Fans of the Borderlands series have gotten to explore much of the crazy lore surrounding the world of Pandora and its countless colorful characters. From the mainline games to the Tales from the Borderlands side series, we've gotten to experience this crazy post-apocalyptic world from a number of angles. And after several years of waiting, we'll soon be getting the long-awaited 3rd entry in the mainline series on September 13th, 2019.
While we wait, Gearbox has bridged this massive gap with several DLC packs, including the bite-sized Headhunter Packs and the recently released Commander Lilith add-on to reignite fan hype. This extra content has added even more weaponry, characters, and cool environments to this virtual toy chest of madness. With that said, let's revisit the chaotic lands of Pandora as we sort out the rankings for each DLC pack.
10 The Horrible Hunger Of The Ravenous Wattle Gobbler (Headhunter Pack)
Sure, these Headhunter Packs cost a measly few bucks to purchase and contain some solid gameplay. Yet, they also only grant a small amount of content which can usually be tackled in a few hours and aren't even covered by the season pass.
This bizarre Thanksgiving-themed mini-DLC pack has a lack of compelling missions—and the main quest forces you to listen to Torgue's Grandma annoyingly ramble on. The environments also feel bland and uninspired, especially after finding many of the monsters don't even respawn after completion.
9 Sir Hammerlock Vs. The Son Of Crawmerax (Headhunter Pack)
You know you must be in for an amusing experience when BL2's charming and likable Victorian-era adventurer Sir Hammerlock is the main focus. But given this was the last DLC package of any sort for BL2 fans to play, this mini DLC leaves a bit to be desired.
The mission has you take a trip to sunny Wam Bam Island, but you quickly find things are anything but sunshine and rainbows. Hammerlock has been snatched by a giant blue claw, and you must run and gun your way across the island to get him back. The environments—including a cool underwater dome—are fun to gaze upon, and there are plenty of laughs to be had, but the content itself is mostly uninspiring.
8 Mad Moxxi And The Wedding Day Massacre (Headhunter Pack)
A Moxxi-themed Valentines Day DLC pack? Surely we must be in for a good time here! Well, this is mostly true. The narrative features a charmingly goofy premise involving the lovable hostess trying to wed two people from rival gangs, making for a zany BL2-style reimagining of Romeo and Juliet.
The content features amusing missions that include retrieving babies, gathering love potions, and drinking Whiskey. The gameplay doesn't offer a ton of new features but resorts to reusing various old assets while relying on the off-the-wall premise to carry the experience, which it usually does.
7 T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest (Headhunter Pack)
The first of the Headhunter Packs, a Halloween-themed romp of epic proportions, ends up being one of the strongest and most memorable. The content is slim—featuring only one major area and a couple of missions—but what little does exist is rich and enjoyable.
This pack, released in October 2013, features a horror-tinged environment called Hallowed Hollow. While the side mission falls back on pretty standard fetch quest objectives, the spooky enemies and eerie landscapes help make for a thrilling experience. The main boss of the DLC, the Pumpkin Kingpin, is both fun and relatively simple to take down and yields a pumpkin head that you can plop onto your character as a wearable head upon completion.
6 How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day (Headhunter Pack)
Turning things on their head, this mini DLC ditches the dark themes of the Halloween-based Bloody Harvest and replaces it with a more cheery winter/holiday-themed town of Gingerton. Marcus—your friendly arms dealer with the distinctly thick Russian accent—is the star of this one as he seeks out a culprit for his missing shipment of guns.
Much of the content is recycled, but most of the enemy designs are cool and imaginative. The icy environment—which is crawling with creepy murderous snowmen—makes for one delightfully wild experience. The missions prove exciting and the final boss showdown will test your BL2 skills, but the reward is worth it.
5 Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt
While there's certainly not much this DLC pack does wrong, it doesn't do much to stand out, either. The swamp and jungle biomes aren't all that intriguing, and neither is the basic narrative or the many of the fetch quest-y side missions.
Still, there are a number of redeemable qualities to this that go beyond just the extra 10 hours of gameplay it provides. You have run-ins with some cool new baddies, including new giant insect varieties like Marsh Drifters and intimidating mask-wearing Warriors. Just watch out for those brutal Witch Doctors!
4 Mr. Torgue's Campaign Of Carnage
If you're a fan of Michael Bay-style explosions, you'll certainly get a kick out of this DLC pack. The game stars an overly-animated character that resembles a roided-up version of Napoleon Dynamite's Rex, Mr. Togue.
This campaign makes for an all-around good time with some satisfying new weapons like the KerBlaster, and the return of memorable characters like Tiny Tina and Mad Moxxi. It is on the short side (about 8 hours), and the environments aren't all too interesting. Still, with much of the experience revolving around an arena setting, vehicles, and destructive weaponry, this DLC embraces the over-the-top action and insane sensibilities BL2 thrives on.
3 Captain Scarlett And Her Pirate's Booty
The first DLC pack for BL2, released in October of 2012, is also one of the most awesome. Since this, like most of the DLC content, takes place after the defeat of Handsome Jack, the chaos and anarchy on Pandora has largely been reignited with monsters, Bandits, and, of course, ghostly Pirates running wild.
The story here is a little slow-moving, though it does end with a bang and is carried with some amusing pirate-themed enemies and environments. And while some baddies are merely old varieties re-skinned to look like pirates, you've got some new foes to tangle with. And with the focus being pirate-coveting riches, there is plenty of great loot to get your greedy hands on.
2 Commander Lilith & The Fight For Sanctuary
Many view this Commander Lilith DLC as a means for Gearbox to generate hype for its long-anticipated sequel, Borderlands 3. Yet, this content isn't just some cheap BL3 advertisement. As it turns out, the first DLC content released in 5 years is a terrific package of extra content, which further highlights one of BL2's coolest stars, the Siren Lilith.
This add-on reminds us just why we loved this zany RPG shooter in the first place. It comes equipped with a roughly 10-hour campaign story, awesome new weapons, zany new characters, and that trademark bonkers BL2 humor. There's also a cool new villain—Colonel Hector—along with an intense and monstrous new raid boss to take down. Finally, we get a brand spanking new tier of rare weapons: Rainbow. And yes, these are as awesome in performance as they are in appearance.
1 Tiny Tina's Assault On Dragon Keep
Fuse Skyrim's sense of mysticism with BL2's zany, action-laced sensibilities, and you'd get this memorable DLC. Let's face it, Tiny Tina is probably the coolest character in the already solid pool of BL2 characters. So put her front and center and decorate the aesthetics with imaginative Dungeons and Dragons-style themes, and you're in for an epic DLC package.
This is still the most entertaining add-on, despite the hype surrounding the more modern Lilith DLC years later. Unlike the annoying narration of Torgue's Grandma, this time we're treated with the nutty quips and zingers of Tiny Tina's dialogue throughout our heroic quest. You'll square off against cool foes like Dragons, Wizards, and other amusing fantasy tropes, and be treated to lush environments and cool new concepts like Eridium Shrines.