Borderlands 4 Dark Subject walkthrough

The Dark Subject mission in Borderlands 4 is one of the main story quests in the Terminus Range area. It follows the path of our playable Vault Hunter and Amara's quest to find Lilith, alongside taking on the primary antagonist of that area, Vile Lictor.

While the Dark Subject quest is shorter compared to other story missions, players will find themselves against formidable enemies and a new combat mechanic that will persist throughout the game after this mission.

This article will walk you through the Dark Subject mission in the Terminus Range area of Borderlands 4.

Dark Subject complete quest guide for Borderlands 4

Here is a list of basic information regarding the mission:

Quest giver: Defiant Calder.
Location: Belton's Bore.
Recommended level: 25-30.
Approximate length of the mission: 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the difficulty set for your session.

Mysterious figure in Dark Subject quest (Image via 2K Games)

Here is the full list of the mission objectives in chronological order:

Return to Defiant Calder.
Meet with Amara.
Find Lilith.
Kill Creeps.
Kill Tim.
Break Into Back Site.
Enter Black Site.
Kill Escaped Experiments.
Open Door.
Enter Quarantined Lab.
Activate Holo-Table.
Kill Test Subject.
Kill more Creeps.
Follow Amara.

1) Return to Defiant Calder and meet with Amara

Start the quest by speaking with Defiant Calder at the Belton's Bore. He will give you the quest, and Amara will then ask you to meet up with her in a secret spot.

Path to Amara in Dark Subject quest of Borderlands 4 (Image via 2K Games)

The easiest way to reach this location from Belton's Bore is by teleporting to the Nightcap safehouse located on the extreme right side of the map, and then going from there.

The grappling spot leading to Amara (Image via 2K Games)

In one specific spot, you will encounter a grappling point leading you to Amara. Follow these points, and you will soon hear Amara speaking with her pet, indicating that you are on the correct path.

2) Find Lilith and kill Creeps

Killing Creeps in the backyard of the Black Site (Image via 2K Games)

Speak with Amara after meeting up with her, and she will form a path for you to go through. This path leads to the backyard of the facility you are trying to enter in the mission. Here, your first objective is to defeat a bunch of creeps, so get to sweeping.

The "Find Lilith" objective will persist throughout the mission, with another objective changing with each area.

3) Kill Tim

Killing the 'Tim boss' in the backyard (Image via 2K Games)

After clearing the area of Creeps, a Creep boss named Tim will spawn in from one of the structures in the middle. Alongside this boss, you will also see numerous other Creeps spawning in. Like many objectives in this game, your task is to defeat everything, including the boss.

4) Break into Black Site and enter Black Site

After killing Tim, your task is now to enter the facility/Black Site. Look for a vent entrance just right of where the Tim boss spawns in. Use your grapple to remove the vent door and enter the Black Site.

Vent door right of the 'Tim boss' (Image via 2K Games)

You will next encounter a huge door within a red room with two vending machines. Interact with the switch beside this door to open it. Drop down to continue onwards.

Note: Sometimes, the elevator door can be bugged, and the switch will not be interactible. If this happens, simply reload your game session and you can see the handle now.

5) Kill escaped experiments and open Door

After dropping down, you will be in a hallway with several Creeps spawning in. Kill them to progress until you come across a vent, followed by an experiment room.

Console to open the door leading to the Quarantined Lab (Image via 2K Games)

Your task in this room is to keep killing even more Creeps until the game asks you to open a Door. Careful of Badasses here, as they can easily shut you down. After clearing the area, wait for Vile Lictor and Amara to finish their dialogues, and then follow the objective marker to interact with the console that opens the door.

6) Enter the Quarantined Lab and Activate the Holo-Table

Quarantined Lab with the Holo-Table in the middle (Image via 2K Games)

After opening the door, head inside and interact with the circular console in the middle. Your Vault Hunter, Vile Lictor, and Amara will then have a lengthy conversation. After a while, a purple portal will appear at the front of the lab, spawning in a boss with a new combat mechanic.

7) Kill Test Subject

The boss, named Viled Prototype, will spawn in an invulnerable state. It will have several crystals attached to its body, and your job is to destroy these crystals to make it vulnerable to damage. Shotguns and Sniper Rifles are great at destroying these crystals quickly, so we recommend using those weapons.

Vile Prototype boss in Borderlands 4 (Image via 2K Games)

Note that after destroying the crystals on the boss's body, they will float in the air, trying to settle back on the body. Your task now is to shoot the crystals in their floating state to permanently destroy them. Once all crystals have been destroyed, you are free to kill the boss.

8) Kill Creeps and Follow Amara

After defeating the boss, follow the objective marker into the last room of the mission. Here, simply defeat all the Creeps present, and then interact with a console to trigger a cutscene.

Final room in the mission (Image via 2K Games)

Next, follow Amara outside, and you will see a surge of Eridium manifesting in Vile Lictor's fortress. Wait for the conversations between the NPCs to end, which will also finish the "Dark Subject" mission.

Vile Lictor's fortress (Image via 2K Games)

Rewards include Cash, XP, a Rare/Epic Pistol, and a skin for the playable Vault Hunter.

Check out our other Borderlands 4 guides and features:

About the author

Soumyadeep is a Journalist on Esports & Gaming at Sportskeeda, specializing in Destiny 2 and Gacha games. He holds a diploma in Computer Science and is also keen on game development. He enjoys spending his free time learning new languages and digging into MMORPGs, manga, and light novels.

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Edited by Soumyadeep Banerjee