Borderlands 4 bosses are an integral part of the gameplay and the biggest challenge that you’ll face as a vault hunter. In this guide, we will tell you about each Borderlands 4 boss, their location, and general mechanics. We will also explain which bosses are optional in the game and which bosses to focus on in your early game.
Borderlands 4 Bosses Key Takeaways:
- Borderlands 4 has 15 story bosses: Warden Scathe, Splashzone, Spymaster Horace, The Oppressor, Bio-Bulkhead, Idolator Sol, Skyspanner Kratch, Vile Prototype, Vile Lictor, Driller Hole, Callis the Ripper Queen, Moon-Maddened Callis, Timekeeper, Final Boss, Arjay.
- There are also 3 optional Borderlands 4 Vault Monsters — Inceptus, Radix, and Origo.
- Each Borderlands 4 boss is tied to a specific campaign mission and location.
- For early farming in Borderlands 4, Splashzone, Pango Bango, and Battle Wagon are the best picks.
- A Borderlands 4 Weekly Big Encore Boss is available through Moxxi’s Encore Machine with boosted drop chances.
4.9Borderlands 4 All Bosses
Here’s a full list of all bosses in Borderlands 4 that you’ll encounter during the campaign:
- Warden Scathe;
- Splashzone;
- Spymaster Horace;
- The Oppressor;
- Bio-Bulkhead;
- Idolator Sol;
- Skyspanner Kratch;
- Vile Prototype;
- Vile Lictor;
- Driller Hole;
- Callis the Ripper Queen;
- Moon-Maddened Callis;
- Timekeeper;
- Final Boss;
- Arjay.
Throughout the Borderlands 4 campaign, you’ll face Warden units, lieutenants of The Order, mutated machines, and beasts, leading up to the endgame finales. Boss Fights in Borderlands 4 drive the story forward and serve as a source of the best loot for your character, and the best way to deal with any boss is to ask our team for the fastest completion.
Borderlands 4 Warden Scathe
In Borderlands 4, Warden Scathe is the first tutorial boss that you encounter during the Guns Blazing mission. This is a campaign fight early on. You fight this rival on a compact platform with a raised catwalk to the left.
Warden Scathe aims at you with his beam shots while Synth bots keep pressure. Use the elevated walkway to hide from the attacks, clear adds between bursts, then punish Scathe when the beams stop.
Borderlands 4 Splashzone
You’ll run into Splashzone in the Fadefields as a part of the Recruitment Drive, inside a cramped bandit camp with handy ledges around the edges. This is a campaign fight that happens in the early stages of progression.
The boss is a melee Ripper that ground-smashes with a huge mechanized arm while more Rippers pile in, so keep space and use elevation to reset aggro. Kite the swings, clear adds fast, then step back in and burst during his recovery.
Borderlands 4 Horace
Spymaster Horace can be found in Horace’s Oversight during Down and Outbound quests. This boss is a part of the campaign progression. In fact, Horace has a lot in common with Scathe.
He’s a Warden-type that spams projectiles and Synth bots, plus an energy shield that melts to Shock; once it drops, he switches into a chase-down melee phase with a scythe. Break shield with Shock, strafe his rushes, and punish when he whiffs.
Borderlands 4 The Oppressor
The Oppressor screams over The Killing Floors in A Lot to Process mission. The boss is a tricky one, as you can’t hit it with ground weapons or grenades.
Use the machinery to keep height and dodge missiles and lasers. The Opressor’s weak spot is the green glow on the underside, so track passes and aim up while it sweeps by. Skip grenades and shotguns, stick to accurate fire, and keep moving between platforms.
Borderlands 4 Bio-Bulkhead
You face Bio-Bulkhead during One Fell Swoop mission in the Dissected Plateau. This is a campaign fight early on. The monster pounces hard until you grab Locust Canisters with the grappling hook and throw them to strip immunity.
✏️ Tip: use the two end pillars for cover, toss a canister, then burst while the window’s open.
Borderlands 4 Idolator Sol
Idolator Sol caps the Fadefields arc in Fortress Indomita during Rush the Gate mission. This boss is pretty tough with several essential mechanics: pillars, grunts, and corrupted energy.
He drops pillars, including a green one with a Locust Canister that removes his invulnerability; he also spawns grunts and feeds on them to heal, while corrupted zones force careful footing later on.
✏️ Tip: erase adds on sight, hurl the canister, and unload during the vulnerability phase.
Borderlands 4 Skyspanner Kratch
The Skyspanner Kratch is the first Terminus Range boss met during the Shadow of the Mountain mission, fought at Cuspid Climb. This boss appears in the mid-game, and it raises the difficulty of boss fights. If you need a reliable teammate to complete this encounter, our Pro Players are ready to help.
Skyspanner is a giant bat, so prepare to witness multi-hit sonar screams and swarming fliers, plus a stingy ammo layout that punishes waste. There will also be flying minions, so watch out!
✏️ Tip: take cover during screams, pick off adds for Second Wind, and keep your shots disciplined.
Borderlands 4 Vile Lictor
Vile Lictor is a boss that can be found during His Vile Sanctum mission. This is one of the Timekeeper’s Lieutenants, quite a deadly one. The boss’s strategy is simple, but requires good coordination and fast movement.
Watch out for projectiles flying towards you and try to get out of their way. Also, when the Spectral Wall is active, jump over it, and always keep control of the boss’s location, as it teleports quickly.
Borderlands 4 Driller Hole
During the Unpaid Tab mission, you drop into an underground prison beneath Queen’s Cradle, where you’ll encounter the Driller Hole. Driller Hole bombards zones with Incendiary blasts while Rippers push your flanks, so the arena’s central structure becomes your best cover.
To fight the boss, circle the Rippers to break the line of sight, peek for shots, then rotate again as the shells land. Clear adds for Second Wind and burst during his downtime.
✏️ Tip: pull all the levers after the boss fight to save Quent.
Borderlands 4 Callis the Ripper Queen
Callis the Ripper Queen waits in the Moon-Called Throne during Her Flaming Vision missions. This is a late-stage campaign fight. The boss floods the arena with Fire Orbs, drone mines, and bomb-carrying Rippers, then throws up Laser Nets after the first health bar. Remember to stay mobile, pop mines on sight, and unload when the nets drop.
Borderlands 4 Moon-Maddened Callis
Your rematch with Callis happens on Elpis’ shattered moon as a part of the Another Day, Another Universe mission, and the arena is tiny. If Moon-Maddened Callis knocks you off, you’ve got to grapple back fast. During transitions, a wide net hangs overhead, so keep low and dodge bombs. Clear adds for Second Wind and work her in the gaps.
Borderlands 4 Timekeeper
Timekeeper stands in Upper Dominion for The Timekeeper’s Order mission. Phase one of the boss fight mixes lasers, a Golden Wall shield, Blinding Blast with a blinding flash, and aerial tosses that force gliding between safe ledges. Try to avoid every projectile and flash to stay alive.
After a cutscene, in phase two, you witness Primordial Guardian Timekeeper, which adds Fragment Scatter/Matrix mechanics. Also, you have to watch out for Bounce and Blast, as this attack will make you vulnerable to energy blasts. Another major obstacle is Aerial Annihilation, which creates an aerial aura that you have to avoid by grappling on the ledges. This is a pretty tiring encounter, so if you want to take down the Timekeeper faster, we are ready to assist you.
Borderlands 4 Arjay
Arjay finally shows up in Upper Dominion during Secrets of the Vault mission. He spawns pink tornado geysers and can frenzy into a storm of them; a quick burst will snap him out. If he roots you, shoot the small device channeling the lock and reposition.
Borderlands 4 Final Boss
There’s one more fight During the Secrets of the Vault mission, though the final boss stays unnamed. Watch for the Tornado Storm, multiple twisters that can destroy your health, then inch closer and grapple the boss’s body to break the cast. Play it patient: survive the storm, hook in, and punish.
Borderlands 4 Best Early Game Bosses
Early game bosses can appear in Rifts that can help you with broad world-drop loot while you roam. You can use Rifts and the Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine for quick, early upgrades. These picks are fast, nearby, and reliable. Use the machine, grab a run, and reset the following easy bosses for early-game snowballing:
- Splashzone (Fadefields) — first campaign boss; quick kill and a shot at the Firewerks shield. Capture the Stockroom Silo for faster loops.
- Pango Bango (Carcadia Burn) — spawns after the Tendercage Drill Site; farm for the Stray Ripper rifle.
- Battle Wagon (Terminus Range) — appears after The Lowering March Drill Site; easy arena and fast resets.
Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine is a unique Borderlands 4 feature that lets you respawn the bosses that you have killed at least once via Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine. Respawn costs scale with level and Weekly Boss type, so plan your runs carefully, or reach out to our team to ease the process of dealing with these beasts.
Also note that each week, everyone gets the same Big Encore Boss, a tougher remix you trigger on Moxxi’s machine. The weekly version uses a different currency and adds extra modifiers, but the payoff is sweet: a higher Legendary chance. It’s better to pair it with the Weekly Wildcard Mission for guaranteed Legendary drops and a fresh combat puzzle.
📌 Encore Machine costs rise by ~2.33% per level and cap at 30,000 for Story bosses and 40,000 for main/Vault bosses at level 50.
Borderlands 4 Vault Bosses
Borderlands 4 hides three optional Vault monsters across Kairos:
- Fadefields Vault Monster: Inceptus;
- Carcadia Burn Vault Monster: Radix;
- Terminus Range Vault Monster: Origo.
They aren’t raid bosses, yet they hit like story finales and come with specific tricks. The bosses feature unique weak spots, movement checks, and hazards that punish standing still, so it’s a new challenge for you.
Borderlands 4 Inceptus
Inceptus can be found in the Fadefields near Zadra’s Backup Plan. It is an optional Vault monster found in the mid-game once you can reach the Vault.
Aim to rip shoulder and knee plates with your grappling hook to expose big pustules, then burn them. During the cocoon phase, you need to grapple the lanterns and shoot the base for crits. Dash sideways to dodge tail stabs, then unload while he’s stunned.
Borderlands 4 Radix
Radix waits southwest of Carcadia and turns the arena into a rock-and-lightning mess. This is an optional Vault monster for mid/late game. Aim for the glowing red throat, it’s a constant weak spot, but keep distance, or he’ll slam the ground and bounce you into lethal boulders. When shockwaves chain, glide over them, or stand on safe rocks, then keep the damage rolling.
Borderlands 4 Origo
Origo roams Terminus Range, swapping Incendiary and Cryo breaths that leave hazard zones. You can find him in the endgame. His weak spots are the back crystals, best hit while he’s grounded; pop ground vents with your hook to launch up and glide over hazards. If he hangs mid-air, prep for a dive and dash on the tell.
4.9To sum up, Borderlands 4 bosses are tough enemies that you’ll have to take down to progress through the campaign, get the best loot, and enjoy your adventures. Prepare yourself for tough battles and unpredictable mechanics. Also, don’t forget to respawn bosses for extra rewards, just plan the process carefully.
