Borderlands 4, the next entry in Gearbox and 2K’s hit looter-shooter series, will have you roaming the planet of Kairos for countless hours as you explore and make your way through the campaign. But what comes after? If you’re up for a challenge, you might want to unlock Ultimate Vault Hunter mode.

Our Borderlands 4 Ultimate Vault Hunter guide discusses what you can expect from the endgame once you’ve finished the main campaign. Below, we discuss making new characters, finding the perfect legendary gear, completing tougher content, and ramping up the difficulty.

 

New Vault Hunters start at Level 30

One of the biggest changes to Borderlands 4's Ultimate Vault Hunter mode is that you can now create new characters that start at Level 30—and yes, you get to skip the campaign, too. It’s a great way to try out other characters and their unique abilities and playstyles, as we’ve covered in our Borderlands 4 best class guide. There are a few caveats to keep in mind, though:

• While progressing through the campaign with your main character, we suggest placing items that are Level 28 – 30 in your personal bank. This allows your new characters to have powerful gear right from the get-go, as opposed to starting off with just common items.
• Information about the map isn’t carried over when making a new character. That means you have to explore the world again to find fast travel points, landmarks, Safehouses, and more.

Allocate points in the Specialization tree

Upon beating Borderlands 4's campaign, you also unlock the Specialization menu. This is a new skill tree that you can level up by earning XP and completing activities. 

There are four branches of the Specialization tree with interconnected perks: Survivor, Brute, Sharpshooter, and Runner. The stat boosts—including increased health, shields, gun damage, status effect chance, cooldown rate, and more—are similar regardless of which class you’re playing. You just have to think about how the points you allocate can complement your skills and abilities. Lastly, note that Specialization resets cost Eridium.

 

Look for Maurice’s Black Market wares each week

Maurice is back and he’s got more goodies for you to buy. Maurice’s Black Market is a vending machine filled with legendary gear. However, its location changes each week during the reset, so keep a look out for it. 

 

Transfer Firmware to unlock set bonuses

Speaking of legendaries and other gear, Ultimate Vault Hunter mode gives you a chance to fine-tune gear pieces as you make your way through Borderlands 4's endgame. This is done via the Transfer Machine in Faction Towns. Here’s a quick summary:

• Valid gear pieces include those that aren’t firearms, such as ordnance, Repkits, and shields.
• These items must have a Firmware mod (shown at the bottom of the nameplate). Think of this as a set bonus. Examples include the Deadeye Firmware, which increases gun critical damage and accuracy, and the Oscar Mike Firmware, which impacts reload speed and fire rate.
• You must select an item with a Firmware so that it can be transferred to another item of the same type. The previous item is then destroyed.
• This feature is quite useful, since it allows you to keep a Firmware mod if you want to obtain the full set bonus.

Battle Big Encore bosses for better rewards

During the campaign, you’ll encounter all sorts of tough bosses—see our Borderlands 4 boss guide—and perhaps a few of Mad Moxxi’s fixtures, known as Encores. These allow you to replay boss fights whenever you pay in-game cash.

The key difference with weekly Big Encore activities is that they cost Etherium instead of cash. The Big Encore bosses also tend to have additional modifiers, making them deadlier than before. On the bright side, there’s a pretty high chance of receiving legendary rewards for your efforts.

 

Complete the weekly Wildcard Mission for guaranteed legendaries

The Wildcard Mission is also related to replayability, as it lets you run through an entire main story quest. However, the vast majority of enemies will sport new modifiers. Examples include Tricky (which causes them to drop bomblets when they die) and Centripetal (which spawns a black hole that pulls both you and enemies alike into its center before exploding).

The Wildcard Mission icon, which you can see on the world map, shows the type of legendary reward that you’ll receive if you complete the challenge. It’s a good way to farm a weapon that you’re really hunting for.

 

Unlock all Ultimate Vault Hunter mode ranks

Ultimate Vault Hunter mode in Borderlands 4 significantly increases the difficulty, as well as the quality of the rewards you can expect. After beating the campaign, you’re given the above tasks, such as trying out Firmware Transfers, finding one of Maurice’s Vending Machines, clearing a Moxxi Big Encore, and completing a Wildcard Mission.

This step by step process gradually introduces you to Borderlands 4's endgame, while also unlocking Ultimate Vault Hunter Rank 1. This has the following effects:

• +150% enemy health
• +12% damage taken
• +20% cash
• +20% Eridium
• +10% XP
• Increased loot rarity
• Elemental affinities matter more

Subsequent ranks increase these modifiers. It's a high-risk, high-reward system. But it’s still possible to lower the difficulty. This is done by pausing the game, going to Session Settings, and turning off Ultimate Vault Hunter. The world level reverts back to what you experienced during the campaign.

But what about increasing the difficulty? If you really want to test your mettle, you should definitely unlock all ranks for Ultimate Vault Hunter mode in Borderlands 4. Each rank-up requires that you eliminate certain targets and complete specific Wildcard Missions at the required Ultimate Vault Hunter level.

Unlocking Rank 2

• Bio Break: Kill Bio-Bulkhead in Synthetic Nave, Dissected Plateau, Fadefields.
• No Points Awarded: Kill Sydney Pointylegs in Ripper Drill Site, Hungering Plain, Fadefields.
• Song’s Over: Kill Bramblesong in Abandoned Auger Mine, Stoneblood Forest, Terminus Range.
• Omega 86D: Kill Bio Armored Omega Thresher in Fades District, Dominion.
• Ultimater Vault Hunter: Complete the “Rush the Gate” Wildcard Mission.

Rank 3

• Blasted Furnace: Kill Frank the Furnace in Ripper Drill Site, Idolator's Noose, Fadefields.
• Now Who's Gonna Watch This Core: Kill Core Observer in Order Bunker, The Howl, Fadefields.
• Pelted: Kill Shadowpelt in Abandoned Auger Mine, Cuspid Climb, Terminus Range.
• So I Felt Like: Kill Rocken Roller in Abandoned Auger Mine, Ruined Sumplands, Carcadia Burn.
• More Ultimater Vault Hunter: Complete the “His Vile Sanctum” Wildcard Mission.

Rank 4

• But What If...You Were the Fake?: Kill Mimicron in Order Bunker, Idolator's Noose, Fadefields.
• Draggin' Wagon: Kill Battle Wagon in Ripper Drill Site, Stoneblood Forest, Terminus Range.
• Who Named This Guy: Kill The Immortal Boneface in Ripper Drill Site, Cuspid Climb, Terminus Range.
• Bloom Boom: Kill Skull Orchid in Abandoned Auger Mine, Grindstone of the Worthy, Carcadia Burn.
• Even More Ultimater Vault Hunter: Complete the “Her Flaming Vision” Wildcard Mission.

Rank 5

• The Inception: Complete the "Primordial Vault: Fadefields" Wildcard Mission.
• The Origin: Complete the "Primordial Vault: Terminus Range" Wildcard Mission.
• The Base: Complete the "Primordial Vault: Carcadia Burn" Wildcard Mission.
• Super Ultimater Vault Hunter: Complete “The Timekeeper’s Order” Wildcard Mission.

That does it for our Borderlands 4 Ultimate Vault Hunter guide. We hope these tips help you prepare for the endgame—and beyond.

Borderlands 4 is available now on the Epic Games Store.