Borderlands IGN Insiders Guide

Borderlands Guide
Say what you will about the glut of first-person shooters on the market, it's taking us to some interesting places. From Portal, to Mirror's Edge, to Fallout 3, we've seen the FPS bleed into other genres with surprising success. Borderlands is no exception. A new property from a developer better known for its expansions, it seems like something off an underdog, but the shoot 'n' loot combo is too tempting to resist, combine the best of co-op Diablo with intense FPS action. It's a meaty affair, with 40 hours of gameplay in a world of 8 hour first-person shooters. Some of its secrets are easy to miss, but that's why IGN is here to help. In this Borderlands strategy guide, you'll find: BASICS // Tips to help get you started in your journey. CLASSES // We help you find your role. WEAPONS // Need help sorting through 87 bazillion guns? WALKTHROUGH // Our illustrated guide takes you through each and every mission. Guide by: Travis Fahs
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2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.
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Borderlands Basics
Loot and Plunder
Throughout the game, you're going to be looking for weapons, cash, gear, and supplies. Learn to spot the different kinds of places loot can be found, and know what each contains. Anything with a green light (or Skag piles with a greenish glow) can be searched for items, and all will contain at least something. There are two types of small cashboxes and both of these will only contain money. Other places like mailboxes, toilets, and washing machines can contain cash, ammo, or sometimes a health item, but never equipment. Lockers may contain cash or ammo, but also sometimes have pistols, shields, or class mods. Skag piles can contain all sorts of loot, but it tends to be of fairly low quality. Chests are the best guaranteed payoff. Ammo chests contain six ammo pickups of various types. Silver chests contain two weapons each, of moderate quality. Red Chests are the most desirable of all, with guaranteed ammo (eight units), and one to four pieces of gear, including weapons, shields, and class mods. Items in a red chest tend to be of higher quality than those found elsewhere.
Critical Hit Different enemies have different areas of strength and vulnerability, and the crack shot will do well to learn about these as soon as possible. For example, Skags are most vulnerable when they roar. Shoot them in the mouth to deal massive damage. Human enemies are vulnerable to headshots, as you'd expect. Spiderants are defended from the front, but have soft abdomens. Knowing these weaknesses will make any fight easier.
Second Wind When you lose all your health, you don't die immediately. You're crippled and fixed to your position, and you begin a slow bleed-out, during which you can still turn and fire. If you kill an enemy before you finish bleeding out, you get a "second wind" and receive a small health boost and fully recharged shields. This is easy to abuse. You just want to make sure that you die in a position where speed retaliation is easy. One key thing to remember is that you will crouch to your knee during bleed out, so if you're behind cover, you won't have a good shot at your enemies. You also won't be able to use scopes or grenades. A Combat Rifle, SMG, or Shotgun is perfect because you can score a desperate headshot with ease. You may even want to intentionally allow your enemy to finish you off after softening him up when you sense death is immanent. If you're confident enough in your ability to successfully make the kill, then this is a cheap way to recharge your shields in situations where you can't get cover.
All of these places can be looted every time you load a game, so it's possible to exit and reload and raid a chest all over again. However, the loot found in some of these locations may be biased toward a certain type of gear, such as shields, rocket launchers, or pistols, so if you're looking for something in particular, this can be useful. The last place to find loot is, of course, from the bodies of your foes. Higher powered enemies drop better loot, but the type of loot is also influenced by the enemy type. For example, bandits tend to drop weapons, whereas Crimson Lance soldiers drop very high quality shields. If you play co-op, you'll fight higher level enemies with better gear.
Runners
Throughout Pandora, you'll find Catch-a-Ride stations, which look a lot like New-U terminals. These are free to use and will spawn a vehicle on the spot. There's no penalty for losing your ride or summoning a new one, so use them whenever. You select your ride's color and also its secondary weapon, the only meaningful customization you can make. The rockets are great at closer range and have powerful splash damage, but the slow projectile speed will make it tough to use at longer range. The machine guns have a very high bullet velocity and can be deadly at longer ranges. The Runner itself has a shield system not unlike the one you have on foot. After a few seconds it recharges. Unlike being on foot, however, the Runner has no health after the shield is depleted, so if you sense impending
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destruction, bail out. The Runner also seats a second person, a gunner. In solo play, the gunner's seat can occasionally be useful at long range for its better range of motion, but is too risky to use up close.
Balance Your Team Remember, a well rounded, organized team is always best. This doesn't necessarily mean just one of each class. You need characters that are appropriately specced for different roles. You'll want to make sure you have a long range fighters, a short range fighter, and a medic on every team. Consult the Characters section for more on how you can fit different characters to different roles.
Borderlands Classes
Soldier
Roland is the most well-rounded character in the game, and for those that choose to play alone, he's the easiest to grasp. His primary perk is the Scorpio Turret, which can serve a few different purposes. When fighting less intelligent enemies like Skags and Spiderants, it's a perfect diversionary weapon that will allow you to strafe around and reach your foes' weak spots. It also provides cover when crouching, and can deal some offensive damage, especially when powered up with the right skills and artifacts. It's range is only 180 degrees, however, so more intelligent enemies may just get behind it. Roland's skills afford him some major perks for Combat Rifles and Shotguns, so he's going to be the best character for those that prefer to fight at mid-range. He's a tough fighter, and his perks offer some serious offensive and defensive boosts that make him a mean fighter. Those that prefer to play solo will likely gravitate to this class. The Soldier can also be effective in a team situation. He has abilities like Cauterize open to him that make him and effective medic, and other bonuses to the Scorpio turret that will help your allies regenerate ammo and health. The Soldier is an excellent team player with the proper specs, although these might be different than the best solo specs.
Hunter Mordecai, like Roland, is a strong character for those that like to go at it alone. He differs greatly from Roland in technique, however. Mordecai's skills favor Revolvers and Sniper Rifles, which lean toward precision and skill, with high damage and low fire rates. Experienced players confident in their ability with a controller will do well with him. His special ability is the Bloodwing, which can swoop down and target an enemy. It's application is less versatile than the Scorpio, but it can still prove quite useful. Mordecai doesn't seem as immediately useful in team play since he lacks a lot of meaningful support skills, but he does have abilities that sweeten drops and XP that will surely be appreciated by teammates. The strong abilities at long range can also prove invaluable to a well-organized team.
Siren
Lilith is a classic hit-and-run character. This can prove to be a very useful tactic in a game with a system of regenerating shields. Lilith's main distinguishing ability is the Phasewalk, which allows her to turn invisible for a few seconds and escape an attack. Once you earn shields that recover quickly, this can prove absolutely devastating, and it can also be complimented by various perks that afford additional offensive and defensive abilities. Lilith is also unique for the way she favors elemental attacks, which can prove very useful to the skilled player. Elemental abilities can frequently turn a mediocre attack into something truly damaging, and Lilith has a wide range of abilities to do just that.
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Lilith isn't a great team player in general, but she's a versatile fighter, and that alone may earn her a welcome place in a squad. The Phasewalk ability is key to playing effectively, regardless of if you're playing solo or coop, and your spec is perhaps more important here than in any other class.
Berserker Brick can be very effective, but he's biased toward co-op players, and the least versatile of any class. His unique skill is the ability to attack enemies at close range in Berserk mode. This will surely bring back fuzzy memories of Doom for old-schoolers, and it's a very powerful ability, but it's also strictly offensive, and Brick can be left with very little to defend himself at times. His abilities enhance his kamikaze nature, but do little to help increase his ability with a gun. In a co-op situation, Brick can often play the hero. His ability to rush in and save an ally going down is invaluable in a party. Brick is also excellent with Rocket Launchers and grenades, and can be a serious heavy hitter. With the Wide Load, Liquidate, and Rocket Launcher skills, he's well equipped to be any party's demoman.
Borderlands Weapons
The gear in Borderlands is randomized, with any number of subtle customizations and variations in the base stats. Because of this it boasts a seemingly infinite number of guns, but it has a finite number of ammo types, and these break down into broad classes of weaponry. Within these classes you may find other specific advantages and disadvantages. For example, some weapons offer a scope with excellent zoom, while others might contain elemental properties that make them extra effective against certain enemy types.
Repeater Pistols These are the most basic, well-rounded weapons you can find. They offer a moderate rate of first and modest damage, along with good accuracy. You'll probably make good use of repeaters early in your journey, but as you progress, they'll become less relevant as more specialized weaponry becomes available.
Combat Rifles Boasting a high rate of fire averaging between 5 and 10 rounds per second, and very high bullet velocity, Combat Rifles are frequently the mid-range weapon of choice. They have a mean recoil, which can make them less effective at long range, but Soldiers in particular are able to neutralize this effect to some extent through mods and skills, and so they will often favor these weapons.
SMGs These lightweight handguns can chew through enemies at mid-range. They typically boast a higher fire rate and lower damage per round than Combat Rifles, but they have similar application. SMGs tend to be a bit more accurate, and with a scope they can be surprisingly effective at longer ranges.
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Shotguns
Shotguns are low accuracy, high spread weapons that get more effective at closer ranges. Shotguns can frequently be some of the most devastating weapons in the game, but are handicapped by their ineffectiveness at long range. Despite this, you can sometimes find very accurate shotguns equipped with scopes. These may not be able to make it to long range, but they can still be effective at mid-range. The shotgun is best paired against aggressive enemies like Skags and Spiderants that are almost always fought at closer ranges. Shotguns are also characterized by relatively low magazine size, making accuracy important despite the broad spread.
Revolver
These pistols are extremely powerful and quite accurate, making them a favorite for those that like shooting sniper rifles from the hip. They tend to have a bit lower damage than sniper rifles, but also a higher fire rate and better capacity. These are a favorite among skilled players who have strong aiming abilities and like to go for criticals.
Sniper Rifle
The long range weapon par choice. These almost (but not quite) always pack good scopes, and boast devastating damage for their level. The trade off is, of course, a very low fire rate, and a low magazine capacity and overall capacity. Unlike their equivalents in many other games, Sniper Rifles do not have much recoil, and can be fired nicely from the hip, making them effective at close ranges in certain situations.
Rocket Launchers
Rockets deliver the heaviest damage of any weapon in the game, and they frequently pack good scopes for longer ranges, but they have very low fire rates, and are very dangerous to use at mid-range. Elemental rocket launchers can be especially devastating because it makes splash damage considerably more dangerous. Rocket Launchers tend to be some of the most unique in their firing patterns. Some fire in an arc like mortars, while others may "burst fire" several shots at once. When you find these in the wild, it's often good to try them out rather than judge them strictly by their stats.
Eridian Weapons
The rarest of all weapons on Pandora. These weapons boast infinite ammo, which make them excellent backups in any situation. They can, however, drain their charge and force you to wait a few second, so they're not ideal for longer fights where you need a lot of sustained firepower. There are a couple unique Eridian weapons you'll pick up from bosses like the Reaver and Master McCloud, but you may also find them in the wild if you're very lucky. Their particular type of fire tends to vary greatly. Never pass one of these up.
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Borderlands Walkthrough
ABLE OF CONTENTS ARID BADLANDS DAHL HEADLAND NEW HAVEN SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Arid Badlands
01
Welcome to Fyrestone
Fresh Off the Bus | The Doctor is In | Claptrap Rescue | Skags at the Gate | Fix'er Upper | Blinding Nine-Toes
02
Nine-Toes
Nine-Toes: Meet T.K. Baha | Nine-Toes: T.K.'s Food | Got Grenades? | Nine-Toes: Take Him Town | Nine-Toes: Time to Collect | Job Hunting
03
Jobs (optional)
T.K. Has More Work | T.K.'s Life and Limb | By the Seeds of Your Pants | Why Are They Here?
04
Leaving Fyrestone
Catch-a-Ride | Bone Head's Theft | A Piss Wash Hurdle | Return to Zed | Get a Little Blood on the Tires | Sledge: Meet Shep
05
In Search of Sledge
Hidden Journal: The Arid Badlands | Sledge: The Mine Key | Get the Flock Out of Here | Braking Wind
06
Up in the Hills
Scavenger: Sniper Rifle | Sledge: To the Safe House | Claptrap Rescue: Safe House | Sledge: To the Safe House (cont.) | The Legend of Moe and Marley
07
More Badlands Side Quests

What Hit the Fan | Scavenger: Combat Rifle | Circle of Death: Meat and Greet | Circle of Death: Rounds 1-3 | Shock Crystal Harvest | Claptrap Rescue: Lost Caverns
08
The Hammer Falls

Sledge: Battle for the Badlands
09
Leaving the Badlands

Find Bruce McClone | Product Recall | Insult to Injury | Schemin' that Sabotage
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Dahl Headland
10
Lucky for You

Leaving Fyrestone | Getting Lucky | Powering the Fast Travel Network | Road Warriors: Hot Shots
11
Pounding the Pavement in the Dahl Headland

Scavenger: Revolver | Well There's Your Problem Right There | Fuel Fued | Death Race Pandora | Ghosts of the Vault | Big Game Hunter
12
Road Warriors
Road Warriors: Bandit Apocalypse
New Haven
13
City Life
Power to the People | Claptrap Rescue: New Haven | Is T.K. O.K.? | Like a Moth to a Flame
14
New Haven Side Quests 1

Corrosive Crystal Harvest | Claptrap Rescue: Tetanus Warrens | King Tossing
15
In Search of Tannis
Seek Out Tannis | Up to Our Ears | Hidden Journal: Rust Commons | Scooter's Used Car Parts | Firepower: All Sales Final | Scavenger: Submachine Gun
16
The Ballad of Crazy Earl

Meet "Crazy" Earl | Claptrap Rescue: Earl's Scrapyard | Get Off My Lawn! | Today's Lesson: High Explosives | Hair of the Dog
17
Marcus' Missions
Firepower: Market Correction | Firepower: Plight of the Middleman | Jack's Other Eye
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Middle of Nowhere
Missing Persons | Middle of Nowhere No More: Investigate | Middle of Nowhere No More: Fuses? | Middle of Nowhere No More: Small Favor | Middle of Nowhere No More: Scoot on Back | Altar Ego: Burning Heresy | Hidden Journal: Rust Commons East | Altar Ego: Scavenger: Shotgun
19
Krom's Canyon
Earl Needs Food... Badly | Claptrap Rescue: Krom's Canyon | Two Wrongs Make a Right | The Next Piece
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.
20
Jaynistown Quests
Relight the Beacons | A Bug Problem | Jaynistown: Secret Rendezvous | Green Thumb | Jaynistown: A Brother's Love | Altar Ego: The New Religion | Altar Ego: Godless Monsters | Jaynistown: Spread the Word | Dumpster Diving for Great Justice | Jaynistown: Getting What's Coming to You | Jaynistown: Unintended Consequences | Jaynistown: Cleaning Up Your Mess
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Side Quests Part 2

Wanted: Fresh Fish | I've Got a Sinking Feeling | Circle of Slaughter: Meat and Greet | Circle of Slaughter: Round 1-3
22
Trash Coast Missions

House Hunting | Claptrap Rescue: Trash Coast | Bait and Switch | Earl's Best Friend | Another Piece of the Puzzle
23
Old Haven
Smoke Signals: Investigate Old Haven | Smoke Signals: Shut Them Down | Claptrap Rescue | Not Without My Claptrap | Bandit Treasure: X Marks the Spot
Salt Flats
24
The Siege of Thor

The Final Piece | Claptrap Rescue: The Salt Flats | Scavenger: Machine Gun | The Final Piece (continued)
25
Crimson Tide
Get Some Answers | Claptrap Rescue: Crimson Fastness | Get Some Answers (continued) | Find the ECHO Command Console | Reactivate the ECHO Comm System | Find Steele | Destroy the Destroyer | Bring the Vault Key to Tannis
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Welcome to Fyrestone
M i s s i o n | Fresh Off the Bus
As you hop off the bus, you'll meet a small robot (Claptrap) who will guide you over to a New-U station. This is were you can save and customize your character.
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When you're done, loot the area before moving on. There's a lot of loot hidden in the shed on the side of the building, in the dumpster in front of it, and in the storage behind it, in the shed nearby, and some ammo the toilets. Just look for things with a green glowing light on them. The particular loot is a random, so you might get lucky and find guns or you might just find cash. When you've gotten some money together, hop on the dumpster in the back of the red building, and then onto the red box and from there you can make it to the roof. On the roof, there is a red chest, which will always contain weapons. Buy something if you like.
Meet Claptrap at the gate. You'll have to fight your way down the alley. There's a good amount of cover, so this is just FPS 101 stuff. There's loot scattered around this alley, mostly on the left side, and at the end, there's a red chest where you can grab another firearm if you like. There's likely something better than what you have, so help yourself.
Claptrap will show you a place to crawl under the fence. There's a lot of ammo on the tin shack in the junk heap. Now continue on after Claptrap and fight the bandits. By the time you reach town you should just reach Level 2.
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M i s s i o n | The Doctor is In
This quest is just to give you a little introduction to the quest system itself. There's a New U station nearby as well so use it to save, and then hit the switch next to the garage door. Go inside and talk to the good doctor.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue
After you talk to Zed, Claptrap will escort you to the gate. You'll fight a couple loose Bandits, and afterwards you'll have to walk over to Claptrap and help him. You need some tools, so go to the nearby house and find the Claptrap Repair Kit and bring it over.
M i s s i o n | Skags at the Gate
You get this mission from Zed when you talk to him for the first time. After completing Claptrap Rescue, you can go through the gate. If you look straight ahead, there's a small cave with Skags that will spawn as you approach. If you need more to kill, you can also go left from the gate and follow the path around back for a couple more. When at least five are dead, return to Zed.
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M i s s i o n | Fix'er Upper
After completing Skags at the Gate, Zed tells you about a shield in his busted med vendor. On the other side of the gate, off to the left, there's a busted machine you can loot for parts. Grab the blue coupling and then bring it back to Zed's office and place it at the corresponding spot on his machine. Now purchase a shield and talk to Zed.
M i s s i o n | Blinding Nine-Toes
You get this mission from Zed again. Head east from the gate and you'll find a way into the bandit camp. Shoot eight of them and then turn around and head back to Zed to turn in this quest.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Nine-Toes
M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: Meet T.K. Baha
Go through the camp again (be sure to check the red chest for weapons if you didn't before), and then go south and east, to find T.K. sitting in front of a shack. Talk to him to complete the quest and get your next one. You can also jump on his scarecrow to get onto the roof and collect some loot.
M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: T.K.'s Food
You need to find four pieces of food stolen by Skags, in sequence. The first one is just a bit to the west, and from there you can follow the trail north, eventually leading to a Skag den. Return to T.K. to collect on this very easy mission and begin your next.
M i s s i o n | Got Grenades?
Just head back to Fyrestone. There's a lot of newly spawned Skags and a few Bandits waiting outside the gate. Go back into town and look at the building across from Zed's. It opens up and you can go in and use the munitions machine to buy grenades. Don't forget to raid the munitions chest and nearby boxes, and then go back to T.K. to collect.
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M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: Take Him Town
Finally, time for a real mission. Head east from T.K.'s shack. You'll fight the usual Skags, and eventually come to a detonator you can use to destroy the barricade. Just ahead of this, you can find the entrance to Skag Gully.
The second objective is in Skag Gully, just a bit to the south. You'll pass under a rock overpass and come to a lone grave that is clearly glowing a bit. Search it to find a couple decent weapons. The final destination is way to the south, in a cave/mine. The outside is guarded by Skags and Midgets.
Go inside. Things will heat up a bit here, but the path is very linear, so the focus is just on reflexes. There are some vending machines and a checkpoint by the start. You'll pass through a room with a bunch of lockers to raid, and not long after that, you'll drop down into an arena where Nine-Toes is waiting.
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The boss fight is actually quite tough, especially if you're going solo. He has two Skags with him that are quite strong. Hit Nine-Toes with a grenade and try to take him out quickly. You have some cover here, but not much, and once the puppies come after you, you won't be able to deal with Nine-Toes very well, so rush him and kill him quickly if you have to. Once he's gone, the Skags become more manageable and shotguns will prove very effective you run backwards around the arena. When you're done, check out both weapons chests, the obvious red one, and a gray one off to the side of the arena. Return to T.K. to collect.
M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: Time to Collect
Pretty straightforward, just head back to Zed. You might consider hanging around in the gully for a while and leveling up on some of the more powerful enemies before taking this one on.
M i s s i o n | Job Hunting
This is likewise simple. You get this mission from Zed, and he sends you around the side of the building by the Claptrap where you can peruse optional mission.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ARID BADLANDS DAHL HEADLAND NEW HAVEN SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Jobs (optional)
M i s s i o n | T.K. Has More Work
The Catch-a-Ride mission is required to continue, so before we do that, we'll go through some of the optional missions. This one just involves checking in with T.K., but it opens up more missions once completed.
M i s s i o n | T.K.'s Life and Limb
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Head to Skag Gully. Go southeast and go east. What appears on the map to be the shortest way doesn't work, so you'll have to take the path east, and then loop around and approach your target from the west. Try to snipe Scar from a distance if you can. Dropping down off the plateau will leave you pretty safe if need be and you can still shoot at your pursuers. Not an easy fight, but not too tough either. Be sure to raid the chests nearby, too. When you have the leg, you can just head back to Baha.
M i s s i o n | By the Seeds of Your Pants
Go to Skag Gully again, and make your way out of the entry path and head north. You're going to follow a trail of Bloodflowers and pick them. Each time you grab one, the next will appear. Most of these are pretty obvious. The third one is on a ledge that you need to jump to. They can be a bit inconspicuous, so be sure to keep checking your radar. The Skags here can be pretty troublesome, but try to keep high ground when you can and don't be afraid to use your special abilities. At the end, there's a red chest with some munitions.
M i s s i o n | Why Are They Here?
In Skag Gully, near the vending machines by the entrance, you can find a data recorder. Doing so will trigger this mission. You need to find two more recorders. To get the first one, go down to the mine where you fought Nine-Toes, but instead of going in, keep following the path and loop back around so you can cross over a rock bridge. You'll face some light resistance from weaker Skag breeds, and there's a red chest right near your goal to sweeten then deal.
The second one is northeast. Follow the path you took in T.K.'s Life and Limb, and be prepared to fight small
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groups of Skags and Rakks. There's a small campsite with the last recorder. To turn in this mission, you have to head all the way back to the Job Board in Fyrstone.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Leaving Fyrestone
M i s s i o n | Catch-a-Ride
Another non-mission (with no real reward to boot). Just go to the Catch-a-Ride terminal right outside of Fyrestone.
M i s s i o n | Bone Head's Theft
Hang a right while leaving Fyrestone (or a left before entering) and head down the path along the rock wall. There's a small alley between the rocks leading into the camp. If you stay left you can go up a ramp to a perfect sniping spot. Bone Head won't go down quickly, but if you snipe and then duck down whenever you need to recharge your shields, this is a very low risk fight that won't take a lot of skill.
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Bone Head drops a very nifty SMG with a sniper scope. The Digistruct Module is in a case elsewhere in the camp. Grab it and take it to the Catch-a-Ride.
M i s s i o n | A Piss Wash Hurdle
This mission is just a chance to get acquainted with vehicles. Use the Catch-a-Ride station and summon a vehicle. Drive to the northeast waypoint, a big ramp you can leap over. As soon as you land, hang a right and make your way to the gate. Kill the enemies from the safety of your vehicle, and then get out and use the switch to open the gate. Mission complete.
M i s s i o n | Return to Zed
Another self-explanatory rendezvous. Just go back to Zed at his office.

M i s s i o n | Get a Little Blood on the Tires
You get this mission from the Bounty Board in Fyrestone, and it's a good optional side-mission. Just grab your vehicle and run over 10 enemies of any type. They have to be impact kills, not kills with the gun. Easy money.
M i s s i o n | Sledge: Meet Shep
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This is also a rendezvous mission, but it's at least somewhere new. Go past the gate you opened up and in a little shack with a vending machine, you can find Shep. Talk to him to collect.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
In Search of Sledge
M i s s i o n | Hidden Journal: The Arid Badlands
This optional mission can be had at the Bounty Board in Fyrestone. It's moderately tough (level 13), so save it for later if you like, but it's best coupled with Sledge: The Mine Key, because you'll complete that mission at the same time. First, head to Bone Head's camp, and take it on just like you did before. The enemies are tougher this time, so your ability to use cover is really important. The second one is by the red chest in the bandit camp across from Fyrestone.
The third one is in the wind farm in the south called Zephyr Station (this is the part that overlaps with The Mine Key). Grab a vehicle for this one, it's going to be a tougher fight. With judicious use of the Rocket Launcher, you can gut much of the resistance without putting yourself in real danger, but keep moving, because even with the vehicle, you're going to take some lumps. If you have to bail on the vehicle, try to get inside the station quickly, as this is an easy place to defend and recoup. The third recorder is in a red trash container on the roof, a bit hard to spot, and inside the station you can get the Mine Key target.
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The fourth recorder is at the top of a ramp, near the gate you opened in A Piss Wash Hurdle. The last one is a bit of a long haul and better defended, so make sure you drive it. It's on a small plateau in the west. There aren't a lot of enemies, but they're strong. Not so strong that you can't run them over, of course. The last recorder is on the ground by some steel drums.
M i s s i o n | Sledge: The Mine Key
This is covered in the middle section of the previous mission, so just consult that paragraph if you wish to tackle this separately.
M i s s i o n | Get the Flock Out of Here
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You get this mission from Shep. On the edge of the valley where the Zephyr Substation is, there's a spot by a cliff where you can hunt Rakks. They're a bit harder to hit in your vehicle, but also ineffective in dealing damage, so this is the best way to go. If you do get out and fight them, just prioritize fire rate over damage, since they're pretty weak critters. The Soldier's turret is handy here, as well.
M i s s i o n | Braking Wind
Go down to the valley where Zephyr is. The first brake is on a large rock, that you can climb via stairs from the west. A bit southeast of this, there's a more obvious one. To the west of this, there's another on the low ground. This is a pretty easy optional mission, so you might as well go for it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Up in the Hills
M i s s i o n | Scavenger: Sniper Rifle
After the last few missions, some new stuff opens up on the Fyrestone Bounty Board, including this one, which
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is worth doing for the reward and relative ease, as well as being conveniently in the same neighborhood as the next required mission. It takes place in the Arid Hills, which can be accessed near where Shep is. Arid Hills is a relatively small area traversable on foot. You'll meet Alpha Skags here, which are formidable, so pack a good shotgun and shells for this trip. Sniping to start the fight is a good idea as well. After this, you'll mostly have to deal with a variety of bandits, so other kinds of weapons and tactics will work. You're making your way north through a couple of camps, and finally to a two-level camp that is pretty easily cleared out. This is where the hunt begins.
Unlike previous scavenging missions, this one does not have specific map indicators. The map destination is just a generic location indicating the camp as a whole. There are four parts in all. When you approach the upper level on the south side of the camp and go up the path, the first shack on your left leads to a ledge that has the Sniper Rifle Body. The Stock is on the roof of a shack on the north side, just across the bridge, near a set of three lockers.
The Sight is by a discarded mattress on the lower floor, west of the shack where you found the Stock. The Barrel is on a ledge in the northeastern part of the camp on the upper level. Before handing in this mission, consider just completing the next one while you're at it.
M i s s i o n | Sledge: To the Safe House
This one is just a bit further north in the Arid Hills, so it doesn't make sense to make a separate trip, especially since you almost certainly already accepted the mission when you completed "Sledge" The Mine Key." The
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entrance to the safe house is just a hair north of the camp from the last mission. Before you enter, be sure to check out the red chest on top of the entrance.
This stage is FPS fundamentals at their purest. It's a tight space, so grenades are super effective. The constrained flow also means enemies will be in front of you and unlikely to surround you, which makes taking cover very effective (and also necessary - there are a lot of baddies here!).
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Safe House
We're going to interrupt to mention this mission since you can get and complete it while in the Safe House and it's zero risk and has some great perks. You'll start to hear a Claptrap bawling about at the first checkpoint. You'll go down a short flight of stairs, and after a firefight, you will be able to go left or right. The left way leads to a larger open area and further towards your goal, but the left one leads to a red chest with your first (probably) Rocket Launcher and a Claptrap in need of repairs. Talk to him to initiate the quest, and then head back up to the room with the last checkpoint. If you go to the upper level of this room and look at the ceiling you can see a repair kit on top of some ductwork. You can't climb up there, but you can jump and grab the kit in midair. Take it back to the Claptrap to complete this easy side-quest. Follow him into the room nearby to pick up some excellent weaponry.
M i s s i o n | Sledge: To the Safe House (cont.)
Head into the big room, which is full of Psychos of all sizes, so have your shotty at the ready. You'll start seeing Badass Psychos now, which are especially dangerous. Still, conserve your rockets and use shotguns. Work
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your way deeper into the lower levels of the base. Shortly before you go into the final room there are a couple ammo chests to stock up.
In the round arena, you have to face your first proper boss in a while, the Roid Rage Psycho. This guy's biggest weakness is his physical size. He's an easy target for your new Rocket Launcher. Alternately, a grenade modded with Explosive Contact can be equally effective. Once the little guys start swarming, try to focus on them because they can be a more immediate threat. All of these guys are dumb as dirt, of course, so just backpedaling around the room is enough of a technique. When you're done, examine the hanging switch in the middle of the room and get the key.
M i s s i o n | The Legend of Moe and Marley
This one is more of a detour, but it's still in Arid Hills, so you might as well go for it. Stock up before you engage, though since this is a challenge. Grenades with Explosive Contact and the Rocket Launcher will help to soften him up, but with the quantity of Skags in this fight, you're going to need the shotgun. Moe is very aggressive, and has fewer HP than Marley, so he's easy to fight with basic backwards running techniques while you also thin out the herd. Marley is a bit more of a challenge, since he's stronger and spits lightning. Fire damage is useful, and it's also possible to shoot his projectiles if you're good. This mission is definitely easier co-op since shooting him from the front deals a lot less damage that attacking from behind.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
More Badlands Side Quests
M i s s i o n | What Hit the Fan
Nice and easy mission. Drive to the designated windmill and switch to the gunner's seat. The Rakks will swarm and attack but with the turret you can gun them down easily. Apart from this, it's as simple as shooting a bunch of glowing green turds off the rotors.
M i s s i o n | Scavenger: Combat Rifle
Another Fyrestone Bounty Board mission. This is just like the Sniper Rifle scavenger mission. You can approach this a few ways and it doesn't really matter, since you want to explore the whole camp and clear out the riffraff before you start looking around. This will mostly be close quarters so combat rifle or shotgun work fine. Don't forget to check the one shack with a red chest, as it can pack some very high level stuff. The Body is on the top level, near where you first reach the camp if you're approaching from the south. The Stock is on the bridge down below, sitting on a crate.
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The Sight is way on in the northeastern part of the camp on a ledge. The Barrel is, appropriately enough, on a drum, almost exactly where the mission marker is indicating, so it's easy to track down.
M i s s i o n | Circle of Death: Meat and Greet
Just across from the camp on the north side, there's a somewhat concealed entrance. A man named Rade Zayben is there behind a counter. Talk to him.
M i s s i o n | Circle of Death: Rounds 1-3
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The Circle of Death missions (the first of which is found at the Fyrestone Bounty Board) are sequential, given by Rade, and all involve fighting your way out of rooms of increasingly powerful Skags. Pack a shotgun, and possibly some good elemental weaponry. The first two rounds are a snap, but the last one has Badass Alpha Skags, often with elemental properties. The best thing to do is to focus on the big guys. If you leave the little ones around, you can continuously abuse the Second Wind ability whenever you're on deaths door (and the big guys offer the most immediate threat). If you don't wait too long, it's possible to finish the fight without starting over, even if you die.
M i s s i o n | Shock Crystal Harvest
This is optional mission from the Fyrestone Bounty Board is a fair challenge, but pretty interesting. It takes place in the Lost Caverns. You'll find clusters of Shock Crystals, which you must shoot to harvest. Each one will shatter into 5 shards, and you must collect all of them, so check your tally each time. Their locations are fairly obvious, so we won't bother to point them out. You'll be fighting Crab Worm Larvae, which are new but behave a lot like Spitter Skags, and succumb to similar tactics. They aren't able to jump like Skags, however, so if you can get a good high ground perch you can blast them with impunity. You'll also find the usual groups of mixed Skags.
In the middle of the stage, there are two red chests at the marked locations below. Not long after you'll come to a Bandit camp inside the cave. Don't rush in and make good use of cover. As long as you don't get surrounded, this isn't too hard a fight. There's a red chest with weapons in the camp, and if you follow the dead end trail south you can find another chest with a variety of shields. You should read ahead about the next mission (a Claptrap Rescue) now, because it's best done in parallel with this one. The final two shock crystal clusters are just beyond to the north.
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M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Lost Caverns
While you're in the Lost Caverns, you should be able to find a broken Claptrap near where you first enter the Bandit camp. Talk to him. This mission involves going a bit deeper into the cave than you have to in order to complete the Shock Crystal Harvest, but not much. You'll come to a man-made bridge where there are a few ammo chests, and the Repair Kit is nestled in a pipe. You can turn around (recommended) or head all the way to the end where you can fight off a couple dozen Alpha Skags to access some disappointing red chests.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
TOC
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
The Hammer Falls
M i s s i o n | Sledge: Battle for the Badlands
If you've been following this guide and doing all the quests, you should be pushing level 20 and in good shape to take on this climactic battle. Make your way to the entrance to Headstone Mine. This is basic urban combat for the most part. It's easy to retreat and take cover. Near the exit of the first camp there's a sniper up above. Nearby on the north side, there's a building with a weapons chest that you should definitely check out.
The next area is a bit harder. There's a gun turret in the west that you can't effectively take out at long range, so scope it out and stay aware of it while sniping. Make your way into the building in the west (there's a weapons chest and lots of loot here) and then make your way up the steps where you can hit the turret with grenades and seek cover. A bit east of here on the upper level you can fine a red chest in a building, or follow the tracks the other way to continue.
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Down below, you'll fight a handful of enemies and find a gate that opens as you approach. Pass through this with caution and retreat when your health gets depleted. Go up to the second floor of the building here for a perfect sniping position. You won't be able to clear out all the bandits from here, but you will be relatively safe, able to take cover, and have a great shot of most of the battlefield, so that when you do go down below, you'll just be playing cleanup.
The fight under the tracks is a bit harder to do close range, because there isn't great cover, so consider sniping and luring enemies out into a better area. Before the narrow approach to your destination, there's a room with a red chest full of shields. There's a lift in this building that will take you to the top floor where there's a checkpoint and some vending machines. Get ready for a boss fight.
You can open either door to get to the hall where you fight Sledge. Sledge has a mean shield that you'll need to breakthrough. Luckily you were good boys and girls and you did the Shock Crystal Harvest mission, right? This should have netted you a lightning artifact and a lighting weapon. Attacks with this element will drop his shields real quick. Once his shield is down, you'll find he's still very resilient. Since he has a powerful close range shockwave attack, use a powerful long distance weapon. We had good luck firing a sniper rifle from the hip, but you may prefer rockets or combat rifles. Cover is important to recover your shields, and luckily there are plenty of places to run, but the number of other enemies milling about can make it harder, so try to take these guys out quickly by doing a sweep of the area.
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Grab the Artifact from the silver chest nearby.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Leaving the Badlands
M i s s i o n | Find Bruce McClone
In the south you can find a shack on the side of the road guarded by some Psychos and Bruisers. Clean up who you can in the vehicle and then go inside and head downstairs. There are a couple more Psychos waiting. Bruce is on the bed and a journal is next to him. Pick it up to complete the mission
M i s s i o n | Product Recall
You get this mission when you complete the last one. You have to go way east. There's a barricade that you can't drive through but you can walk through. On the near side of this, there's a rocky path leading up above. Take this route to find the first box of cigars and a red chest. From here you can also snipe at the mayhem
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down below, which is where the remaining two boxes are.
M i s s i o n | Insult to Injury
This is a simple scavenger mission that takes place right near the last mission in the bandit camp. First go clear out the bandits (there aren't many). This isn't a real scavenger hunt, since the locations of the skulls are indicated on your map, sequentially. No real strategy to it, but remember to check out the red chest before you go.
M i s s i o n | Schemin' that Sabotage
Go back to Headstone Mine. Fight your way ahead in the same way you did when going to confront Sledge. When you get to the area with the turret, clean house and then look up at the pipeline suspended above. The three supports holding this up are your targets. Plant the charges on each of the three and then go to the upper level where the gunner is and make your way east. By a ledge, you can find a detonator to complete the deed. Congrats, you've picked Fyrestone clean.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Lucky for You
M i s s i o n | Leaving Fyrestone
Head way east as far as you can, and a little green Claptrap. He'll let you into the Dahl Headland. Not far ahead, you'll see big arrows pointing to your destination.
M i s s i o n | Getting Lucky
Even though it's not far, grab a vehicle. As you approach the camp, you'll see some bandit vehicles to get into it with. Beat 'em up with your rockets until they run off. You'll have plenty of cover as you invade the camp from the north. If you look off to the left, there are a couple guys on the second floor of a building to snipe. With them gone, the rest of this should feel pretty familiar, and you'll rack up your 15 bandit quota quickly.
As you enter the back part of the camp, you'll face a few more Psychos and loose bandits, but you'll also find a couple chests to loot. In one of the buildings (marked on your map once the 15 are dead) you'll find a cell where Lucky is waiting to be freed.
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M i s s i o n | Powering the Fast Travel Network
Even though your target is nearby, a bit south of the camp, take a vehicle because bandits are driving all over this area. The breaker boxes are on electrical towers, and you'll have to do a little platform jumping to reach them.
Once you've flipped the switches on the two towers, you have to make your way to a camp a bit to the south. There's a lot of enemies in here and many of them will have high ground, so consider doing some sniping before moving in. Stay near the exit so you can retreat and recharge if needed. The switch is up on the top level.
M i s s i o n | Road Warriors: Hot Shots
This mission is pretty challenging and intense. It'll test your ability to drive and shoot at the same time. You can head to the destination on the map to find some bandits, but you can roam anywhere and fight cars if you like. The idea here is really just to keep moving, but driving and aiming at the same time is an acquired skill, so the only real advice we can offer is to practice.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Pounding the Pavement in the Dahl Headland
After completing Powering the Fast Travel Network, you will have access to Lucky's Bounty Board, located on the opposite side of the New-U station outside Lucky's. It has five quests, so queue them up and let's roll.
M i s s i o n | Scavenger: Revolver
This hunt takes place at a small, abandoned outpost in the west. The Body is just to the right of the Catch-aRide station, laying out in the open. The others are better hidden. If you walk up to the windmill and take the path up above, you can walk onto the rooftops. From here you can eye the Barrel on a nearby platform. Do a running jump to reach it.
Go back up this path, but this time, walk around the back, hugging the cliff wall until you get to the water tank over the Catch-a-Ride. From about this spot you can hop on a rock and climb up to the spot pictured below on the left. Hop over to the Barrel. Teetering on the cliff on the east edge of the outpost, there's a burned out vehicle. In the cockpit, you can find the Barrel.
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M i s s i o n | Well There's Your Problem Right There
This is an easy one. Go to where you got the barrel in the last mission and then drop down to turn the first (and trickiest) valve. The second one is in the far northeast of the map, quite unguarded in an open plain. The last one is just a tad south of the first in a small encampment that is guarded by bandits. These guys are quite exposed, so you can easily kill them without ever getting out of your vehicle.
M i s s i o n | Fuel Fued
The object of this Bounty Board mission is to find three Fuel Tanks and shoot them full of holes until the explode. The first one is in the south, by a Catch-a-Ride station. Go through the building and fight off the bugs (shotgun works) and go to the backyard. The second one is west of Lucky's in an outpost that's mostly exposed, so fight the guards from the safety of your vehicle.
The last and most difficult one is way in the northwest, near where the second valve was. There's an encampment here that is well defended. It only has one entrance, though, so try to draw your enemies out. Soldiers should deploy a turret to fight enemies as they come through the gate. Don't rush into the camp itself until you've sufficiently crippled your foes. The last Fuel Tank is in the back corner, and there are also two red chests here.
M i s s i o n | Death Race Pandora
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This is a fun, easy mission from the Bounty Board. Follow the mission indicator (in a vehicle, of course) and then go south from there. Race around the cavern path, running over Sythers until you rack up 50 kills. Since they spawn when you get near, it's often beneficial to go slowly or go back and forth over an area. The exploding ones can damage your shields, but in general, there's no real danger in this one, so it's good experience and an easy get.
M i s s i o n | Ghosts of the Vault
The last of the Bounty Board missions. When you find the area indicated on the map, northwest of Lucky's, you'll fight a few Psychos and find a lift to take you down into the caverns. There are some vending machines to stock up. It's a short fight into an arena, where you'll fight some unique creatures, the Guardians. These guys are fast, aggressive humanoid melee fighters, best handled with a shotgun if you have a powerful one (our 64 damage SPR14 man-handled them with ease). They also have powerful shields, so consider electrical attacks/artifacts. Alternately, a sniper rifle or combat rifle can work well once the shields have been dropped, but it's more to keep track of than a really good shotty.
M i s s i o n | Big Game Hunter
You get this mission from Ernest, the guy who sent you to find Lucky when you first entered the Headlands. The bait is easy to find, near where you hit the southern valve a few missions back. Once you get that, you can head to the next spot, due east from Lucky's. You'll go over a small bridge on foot and drop down into an arena. Place the bait to start the fight.
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Skagzilla looks awfully intimidating, but he's actually not so bad. Like all Skags, he's shielded from frontal attacks and more effectively fought from the side or rear. However, unlike other Skags, he has a beam attack that provides a great opportunity to strafe around behind him and attack his weak point. Other than that, try to pop him in the mouth whenever you can, and get his chest when he rears up. It's easier than it looks.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Road Warriors
M i s s i o n | Road Warriors: Bandit Apocalypse
This Mad Mel sounds like a reasonable man. Lucky gives you this mission which will take you out of the headland and move you on with your quest. It's a pretty brutal one, and the fact that it's based in your vehicle nullifies the usual edge power leveling and looting might have. You'll drive into a small arena full of bandits on foot and in vehicles. You need to be a sharp shooter and a fast mover. It helps a lot to thin the wave down to one enemy, and then drive around and charge up your shields. The Rocket Launcher is better for clumsy shooters, but the Machine Gun can give an edge to those that can effectively fight at a distance, since it has better accuracy at long range. The final wave arrives with Mad Mel supported by Outriders. This is brutally hard, we'll be honest. You need to take out the support guys first, which luckily don't respawn if you die. Mad Mel himself is considerably better armored than the rest. The best way to fight him is to get behind him, but obviously that isn't sustainable for long, so make the most of it. Once it's just you and him, it is possible to build up enough speed to do laps and recharge your shields, so this will help make things much easier.
Afterwards, you can go meet up with the Claptrap on the other side of the gate, and he'll send you to New Haven to rendezvous with Helena Pierce, waiting behind a desk inside.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
City Life
M i s s i o n | Power to the People
Once you've talked to Helena, you get this introductory mission. This is a pretty basic one, a scavenger hunt where the mission indicator shows the exact locations. The only slightly tricky one is the rooftop one, which you have to access by going up the stairs on the west of the building. Completing this will unlock Seek Out Tannis and you can skip ahead to that if you don't want to do optional missions. It will also unlock missions at the New Haven Bounty Board.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: New Haven
Due north of Helena's office, you can find the New Haven Bounty Board, which should now have a bunch of missions on it. To the left is a blue Claptrap on his back in need of assistance. Talk to him. You can see the building where you need to head on the map. Go to the east side of the building and hop on the tires and on the red dumpster and then onto the roof. From here, hop east to the nearby roof, and then turn around. You should be able to see the kit on a ledge in easy jumping distance (pictured, right). He'll be so grateful, he'll open the way to a weapons chest.
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M i s s i o n | Is T.K. O.K.?
West of Helena's office, there's a garage/Catch-a-Ride and a man sitting at a desk next to a vehicle. This is Scooter. He'll ask you to go check on T.K. That's a long way, but you have access to quick travel now, so go use that New-U station right nearby to transport to Fyrestone, and then it's just a short stroll to T.K.'s shack. He's inside.
M i s s i o n | Like a Moth to a Flame
While you're in the Badlands, you can do this mission, obtained from the New Haven Bounty Board. It's a tough one, but if you play it smart you can pull it off. There's a hill marked by your mission indicator with three torches surrounding a tree. Once all three are lit, the formidable flying monster Mothrakk will appear. Her main attack is to circle overhead and rain fireballs. This is very difficult to dodge (you pretty much have to sprint), so you need cover. The Catch-a-Ride nearby has a canopy that will do quite well, so hide here when her attacks begin. If you hide all the way in the back, you'll be protected, but if you're further in front you can still take damage, and the attacks get heavier and heavier as her health goes down. A good scoped weapon is needed to deal damage. A sniper rifle is probably your best bet, but if you have another good weapon with a scope, it can work. We even took her down with a shotgun.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
New Haven Side Quests 1
M i s s i o n | Corrosive Crystal Harvest
In the east you can find the entrance to Tetanus Warrens. This is just like the Shock Crystal Harvest. Each cluster of crystals can be shot and will break apart into 5 crystals you can collect. By the time you get to where the road forks, you should be halfway to your goal, and all you will have had to do is kill a few bugs. We can roll the rest of this mission into another quest and kill two birds with one stone.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Tetanus Warrens
Near where the path first branches in the Warrens, turn east and look for a blue Claptrap just outside of the fence into the small bandit camp. Head straight north and remember to continue collecting crystals for the previous mission as you go. When you get to the north end, there's a bandit camp that is well defended. Grenades are very useful for flushing this area out. Once the coast is clear, stay on the left side as the path bends east and take the ramp up above. You can walk out on the cloth canopy and then run and jump to the cloth canopy on the opposite (south) side. Turn west and you can see the kit glowing, just a few hops away (pictured right). If you head into the northwest passage you should be able to find enough crystals to finish the previous mission as well.
M i s s i o n | King Tossing
King Wee Wee is all the way at the end of the stage in his own private arena. The outside of this area is pretty well defended, so don't get caught off guard and make sure you have plenty of supplies. The battle with the li'l king isn't so tough. It's mano-a-mano and there's a large tank in the middle of the room that provides your only cover. This pretty much establishes the pattern for the stage: Firing a couple rounds into the wee king's face and then ducking behind the tank to charge up the shields. It's not a complicated fight, but he deal some
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damage so don't get sloppy. Once he's dead, don't forget to check out the newly opened room with a red chest.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
In Search of Tannis
Go to Scooter and the Bounty Board and queue up all the remaining missions.
M i s s i o n | Seek Out Tannis
In the east, there's a Claptrap that will give you access to the Rust Commons. Grab a vehicle at the nearest Catch-a-Ride, and cruise north. You'll have to get off the vehicle when you reach the northern area and take a small path surrounded by rocks. There are a lot of Spiderants here, including some powerful Badass variants. A shotgun blast from behind is the best way to take them down quickly. A faster firing weapon is better when you reach the flock of Rakks. In a small shack, Tannis is waiting and you can complete your quest.
M i s s i o n | Up to Our Ears
You get this mission from If you take the high road and approach your target from the east you can snipe out a lot of the resistance before dropping down. Just gut the camp on the ground level, and from the east side you can spot the two pipelines on the second story of the building. Shooting them out will allow the sludge to drain. Easy mission.
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M i s s i o n | Hidden Journal: Rust Commons
These journals are spread out all over, so grab a vehicle before thinking about this one. The first is in a box in an abandoned camp in the middle of a plain in the north. There may be a large Rakkinshu around that is best fought in your vehicle with a Machine Gun.
The second one is in a base in the riverbed, and is defended by a moderate amount of bandits. Luckily they come almost single file, which makes it easy to deal with them, despite a lack of cover. The journal is on a crate. The next one is just a bit south in the same riverbed in a tin shack with a washing machine.
Approach the fourth point from the north. As the path turns south, there's a spot where you can climb up a few flights of stairs and find a weapons chest. This is out of range (barely) of the Gatlin gun and a perfect sniping position. Take out the Bruisers while you're at it, and this becomes and this becomes an easy approach. The journal is at the top of the stairs. If you climb up from this point and walk across the pipeline you can get to a weapons chest.
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The last one is a bit to the north by a weakly defended camp, but there are Badass Raiders, which are formidable so consider running them over and making your life easier. The journal is on a crate.
M i s s i o n | Scooter's Used Car Parts
This is a scavenger mission, gotten from Scooter. The camp is right near the Catch-a-Ride/New-U station at the south of the Rust Commons. Go into the camp on foot. There are a lot of assorted bandits, but you should be most aware of two Gatling Turrets on the large roof. I like to take these out by getting underneath them, off to the side in their dead zone and taking them out with a couple shotgun blasts. Once the coast is clear, we can start hunting.
If you stand in the center of the map and face southeast toward the entrance, you should see three large shipping containers and a banner with a picture of a bomb. Below the banner on the ground is a Front Fender. The second Front Fender is just a click northwest of the "S" on your map.
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Way in the northeast corner of town by the entrance to a shack you can find a Rear Fender. The other Rear Fender is on the roof of the building in the middle with the exclamation mark over it. You can reach it by jumping from the pile of tires beside the building.
The two Fuel Cells are in roughly analogous positions underneath where the two Gatling Turrets were. If you stand at the entrance of the base in the southeast, you'll see a bunch of large metal containers. On the left one you can find the Engine.
M i s s i o n | Firepower: All Sales Final
This is a very easy mission that you can complete while doing the Scooter's Used Parts mission. This mission is given by Marcus Kinkaid, in the building just south of the New Haven Bounty Board. The Invoice is on a table by the building in the middle of the camp.
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M i s s i o n | Scavenger: Submachine Gun
Head into the marked camp in the south. It's not a big fight, but make sure to clear everyone out first. The Body is on a ledge over the building on the north side of the camp. You can just jump on the opened ammo chest and you can jump up and grab the Body without even climbing up if you want, but you'll need to get up there to reach the next piece anyway. Go to the west side of the camp where the vending machines are and hang a right, walk up the hill and come back along the north side on the upper level. You can drop down by the weapons chest to reach the body and then platform a bit over to the east to reach the Sight.
The Magazine is in a tire on the ground in the middle of the camp, near the mission marker. The Barrel is similarly easy, on top of a large metal container in the east of the camp.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
The Ballad of Crazy Earl
M i s s i o n | Meet "Crazy" Earl
Teleport to the Rust Commons. The entrance to Earl's Scrapyard is in the camp where you went for Scooter's Used Car Parts. When you get there, it's just a short ways to the entrance to Earl's. There are some junkyard Skags around, and you can blast open the entrance by shooting the gas tanks. Talk to Earl behind his locked door. Queue up both of Earl's quests.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Earl's Scrapyard
Rather than follow the mission marker, we can work on Get Off My Lawn! anywhere in this stage, so we'll roll it into another Claptrap mission, so you'll have room for more loot. Head to the northeast part of the map, and at the spot shown in the map below, you can find a Claptrap in need of help.
You'll have to fight your way around the loop to reach the repair kit, and there's going to be some heavy resistance. The upside to this is that you'll absolutely complete the next mission incidentally assuming you bothered to talk to Earl. The repair kit is sitting on a table by a red chest, and once you get it, you can drop right down and be back at the Claptrap in a few paces.
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M i s s i o n | Get Off My Lawn!
As we mentioned in the previous mission description, this one is just a kill 'em all mission, and it doesn't matter where you complete the kills, so you can just roll this objective into the other missions.
M i s s i o n | Today's Lesson: High Explosives
Now head to the southeast leg of the Scrapyard. This is a big base, and you're going to be fighting a lot of bandits and not much else, so pack your favorite anti-human instruments. The charge itself is out in the open on a table, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it.
The next part of the objective is a little more obscure from looking at the map. Head west in the southern corridor and then take the ramp up to the upper level and cross over to the south side, where you can then reach a bridge back northeast. This area on the upper level is where you have to plant the charge. Step back and watch the fireworks. The explosion opens up a small area with two red chests.
M i s s i o n | Hair of the Dog
After completing Get Off My Lawn! you can pick up this mission from Early. He sends you south of the Rust Commons to Treacher's Landing. This is a massive camp, and the mission itself basically becomes a kill 'em all mission, as each enemy drops a bottle when killed. You'll have to make your way pretty far into the base to
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reach the magic number 24, but just try to maintain high ground and snipe when you can find a safe perch. It's not too hard.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Marcus' Missions
Marcus is in the building just south of the Bounty Board. We're assuming you already did All Sales Final, covered earlier, so you should have access to more missions now.
M i s s i o n | Firepower: Market Correction
This one takes place in a camp in the middle of the Rust Commons. The mission indicator will pinpoint the exact locations of the crates to destroy. Most of them are obvious anyway. Be careful when you shoot them, since their explosion is delayed a couple seconds. Two of them are up a ramp on the left when you first enter town, and one is on a roof, but you don't even have to climb up there to shoot it.
M i s s i o n | Firepower: Plight of the Middleman
Avaialble upon turning in the last mission to Marcus. Transport to Rust Commons, this mission is just a hair south of the teleport point. There are a couple crates on the outside, and then you can go into the building fight your way over the bridge, down the next building and out into the yard, taking out the boxes in sequence. Afterwards you need to examine a double-sized crate for evidence.
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M i s s i o n | Jack's Other Eye
Helena Pierce gives you this hit. It takes place in the same camp as the Market Correction mission. Take a vehicle armed with rockets for this one. Do a little recon and get a bead on Jack. The cheap, easy way to win here is just to run Jack over in your Cruiser or hit him with some rockets. If you get stuck having to fight him the old fashioned way, Sniping is the way to go, since he's an accurate shot if you're in range.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Middle of Nowhere
M i s s i o n | Missing Persons
This is a short fetch mission with no danger. You just have to go up the ramp to the upper level and cross the bridge to get to the room with the books.
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M i s s i o n | Middle of Nowhere No More: Investigate
Talk to Helena Pierce to get this mission. You have to go through Rust Commons West to get to Rust Commons East. You can head a little south, and find the Bounty Board on the second level, above a Catch-aRide, and between some vending machines. From this upper level you can walk across a narrow bridge to reach Hudson Johns and get your next mission.
M i s s i o n | Middle of Nowhere No More: Fuses?
This is a pretty simple one, gotten from Hudson Johns. You need to go to the site designated (it's a large junk pile) and search the Skag piles on the ground. In random piles, you'll find the Bounty Board fuses. We can't tell you which specifically have them, but they all emit green gas so they're easy to spot. Not all will have a fuse, so keep looking.
M i s s i o n | Middle of Nowhere No More: Small Favor
Johns gives you this mission. Hop in a vehicle for this one, and drive to the designates spot, right by where you are already. Just drive around for a minute and run over five bugs and claim your price. Couldn't be easier. After completing this mission, the Middle of Nowhere Bounty Board will work, and you can queue up some missions, as well as get the last mission from Johns. Crazy Earl has some more work for you, too, but we'll get to that later.
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M i s s i o n | Middle of Nowhere No More: Scoot on Back
Just teleport back to New Haven and talk to Helena. This is basically a freebee.
M i s s i o n | Altar Ego: Burning Heresy
Get this one from the Bounty Board. It's simple filler. All you have to head to the target destinations and examine the books on the altars. Obviously you want to have a vehicle for this one, but the positions aren't even defended, so there's no real risk.
M i s s i o n | Hidden Journal: Rust Commons East
This is a Bounty Board mission. You know the drill. The journals are a bit better hidden this time. Head south and find the first one by the cliff, behind a small building, underneath a box that you have to overturn. The second one is under a large mushroom by a lot of rocks.
The third one is hidden under an overturned cot behind a red chest. The fourth one is behind a panel in a sniper tower that has a ramp leading up to it. Examine the panel to reveal the journal. The last one is the easiest, conveniently in Johns' office, not far from the Bounty Board where you can claim your reward.
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M i s s i o n | Altar Ego: Scavenger: Shotgun
On the southeast side of the dam, there's a building with vending machines on one side. On the opposite side of this building, there's a crate with the Stock on it. From here you can climb up onto the roof of this building and get the Barrel.
From this roof, you can do a running jump northeast to the big gray tank, and then over to the support, where you can grab the Body. The Magazine is on the diagonally opposite support, which can be easily reached by hopping up some boxes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Krom's Canyon
Before heading out to finish The Next Piece, let's queue up some other missions in the area. Go to the New Havenb Bounty Board and select Two Wrongs Make a Right and then stop by Earl's Scrapyard and take on Earl Needs Food. This will make our trip more productive. The approach to Krom's Canyon is difficult and worth mentioning as well. You have to abandon your vehicle when you reach the dam from the last mission. As soon as you reach the other side of the mine, snipe out the Gatling Turret and the Rocket Turret. Now you can approach, we recommend taking the left side. Mind the Mulciber Mk 2 turret in the far end. Approach on the high ground on the right and toss a grenade or two from behind cover to take it out. You can then use the turret to take out any remaining bandits.
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M i s s i o n | Earl Needs Food... Badly
Once you get to Krom's Canyon, you can make your way north to a bandit base and start this hunt. The positions are marked by your mission indicator, and all of them are out in the open, so we won't cover the individual positions. Between can #4 and #5, you can find a Claptrap in need of repair. We're going to switch over to this mission and continue both in parallel.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Krom's Canyon
In the northwest of the eastern leg in Krom's Kanyon (the base from the previous mission) you can find a Claptrap. Talk to him. Keep on collecting the cans from the last mission, going across the bridge and grabbing the sixth can and then the seventh by a ledge. From where you grab this can you can see the Repair Kit hanging from a wire on a tower. You can do a running jump over to the tower and then grab the kit. Return to the Claptrap. He'll show you the way to a shiny new Sniper Rifle. We're now going to switch over to another parallel mission.
M i s s i o n | Two Wrongs Make a Right
This overlaps neatly with the last three can's from the Earl Needs Food quest. You'll enter an area on the ground floor (you have to hop a small wall to get there) where the last three cans are. Don't progress too far into this area, and try to kill every bandit you can while taking cover by the handful of structures. Draw enemies too you. When the coast is clear, approach the far southern end and the Reaver will appear. He fights with a
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sniper rifle, so get in close range with a shotgun to the face and strafe him. This will give you a major upper hand and you should be able to take him out with a few well placed headshots.
M i s s i o n | The Next Piece
This is a good spot to take a break and go cash in your completed quests and restock your supplies. You get this quest from Crazy Earl, and it sends you down the west side of Krom's Canyon. Stay in the valley as you approach. You'll find this part to be very easy. When you get to the bridge, the fun begins.
Krom has a powerful turret that can change between rockets and bullets. You have to keep moving and stopping behind cover as you work your way up the ramp. Sniping is mostly futile, so the best thing is just to progressively work closer until you're close enough to lob a grenade over or even a shotgun to the face. This is going to be easier for Sirens, of course, so keep that in mind if playing in a team. After he's dead, raid the chest behind him. You have to hand this mission in to Patricia Tannis, way in the north of Rust Commons West.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Jaynistown Quests
Talk to Helena in New Haven to get Relight the Beacons and then beam over to Middle of Nowhere to get A Bug Problem and the next Altar Ego quest from the Bounty Board.
M i s s i o n | Relight the Beacons
You start out flipping a switch in a relatively small base north of the Middle of Nowhere Bounty Board, lightly defended by weaker Bandit types. In the south of Rust Commons East, there's a big drawbridge leading east. Talk to the Claptrap and have him lower the bridge.
On the other side of the bridge, you can head north to the second camp. This one is even more sparsely defended, and you can complete your quest in much the same way.
M i s s i o n | A Bug Problem
This is a two part mini-boss fight, but it's very easy. The first position is in the east. Examine the crater and then hop in your vehicle. You can just run over the Widowmaker for a one-hit kill.
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The Helob is way in the south, and pretty much the same deal. He's stronger, and you might even have to hit him twice and take a little damage to your Runner, but either way it's over in a few seconds. You could fight him the hard way for a bit more XP, and his pattern is like any other Spiderant, but if you're playing solo, using the Runner is for the best. Be sure to check out the Red Chest nearby.
M i s s i o n | Jaynistown: Secret Rendezvous
You picked up this mission when rendezvousing with Tannis after the Krom mission. Follow the mission indicator over the drawbridge and to the New-U station nearby. You'll have to do the last leg on foot, but luckily all you have to worry about are a few Spiderantlings. Talk to Taylor Kobb to collect and get your next mission. .
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M i s s i o n | Green Thumb
This mission is very easy to miss. In Rust Commons East, a bit north of the bridge to Jaynistown, there's a spot, indicated on the map below. Stance Von Kofsky is standing by a shack with giant sunflowers growing through it. Talk to him. In the east you can find the Valve, lightly defended by a couple bandits that you can run over.
The second part is best rolled into the next mission, where you'll have to clear out Jaynistown and their boss Jaynis Kobb. As usual with humanoids, shotgun headshots can make short work of the big man, but you'll have to be methodical to keep from getting overwhelmed regardless. When the coast is clear, you can find a staircase leading to the spot with the valve.
M i s s i o n | Jaynistown: A Brother's Love
You get this mission after completing Secret Rendezvous, and we've covered the fight in the last mission.
M i s s i o n | Altar Ego: The New Religion
This is basically a kill mission, masked as a collect 'em up mission. Make your way to the camp and head into the lone building. You can control the flow of action better in here. Each bandit will drop one of the scraps you need, so just stay and fight them off and then round up the scraps when you're done. There will be more than the six required to complete the mission.
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M i s s i o n | Altar Ego: Godless Monsters
After the last mission, you get this one at the Bounty Board. It's a boss fight, but it's a bit underwhelming, to comedic effect. You have to go to the site in the north and fight a Scyther variant. It's legitimately powerful, and to fight it, you need a good shotgun. Backpedal away from it and shoot it in the face. A well place blast will put a good dent in it. Finding the rhythm in this fight might take a bit, but once you do, it's easy.
M i s s i o n | Jaynistown: Spread the Word
Just a quick rendezvous. Beam over to New Haven and follow the marker to Erik Franks. This opens up two quests, which you should queue up.
M i s s i o n | Dumpster Diving for Great Justice
While you're in New Haven, you can get this simple fetch quest out of the way. Follow the mission indicators to the various green dumpsters. Each one contains a Dirty Mag for you to collect. Easy money.
M i s s i o n | Jaynistown: Getting What's Coming to You
Super easy mission. In the north of New Haven there's a metal container. Examine the side of it with the panel to complete this mission and rack up the next. After you complete the mission, the container opens and some bandits swarm, so be ready.
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M i s s i o n | Jaynistown: Unintended Consequences
More filler, just go talk to Helena.

M i s s i o n | Jaynistown: Cleaning Up Your Mess
Now we get down to some real action. The second siege on Jaynistown is a bit more interesting than the first. There are turrets on the roof along the west side. We preferred to approach along the south side, where we could hide from the turrets and use the ample cover to better control the flow of battle. Don't rush in. Let enemies come to you. Eventually you need to move in on Kobb's building, but even this you should try to lure out the Badass Bruisers and even Kobb himself out of range of the turrets. Use a shotty on these guys, as it's very effective at close range, and Kobb's rocket launcher is much better at mid-range. Once Kobb is dead, you're free to leave and rendezvous with the Claptrap in the east, but we recommend cleaning up since there are some good spots to loot, including the red chest at Kobb's perch.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Side Quests Part 2
In New Haven, check the Bounty Board and talk to Scooter to get new quests. Let's head out.
M i s s i o n | Wanted: Fresh Fish
You get this one from the New Haven Bounty Board. Zip over to Treacher's Landing. This mission can overlap with the next one, so make sure that's queued up as well. You'll have to fight your way through Treacher's Landing, same as last time, but this time, you'll have to toss grenades into the pools indicated by your mission
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marker. Each site yields four fish, so you'll have to raid five of them. The mission itself is pretty easy, but there are other perils that might prove more difficult. Have a lot of grenades and a good rocket launcher handy.
M i s s i o n | I've Got a Sinking Feeling
You get this mission from Scooter, and it overlaps nicely with the last mission. There are three additional powerful targets, boats parked just off shore with a turret mounted on them. You'll need to pack a good rocket launcher for this (the one you got from Taylor Kobb will do nicely). Just shoot the glowing green part in the rear of the ship. One well placed rocket will take it out.
M i s s i o n | Circle of Slaughter: Meat and Greet
Beam over to Rust Commons West. You might remember the camp from an earlier mission. It's a pretty simple fight to the counter in the back where you can find Chuck Durden.
M i s s i o n | Circle of Slaughter: Round 1-3
Instead of fighting Skags, you'll be tackling mixed groups of Bandits this time. There's cover, but you won't find most of it sufficient to really charge up your shields. A scrubby tactic is to abuse Second Wind by letting enemies kill you at close range after you've softened them up. A more manly approach would be keeping an eye on the entrances (four metal containers and a door on the opposite side) and rushing in with a shotgun. In
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the final round, grenades will help too, for flushing the defended guys out of the center. The key to this whole mission is really effectively playing the aggressor, unlike the more defensive Skag mission.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Trash Coast Missions
M i s s i o n | House Hunting
This mission is found at the Middle of Nowhere Bounty Board. Head to Trash Coast and make your way to the thrash pile designated. You have to patrol around this are and kill all the Scythids before the Bleeder shows up. It's not a real boss fight, it's easily killed, but it won't show up unless you're thorough.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Trash Coast
Just east of the last mission's marker (indicated on the map below) you can find another Clappy in need of help in the middle of a small bandit camp.
Go to the east side of the big trash pile and hop up the rock. From here you can jump on the big pipe and walk along it toward the water. You'll find the repair kit up there. The Claptrap doesn't offer up any secrets this time, but more space in the backpack always helps.
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M i s s i o n | Bait and Switch
This is another Bounty Board mission. Head south from the trash pile and follow the path as it loops around on itself. There are a ton of Spiderants here, which is a nice warm-up for the big battle with the Queen. Queen Tarantella is too big to effectively strafe. Try to hit her abdomen when she raise it up to fling web, or use a coarse weapon like a Rocket Launcher or even a shotgun. Once you've done some damage, she'll be more vulnerable, and you can probably get a better angle.
Collect the abdomen, and then head north. You can swing by the vending machines if you like, since you might be short supplied. The final leg is just a lot of medium-sized Spiderants, but don't let your guard down. There are some Badass elementals and King Akobbs that will make you glad you came prepared. The point you need to examine is pretty obvious, and once you do, you can simply make your retreat.
M i s s i o n | Earl's Best Friend
Head to the bandit camp. It's not a huge fight, but there are a few Badass Bruisers, so pack some grenades or a good shotgun. Do a sweep of the camp and make sure you've killed everyone. When the coast is clear go into the cage and hit the switch on the side to let the little pup out. When he gets out of the camp (make sure he's safe) the mission will be complete and you can report back to Earl.
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M i s s i o n | Another Piece of the Puzzle
After all the side missions, you can tackle a real story mission with an epic boss. In the north, you'll find the Rakk Hive, a giant, ferocious quadruped who can summon Rakks. Your instinct upon seeing its mammoth size might be to whip out the Rocket Launcher, but you'll be much better off with a decent Combat Rifle. The high rate of fire makes it easy to defend against incoming Rakks, and the size of your target nullifies the inaccuracy of the weapon. Shotguns won't work because it's too far away. When it opens its mouth, you'll have a critical hit opportunity, so be at the ready.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Old Haven
M i s s i o n | Smoke Signals: Investigate Old Haven
This mission comes from Helena in New Haven. You can reach Old Haven from Rust Commons East. When you get inside, examine the situation to cash in this quest and get your next right here. When you enter New Haven, you should also stay along the north wall and get the Bandit Treasure mission from a corpse to conserve time.
M i s s i o n | Smoke Signals: Shut Them Down
Head into Old Haven and prepare for a brawl. This is the time to bust out the corrosive weapons (and artifact). Even if their base stats aren't as powerful, the corrosive element is really effective against the heavily armored enemies here. If you have to rough it without the elemental attacks, you're going to have a hard time, but it can be done. Strafing left can help you get around their big shields. There are turrets stationed at a few positions, and they can be quite a nuisance as well. In the south, you won't be able to get close to them, so rockets or corrosive bullets may be your only hope. The others you can get in shotgun range of.
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Your first goal is to sweep through the city and knock out four different smoke signal locations. You can generally look up to see them, but we've marked their locations below.
You can roll a couple more objectives into your patrol here, and you should, so by all means, read ahead.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue
In the southeast, near the Junkyard, you can find a building with a Claptrap in it, marked below.
To get the kit, go up the stairs of the building south of where you see the mission marker. From there you can
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jump north to the roof of the adjacent building and find the kit in a room by itself.
M i s s i o n | Not Without My Claptrap
This mission, obtained from Patricia Tannis, is very easy to roll into the Smoke Signals mission. Near the southern signal, there's a small switchbox that will free a Claptrap. That's all there is to it.
Bandit Treasure: Three Corpses, Three Keys When you first enter the Old Haven area, you can stay along the north side, and at the center part of the north border, there's a corpse against the wall. Examine it to get this mission, which is nicely parallel to the others. The first key is right by the corpse, so you only really have to seek out two.
The others are in the east and south, and they're fairly out in the open, so this is an easy enough mission if you're already working on the others. When you have all three keys bring them back to the north and open the door and examine the map.
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M i s s i o n | Bandit Treasure: X Marks the Spot
Beam over to Lucky's in the Dahl Headleand, and head to the northeast. If you look down at the edge of the cliff, you can see a small tin shack. Open it to claim your prize.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
The Siege of Thor
M i s s i o n | The Final Piece
This epic story mission is obtained from Patricia Tannis. The Salt Flats can be reached from Rust Commons East. Approach the big open area in the middle of the map, and patrol around. Some Outriders will show up, one at a time, so this is pretty basic car combat, and you should have a chance to heal up a bit between fights. When four are gone, the next objective appears on your map.
You can infiltrate the base from the north or the east. The enemies here are extremely powerful bandits, so
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pack a weapon that you can comfortable score crit hits (headshots) with. There are vending machines on the east side of the base to stock up (recommended) and the entrance to Thor is on the west. Before you go in, however, we should take care of a Claptrap quest that's on the way.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: The Salt Flats
In the northeast of the outer part of the base, you can find another Claptrap looking for help in exchange for a Backpack SDU.
The repair kit is just a bit south this time, in a pile of junk. Couldn't be easier to find. When you return, he'll open an area with a red chest in addition to the mission reward. Alright, let's get back to the fun.
M i s s i o n | Scavenger: Machine Gun
This mission, obtained from the Middle of Nowhere Bounty Board, is best handled before fighting Flynt, since armored soldiers swarm the place after. A hair north of the mission marker, you can find a container you can get on top of via some barrels and then jump onto large gray tanks. The Body is on top. In the northeast there's a hut you can get on top of by jumping on a divider, and this is where you'll find the magazine.
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On the south side of the east entrance to the base, there's a ramp you can climb up. From here you can jump to the roof of a hut and then a metal container where you can find the Stock. On the analogous ramp on the north side of the east entrance, you can find the barrel.
M i s s i o n | The Final Piece (continued)
Enter the base on the west side and head to the lift. Flip the switch to ride it all the way up. Upon your arrival, the good Baron will be waiting with waves of underlings to make life difficult for you. There's plenty of cover, but the quantity of enemies means you'll have to keep moving.
After the initial wave, Hanz and Franz appear, two intimidating boss characters, best tackled separately if at all possible. Hanz is the easier of the two since he's slow primarily a close-range attacker, but because of this you might want to save him for last. Rockets work well against him, but you'll find he's a tank regardless. He's not the nimble, though, and you can actually get places he can't reach too, since he's so tall. Franz uses firearms, so he's more difficult, and he's incredibly well armored. You need to go for headshots. An accurate combat rifle, a powerful revolver, or sniper rifle fired from the hip are all good options. Watch for his grenades and try to keep your distance. He's not very fast, so hiding from him is fairly easy, at least.
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After this, you have to fight Baron Flynt himself. Snipe at him until he comes down to meet you (shouldn't take long). He likes to fight at close range and he's very aggressive, but he's not very accurate and his projectiles are slow, so defense is easy. Go for headshots. He's not as well armored as Hanz and Franz, so a few good headshots with a sniper rifle should do the trick.
To cash in this mission after Baron Flynt is dead, go to the north side and make your way up to the top level. There's a silver chest and this is your target.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARID BADLANDS
DAHL HEADLAND
NEW HAVEN
SALT FLATS
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Crimson Tide
M i s s i o n | Get Some Answers
Head to the southeast. You'll have to leave your Runner and enter a cave area call The Backdoor. The cave itself is long and linear, populated by armored Spiderants that are vulnerable to corrosive weaponry.
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Defensively, it's no big deal, but they take so many shots you might feel like you're strapped for ammo by the end. Toward the end of the hall, you'll encounter Badass elemental variants, so don't skimp on the corrosive weapons in this case, as it'll be the only way to score good crits.
Eventually you'll come to a couple vending machines. Stock up on supplies. Examine the recorder to open the arena for another boss fight. Master McCloud is supported by two henchmen. They're heavily armored, so once again, corrosive weapons are the way to go (and headshots help a great deal). Kill the henchmen first, because they're not only easier to kill, but the more immediate offensive threat. McCloud himself fires a very powerful but very slow electrical burst that can be easily avoided by just circle-strafing around him, rendering him something of a sitting duck on his own. There's also some solid cover in this area, considering the small enemy count, so you should be able to charge up the shields.
Exit to Crimson Fastness. You're going to make your way south through a heavily defended corridor. There's a Gatling Turret on the far end and a lot of armored soldiers. This area has a ton of cover, and that will be key to making your way to the far side. Play this like Gears of War and move from cover to cover without exposing yourself. Toward the end of the hall you'll see a lot of broken Claptraps. Take out the Gatling Turret with corrosive weapons or grenades. Now let's take a diversion for the final Claptrap mission.
M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Crimson Fastness
Amongst all the broken Claptraps, there is one still flailing. Talk to him to take on the very last Claptrap Rescue of the game and complete your backpack.
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You have to exit east from the hall to enter a two story area with a bunch of Lance Infantry. Take these out while you have the high ground advantage, including picking off the guys on the lower floor. Down below you can find the repair kit. The grateful Claptrap will escort you to a hidden area with two red chests, lockers, and an alternate, quieter route ahead.
M i s s i o n | Get Some Answers (continued)
There are a few doors you have to open manually with switchboxes, and you'll eventually come into a big two level room where Tannis is, either from the north or the east (preferred). The recessed east entrance provides good cover to fall back to and an easy escape. Most of the enemies here are basic Lance Infantry, but there's also a Badass Engineer. We preferred to use grenades with a corrosive mod to thin the heard, but patience will win out in the end regardless of your weaponry, since it's very possible to get healed up. When the coast is clear, you can find Tannis in a cell on the bottom floor. She'll give you the next mission.
M i s s i o n | Find the ECHO Command Console
From the room with Tannis, you can exit southeast to a narrow corridor. There's a Gatling Turret up the stairs, but if you stay on the left and get closer, you can pick at it while staying out of range. From here it's a quiet stroll to the computer console.
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M i s s i o n | Reactivate the ECHO Comm System
Keep trekking north. When you get to the big door that opens up, prepare for a slew of Badass Engineers on the other side. The smart tactic is to fall back a bit so you can seek cover behind the crates, and pick at the enemies with plenty of opportunity to heal.
When you get outside, all hell is breaking loose. There are Guardians and Lance soldiers duking it out. Finish off the soldiers. The smaller Guardians go down easy, but the larger one is a challenge. That weapon you picked up from McCloud (the 10101 Cannon) does perfectly against the Arch Guardian, as do any shock weapons. Once his shield is depleted, he goes down hard.
When you near your first target in the north, Badass Infantry show up, and they are quite formidable, so hang back, snipe if you need to, and maintain control of the action. When you clear them out, head back to the base in the rock, and go through the small door in the side and up to the second floor where you can find a control panel to finish the first part of your objective. There's also a red chest on the roof.
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The second target is way in the south, and a bit easier, thanks to weaker defenders and some big rocks that make great cover. There are a lot of Lance Infantry on the rooftop, which means long-range, scoped weaponry will serve you well here. The ground floor door is locked, so you have to go up the stairs to the roof and then down a story to reach the console.
The third one is way in the west, with a long, narrow approach. The Lance are being attacked by Guardians, which makes life easier for you. Finish off the Lance, and don't bother fighting the Guardians (just run from them, they're easily distracted). There's a turret you'll need to spot and avoid, but by now you can take these out pretty quick. Head in through the ground floor, and up to the second story like usual.
Afterwards, you'll have to fight your way back into Crimson Fastness and make it to the ECHO control panel to finish the mission and get the next.
M i s s i o n | Find Steele
In Salt Flats, you can find a Catch-a-Ride on the other side of a roadblock. Grab a vehicle and head west to the next area. In the northwest, there's a spot where you have to ditch the vehicle and proceed on foot. There's some light resistance, but if you hug the cliff on the left and follow it around, you'll be able to stay well covered and then you can make your way down the path to The Descent.
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The long, downward, one-way path into the bowels of the cave is fairly uneventful, with a few guardians here and there (remember, Shock weapons dominate these guys). After some time you'll reach the big, open area.
In this open area, you're going to see a lot of Lance soldiers (mostly Infantry) and flying Guardians. Try to deal with the Guardians first, using scoped, long range weapons (doesn't have to be a sniper rifle, combat rifle or SMG works too). Do this before you drop down, and you won't have to worry about the Lance. Once you get down, you'll really have to rely on corrosive weaponry, because regular weapons are pretty hopeless against guys these high level.
There are lots of ammo chests littered about, which When you make your way to the other side, there are a handful more Infantry, and a lonely path, leading to Eridian Promontory.
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There's a pair of vending machines by the New-U when you first enter, so this is a good chance to stock up. The approach in Eridian is long, linear, and fraught with combat. Hang back as much as you can and try to let the soldiers and Guardians duke it out with each other and do as much of the work for you as possible.
The Sera in the air should be sniped down as usual. If you don't have good shock weapons, a powerful shotgun is your best bet against the ground-based Guardians. There are quite a lot of good chests in this area, so be sure to check them, and consider exiting and reloading to check them again, even.
M i s s i o n | Destroy the Destroyer
When you finally reach the Vault, you will find a New-U waiting on the other side, along with a welcoming party: The Destroyer. Take this opportunity to teleport back to a vending machine somewhere and stock up. Even though the Destroyer throws out ammo randomly throughout the fight, he takes a massive amount of damage, and you're going to be strapped for the good stuff. There are a few basic patterns you need to be aware of. When he has all of his tentacles out and flailing, he will rain spikes down on you. These are relatively easy to dodge, but they explode in ground and can deal some serious damage, so you'll have to make sure to avoid them even after you've dodged the initial hit. The tentacles have large purple pustules on them that need to be shot out. You want to make sure to do this with a weapon you can fire accurately without a scope, because you need your peripheral vision to be able to dodge the spikes. A combat rifle is ideal, but relying on any one weapon can be problematic in a fight this long.
After all the tentacles are gone, he'll revert to a more vulnerable state and you'll be free to use scoped
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weapons. This is a good chance to shoot him in the eye with a sniper rifle or a powerful revolver and deal some real damage. We found rockets to be a bit disappointing as the low fire rate undermines this opportunity to get some real work done. He'll eventually start firing a powerful pink beam from his eye. To dodge this, get behind some of the rocks on either side. Although it sometimes appears the beam is shooting through the rock, you will be protected.
It's a very long fight, and if you die, you'll probably need to stock up on supplies again. A fast-charging shield is crucial as you'll have limited - but decent - opportunities to power back up. When you're done, the credits roll, but the game isn't done yet.
M i s s i o n | Bring the Vault Key to Tannis
After the credits roll, you'll be given one last mission to complete. If you prefer, you can take this time and complete any quests you've skipped along the way. Collect the Vault Key from the site of the Destroyer's demise, and then beam over to The Underpass in Rust Commons West and march over to Tannis' shack to cash in. She offers a very large cash reward. After completing this and saving, you'll have the option to load your present game and work on any unfinished business, or begin a second playthrough in which you keep your current level and face much more powerful enemies.
Congratulations, Vault Hunter. That's all she wrote.
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Borderlands Guide

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

More Badlands Side Quests

The Hammer Falls

Leaving the Badlands

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Lucky for You

Pounding the Pavement in the Dahl Headland

New Haven Side Quests 1

The Ballad of Crazy Earl

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Side Quests Part 2

Trash Coast Missions

The Siege of Thor

M i s s i o n | Fresh Off the Bus

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Skags at the Gate

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: Meet T.K. Baha

M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: T.K.'s Food

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: Take Him Town

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Nine-Toes: Time to Collect

M i s s i o n | T.K. Has More Work

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | By the Seeds of Your Pants

M i s s i o n | Why Are They Here?

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Bone Head's Theft

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Another self-explanatory rendezvous. Just go back to Zed at his office.

M i s s i o n | Sledge: Meet Shep

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Hidden Journal: The Arid Badlands

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Sledge: The Mine Key

M i s s i o n | Get the Flock Out of Here

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Scavenger: Sniper Rifle

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Sledge: To the Safe House

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Safe House

M i s s i o n | Sledge: To the Safe House (cont.)

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | The Legend of Moe and Marley

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

More Badlands Side Quests

M i s s i o n | What Hit the Fan

M i s s i o n | Scavenger: Combat Rifle

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Circle of Death: Meat and Greet

M i s s i o n | Circle of Death: Rounds 1-3

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Shock Crystal Harvest

2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc.

M i s s i o n | Claptrap Rescue: Lost Caverns