Borderlands 4: Beginner tips and tricks

Borderlands 4 is a massive new adventure title that is an evolutionary step forward for the beloved looter-shooter franchise. As such, many of its features and mechanics will be new not just to newcomers but returning series fans as well. After all, the new planet of Kairos boasts a fully seamless open-world sandbox on top of other adjustments and improvements for this new design mantra.

Here are some handy tips for players just starting their journey to Kairos, so they can have a great time whether playing solo or co-op.

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Best beginner tips and tricks for Borderlands 4

1) Use the new mobility options to gain the upper hand in combat

Borderlands 4 doesn't just feature all-new Vault Hunters, but also never-before-seen mobility options that make them deadlier and more agile in combat than their predecessors. Besides scaling walls in set locations, you can also freely glide and dash using a jetpack or use a grapple to swing between points.

The Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4 are far more capable (Image via 2K)

This opens up new avenues for combat, like escaping melee attackers by dashing in the other direction, or moving to a higher vantage point with the grapple to avoid powerful AOE attacks. The grapple can also be used to pick up and throw elemental canisters. Battles have become much more dynamic now in Borderlands.

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2) Favorite most-used weapons to avoid accidentally selling them

Borderlands 4 boasts an insane 30 billion gun permutations. As such, when exploring the planet's expansive sandbox, you will encounter loot of varying rarities. As is a given for the genre, you are incentivized to collect powerful loot and sell less useful gear or exchange it for cash at vendors around Kairos.

To avoid accidentally selling a preferred piece of gear, Favorite the gear you like by marking it with a star icon - this prevents it from being sold. This is ideal for rare drops that you may find early on and aren't ready to part with yet. You may also want to carry them around in your inventory for later use or storage.

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3) Do not ignore alt-fire modes on guns

Speaking of gear, many weapons in Borderlands 4 come with alt-fire modes, which are indicated beneath the ammo counter on the right side of the screen and can be switched to at the press of a button. This is a returning feature from Borderlands 3 and expands the usability of weapons, especially thanks to the new Licensed Parts System.

The effects of these alt-fire modes can range from a sniper getting an extra underbarrel to dropping a deployable shield that enemies cannot shoot through. As such, make use of them as much as possible when engaged in combat.

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4) Unlock Safehouses and Silos as soon as possible

As an open-world experience, Borderlands 4 features several points of interest to discover across its various biomes. Some of the most important are Safehouses and Silos. The former are locations offering Vault Hunters safe respite between their looting and shooting sessions with bounty boards, while also acting as fast travel points.

The world of Kairos is filled with activities to engage in (Image via 2K)

The latter, meanwhile, are facilities similar to Safehouses guarded by Order soldiers. Unlocking them unlocks fast travel points, in addition to unveiling nearby Vault Fragments. Silos can also be used as grapple points to reach high in the air and glide around the area. Getting to them quickly will allow you to navigate the map more easily.

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5) Explore freely after getting the Digi-Runner

On the point of exploration, the map of Kairos is fairly sizable. As such, exploring on foot is not a viable option everywhere. This is where Runner vehicles come in - they are the series' mainstay mode of getting around. You can unlock this mechanic during the "Down and Outbound" main mission, after helping Rush and speaking with Conway.

A fast ride will make the game world much less tiresome to explore. With mounted weapons, you can take down easier mobs while inside the vehicle. The best part of all this is that vehicles can be Digistructed almost anywhere on the go for the first time in the series' history.

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Borderlands 4 is available to purchase on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch 2.

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• Borderlands 4: Which is the best Vault Hunter to start with?