=================================Borderlands=================================== Walkthrough by Jerryn Hur mrjhwar@hotmail.com(feel free to e-mail me comments, suggestions, questions. I may not always reply because of laziness, but I'll try my best.) version 1.01 (11/16/09) Copyright 2009 Jerryn Hur The most updated version of the guide will always be found on www.gamefaqs.com. Other websites may host my guide only if they are willing to update the guide themselves. -=Table of Contents=- Version History Introduction Tips Walkthrough Arid Badlands Dahl Headland New Haven Enemies Classes Hunter Soldier Weapons Loots Conclusion Credits To find a section, press Ctrl + F and type in whatever is in <> =========================Version History ========================= Version 1.01 (11/16/09) -Added a bit more for quest "Reactivate the ECHO Comm System" -Added a bit of decription for Siren -Altered my opinions on some hunter skills to reflect how you can call back bloodwing early by pressing use skill button -Added a bit more for last boss -Added use for vehicle mounted machine gun -Other minor fixes Version 1.0 (11/12/09) =========================Introduction ========================= Hi, welcome to my guide for Borderlands. I found Borderlands to be a really fun RPG/FPS hybrid. I'm writing this guide without the use of specific class skills so anybody can follow it. I only played Hunter and Soldier so I can't comment on how each class should tackle each situations of the game. This guide is written based off my experiences while playing the game so there are bound to be some things that aren't exactly right. Also, I'm only going to comment on particularly hard parts. Still, I hope you find this guide helpful. =========================Tips ========================= -I found that the best way to level was to do quests. If for some reason you need to level another way, you're going to have to go around killing enemies or try doing achievements. -A good way to get money is to do quests and pick up and sell expensive gear. It might be worth opening small containers for pocket change early on but it's generally a waste of time. There is a better way for money once you reach a certain point in the game and this is described in the loots section of this guide. -Use the map and the compass. If you know how to use them, you won't have a problem getting to the location where the quest is done. -Jumping and strafing is your friend when going against skags. So is fire or corrosive weapons. -When shooting something at a distance, you will have to lead a bit. It will take a bit of practice but it is possible to hit someone moving at a distance if you can lead the shot properly. -Keep a lookout for colored barrels. They are very dangerous. If they are in your path, be sure to destroy them so they don't blow up near you when enemies shoot you. Of course they are also very good at killing enemies so try to use them against them instead of wasting them. -If you find yourself taking too much damage or taking too long to kill regular enemies, it's most likely your level. Your gear and weapons should be fine as long as you continued to look for improvements during your play. -If you're going against something tough, leave the weaklings alone so you can use them to get second wind. Don't die too many times in a row though as you won't get the chance to do second wind if you do. -If you can, you can use your vehicle to weaken tough enemies and take them out on foot so you get all the experience you're supposed to get. -It is possible to critical hit with melee by using it on the right spot. -The vehicle mounted machine gun that replaces the rocket launcher actually has a use. Even though it is inaccurate, it can hit enemy vehicles pretty well. Even though it does less damage than the rocket launcher, it's better at hitting enemy vehicles with lock on so you can focus on dodging. This is especially useful in small areas like Mad Mel's arena. =========================Walkthrough ========================= Some of these quests are not be needed to complete the game. If you follow this guide, you shouldn't have to do any grinding. I separated the quests by the general area you are in when you receive the quests. You can search specific quests by pressing Ctrl + F and typing the quest name with = to each side. For example, =Quest Name=. If it's not here, it's a side quest I didn't do. ====================Arid Badlands ==================== You first choose a class you want to play. Hunter is a class that uses sniper rifles and pistols well and has an ability that sends out a bird to does decent damage. I'm not sure what Siren is all about. According to t0k0l0v3r: the siren class: basically the stealthy type. her power lets her become completely invisible and run twices as fast as sprinting for a set amount of time. this causes all fire upon your character to stop completely. nice for making a quick escape. also there are small explosions aroung the siren when she enters and exits this invisibility mode. she gets HUGE bonuses for elemental weapnory (except explosive) Soldier can drop a turret that attacks enemies, provides cover, and heals and supplies allies. He can also improve his resilience and bullet damage of all guns. Brick is a tank that can take a lot of damage and do a lot of melee damage. He can improve explosive weapons. After you choose your class, you start your first quest. ==========Fresh Off The Bus========== Level 2 Before going any further, you can go on roof of the Motel to the left for some loot. To get on the roof, go behind it, go up the stairs and jump up the big engine and then the weird plating on the wall. On the roof, you should see a big red container you can open. It should have some guns and ammo in it. Follow the Claptrap and get familiar with the game. You can open all the little containers but most will only contain some money and ammo. Big containers are the ones with useful guns and gear in them. The enemies you encounter are pretty easy. Aim for their heads for critical damage. When you level up, the quest will be done and the next quest will start. ==========The Doctor Is In========== Level 2 Rewards: 48 XP Easiest quest ever? Do I even have to say anything? Next quest.... ==========Skags At The Gate========== Level 2 Rewards: 144 XP, $313 Yay, finally get to get out to the open world...! Or not. One more quest before you can get out. After finishing "Claptrap Rescue," kill the skags just outside and turn this quest in at Zed to get the next quest. ==========Claptrap Rescue========== Level 2 Rewards: 72 XP Get repair kit by using map, use on Claptrap. Next. ==========Fix'er Upper========== Level 2 Rewards: 192 XP Go out of town and go left to find the power coupling. Easy skags that you can avoid if you want. Come back to Zed, install the power to the vending machine, buy the best shield available, then turn in for the next quest. You can also finally sell junk you have. ==========Blinding Nine-Toes========== Level 2 Rewards: 480 XP, $313 Use the map to get to the location southwest of town. If you get hurt, find cover to let the shield recharge. There is a big red container in the middle of that village. After killing 8 bandits, head back and turn the quest in for the next one. ==========Nine-Toes: Meet T.K. Baha========== Level 3 Rewards: 90 XP Use map, talk to Baha for next quest. ==========Nine-Toes: T.K.'s Food========== Level 2 Rewards: 480 XP, $313 Simple quest. Either kill skags then take the meat or just run like hell and nab all the meat. Using the compass will make it easy to spot the meats. Turn in and get next quest. ==========Got Grenades?========== Level 2 Rewards: 48 XP A very easy fetch quest. New vending machines are now available. Their contents refresh every 20 minutes. I suggest buying a gun if it has greater than 90 accuracy so you can get easy headshots. Get the grenades, turn in, and get next quest. ==========Nine-Toes: Take Him Down========== Level 4 Rewards: 2880 XP First tough quest and boss of the game. Get to the detonator, blow up wall and get into Skag Gully. Use map to get the gun stash and then get to where Nine-Toes is at. Boy is he tough. He himself is not bad but his two skag pets make things really hard. It will be a good idea to get to level 5 so you can use your active skill to help out. I defeated him at first playthrough 2 times. First time I killed him fast with headshots with a sniper rifle then slowly but surely defeated the skags while avoiding their attacks by jumping around. I did this as a level 5 hunter. The bloodwing did okay damage to the boss and that was it. Second time I did it as a level 4 soldier. I had to hide behind a shelf in Nine-Toes' room to recharge my shield. The skags got stuck and I was able to snipe Nine-Toes to death with a 90+ accuracy pistol. Then the skags were easy targets. Pick up The Clipper after Nine-Toes dies. The fire damage can come in handy later. There is a big red chest in Nine-Toes' room and a big white chest to the top right. Head back to Baha and turn in and get the next quest. ==========Nine-Toes: Time To Collect========== Level 7 Rewards: 108 XP, $2210, Grenade Mod Go to Zed, turn in, next quest. ==========Job Hunting========== Level 7 Rewards: 108 XP Turn in. Get both quests. ==========Catch-A-Ride========== Level 7 Rewards: 108 XP Turn in, get next quest. ==========T.K. Has More Work========== Level 10 Rewards: 360 XP, $776 Turn in, get both quests. ==========T.K.'s Life And Limb========== Level 7 Rewards: 4320 XP, $2210, Shotgun (T.K.'s Wave) Head to Skag Gully, pick up the green thing on the bench to get another quest, stock up on ammo, then head to the waypoint. Even though it looks like you can take a shortcut on the map, that shortcut is not useable until you beat Scar. While heading to the waypoint, take the northern path at the fork. You should see a green tape recorder next to 2 dead bodies. Pick it up and continue to the waypoint. There you should see a big skag named Scar. He is just like any other Skag except with more health. I found him pretty easy. Just jump and strafe around to avoid his and others' attacks and kill him. Pick up the green leg and get the big red chest behind Scar. Read the next quest. ==========Why Are They Here?========== Level 10 Rewards: 4320 XP, $1552 You picked this up during "T.K.'s Life And Limb" quest. You also got one of the recorders already. Now go to the waypoint to pick up the last recorder. Also get the big red chest near there. If you didn't follow this walkthrough, head to the other recorder and pick that up. Read the next quest. ==========By The Seeds Of Your Pants========== Level 9 Rewards: 1980 XP, $1386, Sniper Rifle Stock up on ammo and head to the waypoint. This might be a good time to consider getting weapon ammo capacity upgrade for ones that you use. This might be tough if you're not at least level 7. Remember to keep strafing and jumping to avoid their attacks. They are weak against fire if you kept The Clipper from Nine-Toes and they take critical damage if shot into their mouths when they roar like an idiot. Just keep following your compass to get the next seeds. If you find yourself running out of ammo, try looking in the green piles of vomit. At the end, there should be a big red container. Finally, head back to Arid Badlands and turn in 2 quests to Baha and this quest to Fyrestone Bounty Board. ==========Bone Head's Theft========== Level 10 Rewards: 4320 XP, $1552 Head to the waypoint using the narrower path. Head up the first stairs you see. No one should come up to you. You should be able to safely snipe everyone away while recharging your shield by crouching behind the rail guard if needed. After that, go get the big white chest in the back and head back to the Catch-A-Ride dispenser and turn this in and get the next quest. ==========The Piss Wash Hurdle========== Level 10 Rewards: 720 XP Finally, a vehicle. For now, get the rocket launcher. The machine gun is good against other vehicles but it can't hit anything smaller even at close range. Head to the waypoint. On the way, you should see a ramp. Get on and use the boosters to get the other side. Then, head to the next waypoint and run over or blow up the enemies there. Turn this quest in at the gate switch and get the next quest. ==========Return To Zed========== Level 10 Rewards: 720 XP, $1552, Weapon Slot What he said. Yay, more weapon slots! Get next quest. *New quests found at the Fyrestone Bounty Board Get "Get A Little Blood On The Tires" and "Hidden Journal: The Arid Badlands." "Shock Crystal Harvest" can be skipped and I'm skipping it. Up to you if you want to do it later. ==========Get A Little Blood On The Tires========== Level 10 Rewards: 1152 XP, $2329 One of those quests that gets done automatically. Just do other quests while running things over and this should be done in no time. Turn it in when it is as you turn other quests in. ==========Hidden Journal: The Arid Badlands========== Level 13 Rewards: 2700 XP, $5454 Very annoying quest that makes you go all over the place. It's only good because you get to listen to the recordings. If you just did "Bone Head's Theft," go back there and get the recording while it's clear. Also get the second recording which should be easy. The third one you can get while doing another quest so you can wait for that or just continue on with this quest. The rest is just simple go to the waypoint and pick it ups. ==========Sledge: Meet Shep========== Level 10 Rewards: 144 XP Waypoint, turn in, get all 3 quests. ==========Get The Flock Outta Here========== Level 10 Rewards: 2880 XP, $2329 Just head to waypoint and keep killing Rakks until you kill 10. It's really easy if you use the vehicle. Just make them spawn by approaching, back up, then blow them all away with rockets. Read next quest. ==========Braking Wind========== Level 10 Rewards: 3023 XP, $2329, Shield I love this. 3 quests at the same time in one location. The enemies should be easy as long as you take cover once in a while to recover your shield. Follow waypoints to get all 3. Read next quest. ==========Sledge: The Mine Key========== Level 10 Rewards: 1440 XP Go into the house in the middle and turn this in and get next quest. Also, get on top of this house and look inside the big red garbage container to get the third recorder for the "Hidden Journal: The Arid Badlands" quest. There is also a big red container there. Head back to Shep and turn 2 quests in. Head back to Fyrestone Bounty Board and turn 2 quests in, get all quests except "Shock Crystal Harvest." ==========Scavenger: Sniper Rifle========== Level 12 Rewards: 1932 XP, Sniper Rifle Head to Arid Hills then to the next waypoint. I would first clear out the area. Unfortunately, waypoints don't tell you where each part is. The sniper rifle stock is on top of the little hut on the large platform above. The sniper rifle barrel is on a table on the large platform. Sniper rifle body is behind a little hut on a smaller platform to the right. The sniper rifle sight is below the large platform to the left next to a dirty mattress. Once you get them all continue to the next quest. ==========Sledge: To The Safe House========== Level 14 Rewards: 5760 XP Behind the area where you do "Scavenger: Sniper Rifle" is Sledge's Safe House. There is a big red container above the portal. Make sure you stock up on ammo from the vending machine inside the safe house before you continue. Also, this place is really tough if you're not at least level 13. You should be level 13 by now unless you ran away from many fights. If you're not 13, just grind a bit on the enemies outside. This place is pretty linear. Pop heads and push on. On your way, you will find a Claptrap. Do the Claptrap quest described just below this. Don't forget to get the big red container next to the Claptrap. When you reach a fork after doing the Claptrap quest, go left for a save spot, big red container, and bunch of other containers. At the end, you'll be in this huge arena. You'll fight a big boss named Roid Raged Psycho and a couple of those midgets with axes. You can either ignore the midgets or toss a grenade at them when they're bunched up to kill them all at once. Keep running around and keep your distance from Roid Rage and keep shooting his head. All I saw him do was toss easily avoidable grenades and do a shockwave attack that doesn't do too much damage. He is really easy even though he looks tough. Once you beat him, head back out. ==========Claptrap Rescue: Safe House========== Level 14 Rewards: 960 XP, Backpack SDU Go to the waypoint then look up. The repair kit is on a pipe. Get it, turn this in, then follow the Claptrap to a room he opens. Open everything in there for loot including the lockers. Enjoy the 3 extra bag space! ==========The Legend Of Moe and Marley========== Level 15 Rewards: 6120 XP, $4105, Fire Artifact level 1 Go to the waypoint. You will have to fight 2 skag bosses. One is Moe, the fire skag, and the other is Marley, the thunder skag. Try to fight one of them at a time. Moe is the more physical one. He will charge and swipe at you. He also uses a fire wave and a fireball attack. The fireball attack drained all my shield and put me in critical health in just one hit at level 14 so try to avoid that. Shotguns and automatic weapons are the way to go. Focus on aiming his back since he takes very little damage in the front. Marley mainly launches electricity balls at you and it's not very damaging. He is a lengthy but easy kill. If you're having trouble, bring them to some bandits to distract them. If you still can't beat them, you're going to have to level a bit. I was able to do it at level 14 but the fireball attack gave me some trouble. After you defeat them, go back to Fyrestone and turn 2 quests in. ==========Circle Of Death: Meat And Greet========== Level 12 Rewards: 504 XP Go to waypoint, turn in, get next quest. ==========Circle Of Death: Round 1========== Level 12 Rewards: 1680 XP, $1947, Shield Easy skags. Turn in and get next quest. ==========Circle Of Death: Round 2========== Level 15 Rewards: 2652 XP, $4105, Grenade Mod Just a bit tougher and more alpha skags. Kill alpha skags with fire damage or by shooting their backs. Remember to strafe and jump a lot. Turn in and get next quest. ==========Circle Of Death: Final Round========== Level 18 Rewards: 4800 XP, $9612, Random Prize Same routine but with even more alphas. Even though the game says this is a level 18 quest, the skags are level 15 so this can be done at lower levels if you're prepared. All you really need is some fire damage to kill the alpha skags. I hope you kept The Clipper or some form of fire gun. Turn in when done. Finally turn in "Sledge: To The Safe House" at the waypoint and get the next quest. *New quests from Shep and Fyrestone Bounty Board: Get "What Hit The Fan" and "Scavenger: Combat Rifle." ==========What Hit The Fan========== Level 13 Rewards: 2700 XP, $4363 Very easy quest. Go there on your vehicle and fire rockets at the windmill from a distance. Go to next quest. ==========Scavenger: Combat Rifle========== Level 15 Rewards: 2346 XP, Combat Rifle Head to waypoint. The parts are pretty easy to find. This area also has a high leveled big red container which is nice for farming and selling for money. Just get it and reload the game to farm it. Turn this and "What Hit The Fan" quest in when done. ==========Sledge: Battle For The Badlands========== Level 17 Rewards: 9804 XP, $6866, Class Mod Stock up on ammo when you zone into the mine. There is a couple of big containers inside the buildings on the right side so stick to that side. When you reach a big machine gun, aim for the head for a quick easy kill if you have a sniper rifle or another accurate gun. If not, be sure to burst it down before it recovers health. When you pass the machine gun, you can go left for a big container inside a building. Then keep heading to the waypoint. When you get there, remember to stock up on ammo and health. It's time to fight Sledge. He uses a shotgun that fires 2 burst shots and takes awhile to reload. He also does a slam that creates a shockwave. None of them do too much damage as long as you keep moving. Use the surroundings to keep something between you and him. Time his shotguns shots to attack him while he reloads. During the fight, bandits will continue to spawn. I find these guys more deadlier than the boss, because they prevent you from recharging your shield. If you're unlucky, a bad version may spawn as well. Kill the bandits off as soon as you can. Keep shooting the boss in the head and use grenades. As long as you kill the bandits off and stay behind cover, this should be an easy fight. Once you kill him, open the big white container for the objective and turn this in to finally get your first class mod. Also get the next quest. *There are 3 new quests in the Fyrestone Bounty Board but I'm skipping them. Up to you if you want to do them. ==========Leaving Fyrestone========== Level 18 Rewards: 1200 XP Finally a new area. Just head to the waypoint, talk to the Claptrap, zone into Dahl Headland, and turn this in to Ernest. Get both quests. ====================Dahl Headland ==================== Welcome to Dahl Headland. Finally a new place but not much change in scenery. Nothing really special about this place except to watch out for vehicle patrols if you go through the middle on foot. ==========Getting Lucky========== Level 18 Rewards: 2400 XP, $1922, Grenade Mod Head to the waypoint. Snipe the enemies and blow up barrels when they are near them. After you finish killing them, proceed and more enemies will appear at the gate that opens. After that, there will be a bad version of a bruiser inside the house. Then go in the house and turn this quest in to Lucky and get the next quest. ==========Big Game Hunter========== Level 20 Rewards: 5280 XP, $4823, Sniper Rifle Go get bait and then place it next to the cave. Here comes Scagzilla. He has a couple of attacks. He tries to jump on you which is really easy to dodge. He spits a big ball which is kind of hard to dodge but not too damaging. He charges at you which I found really hard to dodge but it's not that damaging. He will walk toward you to do swipes. RUN when you see him walk towards you. It's not that damaging but he tends to do several swipes at a time. Now the key attack to look for is when he looks like he is charging his head up for something. This is when he opens his huge vulnerable mouth to do a easily dodged beam attack. This is the time to do all your damage into his mouth as it will all be critical and let you take him down real fast. This can be done at level 18 even though he is level 21. Turn this is when done. ==========Powering The Fast Travel Network========== Level 20 Rewards: 2376 XP, $2411 Take a vehicle to the first waypoint, hit the button, kill the monsters or ride to the next waypoint, hit that button, kill the enemies or head to the last waypoint. Kill as much as you can with the vehicle or just kill them all on foot and activate the last switch. Turn in and get the next quest. If you're wondering, the fast travel can be used on the save poles with a use button on them. If you look at the map, it will be located in areas with the undiscovered(?) or the outpost(monitor) icon. ==========Road Warriors: Hot Shots========== Level 18 Rewards: 2400 XP, $1922 Very easy. Just go out there in the vehicle and start killing patrols with the rocket launcher. Just keep moving to dodge their rockets. If you have a hard time dodging and shooting them manually with the rocket launcher, try getting the machine gun and locking onto them and focus on dodging. Turn in and get next quest when done. ==========Road Warriors: Bandits Apocalypse========== Level 20 Rewards: 10560 XP, $9646, Weapon Slot Worst part of the game if you're playing the PC version. I actually did this part the way it was intended only once out of about 10 freaking tries. I was able to do it by boosting a lot. I had to kill the patrols with manual aim, because the lock on couldn't catch up to their speed. When Mad Mel pops out, I lock on to him and do laps around the arena while boosting. It takes awhile, but this was the only way I was able to do it legitimately. According to t0k0l0v3r, this will be easier if you use machine gun instead of the rocket launcher. Unlike the rocket launcher, the machine gun will hit them when you lock onto them. I couldn't try this myself for this quest, but I do believe it will be quite effective. The easier way is to first take out as much as you can on vehicle since you have to trigger the event. Then when you die, you will spawn outside. Just kill everything from the safety of the ramp. After this crap is over, head over and talk to the Claptrap, head to New Haven, turn this in and get the next one. ====================New Haven ==================== Yay, the famed New Haven! You can farm the 5 big containers on the rooftops for money, weapons, and gear. Anyways, let's continue. ==========Claptrap Rescue: New Haven========== Level 21 Rewards: 1380 XP, Backpack SDU You know the drill. Turn in for more bag space and gain access to one of the 5 big containers. ==========Power To The People========== Level 20 Rewards: 2376 XP, $2411 Easy quest. Just activate all the power and turn this in. ==========Seek Out Tannis========== Level 21 Rewards: 2760 XP, $2700 Just head to the waypoint. Turn in and get the next quest. ==========Meet 'Crazy' Earl========== Level 22 Rewards: 2880 XP, $3025 Just follow the waypoints, stand back before blowing up the small path, turn this in at the floating head behind the door, and get the available 2 quests. ==========Get Off My Lawn!========== Level 22 Rewards: 4320 XP, $3025 Just do the quest below while killing everything and this will be completed on its own. ==========Today's Lesson: High Explosives========== Level 22 Rewards: 7200 XP, $9075, Grenade Mod Get to the waypoint to pick up the charge, get to the next waypoint to set the charge, stand back, and get the 2 big red containers that was inside the cage, turn 2 quests in at Crazy Earl and get the next quest. ==========Hair Of The Dog========== Level 23 Rewards: 4950 XP, $5082 A straight forward quest. Just get to Treacher's Landing and start killing bandits until you get 24 booze. Then fast travel back to Earl, turn this in and get both quests. *At this point, I was only level 22 so I went back to New Haven to get some quests. Go to the bounty board, Helena, and Scooter and get all the quests available. ==========Is T.K. O.K.?========== Level 21 Rewards: 6075 XP, $8102, Grenade Mod Fast travel is Fyrestone and go to Baha's house. Check out Baha. You will get ambushed by a couple bandits. Either kill them or get out of there before they ambush you and continue to the next quest. ==========Like A Moth To Flame========== Level 21 Rewards: 8280 XP, $8102, Shotgun (The Blister) This is an annoying quest if you don't know what to do. Head to the waypoint and note the location of the Catch-A-Ride on the map. Light the torches and run to the Catch-A-Ride and take cover. Just pop out to hit Mothrakk and get back under to recharge your shield. Do this until it dies. Another thing is that Mothrakk is freaking level 25 even though the quest level says 21. Nice trick they pulled off.... As a level 22, it took quite a bit to take it down. Up to you if you want to do this at a higher level. Head to New Haven, turn 2 quests in, then go to the next quest. ==========Corrosive Crystal Harvest========== Level 21 Rewards: 5520 XP, $2700, Corrosive Artifact Just do this quest as you do "King Tossing." Shoot the crystals to release 5 smaller crystals and pick them up. Do this 10 times. Nice and easy. ==========King Tossing========== Level 21 Rewards: 5244 XP, $5401, Submachine Gun (The Spy) Just get to waypoint. Be sure to find the Claptrap along the way and get the quest. Make your way to King Wee Wee. He is pretty easy. He throws his axe, he does a small area of effect attack around him, and he swings his axe. All his attacks aren't very damaging so just shoot him down. He drops a shield that has a hidden property of increasing health and replenishing health at a pretty good rate. I found this useful for awhile so take it unless you happen to have an even better shield. ==========Claptrap Rescue: Tetanus Warren========== Level 25 Rewards: 1380 XP, Backpack SDU Just pick the repair kit on the way to King Wee Wee. You have to get on the buildings on the other side, jump onto the buildings on the side with the repair kit, then carefully jump your way to the repair kit. Turn this in on the way back out. ==========Missing Persons========== Level 24 Rewards: 1560 XP, $3794 Just head to waypoint and turn this in and get the available quest. ==========Hidden Journal: Rust Commons West========== Level 23 Rewards: 6000 XP, $20328 Head to waypoint to get the first journal. You will be attacked by Rakanishu, a big rakk. You can kill it or just go to the second journal. Then get the third journal. Then do the quest "Up To Our Ears" and "Scooter's Used Car Parts" before going for the fourth journal. After the fourth journal, do the quest "Scavenger: Submachine Gun." Then get the last journal and turn the quests in at New Haven. ==========Up To Our Ears========== Level 21 Rewards: 5520 XP, $8102, Random Prize Head to waypoint but go around to the back by higher ground. Just shoot the 2 pipes open from the safety of higher ground. ==========Scooter's Used Car Parts========== Level 21 Rewards: 4140 XP, $10803 Clear the area and collect all the parts. Get back to "Hidden Journal: Rust Commons West." ==========Scavenger: Submachine Gun========== Level 23 Rewards: 3450 XP, Submachine Gun Head to waypoint and clear it out. The SMG magazine is inside a tire around the middle. SMG Barrel is on top of a large container near the entrance. SMG body is on the first floor roof of the building. The SMG Sight is on the broken bridge which has to be reached by jumping after getting the SMG body. Get back to "Hidden Journal: Rust Commons West" afterwards. ==========Middle Of Nowhere No More: Investigate========== Level 24 Rewards: 4680 XP, $3794, Class Mod Head to waypoint. Use the bounty board and turn this in at John. ==========The Next Piece========== Level 25 Rewards: 6480 XP, $8500 If you can, get yourself a gun with at least 90 accuracy. Then head to waypoint. When you get to the boss, snipe him from where you are. Of course do it from cover since he launches triple rockets. It might take a bit of time but it should be a piece of cake. Then just head to where the boss was, get the next piece, then head back and turn this in and get the next quest. ==========Jaynistown: Secret Rendezvous========== Level 27 Rewards: 3480 XP, $5331 Turn this in at waypoint and get the next quest. ==========Jaynistown: A Brother's Love========== Level 27 Rewards: 6264 XP, $10662 Head to the waypoiny from where Taylor is and go up the ramp. Jump onto the rock and start sniping as many as you can. Then go to the waypoint and kill Jaynis anyway you like as he is just like a bad version of a bandit. I did this at level 25 in case you're wondering. Turn this in at Taylor and get the next quest. ==========Jaynistown: Spread The Word========== Level 27 Rewards: 1740 XP Fast travel to New Haven, turn this in, and get the next Jaynistown quest. ==========Jaynistown: Getting What's Coming To You========== Level 27 Rewards: 4872 XP, $15993 Head to waypoint and turn this in on the button and get next quest. ==========Jaynistown: Unintended Consequences========== Level 27 Rewards: 3480 XP You'll get ambushed by bandits. Either kill them or run. Turn this in at Helena and get all available quests. *It's that time again. I'm at level 25 so time to do some side quests. Get all quests from Scooter and New Haven bounty board. Then fast travel to Krom's Canyon. ==========Earl Needs Food...Badly========== Level 25 Rewards: 9720 XP, $21250 Yay, this place again.... Except you go down the path to the right this time. Just follow the waypoint and get the canned meats. Along the way you'll find another Claptrap. Get the quest and look below if you need to. When you get to your 7th meat, the rest will be where the quest "Two Wrongs Make A Right" is at. ==========Claptrap Rescue: Krom's Canyon========== Level 25 Rewards: 1620 XP, Backpack SDU This one's easy since the repair kit is in an area you already cleared. Get on the hut near the repair kit and jump towards the repair kit and press use on it during the jump to get it. Then just turn this in for more bag space and a big red container the Claptrap leads you to. ==========Two Wrongs Make A Right========== Level 25 Rewards: 5670 XP, $8500 Just head here. The boss will crawl out of the cave. He is just like any other bad version of a bandit so use the just take cover and take his head. Turn this and the other quest at New Haven and Crazy Earl. ==========Wanted: Fresh Fish========== Level 27 Rewards: 6920 XP, $21324, Rocket Launcher (Leviathan) Just do this while doing the quest "I've Got A Sinking Feeling...." Obviously stock up on grenades before you go in. ==========I've Got A Sinking Feeling...========== Level 27 Rewards: 17400 XP, $26656, Rocket Launcher At the waypoints, shoot the large Jakobs gas tanks at the back of the boats to blow them up. Turn the quests in at New Haven. ==========Relight The Beacons========== Level 27 Rewards: 10440 XP, $15993 Fast travel to Middle of Nowhere and head to the waypoint. After getting the first beacon, do the quest "Middle Of Nowhere No More: Fuses? Really?," "Middle Of Nowhere No More: Small Favor," and "Jaynistown: Cleaning Up Your Mess" described below. Then get the last beacon and turn the quest in. ==========Middle Of Nowhere No More: Fuses? Really?========== Level 24 Rewards: 6240 XP, $15178 At the destination, start opening the green piles of puke until you get 3 fuses. The enemies here are low level so either ignore them or kill them. Turn this in and get next quest. ==========Middle Of Nowhere No More: Small Favor========== Level 24 Rewards: 6240 XP, $15178 Easy quest. Just kill some spiderants and turn this in and get next quest. ==========Jaynistown: Cleaning Up Your Mess========== Level 29 Rewards: 13392 XP, $20062 Make your way towards the waypoint. When you get there, trigger the boss and get behind the entrance wall. Stay here and take out the machine gun turrets and the bruisers. Then take out the boss. Not much to say since this is all I did during this encounter. Then head to the waypoint and turn this in to the most awesome Claptrap ever. You'll automatically get the next quest. ==========Middle Of Nowhere No More: Scoot On Back========== Level 24 Rewards: 3432 XP, $11383, Shield Turn this in at New Haven. ==========Another Piece Of The Puzzle========== Level 27 Rewards: 10440 XP, $15993 This is your only chance to get to the secret basement in New Haven. The door on the small building that is behind the building left to Helen's building will slide open and lead to the basement. In the basement is a couple of enemies including an axe wielding level 31 badass bruiser. The loot is not that good, but there is a unique weapon called the Rider and it is the only weapon made by the company called gearbox. When you're done with the basement, head to the waypoint. You'll fight a Rakk Hive. He is actually pretty easy for his size. He will launch Rakks at you. Just shoot them down before they get you. He also launches corrosive balls that leave a temporary cloud that damages you. It's easy to avoid. Just keep shooting his eyes until he dies. Head to waypoint and get the objective. Then head back to Tannis, turn this in, then get the next quest. ==========Smoke Signals: Investigate Old Haven========== Level 28 Rewards: 6120 XP, $11941 Head to Old Haven and turn this in to the dead bodies and get the next quest. Also head NE from there and get the quest from the green glow on the body. ==========Smoke Signals: Shut Them Down========== Level 28 Rewards: 6480 XP, $29854, Class Mod Head to the waypoints and hit the buttons. Turn this in after you complete "Not Without My Claptrap." ==========Bandit Treasure: Three Corpses, Three Keys========== Level 28 Rewards: 10800 XP, $5970 Head to waypoints and get keys. Then do "Not Without My Claptrap." After that, head back to where you got this quest and go into the shack to turn this in. Up to you if you want to do the follow up. ==========Not Without My Claptrap========== Level 28 Rewards: 10800 XP, $5970 Free the Claptrap at the waypoint. Turn this in and get the next quest. ==========The Final Piece========== Level 30 Rewards: 15360 XP, $29959 At the waypoint, kill 4 patrols just like before. Then go inside and up the elevator in the middle. This is a somewhat long battle. You can't get close to the boss yet. Keep killing the bandits. Eventually, two big bruiser like guys will come up. One is melee and one has a gun. For their size, they do very little damage so keep popping their heads off until their dead. Then clear the bandits and go for the boss. He has a rocket launcher that bursts fire a bunch of rounds but they're inaccurate. You have to watch out at close range though. Keep running around to get behind cover and pop the boss's head until he is dead. When he is dead, head to his throne and turn this in on the big white container that appears and get the next quest. Also, watch out as you exit this area as it is surrounded by Lance. ==========Get Some Answers========== Level 30 Rewards: 15360 XP, Artifact Head to waypoint. Nothing much to expect except more Crimson Lance. Turn this in and get next quest. ==========Find the ECHO Command Console========== Level 31 Rewards: 3960 XP Just head to waypoint, turn this in, get next quest. ==========Reactivate the ECHO Comm System========== Level 31 Rewards: 9900 XP On your way north, you'll reach a garage. Inside is a bunch of bad engineers so be prepared. Outside, you'll see many guardians. Shock weapons will come in handy. Burn their shields down with shock weapons. Just head to waypoints, head inside the buildings, activate the switch, repeat 2 more times. Then head back to where you got this quest, turn in and get next quest. ==========Find Steele========== Level 32 Rewards: 20400 XP God this is so long. I was so tired of this by this time that I just skipped areas where the Lance and guardians are busy fighting each other. Not much change in strategy. Just go for headshots and use shock weapons against the guardians to break their shield. After awhile you'll reach the vault. Next quest. ==========Destroy The Destroyer========== Level 32 Rewards: 28560 XP, $9395 This is it! The vault is finally open! Time to kill this monster. For a final boss, the strategy required is very simplistic. Take cover behind rock, shoot eye. I just kept going from rock to rock to avoid the projectiles. According to tomoroboros, you can stop the projectiles by shooting down the big grey tentacles with purple orbs in them. It doesn't do any damage to the boss, but it makes the encounter easier. It will be critical hits if you shoot the purple orbs in the tentacles. I also noticed that you can use them to get second wind. When the boss is dead, next quest will start. ==========Bring The Vault Key To Tannis========== Level 32 Rewards: 17136 XP, $234885 Turn this in at Tannis. Congratulations! You beat Borderlands! You now have access to playthrough 2 which is exactly same as playthrough 1 except it has higher leveled everything and you start out with whatever you have right now. =========================Enemies ========================= Skags: Generally easy kills. I find automatic guns or shotguns to be effective against these. Jump around and strafe to avoid their attacks. They take critical damage if you shoot into their mouths when they roar. To kill their alphas, use fire or corrosive weapons. Spiderants: Very easy kills. Any gun should work. Shoot head to expose abdomen then shoot abdomen. Bandits: Easy kills. I find it safer to use sniper rifles and other accurate weapons to pop heads behind cover though you can also go Rambo with automatic weapons and shotguns. Rakks: Very easy kills. Shotguns or automatic guns preferred. They are still very deadly if not dealt with and allowed to attack in numbers. Lance: I find them very annoying. Especially their badasses or badmuthas. I definitely prefer sniper rifles and accurate weapons against these guys so I can pop their heads off behind cover. People claim fire and corrosives to be very effective but I find consistent headshots with regular guns to be more effective. It probably depends on what class you are so either snipe their heads off or use fire or corrosive weapons. Guardians: Also somewhat annoying to kill with their shields and their movement. I prefer to use automatic weapons against most these. Use shock weapons if you have any to get rid of their annoying shield. =========================Classes ========================= I only played Hunter and Soldier so I can only comment on those classes. Skills that say that it lasts a few seconds is about 7 seconds and they do not stack on themselves. They just replace the previous one. ====================Hunter ==================== I really enjoyed playing as Hunter. The boost in damage for sniper rifle and pistols are nice and bloodwing is pretty decent. =====Skills===== -=Sniper=- Focus: I don't find this very useful. I do notice the sniper rifles having less sway but I don't notice any accuracy increase in the weapons. I only take this skill because I don't like any of the tier 2 skills. Caliber: Very nice %20 increase to sniper rifle damage. Must have if you want to go deeper into this tree. Smirk: I don't like this skill. It's not that I can't get critical hit kills, I prefer skills that help me survive or kill something rather than something that does neither and can be compensated by killing more. I can see how this can be useful in a group though. Killer: I don't like skills that require me to kill one before I even get the effect for 2 reasons. One, I need to encounter at least 2 enemies to get to use this. Two, it only lasts about 7 seconds. As a hunter, I usually take cover and I find it hard to make good use of this skill during the 7 seconds. I still may take this skill since the other available skills aren't that good either. Loaded: I like this skill. I hate sniper rifles with only 3 ammo per clip and this skill makes it 5 bullets per clip which I find a lot more manageable. Carrion Call: It's a potentially very good skill. It definitely makes it so I can use Bloodwing a lot more frequently. I just don't like the way it forces me to use sniper rifle. There are situations where sniper rifle is not the way to go. But if I don't use a sniper rifle, it takes forever to use bloodwing again. I prefer to get predator with class mods to improve that so it takes less than 10 seconds to reuse bloodwing no matter what gun I use. Trespass: I love this skill. I can ignore those pesky shields especially on guardians later in the game. Even if they don't have a shield, I do %5 extra damage and I love doing extra damage. -=Rogue=- Swift Strike: Definitely helps bloodwing. The extra speed comes in handy as well. Swipe: So useless.... Money, health, or ammo is rarely an issue. Most extra drops seem to be cash which makes this even more useless. Fast Hands: An okay skill. Comes in handy for weapons with small clip size. Out For Blood: A good skill. It usually fills your health to full with just one bloodwing use. Aerial Impact: An okay skill. I never really found any enemy speed to be dangerous and there is usually cover to dodge enemy fire. Still one of the better skills especially if you take Bird of Prey. Ransack: Gee, they had to make this a kill trigger effect. I never got this skill. I just don't find this skill very appealing. I might have gotten spoiled by New Haven farming. Bird of Prey: This skill is very nice. It can kill all lesser enemies in the area. If you want the bloodwing to come back earlier so you can heal and reuse the bloodwing faster, press the use skill button. -=Gunslinger=- Deadly: I love this skill. I love getting critical hits and this skill improves that will all guns. Gun Crazy: I love this skill so much! Pistols and revolvers will fire 2 bullets instead of one 40% of the time which is basically a 40% damage increase! It doesn't even use up an extra bullet when this happens. Lethal Strike: I don't find hunter strong enough for close range battle. I'd rather take cover or run from enemies. I don't think this is a lot of damage anyways. If you want to melee, play a brick. Riotous Remedy: Not a bad skill at all. I know I said I didn't like skills that trigger from killing, but this one, you don't need 2 enemies to see the benefit. I just find it hard to pass up on Deadly and Gun Crazy to get this. Predator: The skill to get if you want to use Bloodwing. This with class mods that increase this will make it so you can use this in less than 10 seconds which is awesome. Hair Trigger: Decent skill but I find it hard to pass up Predator for this. Relentless: I don't like skills like this especially as a hunter. Up to you if you want to get this. ====================Soldier ==================== Scorpio Turret FTW! Scorpio turret attacks, give cover, gives ammo, supplies, and health, and it's awesome! Soldier also has general weapon damage increase and the best multiplayer support skills. Scorpio Turret seems to last about 18 seconds. =====Skills===== -=Infantry=- Impact: I love this skill. Scorpio turret is nice, but most damage will come from the soldier himself and this skill makes him that much better at it. Sentry: Not bad, but I prefer Impact over this. Scattershot: Also not bad. Unfortunately I prefer being behind cover and going for critical hits than going up close with a shotgun most of the time. If you use shotgun, get this. Metal Storm: I don't like effects that happen after a kill. There are also other better skills available. Refire: It's a great skill. It really reduces the cooldown by a lot. Assault: This skill is okay. Assault rifles have low ammo per clip and heavy machine guns have horrible recoil so this helps compensate both. Still, it's not as good enough to replace Refire. Guided Missile: I tried it for a bit but it seems to miss a lot. Even if it hits, it does minimal damage. I would pass on this skill. -=Support=- Defense: Not a good skill. Take this if you don't need Stockpile. Stockpile: This skill is only good if you don't have any other ammunition regeneration. Take this if you don't have any other regeneration. Quick Charge: Awesome skill. You can be more aggressive against several enemies with this skill. Barrage: This skill improves the damage scorpio turret a good amount. Grenadier: Another good skill. With this, you can grenade all you want. But you might as well take Deploy and Supply Drop so you get grenades AND get to use scorpio turret more often. Deploy: Great skill. Even though it says 100% cooldown reduction, it still takes 50 seconds so it reduced it by half. Still a great skill. Supply Drop: Great skill. It replenishes ammo including grenades. It's nice that you don't need to kill something to replenish grenades like Grenadier. -=Medic=- Fitness: Not bad. This actually works well with Aid Station. Aid Station: Not bad. It will heal you almost fully from very low health. Overload: A mediocre skill. If the gun has very low ammo or too much ammo, this skill isn't going to help much. Cauterize: I haven't played multiplayer, but I can see the potential. The other player can get up close and personal to the enemies and dish out damage and act as a meat shield while the soldier heals and does some damage himself as well. Revive: I don't think this is good at all. The scorpio turret has to be out and in range. There is also a chance of failure. I wouldn't take this skill. Grit: Mediocre skill. It's only for bullets which I don't find that threatening in the first place. Stat: Alone, I don't think this is very good. In a group, I think this is great. =========================Weapons ========================= The numbers I put in are just general trends. Some guns may go higher or lower than the numbers I provided. Comments are from my experience and may differ with others' experience with these guns. -=Pistols=- Damage: Low-Medium Accuracy: 50-95 Rate of Fire: 3-20 Ammo Per Clip: 12-70 Comments: Pistols are just like submachine guns but tend to be weaker. Amazing in the hands of a gunslinging hunter. -=Revolvers=- Damage: High Accuracy: 50-100 Rate of Fire: 0.3-3 Ammo Per Clip: 2-6 Comments: Generally weaker version of sniper rifle. Still accurate even without zooming in unlike sniper rifles. There is also a shotgun version of this gun. It's usually around x7 and the accuracy obviously goes down. Amazing in the hands of a gunslinging hunter. -=Shotguns=- Damage: High Accuracy: 0-80 Rate of Fire: 0.3-3 Ammo Per Clip: 2-12 Comments: Deals very high damage at close range or even medium range. There is also a rocket launcher version, but the rocket velocity is too slow. -=Submachine Guns=- Damage: Low-Medium Accuracy: 50-95 Rate of Fire: 3-20 Ammo Per Clip: 12-70 Comments: Just like heavy machinegun but weaker and smaller clip size but more accurate. -=Combat Rifles=- Damage: Medium Accuracy: 50-95 Rate of Fire: 3-20 Ammo Per Clip: 6-70 Comments: There are 2 versions. Assault rifle version that burst fires 3 shots and heavy machinegun version that is automatic fire. Assault rifle is more accurate while heavy machinegun has a bigger clip size. -=Sniper Rifles=- Damage: High Accuracy: 80-100 Rate of Fire: 0.3-3 Ammo Per Clip: 2-8 Comments: Very high and accurate damage. Most have scope and extra critical damage. This gun is effective against humanoids with guns since you can snipe their heads off behind cover with this. Accuracy plummets when not zoomed in. -=Launchers=- Damage: High Accuracy: 50-95 Rate of Fire: 0.3-3 Ammo Per Clip: 1-3 Comments: Decent weapon. Effective when enemies are bunched up. Can be used to spread certain elemental damage to enemies. Can also hurt self. -=Alien Weapons=- Damage: Varies Accuracy: Varies Rate of Fire: Varies Ammo Per Clip: Low Comments: Shock version of weapons with unlimited ammo. Problem is energy gets depleted very fast and it takes awhile to recharge which is horrible. Elements None: More raw damage than guns with elements so it's useful. Mainly weak against enemies such as alpha skags. Fire: I find this to be the best overall element to use if I had to use an element. It does decent damage over time damage. This is the best way to kill those annoying alpha skags, even the bad versions. Shock: Best against shields. Only enemies that have heavy shield are guardians. I don't find this element very useful since it does less damage to anything that's not a shield. Explosive: I don't like this element either. It has a chance to do extra damage. I'd rather have a higher raw damage than a chance to do extra. Corrosive: This element is okay. It's supposed to make enemies with heavy armor take more damage while they take small damage over time damage. I still prefer higher raw damage over this. An exception is against alpha skags. This is pretty good against them. =========================Loots ========================= This section has some information about the loot in this game. -Loot drops: Enemies will drop anything that is not unique. Most small containers will only contain some money, ammo, and health. Lockers contain money, ammo, health, and sometimes weapon or gear. Big green containers will only have random ammo in them. Big red containers have weapons or gear, ammo, and grenades. The contents have a theme. It will be 4 small guns, 2 medium guns, or 1 launcher with ammo related to them or just have one alien gun in it. Big white containers will only have weapons or gear. It will also have a theme. Most of these containers have random contents except ones involved in a quest and a select few in the world. They also become new when the game reloads or enough time passes. -Rarity: The rarity is color coded in the following manner: White-Green-Blue-Purple-Yellow-Orange-Dark Orange-White This can be known because the game organizes the stuff in this order with rarer ones being on top. The only way to differentiate common white from super rare white is by looking at the game list. The super rare white also has special red text in them. Some guns will have red text in their description which text represent what kind of special quality the gun has. It can be ammo regeneration, high ammo capacity, bullet properties, etc. -New Haven: New Haven has 5 big containers in it, 1 big container near it, and a secret basement. You can farm these by looting them, exiting, then loading the game. This is the best way to farm money and get really good guns. 4 big containers are on the rooftops, 1 big container is reached by doing the Claptrap quest in this place, and 1 big container is just outside the town to the south. The secret basement has a requirement. You need to be on the "Another Piece Of The Puzzle" quest and not do any part of it. Then you can enter a small house in the back through a door that slides open if you are on that quest. Check youtube and search New Haven for locations of these containers and the basement. =========================Conclusion ========================= Thanks for reading my guide. I hope you found it useful. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, feel free to e-mail me at mrjhwar@hotmail.com. I may not always reply because of laziness, but I'll try my best. =========================Credits ========================= TrojanGuy1: Secret basement in New Haven guide on youtube t0k0l0v3r: Description for Siren and let me know vehicle mounted machine gun's effectiveness against other vehicles tuesdaynitro: Informed me that the bloodwing can be called back earlier by pressing the use skill button tomoroboros: More information for last boss