Does Borderlands 4 take place after Borderlands 3?

If you're a true fan of the Borderlands franchise, you're definitely thinking about chronology and whether Borderlands 4 takes place after Borderlands 3. Given that the storylines and characters are often interlinked, it would be fair to assume that this is a continuation of things, and you'd be right: Borderlands 4 does take place after Borderlands 3. However, there are a few gaps in the timeline.

To understand this, you'd need to know the events of Borderlands 3, but that's a lot to read, so I'll give you the TLDR version. After defeating Tyreen Calypso, Lilith gains her Siren Powers back and flies like a fiery eagle towards Elpis, slamming into the moon and leaving behind the Firehawk symbol.

Lilith uses everything she has to remove the moon from its orbit around Pandora to save the planet, and in the process, she disappears from the timeline completely. She is presumed dead until the start of Borderlands 4, not the present timeline, but six years before Vault Hunters descend on Kairos.

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When does Borderlands 4 take place?

What did Elpis ever do to anyone? (Image via 2K)

It all starts at the end of Borderlands 3, after Lilith slams into Elpis and teleports it away from Pandora to stop the planet from being destroyed. It then reappears and crashes in Kairos' protective veil, causing a planet-wide cataclysmic event that disrupts the peace and order the Timekeeper has maintained for thousands of years.

Fast forward six years since the shattering of the veil, and that is when the playable timeline for Borderlands 4 kicks off. You, the player, are tossed into a powderkeg that's ready to explode. There's an all-out war being waged on the planet, and the populace is in full revolt. Order has vanished, and Psychos are ravaging the land.

"Strip the Flesh. Salt the Wound!" (Image via 2K)

As for Lilith, well, she's here on Kairos, but no one has seen her since the events of Borderlands 3. Amara (one of the well-known characters in the franchise) mounts a rescue, but we don't know the outcome of it as of now. However, we do know that the Crimson Resistance is present on the planet, which means Lilith has friends, and you'll have help along the way.

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That's about everything we know at the moment regarding the timeline. We'll likely get more insights surrounding the events of Lilith's arrival on Kairos and how she got captured by the Timekeeper (if you're wondering why, well, she's a Siren, a powerful one at that). Everyone wants her powers for themselves, and the Timekeeper is no different.

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