Borderlands 3 is a meaty game, with tons of content (and guns) to sink your teeth into. Like past Borderlands games, it isn’t over after you beat the game on your first playthrough. There’s quite a bit to do in the new sequel that it can get overwhelming on what to do first. With multiple planets that each have vast areas of exploration, you’ll need something to help narrow down the choices.
Luckily, the campaign is quite long, therefore, you’ll have plenty of combat experience and high-quality gear to use in the later hours of the game. One amazing aspect of Borderlands 3 is how great the combat has been improved, which makes the gameplay addicting. Because of this, everything about its endgame won’t feel like a chore. Here are ten things you can do after you beat Borderlands 3.
10 10. Do Side Missions
The majority of players are only going to do a handful of side missions in their first playthrough, which is okay. For the completionists, there is a trophy/achievement to complete all side missions. Anyone who is taking on this massive task will have hours of content ahead of them since there are dozens of them. Yes, some side quests are straight-up fetch quests that the Borderlands series is notoriously known for. Still, the number of colorful characters make these missions feel less tedious. Also, many of them have minibosses that could have some nice loot.
9 9. Start True Vault Hunter Mode
True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM) makes a return in Borderlands 3. TVHM is essentially Borderlands’s version of New Game Plus. You will start the game over, but you can keep all the skills, weapons, and gear you’ve acquired throughout your first playthrough. TVHM will have the same enemies, but just more powerful versions of them. The more powerful, though, the better the loot they drop. In past games, TVHM was required to get from level 30 to 50. This time around, you can easily get to level 50 in your Normal mode.
8 8. Take On The Circle Of Slaughter
Fan-favorite character, Mr. Torque, is still in Borderlands 3 luckily. Torque is in charge of the Circle of Slaughter mode, in which there are a few throughout the galaxy. This will be a wave-based mode where tons of enemies will be thrown at you. Be warned, however. The Circle of Slaughter is extremely tough, even in Normal mode. You’ll want to get a group of friends if you can. Luckily, Borderlands 3’s matchmaking is actually quite good and you’ll be able to hop into a group of four with ease.
7 7. Activate Mayhem Mode
If Borderlands 3 was too easy for you, you should definitely activate Mayhem Mode. Right after you beat the main story, Tannis will direct you to the Mayhem Mode option on your ship. There are three levels of Mayhem Mode, with Level 3 being the toughest. Mayhem Mode is pretty much a new difficulty for the game that you can turn on and off whenever you want. The higher the level, the more challenge you get. Despite the harder difficulty, enemies drop rates will be higher as well. If you’re on the hunt for some great loot, Mayhem Mode is the best course of action.
6 6. Farm Bosses
Borderlands 3 was a mixed bag when it came to boss fights. Some were absolutely exhilarating, while others were outright annoying (we’re looking at you Killavolt). Still, bosses are the best sources of legendary loot.
The nice thing about bosses is that while some have a random source of loot drops, others have specific legendaries that only they can drop. Therefore, if you’re looking for a certain legendary, you may be able to find it from a boss, instead of hoping it comes from a world drop.
5 5. Take On The Proving Grounds
Throughout your first playthrough, you may have noticed some weird Eridian symbols throughout the map. It isn’t until you’ve opened so many vaults that you’ll get the opportunity to decode them. After decoding them, you’ve unlocked a Proving Ground area, which will be seen as a side mission on certain maps. These Proving Grounds are basically just gauntlet arenas where you defeat a bunch of enemies, ending with a boss fight. The faster you finish, the better loot you get. As of right now, there are six areas, with more to come in the future according to Gearbox.
4 4. Make The Perfect Build
What sets Borderlands apart from other looter-shooters is how diverse the playable characters are. It truly is a different experience depending on which Vault Hunter you choose to play as. Because of this, there are so many ways to spec your character. Each of the four Vault Hunters each have three different skill trees. Therefore, you have, at minimum, twelve different playstyles to choose from. Even still, there are tons of other ways to build your Vault Hunter. Go ahead and experiment with each skill tree to make the best build and be as powerful as ever!
3 3. Start A Whole New Character
As stated before, the character you play as drastically changes how you play the game. With Zane, for example, you have a more tactical approach to combat. Then you have Amara, who is the complete opposite and is best when you go in guns (and fists) blazing. The Borderlands series has always prided itself on its replayability. Even if you reached level 50 with one character, you can get a whole different experience by replaying it with someone else. When raid bosses do eventually come, it will be nice to have a few different Vault Hunter saves to choose from.
2 2. Listen To Audio Logs
For longtime fans of the Borderlands series, they may have been wondering where many of the past characters are during Borderlands 3. Unfortunately, not every fan-favorite character was able to make their way into the sequel, which many fans were disappointed about. Luckily, there are multiple audio logs throughout the game that you can listen to. These logs give insight and context as to what certain characters have been up since Borderlands 2. There’s even one that plays a heartbreaking final conversation between Krieg and Maya where he begs her not to leave.
1 1. Go For 100% Completion Of Trophies/Achievements
Doing many of the things on this list up until now will assist you in your path towards 100%. There’s so much content in Borderlands 3 that doing this will keep you busy. There are trophies such as completing all side missions as well as finishing all Circle of Slaughter locations. For completionists, finishing 100% of Borderlands 3 is actually doable. The nice part is, as you do all of this past the level cap, you can still earn Guardian Rank XP as well as some sweet sweet loot.