Borderlands 4 Rising Action walkthrough

Once you’ve defeated Callis and Vile Lictor in Borderlands 4, it’s time to take the fight to the Timekeeper in Rising Action. We aren’t quite ready to fight him yet. We have to get to his city first, and batter our way through dozens, if not hundreds of Order foes. However, we’re on the doorstep of the third and final act of the game. Things are really going to heat up in Rising Action, but it’s a pretty simple mission overall.

I recommend having plenty of ammo, and powerful gear for your level, before tackling Rising Action in Borderlands 4. The difficulty starts to ramp up here, and while it isn’t too bad yet, it’s going to get hard before long. If you’re struggling on this mission, we’re here to get you through to the end.

Rising Action complete quest guide for Borderlands 4

Mission information

Quest Giver: Zadra
Location: Belton’s Bore
Requirements: Complete both His Vile Sanctum and Her Flaming Vision
Recommended Level: 20+
Approximate length of mission: Around 40-45 minutes

Mission steps

Talk to Zadra, place Command Bolts, talk to Amara
Reach launch platform, Kill rippers, follow Amara, release clamps
Kill Rippers, follow Amara, release clamps, follow Amara to ignition building, Ignite engines
Follow Amara to dish tower, climb dish tower, Align dish
Follow Amara to access lift, reach control terminal, place Callis’s command bolt (and hack controls)
Take Callis’s command bolt, use access lift, Remove blockage, reach space elevator controls
Activate space elevator, Exit control room, Kill everything, talk to Amara

1) Talk to Zadra, place Command Bolts, talk to Amara

Just place the Command Bolts and listen to Zadra's tale (Image via 2K Games)

When you’re ready to start Rising Action in Borderlands 4, you’ll reach out to Zadra in person, and speak to her. She will have you place the Command bolts on her machine. We needed these to get access to the Timekeeper’s citadel. While you wait to hack into the command bolts, Zadra will talk about why she decided to join your side, so give her a listen.

After her monologue, take the Command Bolts, and Zadra will inform you that Amara may just have a way to get where we’re trying to go. Fast travel to Bones of Sanctuary’s Travel Station, and talk to Amara once you get there. However, before we can go fight the Timekeeper, we need Lilith. So that’s our current mission: rescue Lilith.

2) Reach launch platform, Kill rippers, follow Amara, release clamps

Show up to the area when you're ready, but be prepared to scrap with some Rippers (Image via 2K Games)

If we’re going to rescue Lilith in Borderlands 4’s Rising Action, we need to get to the Moon! We’re going to use the space elevator to get us there, which means we need to reach the Launch Platform. You’ve already got this fast travel location just outside of Callis’s base at Fallen Crown.

Naturally there will be Rippers as soon as you arrive, so before you can even reach the launch platform, you need to deal with them. Just follow the quest marker, and it will take you right to where you need to go. Once you’re closer, the objective will change to Kill Rippers.

They really aren’t a major threat, compared to what you’ve already fought in-game. After you wipe them out, follow Amara to the next BL4 objective. Amara will lead you to a clamp that you need to release. There are three clamps to release, and starting this will bring more Rippers down upon you for this step of Borderlands 4’s Rising Action mission.

3) Kill Rippers, follow Amara, release clamps, follow Amara to ignition building, Ignite engines

Amara definitely loosened it for us (Image via 2K Games)

Make your way to the next objectives on your map in Borderlands 4, and kill your way through the Rippers so you can release the other clamps. You don’t have to kill all the Rippers to pull the clamps; just make your way to them, and if someone gets in the way, take them down.

However, Amara won’t go to the ignition building until all the Rippers are dead. Otherwise, she’ll keep shooting. Make sure to take them all down after the clamps are down, for that reason. The good news is we found the ignition controls. The bad news is that the route up is a no-go. So Amara will help you get a new route.

Grapple your way up, courtesy of Amara, and flip the switch once you get inside. This will attempt to ignite the engines, which triggers the anger of the Rippers. Head up the ladder in this room, and then go outside to help your allies kill the Rippers. We need to align the dish tower if we’re gonna go anywhere, so follow Amara after killing the Rippers.

4) Follow Amara to dish tower, climb dish tower, Align dish

This is nothing a little percussive maintenance couldn't fix (Image via 2K Games)

To proceed with Rising Action in Borderlands 4, follow Amara to the dish tower. Once there, you’ll need to start climbing. You will find a grapple point on the side of the building you’re going to climb, so take that, and use the climbing wall to get higher.

This will in turn, lead to a wall to your right to jump to, and a grapple point to go even higher. When you get to the top, grapple the dish tower to Align it. This isn’t a very difficult climb, so just hop up and do a little grapple.

5) Follow Amara to access lift, reach control terminal, place Callis’s command bolt (and hack controls)

These climbable walls are your way up (Image via 2K Games)

Jump down after Zadra says you need to get to the access lift, and follow Amara to the access lift in Borderlands 4. You’ll be met with plenty of Rippers on the way, including at least one Badass, but likely several. Just follow Amara, and kill any Rippers that get in your way.

Once there, you need to reach the control terminal, which is much higher up. Amara will give you your route up, so follow her. Use the two grapple points, and the climbing wall to get inside the building. Follow the path up, and you’ll start to see a very green area. You’ll find some climbing walls in this area. Drop down into the green area, and grapple up, to reach the climbing walls.

Jump from one climbing wall to the other, and make your way up. Head forward, and use the huge red pipe to go further in this area; the ECHO-4 device will help guide you. This will put you in the control terminal.

Before you can place Callis’s command bolt, you’ll be set upon by Rippers in Borderlands 4, so slaughter them like you would anyone else. You’ll almost certainly encounter at least one Vile enemy here too. If you get defeated here, you’ll have to climb all the way back up, so just keep that in mind. Then you can place Callis’s command bolt and hack the controls.

6) Take Callis’s command bolt, use access lift, Remove blockage, reach space elevator controls

Next to the lift, you'll find a grapple point to utilize in this Borderlands 4 area (Image via 2K Games)

Once ECHO-4 has hacked Callis’s Command Bolt, pick it up. After all, it wasn’t that easy to acquire in the first place. The next step of this Borderlands 4 mission is to use the access lift. As you climb higher, you’ll hear a very familiar, very angry voice in Arjay. He wants to stop you from getting to Lilith, no matter what it takes.

Follow the quest marker and climb the huge wall, and make your way across the platforms above. Continue to follow the path, and when outside, double jump and glideover the gap, and climb the next wall. Before long you’ll find a button you can push, but it won’t make the access lift move. You will need to progress up the path just a little farther, to clear out the blockage that’s preventing the lift from moving.

You will need to grapple up onto a pipe, when you get to the room with the lift. This will in turn lead you down a small path, to some lumber you can grapple. Remove the blockage, and when Amara and Zane show up, head further into this area to reach the space elevator controls in Borderlands 4.

7) Activate space elevator, Exit control room, Kill everything, talk to Amara

One more bout with the Rippers and this mission is complete! (Image via 2K Games)

After you activate the space elevator, you’ll exit the control room to, of course, more Rippers. Several waves of them will harass you, so take them out for this step of Borderlands 4’s Rising Action mission.

There will be a few Badasses in here, so take your time and clear them all out. Afterwards, follow Amara, and talk to her for a cutscene. This will lead to a showdown with Arjay, and drop you right into Another Day, Another Universe in Borderlands 4. You will still receive XP, Money, a Grenade, and the Voice of the Void Vault Hunter style.

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