In Borderlands 3, players return to the planet Pandora to take on missions, shoot through enemies, and explore the world's vaults. Set seven years after the end of the previous game, the player character is recruited by Lilith, a former protagonist, to join the Crimson Raiders and stop the Children of the Vault, a cult-like entity with less-than-peaceful intentions.
Since its September release, Borderlands 3 has come out with a lot of free updates and DLC. In particular, the Takedown at Maliwan's Blacksite finally provides a raid-boss level challenge in the form of Wotan the Invincible.
Wotan the Invincible is a mechanical beast which serves as the final encounter in the Takedown on Maliwan Mission, and the first raid boss added to Borderlands 3. Raid bosses are a staple in the Borderlands franchise, being extremely dangerous enemies with high health and damage that require a team to take down. The Wotan fight consists of different phases involved with getting through the shields and whittling down its health before going for the kill in the final phase. This guide will go over recommended level and Borderlands weapons players should use while detailing each phase of the encounter and how to beat it.
Recommended Level and Gear
Before stepping into the Takedown on Maliwan, Vault Hunters should be in a team of Level 50 and fully-geared allies to even think about making it through the mission. Because Wotan the invincible is an armored, robotic foe, it is weak to damage from corrosive weapons. At the same time, players should bring a shock weapon because of the shielding that happens throughout most of the fight. If possible, acquiring a legendary weapon before setting off on the mission will greatly benefit the team. Recommended legendary weapons include the Cutsman, a legendary SMG, but only when firing at shield openings and when the shield is down. Alternatively, the Brainstormer, a legendary shotgun, can damage Wotan even behind its shields if aimed at the other nearby enemies first.
Phase 1
The first phase starts with Wotan hiding behind a single shield and will end once it has been damaged enough. Wotan's two main abilities throughout all phases are Missile Barrage and Laser Shots. Move, jump, and slide away from the missile indicators while hiding behind cover, like the pillars, to avoid the lasers. While the shield is up, players can damage Wotan by shooting at the shield gaps near the floor. Alternatively, using a shock weapon to bring down the shield faster will expose the small glowing weak-point on Wotan's back, allowing the team to unload on it.
Phase 2
In the second phase, Wotan will summon a rotating shield and several Valkyries simultaneously. The team should deal with a few of the adds at the very least before focusing on the boss again. However, the shield will always have an opening that moves around, so players should keep running and shooting at the gap instead of waiting for the shield to spin back around. Note that Borderland's grenades will not slide through the shield and must be aimed at the opening too. Once the shield is down, Wotan will jump around the arena for the rest of the phase.
Phase 3
Once the third phase begins, Wotan will shield itself for the last time, bringing up two more that must be destroyed before it can be exposed. Players can pass through the outer shield in order to take shots at the vertical opening in the inner shield, similar to the previous phase. After the outer shield is broken, Wotan summons Thor and Kraken robots that can be dealt with by a corrosive weapon before turning attention back on the boss. Once the outer shield is gone, the inner shield's opening will shift to the top of the shield. Using the pillars that players have been hiding behind will allow them to jump into the air and onto higher ground to shoot through the weak points.
Phase 4
In the fourth phase, Wotan the Invincible will split into two parts that must be taken down to complete the mission. The components can be taken down in any order, but Wotan's upper body that flies throughout the arena bombarding the team with missiles and lasers is more dangerous and recommended to kill first.
While dealing with the upper half, keep moving so that missiles and other projectiles are trained on where players were rather than their current location. Keeping an eye on the sky will allow the team to pinpoint where rockets are coming from as well as where they should be aiming.
Wotan's lower body has only one new ability: when jumping around, it will eject energy orbs that move away from the impact point in a circle. The team should move away from where it lands and wait for a wide enough gap between the orbs to form. Furthermore, the lower half will generate one more shield that players have to break before dealing with it, so remember to use shock weapons. Once one part of the Wotan's body is history, the other half will follow shortly and drop the legendary loot the Borderlands series is known for.
Borderlands 3Â is out now for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One with a Stadia version in development.
Source: GameWith
