Highlights
- Borderlands has a variety of raid bosses that instill fear in players and require strategic planning to defeat. Some of these bosses, like Crawmerax the Invincible and Voracidous, are particularly challenging and often require teams to take them down.
- The Ancient Dragons of Destruction in Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC pose a tough challenge with their unique attacks, and defeating all four requires a team effort.
- While some raid bosses, like Master Gee offer different mechanics and modes of defeating them, others such as The Invincible Sentinel and The Invincible Son of Crawmerax are easier and less memorable to fight.
For all the quirky characters and humorous one-liners that give Borderlands an edgy tone, at its very heart, it's a looter-shooter. Like any solidly balanced RPG on the market, some of its questlines are a breeze to get past and barely require a player to leave first gear, but the franchise has its fair share of deadly clashes to make its player base sweat. Since the days of Crawmerax the Invincible in the first Borderlands installment, the Gearbox brainchild's raid bosses have instilled a healthy fear in Vault Hunters, and each comes with unique advantages for an opponent to scheme around. None are easy to overcome compared to regular foes, but even among these top-tier enemies, some are more frightening to lock horns with than others.
Through the years, the Borderlands franchise has built up an impressive repertoire of missions, stretching the limits of the abilities of its player base with increasingly powerful final bosses and endurance last-stand battles in the Circle of Slaughter mode. Raid bosses are the pinnacle of achievement in the series, and although defeating the characters isn't necessary to complete the main storylines, the achievement rewards tempt many players to try their hands at the villains. A lot of them have "the Invincible" affixes in their names, and the distinction isn't for nothing, as a slight misstep in the encounters can spell death for gamers. Even still, there's a way to rank the bosses by effectiveness and sheer fear factor.
S Tier
Crawmerax the Invincible: There's a certain deference that has to be given to the iconic character that kickstarted the Borderlands raid boss chronicles, and Crawmerax the Invincible was a being out of nightmares for players in the first installment's optional "You. Will. Die." mission. Gamers often fancy slaying bosses by themselves, but Crawmerax's gigantic health bar and prolific one-hit attacks required players to gang up in teams to stand a chance of winning.
Voracidous the Invincible: One of the more revered opponents in Borderlands history, Voracidous from Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC is a massive hurdle to get past. Apart from being a Stalker that can go invisible, players have to watch out for its companion in Chief Ngwatu, who gives the raid boss a shield along with its already beefy health bar.
Ancient Dragons of Destruction: The only raid boss to escape the "Invincible" moniker, Gearbox put its Vault Hunters in a tough spot with the Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC through the four brutal dragons. Each has a unique attack base; Healianth with shock, Incinerator with fire, and so on. Healianth is often the first target to remove because of its healing abilities, but overcoming all four requires a team effort of the best-equipped players.
A Tier
Master Gee the Invincible: A nice change of pace from the regular monstrous raid boss battles, Master Gee is one of the most annoying opponents in Borderlands. Luring him through pools of acid left by his sandworm companions is the only way to defeat him, and his damage gets even more deadly as his health goes lower.
Dexiduous the Invincible: The hunt for the best Borderlands loot often leads players down unfriendly paths, and spawning Dexiduous is one of the riskier endeavors in the franchise. The raid boss is nearly immune to most attack types with a massive helping of health, although Vault Hunters can trap it behind the lodge with some trickery.
Hemovorous the Invincible: Another monster with plenty of health, fighting the massive Varkid is an exercise of patience and endurance. A three-phase battle for the ages, Hemovorous challenges players with its smaller but formidable larvae and the traditional Varkid attacks -- a hellish experience for most players.
B Tier
Terramorphus the Invincible: Terramorphus changed the dynamics of Borderlands' raid battles with its Eridium price tag, and the Thresher is no slouch in combat with its smacking tentacles and elemental attacks. His arena was a focal point of Borderlands 2, making him one of the most iconic bosses in the franchise.
Hyperius the Invincible: Although facing off with Hyperius could be disappointing due to his vulnerability to Zer0's Bore technique, the raid boss has formidable shield bots protecting him. Their defensive abilities coupled with Hyperius' famed rockets are a worthy challenge to overcome for most players.
Vermivorous the Invincible: Fully evolving a Varkid to the Supreme Badass stage gives a small chance of it becoming Vermivorous, and the resulting fight could potentially yield the Norfleet rocket launcher -- one of the most powerful weapons in Borderlands 2.
C Tier
Scourge the Invincible Martyr: Getting to Scourge is a tad more difficult than facing the boss itself, which is an anomaly for Borderlands' raid battles. However, Scourge makes up for his limited fighting prowess with the possibility of an insta-kill through explosions and teleportation to different arenas.
Haderax the Invincible: Borderlands 2's final raid boss, Haderax, is one of the easier opponents in the Gearbox franchise. Inspired by Dune's sandworms, most maxed-out characters will coast to victory over Haderax, although the Rainbow rarity rewards upon his defeat are something to look forward to.
Wotan the Invincible: Like Scourge, getting to Wotan is a bigger task than fighting him. The robot deploys many shields in battle and leaps over attacks, forcing players to restrategize often for the best ways to crack his defense.
D Tier
The Invincible Sentinel: The only raid boss in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the Invincible Sentinel is essentially an upgraded outfit of the main story's final boss -- which doesn't make for a memorable raid experience by Borderlands standards.
Pete The Invincible: Another upgraded version of a story character, Pete The Invincible's fire and acid damage are formidable but far from impressive due to their limited range.
The Invincible Son of Crawmerax The Invincible: Although Crawmerax's son offers brighter visuals, fighting him is easier than any other raid boss in the Borderlands franchise. His best ability is self-healing, and the loot potential isn't enough to draw players to do battle with him.