The Borderlands series is full of interesting characters and unique enemies. Players can enjoy a fun interaction with the innuendo loving Mad Moxxi before getting into an intense fight with a deadly Skag, with the series excelling when it comes to its characters and gameplay. While players got to spend plenty of time on Pandora, seeing several areas from all across the globe, it is no longer the only playable planet in the series.
Instead of keeping the Borderlands community on Pandora for yet another game, Gearbox kept the promise made with Borderlands 2’s ending. Players explored several new planets in Borderlands 3, finding different wildlife and fresh environments on each. This was a breath of fresh air for the series, and hopefully more planets will continue to be introduced as new games have released. After all, while Borderlands fans may have experienced a larger universe in the 2019 game, the number of planets that have been mentioned briefly indicate that there is a whole lot more left to see.
Pandora, Borderlands’ Most Important Planet
In the first two Borderlands games, players only ever find themselves on Pandora. Full of deadly creatures and bandits, life on Pandora is rough - with some of the horrible things that happen on the planet driving Tannis insane. As shown in Borderlands 2, there is more to Pandora than just an empty desert, with more colorful biomes visited. Still, the desert portion of the map remains the most recognizable, and it was where Borderlands 3’s Pandora-focused content took place. Skags, Varkids, and other iconic creatures are just some of the enemies found on Pandora.
While interesting characters like Typhon DeLeon can be traced back to Pandora, Gearbox has expanded beyond the location. Elpis is a clear example of this, with Pandora’s one and only moon being the location players explored during Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. The crackening event brought lava-filled fissures and some interesting colors to Elpis, and it features low gravity alongside unique enemies like the Kraggons. While these locations are iconic, Borderlands 3 featured far more than just Pandora and its moon, making it clear that the series is moving beyond just one setting.
Borderlands’ Many Other Planets
In Borderlands 3’s main story, players visit four new planets. The first is Promethea, a high-tech city where gamers face off against the Maliwan corporation. Next up is Athenas, a planet full of monks who study Sirens. While there are plenty of Ratch to fight, the area is full of mountains and gorgeous temples. Up next is Eden-6, the sixth moon of the gas giant Eden, and players will quickly realize that it is the home of the Borderlands weapon manufacturer Jakobs. While traversing jungles and swamps, players will face off against dinosaur-like Saurians. Finally, there is Nekrotafeyo, the Eridian homeworld. Bug-like enemies and Guardians can be found here.
Borderlands 3’s DLC content also introduced two more planets. While Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot took players to a space casino, Guns, Love, and Tentacles brought gamers to Xylorghous. An icy planet with a dead Vault monster, the still-beating heart of the creature began to influence those in the surrounding area. The Lovecraft-inspired Bonded are fought in this spooky location, with the planet’s name being a nod to The Thing. With Krieg’s mind not really counting, the other DLC planet was Bounty of Blood’s Gehenna. This neat location features a mix between a Japanese and Wild West aesthetic, and its beauty made the expansion much more memorable.
While these are all the locations Borderlands fans have actually had a chance to explore thus far, some other planets have been mentioned but have not been properly featured in-game. They can be seen below.
- Aquator: Featured in some travel posters, this vacation destination seems to be planet covered in water with some small islands.
- Artemis: Little is known about this planet beyond it being Mordecai’s home.
- Dionysus: Lilith’s home planet. Once again, little is known about it.
- Menoetius: Brick’s home planet.
- Demophon: A planet mentioned by Axton.
- Isolus: The home planet of the Baha family.
- Eunomia: The home of Captain Scarlett. Nothing else is known about this location.
- Grophic IV: General Knoxx planned to retire to this mysterious planet, as it was his place of origin.
- Hieronymous: Axton’s planet of origin.
- Hephaestus: Mr: Torgue’s home planet.
- Hermes: Sir Hammerlock’s planet of origin. Fans know that it has a thin atmosphere and borders around a blue star, meaning it could be interesting to explore one day.
- Epitah: Intriguingly, this planet housed a Vault, with Gaige, Axton, and Aurelia talking here.
- Hera: Wilhelm’s home planet.
- Hestias: Another planet where Axton carried out a mission as a soldier.
- Junpai-7: If a future Borderlands game ever explores swimming mechanics, this planet would surely feature. Hammerlock describes it as having plenty of deep-sea creatures to hunt.
- Tantalus: The home planet of iconic villain Handsome Jack.
- Themis: The planet where Axton’s wife Sarah resides.
- Honus 4651: A planet where Lilith’s father died.
- Thrace: Another planet where Axton carried out one of his missions.
- Sarcannus-3: A planet where the Vladof military fought.
- Eden’s Other Moons: While players get to explore Eden-6, Eden-3, Eden-4, Eden-5, and Eden-7 have been mentioned in the lore. The third moon was visited by Hammerlock, the fourth has a “megaversity” where characters can study, the fifth is likely to be the home planet of Gaige, and Eden-7 was name-dropped by Vaughn in Tales from theBorderlands.
With the Borderlands universe clearly being massive, and several planets mentioned but never explored, there is plenty of potential for a future game to expand the universe event further. While the upcoming Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will pull players into a fantasy world, the next big Borderlands game could take them to Tantalus, Junpai-7, or somewhere entirely new.