Like its predecessor, Borderlands 3 has a wide variety of boss fights to deal with. From toughened-up mobs to giant cyborg heads, the game offers a stunning array of bosses. Some of these boss fights can be pretty tricky to handle. These bosses have a huge pool of moves to pull from. And their moves can cover the entire screen and obliterate the player's teensy health bar if they're not careful.
On the other hand, some bosses are complete pushovers. These guys are an XP pinata and are easy to defeat and grind for that glorious, glorious loot. While the difficulty someone has with a boss can depend greatly on the fight itself, here are the bosses that are usually considered the hardest (and the ones which are complete pushovers).
Updated on April 28, 2021 by Emma Majoros: Borderlands 3 is one of the most widely-known FPS role-playing games today. Its unique style in graphics and storytelling is riveting, and fans are eagerly waiting for more from the developers. One of the most compelling parts of the gameplay is the wide variety of boss fights following the storyline. Some villains really challenge the players, and have amazing storylines of their own. Meanwhile, others aren't as fascinating, and are actually pretty forgettable. We've added a couple new additions to this list, in both camps of Borderlands 3 bosses.
12 Best: Agonizer 9000
Everything about this boss screams pain (pun not intended). This giant robot murder machine operated by the Children Of The Vault can be an absolute terror to deal with. It dishes out huge amounts of damage with attacks that seemingly cover the entire arena. It has a huge pool of armor and health.
The final phase has the player fighting off many other CoV enemies while attempting to deal damage to its few weak spots and avoiding damage. Fighting him alone is a nightmare, and he can be tough even with friends. This boss is, in every sense of the word, agonizing.
11 Worst: Katagawa Ball
The Katagawa ball is a pretty memorable boss fight. It has a huge health pool, most of which is armored. It also moves very quickly and can get out of sight to drop surprise attacks. Without a good corrosive weapon, this fight can be very troubling. Its super quick attacks force the player to keep moving, and all the rocket barrages don't help either.
However, with some good loot, and some smart positioning, the fight can become manageable. Disabling its rocket barrages helps a lot too, and once all the armor is eliminated, the fight eases up a little. It is definitely an interesting boss fight and fairly challenging to new players, though not as hard when the player knows what they're doing.
10 Best: The Rampager
Rampager is a challenging fight. This huge monster forces the player to be on their toes constantly, with his leaps and his balls of fire. He has three phases, and each phase has a new mechanic that the player must learn to deal with.
He covers a big area with his attacks, and if the player doesn't move constantly, they will die easily. The Rampager can be quite a challenge to overcome, but it is a really, really fun fight, and his legendary drops make it all worth it.
9 Worst: Billy The Anointed
Billy isn't a hard boss to understand. He is a Raging Goliath, and his move-set is mostly the same as the other Goliaths encountered throughout the game. His attacks can put out high damage but are fairly easy to dodge. The things that complicate this fight are his ability to teleport, and an arena filled with badasses.
He can teleport almost anywhere, and if he catches the player off guard and they need a second wind, better get to work. Billy is a frustrating boss. Not technically very difficult, but oh so frustrating.
8 Best: General Traunt
General Traunt might look like he's just an upgraded Maliwan Heavy, but looks are deceiving. Traunt's move-set is full of options to decimate the player, short-range or long-range. Add to that his colossal armor and the result is a boss that is very, very hard to deal with.
His slow movement helps somewhat. Getting to his weak point while strafing is a solid strategy against him, but he can punish the player severely for any mistakes. He is a huge challenge while playing solo, though it does get a little easier with friends.
7 Worst: Gigamind
The Gigamind is one of the earlier bosses in the game. But even for how early the player fights him, he is pretty easy. Most of his health bar is his shield, and any half-decent electric weapon should melt right through it.
His attacks are all predictable and fairly easy to dodge and don't do a lot of damage. Although as a concept, he is a pretty cool boss. But in the end, he isn't any more trouble to fight than most of the standard mobs.
6 Best: Aurelia
Most boss fights take place in huge arenas. Aurelia is instantly different because of the change in scenery, as players have to defeat her in a cramped room. Combining this tiny space with her strength makes her the trickiest boss to battle.
Her character also has a connection to most players that no other boss has, as she was a playable character in an earlier game. This link to the player, her strength, the story revolving around her, and the unique setting of the battle make her one of the best villains in the game. It's just a shame fans don't get to see more of her in Borderlands 3.
5 Worst: Mouthpiece
Mouthpiece is the first proper boss the player would face in the story, and his difficulty reflects that. He is just a buffed-up, shielded mob with some explosive speakers around him.
Lots of low health mobs nearby guarantee an easy second wind in case the player gets downed, and his health pool and damage output are not very high. He has a really cool-looking shield though, which is also the only thing that will give the player a smidge of trouble.
4 Best: Pain And Terror
Pain and Terror is everything great about Borderlands 3. Battling this duo and the agonizer 3000 is absolutely satisfying. Players have to get used to the unusual setting, and have amazing reflexes. But when they find their groove, this fight is just a pleasure to take part in.
To make it even better, players get to choose the music before the fight! There's a well-rounded story element lingering throughout the battle as well, making it not only a great fight regarding gameplay and strategy but an important scene for the story as well.
3 Worst: Shiv
Shiv is the only reason why Mouthpiece didn't rank lower on this list. This tutorial boss is the very definition of a pushover.
He is just a buffed-up mob, and even for new players, he goes down very easily and without doing much harm. In TVHM or UVHM, he is putty in the player's hands, and barely a bump in the road to the game proper.
2 Best: Troy
Troy is arguably the best boss in the entire game. The story around him was masterfully done, and the mechanics of the scene were fantastic. This boss fight has the greatest weight as well. The entire fate of Pandora depends on the outcome, setting quite the scene.
Troy has the best story of all the bosses, and it shines through in this last fight. The fight itself is not only challenging but fun. While he may not be the strongest of all bosses, this perfect balance between masterful gameplay and great storytelling makes him the best of the best.
1 Worst: Warden
Warden's main disappointment was that despite him being a boss so late in the game, he didn't have much of an impact. The entire battle was less about how strong a player an individual is, and more about the strength of the weapon of their choice.
If someone manages to kill him before his level-up during the fight, the entire scene is very underwhelming and bland. The feel of the fight scene does get some credit, but that late in the gameplay, creators really could've done better.