Borderlands 4 Bio-Bulkhead boss location, drops, and mechanics

Bio-Bulkhead is the final boss of the Borderlands 4 mission One Fell Swoop, and it can be tricky if you weren’t paying attention throughout the mission. Like all Bulkhead minions, it’s agile and very powerful, but this one, despite its seeming invulnerability, has an important weakness you’re going to need to exploit. This boss also has a few particularly neat legendaries that you might want to farm as well, depending on your build.

If you’re stuck on dealing with the Bio-Bulkhead in Borderlands 4 though, we’re here to help you get through this fight. It’s a particularly early boss battle, but it does teach players that it’s not always going to be run-and-gun when dealing with bosses in this 2K Games title.

Where to find Bio-Bulkhead boss in Borderlands 4

You’ll find Bio-Bulkhead at the end of the Borderlands 4 mission, One Fell Swoop. It’s the only thing standing in your way of the Airship you’re trying to get to. You’ll see it in a stasis pod, but when it breaks free, it’s going to be time to put in some work.

(Fight begins at 34:40)

Hopefully you were paying attention when you saw the Locust canisters earlier, because those are very important in this fight. Here’s everything you need to know about this early-game boss battle.

Bio-Bulkhead’s attacks in Borderlands 4

Anytime the Bio-Bulkhead stops taking damage, throw a canister at it (Image via 2K Games)

Bio-Bulkhead’s attacks

It can jump from full screen at you to do a pouncing attack. It leaves an elemental patch of damage on the ground as well.
It can launch a pair of energy waves at you from long range, but they can be jumped over or dodged behind cover.
It can slam the ground to create yellow waves on the ground like normal Bulkheads.
It can jump up and down on the ground to create painful elemental damage patches. It also generates a trio of shockwaves that shoot out from the boss in lines.

Borderlands 4’s Bio-Bulkhead is in essence, a souped-up regular Bulkhead, but it has four health blocks, and is far more dangerous. Half of its kit you’ve already seen before: It can jump at you, and makes those annoying shockwaves that you have to jump over. In this case, it also leaves elemental damage on the ground, so you have to watch where you’re landing after a jump.

Tips to defeat Bio-Bulkhead in Borderlands 4

You're going to need to throw a few of these throughout the fight (Image via 2K Games)

The most annoying thing about Bio-Bulkhead in Borderlands 4, is that it periodically becomes invincible. If its health bar has a bunch of lines through it and a golden shimmer, you need to grab a Locust canister and throw it at the boss.

Zadra will remind you of this, too. You can see the canister generator in the screenshot above. There are a few others around the room, so you aren’t forced to fight him right where he spawns.

Just Grapple and throw it, but beware of its other attacks, because it won’t wait for you to do it. Most of the bosses attacks can be jumped over: The shockwaves, the energy waves, and the shockwave from the elemental damage patches. If it jumps at you, you just need to get out of the way. This is a fight where you’ll likely kite the boss all around the room, so keep an eye on the various elemental damage AOEs on the ground.

Always know where you're at in this fight to avoid taking extra damage (Image via 2K Games)

Stay away as best you can, because it can also dash at you, and hit you with a melee attack, but if you’re playing keep-away, these pose no threat. I used Vex, and a Corrosive damage weapon, and it dropped in a matter of minutes. Just try to stay within the eyeline of the Locust canister generators to make sure you take this thing’s damage immunity away swiftly.

Noteworthy drops by Bio-Bulkhead in Borderlands 4

There are a few legendary drops you can pick up from the Bio-Bulkhead in Borderlands 4, but you may have to grind for these. Like most other legendaries, they don’t have a particularly high drop rate.

Waterfall (Grenade Ordinance): Causes additional explosions when damaging targets.
Sho Kunai (Grenade Ordinance): Grants +10% Movement Speed for a short Duration with each consecutive hit; caps at 7 Stacks.
Budget Deity (Pistol): Throws 2 Combo Orbs, which place the Atlas Target Lock on enemies damaged by the Combo Orbs

Check out our other Borderlands 4 guides and features

About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 15 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

Jason places high value on accuracy and relevance in his write-ups. He achieves this with thorough research to sift facts from rumors. One of the biggest highlights of his career is his interview with Canadian pro wrestler Kenny Omega about his inclusion in the Like a Dragon game series. He is also good friends with journalist Kazumo Hashimoto, who he admires for the kind of stories he works on and his deep ethics.

A true cinephile, one of Jason’s primary hobbies involves enjoying cinematic experiences. He also loves reading, be it fiction or manga, when not working. Additionally, he streams on Twitch and posts his gaming insights on YouTube.

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Edited by Jason Parker