Highlights
- Borderlands games are not as easygoing as they may seem, with challenging missions and gameplay twists that can frustrate skilled gamers.
- Borderlands 3 features a mission with two raids in one, requiring players to fight against intimidating bosses and handle dangerous enemies.
- Borderlands 2 has missions like Capture the Flags and The Death Race that demand strategic thinking and unconventional approaches to succeed.
Every RPG has particular missions that push the limits of its players' abilities, stretching back from the days of the notorious Demolition Man helicopter quest in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to the modern-day gaming hell that is squaring up against Gna, the Valkyrie Queen, in God of War: Ragnarok. Although questions of unrealistic difficulty scaling have been raised in some franchises, conquering a game's main questline should never be too easy. Borderlands has a history of putting gamers to the test - despite being one of the more humorous series in any genre - and there are a few missions in its installments that have really put fans to the test.
Renowned for its lighthearted approach to dialogue between its characters, the Borderlands games might be mistaken for an easygoing experience by first-time players. Franchise veterans know better, as the Gearbox brainchild is rife with heart-wrenching tales amidst the humor on display, and the Borderlands series also has some twists and turns in its gameplay that can frustrate even the most skilled gamers. While the hardest missions in an edition vary based on a player's skillset and technical know-how, the Borderlands community can agree that some of the franchise's quests require extra finesse to get past, and are the biggest hurdles to overcome.
Borderlands 3 - You. Will. Die. Over and Over.
Continuing the saga of the first Borderlands and its battle with Crawmerax, players match up against Hemovorous the Invincible in Borderlands 3, and many expected a fight for the ages. What gamers did not see coming, however, was for the mission to have two raids in one. Vermivorous The Invincible returns in the Borderlands installment as the second boss in this quest, and players also have to keep an eye out for the Varkid larvae that can swallow chunks of HP if not handled with care. Hemovorous has an intimidatingly large pool of health, and taking on the boss is a three-phase fight not for the faint of heart.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - The Bestest Story Ever Told
Set between the events of the first two Borderlands games, The Pre-Sequel has its enthralling moments, most compelling of all being its final boss, Sentinel. Defeating the regular Sentinel is already a hard ask, as it is a powerful Vault Monster in its own right, but The Bestest Story Ever Told takes things up a notch by featuring an upgraded version -- the Invincible Sentinel. A two-phase boss battle awaits players, and the Guardian minions pose a threat with nasty projectile damage.
Borderlands 2 - Capture the Flags
The "Capture the Flags" moniker is a clue of the dogged fight that comes with this mission, and Borderlands 2 takes the Vault Hunters on a Brick-honoring trip to raise flags on the map with the aid of generators. Gamers have to deal with the unending barrage of gunfire from surrounding bandits to protect the mechanisms from damage, making it one of Borderlands' most difficult missions.
Borderlands 2 - Tier 3 Battle: The Death Race
Death Races are a dangerous endeavor, and Borderlands 2's DLC mission raises the dynamic's stakes, forcing players to think outside the box for a chance at success. There's little room for error, as one wrong turn of the wheel is essentially game over, and taking unconventional paths around the racetrack is the only way to win.
Borderlands 3 - The Circles of Slaughter
A last-stand-esque battle mode, The Circles of Slaughter exemplifies the glory of gun fights, sending multiple waves of enemies at players who refuse to be overwhelmed by the force of numbers and skill. Borderlands 3 mixes up the traditional gameplay by sending Badass class enemies, and the long duration tests Borderlands gamers' endurance levels.