legs: There is a brief moment where you can destroy the remaining legs for extra loot.
Each part of Wotan the Invincible has an 18% drop chance and can drop the following legendary loot.
Mayhem Mode 4 Loot
The Maliwan Takedown is also the main source for M4 Gear. This means you can get the following legendary items when playing on Mayhem Mode enabled on level 4 or higher. Each part of Wotan has an ~8% chance to drop Mayhem 4 items.
