The Borderlands Series' Hardest Bosses

Key Takeaways

Badassasaurus Rex prevents any Second Winds, and can even reflect shots back at you.
The Ancient Dragons Of Destruction are a quadruple threat.
Master Gee the Invincible lives up to his name, requiring a dangerous poison strategy to defeat.

As someone who’s spent countless hours battling my way through Pandora, I must say these boss fights in Borderlands 2 are quite the challenge. The acid pools under Master Gee, those sneaky little traps that could catch even the most seasoned Vault Hunter off guard. It’s a dance, really – dodge, attack, and pray you don’t slip up.

The Borderlands series, similar to many top-tier looter-shooter games, is brimming with meticulously crafted and occasionally challenging bosses. After all, where would one look for the most elusive treasures? It’s not a place easily accessible to everyone. You typically need to fight your way to obtain it.

In this first-person shooter series, not every boss is created with the same difficulty level. Some are significantly tougher than others, featuring extensive health reserves, invincibility periods, tricky evasion tactics, or even the potential to defeat you with a single blow. Therefore, whether you’re seeking a challenge or aiming to steer clear of overly punishing encounters, understanding which boss battles are the hardest in the series will undoubtedly be beneficial for your gaming experience.

10 Badassasaurus Rex

You Might Hurt Yourself

This boss reflects bullets and lacks exploitable weaknesses.
He brings no minions to get second winds from.

Engaging with this dinosaur-transformed truck is a battle that’s non-negotiable, especially if you aim to finish Borderlands 2’s DLC in True Vault Hunter or Ultimate Vault Hunter modes. You’ll encounter this boss during the main storyline of Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage.

The toughness of this battle primarily stems from the fact that most of the boss’s surface area deflects incoming projectiles back towards you. Additionally, there’s no shelter or protection in the battle arena, which makes evading its attacks, or sometimes your own, extremely difficult. Unfortunately, if you get knocked out, there are no minions to kill for a chance at revival.

Thankfully, Badassasaurus has large, red weak spots in the form of fuel tanks for you to shoot.

9 Joey Ultraviolet

Along With His Underbosses

This boss has waves on underboss minions that can wear you down.
He can heal large portions of his health.

In the thrilling climax of Borderlands 3’s Revenge of the Cartels, I came face-to-face with a vibrant crime lord, who was the final boss to be taken down.

In this battle, there are several phases that unfold firstly, where you encounter successive waves of minor adversaries, some of whom are the underbosses from the cartel. Later on, Joey makes his descent to engage you in combat. Initially, he equips a shield, but as he sustains sufficient damage, he switches to using a firearm.

After discarding his shield, he’ll periodically regenerate substantial chunks of his health. As the battle unfolds, hazards such as laser beams and pools of corrosive liquids will activate.

In his ultimate form, Joey is immune to standard damage types, making it wise to carry at least one weapon that doesn’t rely on elements.

8 Crawmerax The Invincible

The Original “The Invincible”

This is the first-ever Borderlands raid boss.
This boss only receives damage in critical zones.

This is the original Borderlands raid boss known as Crawmerax. You can choose to battle him after finishing the Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC. Notably, a large part of this creature resembles a crab worm and seems invulnerable to damage on most of its body, giving it that name.

Damaging Crawmerax effectively can only be achieved by obliterating its vulnerable, yet hard-to-reach, bright purple spots scattered throughout its massive frame. These spots are smaller than the rest of Crawmerax and are constantly shifting, adding to their elusiveness. Each spot also has a significant amount of health. To make matters worse, one of these zones is located on the backside of Crawmerax, making it difficult even to get a good look at him.

It’s a good idea to take this one out first so you don’t waste as much time if you die trying.

As a devoted fan, I can tell you that tackling Crawmerax in the initial Borderlands game isn’t a walk in the park due to the scarcity of extremely powerful build options available at that time.

7 Terramorphous The Invincible

True Tentacle Terror

This is the first raid boss in Borderlands 2.
This boss has strong tentacle minions to get in your way.

In the challenging sequel of Borderlands, known as Borderlands 2, Terramorphous The Invincible is the inaugural raid boss. This formidable foe can be encountered following a fittingly ominous quest called “You. Will. Die. (Seriously.)”, which you receive after completing the main storyline.

As I navigated through this sprawling battlefield, I stumbled upon an ominous thresher-like foe. Its menacing tentacles, camouflaged beneath the earth, would burst forth unpredictably, hurling boulders, fireballs, and firing laser beams in my direction. The sheer unpredictability of their appearance made them a relentless adversary, impossible to evade.

In terms of fire damage, Terramorphous is vulnerable, yet on occasion, it can transform into a fire phase, rendering it resistant. Fortunately, this fire phase doesn’t persist for an extended period.

6 Dexiduous the Invincible

This Is Going To Take A While

This towering foe has more health than any other boss.
It doesn’t have a dedicated arena, making it unpredictable.

This colossal entity boasts the highest health level among all bosses, approximately ten times more than others. You can call upon it as an optional boss in Borderlands 2’s Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt DLC by using Eridium whenever you desire.

This boss isn’t particularly tough when it comes to attacks, as it typically moves slowly across the map without attacking much. However, it is extremely time-consuming due to its enormous health pool and damage resistance. To inflict significant damage on Dexiduous, you’ll need to identify and attack small critical hit areas. It tests both your aim and your patience.

Don’t forget, if you do die, you have to start all over. Unlike most bosses, Dexiduous doesn’t have a dedicated arena, which at least allows you to use vehicles against this boss.

5 Hemovorous The Invincible

There Are Two Of Them?

Two identically difficult bosses attack you in tandem.
They have hefty shields, armor, and health.

In the Director’s Cut DLC for Borderlands 3, the formidable foe Hemovorous The Invincible can be summoned, and this Varkid is a throwback to an acquaintance (either friend or enemy, depending on who you converse with). Engaging Hemovorus The Invincible isn’t your only challenge, as at elevated mayhem levels, the familiar Vermivorous The Invincible, another name you might remember from Borderlands 2, will join the fray as well.

On their own, they’re tough but fair, but dealing with two at once is a serious challenge.

The fight is also a bit misleading, with Hemovorous starting as a larva and evolving into a massive beast as the fight progresses. In their final stage, Hemovorous and Vermivorous have shields and armor on top of their health, so bringing a corrosive, shock, or fire weapon is a good idea.

4 Hyperius The Invincible

A Little Bit Of Everything, All At Once

His minions give him a shield.
Be prepared for inescapable novas.

In Borderlands 2, Hyperius The Invincible, the initial seraph guardian, made his debut alongside the Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty DLC. Just like other seraph guardians, taking him down isn’t a walk in the park. This Hyperion engineer comes equipped with minions that provide him with a robust damage reduction shield. When you inflict enough damage on these minions, they transfer the shield to themselves for repairs and healing, making it challenging to eliminate them completely.

If all four of his underlings are either defeated or fixing themselves up, you can attack Hyperius without any special precautions. But as soon as you inflict enough damage on him, he enlarges and speeds up his assaults, making them harder to avoid – even his nova attacks become untouchable.

In this battle, the player faces a blend of complex strategies, including powerful assaults, substantial health pools, reduced damage intake, reviving minions, and distinct protective shield mechanisms. This fight presents a formidable challenge for the player due to its intricate mechanics.

Fortunately, among all the series’ bosses, he has the most exploitable weaknesses, making it possible to defeat him swiftly with a clever approach if you’re not concerned about playing fair. To illustrate, Zero’s B0re skill can instantly kill him in a single hit.

3 Master Gee The Invincible

He’s Literally Invincible

He can only receive damage from acid pools in the first phase.
The acid pools are crucial to utilize but can damage you.

After defeating Hyperius, you gain the opportunity to engage in combat with Master Gee. This formidable pirate appears invincible initially, but as you battle him, Sand Worms will emerge, creating acid pools on the ground. Be cautious as these pools will inflict a lasting damage-over-time effect if touched.

As a devoted fan, I must share this insight: Master Gee possesses an unique vulnerability – his initial protective barrier can be breached by a specific effect. Once that first shield is down, it swiftly regenerates, but he becomes susceptible to other forms of damage. The unfortunate truth is that he boasts one of the most extensive health reserves among Borderlands bosses.

It’s possible to find a significant flaw that allows you to trap Master Gee at the main entrance, resulting in his immediate death, when conventional strategies don’t work.

2 Voracidous The Invincible

Where’s The Ammo?

This boss has a minion that rotates a massive shield between them.
There’s no ammo in the arena at all, making strategic play critical.

Once you finish Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt, you gain the ability to engage both the stalker and his handler, Chief Ngwatu. Voracidous will persistently pursue you, and the chief will continuously spin a large shield as protection against Voracidous.

In the arena, no bullets appear, which creates a significant challenge considering the high damage required to emerge victorious. Additionally, it’s troubling that Voracidous’s critical hit zone is usually unreachable, making him capable of defeating you swiftly in most instances.

If a fair approach isn’t proving successful in your situation, there are alternative strategies available to emerge victorious, should they be necessary. For instance, employing the Trespasser sniper rifle could help eliminate Chief Ngwatu’s shield completely.

1 Ancient Dragons of Destruction

They’re Using Teamwork!

There are four dragons you have to fight simultaneously.
The dragons’ abilities synergize with each other.

Once you finish the primary storyline of the Borderlands 2 downloadable content, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, you get a chance to battle against the Ancient Dragons of Ruin.

Each dragon possesses unique skills and offensive tactics. Helianth inflicts shock damage and can revitalize its fellow dragons. Brood causes corrosive damage and summons minions. Incinerator deals fire damage, boasting immunity phases. Boost administers slag damage and intermittently elevates the power of other dragons. They’re strategically crafted to work harmoniously together.

In this battle, there are no shortcuts or hidden strategies; you’ll need to defeat these dragons using traditional methods instead.

Generally speaking, it’s usually advised to eliminate Boost and Helianth before anything else because they enhance other dragons. Lastly, hold off on Brood as it generates minions which may provide vital Second Winds for you when required.

2024-10-12 00:17

The Borderlands Series’ Hardest Bosses