Borderlands 4 Money

Since its launch last September, Borderlands 4 has continued to engage players by releasing a series of Bounty Packs after the initial launch hype subsided. While these can be viewed as mini-DLCs, they are not considered full-scale expansions.

Fortunately, according to 2026 Roadmap, the first official major DLC for BL4 is finally set to arrive! It will be released in installments, broken down into multiple story packs.

Based on this plan, Story Pack 1, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, will launch on March 26th. In addition to an all-new storyline, it brings with it a wealth of new playable content, which we'll walk you through below.

How to access this story pack?

If you are interested only in playing Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned and do not intend to play Borderlands 4 base game, that is entirely possible. Or this story pack is also available independently.

Alternatively, you can gain access to Story Pack 1 by getting Vault Hunter Pack or Super Deluxe Edition in advance. This option provides a much more comprehensive gaming experience with a wider range of playable content.

Brand new main storyline

Although the setting remains the familiar Kairos system, the story of Mad Ellie is largely independent of the base game's main plot; even if you haven't played any previous titles in the series, you can jump right in and enjoy the experience without missing a beat.

In Story Pack 1, you will join forces with the new protagonist, Ellie, as you venture into the strange and perilous region known as The Whispering Glacier. As the story unfolds, you will unlock and recruit additional characters to join your crew.

Ellie herself is a brilliant mechanic, and she is the daughter of Moxxi, one Borderlands series' most popular characters. Introducing the next generation of characters as new protagonists is a classic and effective narrative device often utilized in the game.

The other characters featured in Story Pack 1 are a mix of the new and the familiar, including returning faces from previous titles such as Mancubus and Pickle.

Your mission is to embark on an adventure with these characters across this new region. While battling the biting cold and fending off enemies that could strike at any moment, you must thwart the machinations of a cosmic entity intent on destroying Kairos.

How to unlock The Whispering Glacier?

As the primary setting for this new story pack, The Whispering Glacier requires a few prerequisites before you can enter. You must first travel to Fadefields region and complete A Lot to Process mission, after which you will need to level up your chosen Vault Hunter to level 13.

If you don't have the time to level up, you can also opt to create a new character directly within the DLC that starts immediately at level 13. However, we do not recommend this approach for newcomers; mastering essential combat mechanics through the early-game leveling process is highly necessary.

What new combat content is available?

First and foremost, centered around a new storyline unfolding in The Whispering Glacier, there is a wealth of main quests, side missions, and special events available. Completing these tasks not only advances the narrative but also unlocks substantial XP and item rewards to help you power up your character.

It is also worth noting that upon completing specific main quests, you will unlock access to new fast-travel locations, making it much easier to navigate between the various regions within The Whispering Glacier.

Enemy types

Enemies in Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned can be broadly categorized into two groups: standard enemies and bosses. The standard enemies primarily consist of three types: DAHL Legion soldiers, Kraggons, and Scavs.

As for bosses, the roster includes the following categories:

• 2x core boss battles tied directly to the main storyline
• 16x mini-bosses
• 1x special world boss

To encounter the world boss, you must interact with specific mysterious trees; doing so teleports you to a separate, isolated dimension where a random boss awaits you.

Once you reach the endgame, you will also randomly encounter strange and dangerous fleshy growths. Destroying these anomalies unlocks additional loot and access to new areas, while simultaneously helping you unravel more of the mysteries surrounding The Whispering Glacier.

New Vault Hunter: C4SH

Vault Hunter serves as the foundation for character creation in Borderlands 4. You can think of them as the classes found in other ARPGs, though in BL4, these classes take the specific form of distinct hunters.

The base game features four playable Vault Hunters, while the first main DLC story pack introduces a fifth: C4SH.

In fact, key details regarding C4SH were first unveiled during Tokyo Game Show 2025 in the latter half of last year. Originally just a casino card-dealing robot, he unexpectedly awakened his own sentient consciousness after coming into contact with a deck of magical cards.

If you choose to play as this Vault Hunter, you will gain access to three active skills and three distinct skill trees. His signature ability, Sleight of Hand, operates by drawing cards from a randomized deck to determine which specific spell or effect is unleashed.

This playstyle injects combat with greater variety and excitement through its high degree of randomness; it also demonstrates that this particular Vault Hunter possesses an exceptionally high skill ceiling.

If you enjoy pushing your limits and challenging yourself, this is absolutely an excellent choice!

New items available

Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned introduces a wealth of brand-new loot obtainable through combat, as well as new cosmetic items that require additional unlocking.

Loot:

• 3x Pearlescent Weapons
• 11x Legendary Gear Pieces
• 2x Legendary Grenades
• 2x Legendary Heavy Weapons
• 2x Legendary Shields
• 5x Legendary Class Mods

Cosmetics:

• 2x Vault Hunter Heads (for all Vault Hunters)
• 4x Vault Hunter Skins (for all Vault Hunters)
• 8x Vault Hunter Heads (exclusive to C4SH)
• 1x Alternate Vault Hunter Body (exclusive to C4SH)
• 4x Weapon Skins
• 4x Vehicle Skins
• 3x ECHO-4 Drone Skins and Attachments
• 1x ECHO-4 Frame

QoL improvements

In addition to the new content, Story Pack 1 will coincide with the release of a free QoL update for Borderlands 4 as a whole: the ability for characters under the same account to share resources.

This feature ensures a smoother and more convenient gaming experience, whether you are creating an alt character or switching between devices.

Future plans

Following the release of Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, Borderlands 4 is set to roll out the following content sequentially over the remaining nine months of 2026:

• Free Boss 2
• Free Takedown Content Pack
• Bounty Pack 3
• Bounty Pack 4
• Bounty Pack 5
• Major DLC story pack 2

Admittedly, the game's reception toward the end of 2025 was somewhat lackluster; we hope these new plans will help turn the tide for BL4 and deliver a much-improved experience for the fans.

That wraps up everything we have to share with you today. If this story pack piques your interest, why not go ahead and pre-order it right now?

Whether to reflect the festive atmosphere or to better reward players, Borderlands 4 Bounty Pack 1, also the game's first DLC, How Rush Saved Mercenary Day, was released for free to all players on November 20, 2025 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time!

While some players believe the free release is a sign of the developers feeling guilty for the limited content of DLC itself, playing new events for free is always a good thing! Here's a breakdown of DLC's main content.

How To Unlock This DLC?

This DLC doesn't require any additional installation packages; simply update your Borderlands 4 to the latest version after its release.

The new weapons and skins introduced in DLC can be seen directly in the game, but if you want to access the core content of the bounty pack, you need to find a specific present in town to trigger the side mission "The War on Mercenary Day."

Of all the hidden present locations, The Launchpad is probably the easiest to find. However, if you don't find any presents or quest markers in the town, it means your main story progress is insufficient to experience the new DLC, and you need to move on immediately.

The locations where all presents will appear are as follows:

• The Launchpad - The Fadefields
• Carcadia - Carcadia Burn
• Belton's Bore - Terminus Range
• The Lockaway - Dominion

How To Complete DLC-Exclusive Side Quest?

After unlocking the quest, you need to travel to Slime's Five and Dime to pick up another gift package. Opening it will give you several gifts. Next, quest markers will appear, and you need to deliver all the gifts to the corresponding locations:

• 1. The top of the first building indicated by the marker.
• 2. The small house with a vent and a refrigerator.
• 3. Find a house by the roadside and deliver the gifts to the roof.

After delivering all the gifts, NPC Rush will instruct you to move away from the last house and observe it - it has exploded!

Infiltrating The Ministry Of Culture

Completing this part requires several steps, which we will explain one by one.

• 1. Destroy the first propaganda tower: Clear all Order troops you encounter, destroy tower components, and unlock the control lever to reveal the antenna battery.
• 2. Open the locked door: Hack the system to open the first-floor door, kill the enemy, and find the room behind the vent to remove the secondary lock.
• 3. Destroy the second propaganda tower: The operation is basically the same as step 1, note that the main battlefield is the observation deck.
• 4. Hack Minister Screw's computer: Return to the upper area of ​​the observation deck, defeat the enemies that appear, and then hack into Minister Screw's computer to obtain a photo of Rush and his father.
• 5. Destroy the third propaganda tower: Refer to steps 1 and 3.
• 6. Head to the landing zone: Defeat all enemies, organize your inventory, and then start the boss battle.

Defeat The Two Mission Bosses

The bosses Minister Screw and Donk will appear together. Each of them has three health bars and the following characteristics:

• Minister Screw: One shield bar, one armor bar, and one flesh bar.
• Donk: One shield bar and two armor bars.

To quickly consume these power bars and directly attack the boss, you need to bring more targeted weapons, such as:

• Electric and Cryo weapons: Break and counter shields.
• Corrosive weapons: Melt armor.
• Incendiary weapons: Burn through flesh.

We recommend defeating Donk first, as he will activate a shield to protect Minister Screw. While focusing on attacking Minister Screw, be careful of the black holes he summons - you can avoid them by grabbing the grappling hook above the arena.

Bring The Photo To Rush

After defeating the bosses, enter Minister Screw's bedroom to trigger a cutscene. After the cutscene, place the photo on the table to trigger Rush's memory - mission complete!

Afterwards, you'll receive Specialization EXP, cash, and Eridium as your main rewards, along with two cosmetics drops, which we'll list below.

New Items Available

By participating in the game and leveling up, as well as completing daily and weekly challenges, you can earn Vault Card tickets as rewards. These can be used to redeem some of the new items introduced in How Rush Saved Mercenary Day.

New Weapons

These weapons are divided into two categories: redeemable legendary weapons and weapons that drop directly from the boss in DLC side quest The War on Mercenary Day. They include:

Legendary Weapons:

• Aching Roil (SMG)
• Rooker (Sniper)
• Hardpoint (Pistol)
• Missilaser (Shotgun)

Each requires 10 Vault Cards and can be redeemed repeatedly.

Dropped Weapons:

• Rowdy Rider (Assault Rifle)
• Inscriber (Pistol)
• Healthraiser (Repkit)

New Cosmetics

These cosmetic categories include skins, attachments, paint jobs, and more, most of which can be redeemed using Vault Cards. Specific rewards are as follows:

Vault Hunter Heads:

• Make it Rein
• Geeks Bearing Gifts
• The Guzzler
• Chaos Reins

Vault Hunter Styles:

• Forgot about Dreidel
• Candlenights Catastrophe
• Better To Give...
• ...Than To Receive
• The Nurple (non-redeemable mission reward)

ECHO-4 Attachments:

• Naughty
• Nice

ECHO-4 Paintjobs:

• Forgot about Dreidel
• Candlenights Catastrophe
• Better To Give...
• ...Than To Receive
• The Nurple (non-redeemable mission reward)

Vehicle Paintjobs:

• Missile Toe
• Candy Caned
• That's a Wrap
• Don't Kramp My Style
• Frosty Reception

Weapon Skins:

• Silent Fight, Holy Fight
• It's The Thought That Counts
• Baby You're Cold Inside
• So Much More Than A Bag
• Eat Me

New Vehicle

The vehicle is Trident. While its skin requires Vault Cards, it can be obtained directly from "Sleigh, Queen" rewards earned after completing the first main mission.

That concludes the information on How Rush Saved Mercenary Day DLC. More DLCs are expected to be released in the future, so take advantage of this first bounty pack while you can!