Borderlands 4: Guns Blazing walkthrough

Guns Blazing is the first quest in Borderlands 4 you'll need to beat in order to unlock its open world proper. As one would expect, this quest is structured around tutorializing you to the basics. For series veterans, this will not really need a walkthrough - as we have also found no easter eggs or secret areas in this entire tutorial island.

However, for those of you diving into a Borderlands for the first time with the Guns Blazing quest, here's everything that ensues after you get dog-collared by the timekeeper.

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Borderlands 4: Guns Blazing quest guide

The Guns Blazing quest starts with Arjay blowing up the door in the middle of your interrogation sequence (or onboarding process, if you will). Broadly speaking, this prison-escape prologue of Borderlands 4 mainly tasks you with following Arjay till the end of the mission.

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Stage 1: Follow Arjay to your first combat encounter

The Repkit is one of the first tools you get (Image via 2K)

To begin with, you get a random white-rarity pistol (usually Daedalus or Jakobs) and the ECHO drone reboots your HUD. PC users should used to the movement controls and calibrate your mouse sensitivity before they proceed. Once you go down the stairs, get ready for your first combat sequence.

Take this time to cycle between firing modes (if on Daedalus pistol), melee, and practice general movement if you're a beginner in Borderlands 4. You will face only 5-6 Armature units (everything during the mission is lvl 1, since you don't get a levelup till the end).

After everyone is dead, Arjay gives you your first Repkit. Repkits in Borderlands 4 are your main source of on-demand health sustain, at least for the early-game. When you're out, you can still pick up red health capsules dropped by enemies to regain a flat amount of health instantly, like with previous Borderlands game. Repkits are simply a convenient alternative.

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Stage 2: Find the Security room and lift the lockdown controls

Just go with whatever grants more DPS (Image via 2K)

Continue following Arjay to reach a control room where you'll find a bunch of lockers around. The mission objective will lead you right to your first weapons chest, and this should give you a pair of green-rarity pistols.

As you have two active slots, you should pair a Jakobs pistol with a Daedalus one. With Daedalus' ability to use SMG ammo, you'll never have ammunition concerns for the rest of the Guns Blazing mission in Borderlands 4.

There will be about a dozen other lockers and containers throughout the room. Make sure you go through all of them to pick up extra loot so you can vendor them for cash later.

When you're done, interact with the red button to Lift Lockdown, and then you should follow Arjay again through the door that now opens up.

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Stage 3: Obtaining the Grapple-Grabber

Grapplable ledges will have a circle marker (Image via 2K)

In the hallway up ahead, 5 more Armatures will spawn in. If you still haven't stocked up on ammo, there's yet another pair of ammo containers near the elevator to the left. Afterwards, follow Arjay through the stairs the lead outside.

When you get past the next recontrsuction station (Do-Over Device), you'll have the first major firefight of the Guns Blazing quest in Boderlands 4. In my Hard difficulty run, this had over a dozen Armatures, and even a few Strike Engineers (melee units).

Once you clear them all out, Arjay gives you the Grapple-Grabber, one of the new movement tools in Borderlands 4. Use it to climb the ledge directly ahead, and then slide down a long slope off the side of the facility... right into a muddy lake.

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Stage 4: Find your way to Arjay

There's usually a shield in the chest to the right (Image via 2K)

During the slide, Arjay grappled to another structure midway, so you two are separated for now. Swim to the shore towards the east, and look for a small cave you can squeeze through, next to a floodlight. Before you go in, though, open the container on the right to get your first white-rarity Shield.

Crouch and proceed through the crevice to find another ledge you can climb. In the valley past another reconstruction station, a number of manglers (basically Skags) will charge at you. It's not important to kill all the manglers here, as you're going to have to go further southeast and climb the ledge to progress anyway.

This is the bridge you have to cross (Image via 2K)

Once you get on the ledge and lose the manglers, follow the rocky path. After a bend to the left, this leads to a log bridging the chasm. Arjay is waiting at the next reconstruction station across this.

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Stage 4: Find the Crimson Resistance Stash

After you meet up with Arjay, he takes you thorugh the brook, and you have to fight some more manglers along the way. Follow Arjay due east to reach a facility gate where you'll have to kill an Armature search party.

After the combat is over, Arjay and ECHO get the door open, and task you with getting some loot off Arjay's Crimson Resistance stash.

From the location of Arjay, grapple towards the right, and follow the objective pointer till you see a ladder you can jump to grab on to. Proceed further towards the direction indicated on your compass. After you pass an inclined log and reach a clearing, look right (north-east) to see a metal post you can grapple on to.

This leads to the hill with ye olde stash (Image via 2K)

This leads you on the hill with the Crimson Resistance Stash. If you didn't get a shield earlier, this should net you a pair of green-rarity shields. After you're done looting, move ahead and jump off back into the facility to get back to Arjay's position.

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Stage 5: Warden Scathe boss fight

Make sure to grab all the loot (Image via 2K)

After a rather gruesome scene in the containment chamber, you'll be led back outside for your first boss fight of Borderlands 4 right here in the Guns Blazing quest. You'll have to face Warden Scathe, and a bunch of ads he spawns along the fight.

This will potentially be your first taste of a tricky fight in Borderlands 4, especially if you're playing on the Hard difficulty. In case you're struggling, here are a few pointers:

• There are various places where you can take cover. The best one is towards the right of where Warden Scathe spawns, up the ramp.
• You can also take cover from Scathe elsewhere in the arena, like retreating behind the walls into the swamp. However, in these spots, you'll almost certainly get flanked from multiple sides by various Armature units.
• Speaking of, you should make sure you thin out the Armature reinforcements, which get called in multiple time during the fight. However, make sure you keep at least one alive nearby so you can quickly use it as a Second-Wind crutch if you happen to fall in battle.
• Make sure you're using Repkits.
• Warden Scathe, unlike many other Borderlands 4 bosses, has hitscan attacks, so it's a battle of attrition. Make sure you utilize your Shields and your Repkit regen properly. Deal damage when your shields are up, retreat when they're down till they recover.

After you beat the boss, you'll get your first level up in Borderlands 4. Take your time here to read through the Skill trees. Note that you can spec into any Active ability out of the three without actually spending a point in the tree, so if you want, you can hold these points till you've tried all of them out.

Reviving Arjay will kick off a cutscene that ends the Guns Blazing mission in Borderlands 4, and sends you off to the Coastal Boneyards. So before you do that, make sure you've rifled through all the loot that the Warden Scathe has dropped.

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That's it with our full walkthrough of the Guns Blazing quest in Borderlands 4. Check out our other guides on the game:

• Which is the best Vault Hunter to start with?
• Does Borderlands 4 have crossplay and cross-progression?