Fast Leveling allows players to reach the endgame faster in Borderlands 4. While the exploration and adventure that comes with the switch to the Open World genre in Borderlands 4 is exciting, there are no downsides to Leveling Fast as all the early and mid-game content is still available in the endgame. Unlike previous Borderlands installments, players don't have to start a new playthrough to enable the Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM). UVHM, or endgame, starts seamlessly right after the Main Story Campaign of the game is finished. Players return to Kairos and can experience the following new UVHM-exclusive features in addition to all the in-game content available in the early and mid-game:

  • Firmware and Firmware Upgrade Machine A new addition to the Borderlands franchise, Firmware acts like mini-sets. Firmware Machines allow players to move the Firmware Bonuses between items.
  • Maurice's Black Market Vending Machine A Vending Machine that randomly teleports around Kairos, offering Legendaries instead of regular loot.
  • Specializations Additional layer of Vault Hunter customization — new set of Passive Skill Trees that have their own XP bar and provide bonuses available to all Vault Hunters
  • Moxxi's Big Encore Bosses Special versions of regular bosses triggered when re-enabling a boss fight using an Encore Machine.
  • Wild Card Missions More difficult versions of regular Missions, additional Enemy Modifiers are applied to all foes, which progress players' Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode level.

How to Level up Faster in Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 has Early Game, Mid-Game, and Late Game. Early Game, from the start of the game to Level 20, is where most of the basic Game Mechanics and Weapons or Gear are introduced. This part of the game allows players to learn Borderlands 4 systems step by step while also being introduced to the Story and gradually learning the open-world content the game has to offer.

Mid-Game, from Level 20 to 30, serves as a bridge between the complexity of End Game and the gradual content introduction of Early Game. Here, players finish the Main Story and get to learn additional mechanics and features.

Late Game in Borderlands 4, after the Main Story is finished, which is usually 30+, is where another bulk of content happens. Expanding upon what was established earlier, this content is focused on providing players with options and opportunities to polish their Vault Hunter build and further customize its facets while introducing new ways to hunt for loot.

How to Level up Faster in Early Game in Borderlands 4

To level up faster in Borderlands 4 in the Early Game, in addition to doing the Main Story Missions, players need to make sure to enable the Easy Difficulty. It grants the 20% Damage Reduction and makes it so that the Elemental Damage Types and Armor Types play a less significant role when calculating Damage. This helps players clear the Main Story content faster, level up faster, and get to the Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode faster. Additionally, to help with the Leveling and XP gain, it is recommended to do Patrol Contracts when available. Patrols or Patrol Contracts are a form of Contracts that require players to kill an X number of certain types of Enemies. While Side Missions, other types of Contracts, and other Activities the game offers require players to stray away from the Main Story route, Patrols kind of complete themselves while players progress the Main Story Campaign. It so happens that most of the creatures and enemies Patrols require to kill already inhabit areas players are going to visit while doing Main Story Missions.

Besides ease of completion, Patrol Contracts offer the best XP to time spent ratio among all content Borderlands 4 has to offer in the Early Game. The rewards specified in Patrols are automatically granted once the required number of targets is slain.

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Where to find Patrol Contracts in Borderlands 4

Patrol Contracts can be found in most Early Game Safehouses on the Contracts Boards. Contract Boards emit blue light, which resembles the models/shapes of the creatures or items the Contracts are connected to. Safehouses are discoverable mini-hubs. Smaller than Faction Towns and offering less functionality, most of them are situated on the way to the Main Story Missions.

There's a maximum of five Contracts of any kind, Patrol Contracts included, a Vault Hunter can have at any time. Players can get rid of obsolete Contracts in the Contracts Menu under the Missions Tab. To do so, choose the Abandon Contract option in the lower-right corner of the screen when selecting a particular Contract.

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Where to Find Capsules in Borderlands 4

A small task players can do while leveling via Patrols and Main Story Missions to better Gear up is to collect a Capsule or two once they discover a Safehouse. Capsules, when inserted in the Capsule Decryption Machine, create a lootsplosion - an equivalent of opening a few loot chests at once. This usually allows players to find Blue or Purple Weapon, Gear upgrades that are on their current Vault Hunter Level. It is also possible, though unlikely, to get a World Drop Legendary from a Capsule lootsplosion. The caveat of doing Capsule Activities is that a Vault Hunter is unable to do anything besides shooting or reloading while holding a Capsule on their way to a Safehouse to use a Capsule Machine. Teleporting, using a Digi-Vehicle or a Grappling Hook, throwing a Grenade Ordnance, and other activities will drop a Capsule on the ground or even return it to where it was originally found.

Just like Safehouses, a decent number of Capsules lie around on the player's way towards Main Story Missions and Safehouses. For the aforementioned reasons, it is best to collect Capsules that are in close proximity to a Safehouse and not waste time on the ones that are far away.

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How to Move Faster in Borderlands 4

The right Traversal Techniques are essential for players to save a lot of time and level up faster. The following actions save time and speed up the leveling process when moving from one location to another:

  • Use Fast Travel Stations to teleport between Faction Towns, discovered Safehouses, Order Silos, Vaults, and Main Story Mission Fast Travel Checkpoints
  • Use Digi-vehicle to move from one Fast Travel Point to another
  • Make sure to upgrade your vehicle's engine from time to time. Check Manufacturer Rewards in the inventory. For each of the milestones of Enemies killed, Manufacturers will send an Engine Upgrade for the Digi-vehicle as a reward. It is important to upgrade your vehicle engine when available, as it results in better speed, acceleration, handling, and movement quality.
  • Use movement techniques and Vault Hunter's Gear that boost movement speed when on foot. A lot of Main Story Missions don't allow the use of Digi-vehicle when inside a building or structure. This is the perfect time to use the Movement Speed boost from Vault Hunter's Gear - Repkits that grant additional Movement Speed when used and Shields that grant Movement Speed when full or broken.
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  • When the Gear boosts are on cooldown, it is better to Glide after a Double Jump or from a height than to run. Vault Hunter's Movement Speed is faster when Gliding compared to running without boosts.
  • After using the Grappling Hook, it is possible to prolong its speed boost by using one jump after another in succession. Players can also add the Dash input at the end, after the two jumps, to move a bit further during the momentum.
  • When falling from heights, use the Ground Slam input to fall down faster.
  • Skip combat when it is not essential for Mission Completion. A lot of Main Story Missions only have a small part of the Mission connected to obligatory combat; a Mission Goal will specifically state to clear an area or a group of Enemies, or combat areas. Players can run past the rest of the Enemies, saving a lot of time this way

What Weapons to use to Level up Faster in Borderlands 4

Players start the game with only two Weapon Slots unlocked. Throughout leveling, more Weapon and Gear Slots are unlocked. Most Skill Builds come online with a Capstone equipped, which is around level 26. Before that, Weapons are the primary source of Damage for any Vault Hunter, and it is important to have the right loadout. Players should aim to have a primary Damage-dealing gun that does most of the damage, one or two guns to deal with Shields or Armor, and one or two situational Guns that help in Downed State or are effective in specific scenarios.

Skipping build-dependent suggestions, these are the best leveling Weapons to look out for that work in any situation:

  • Jakobs Assault and Sniper Rifles to quickly clear everything via ricochets (for players that are good at aiming and consistently landing headshots)
  • Maliwan Shotguns or Sniper Rifles to deal with Shields and Armor quickly. The Ideal role would be one gun that switches between Corrosive and Shock Damage Types
  • Guns with Underbarrel, Taser, or other types of Alternative Fire modes. These usually provide big damage numbers in a short span of time, but have a cooldown. Mostly on Vladof and Torgue Guns. These types of Alternative Fire modes are free - don't consume any ammo and do good damage. It is recommended that players have at least one such Gun to switch to occasionally
  • Grenade Ordnance - MIRV, Cloud, and Spring features for big Damage output. Singularity to gather Enemies in one place. Tediore for the ability to activate the grenade once thrown at a desirable time, and Ripper Grenades that teleport to the destination. Best in slot Grenades have a low cooldown of 12 to 8 seconds, 2 or more charges, and one or multiple MIRV, Cloud, Spring, and Singularity features.
  • Heavy Ordnance - acts like a heavier underbarrel option. The bigger the damage output, and the lower the cooldown, the better. Vladof stands out with their lower cooldown, lots of damage and bullets Heavy Ordnances.
  • Torgue Assault Rifles and Shotguns together with Singularity Grenade Ordnances to gather enemies in one place and quickly blow them with Big Splash Damage numbers of Torgue Guns
  • Tediore and Order Guns for consistent performance and good-average Stats across the board. Boring but consistent.
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What Gear to use to Level up Faster in Borderlands 4

Players start the game with only Repkit Slot unlocked. Throughout leveling and the Early Game, more Weapon and Gear Slots are unlocked. Skipping build-dependent suggestions, these are the best leveling Gear Slots to look out for that work in any situation:

  • Repkit Order for 2 Charges of Repkit. In terms of Features, Movement Speed buff on use is a must for faster traversal times. Any additional universal features that buff Gun Damage or Action Skill Damage on use, Action Skill Cooldown, Reload Speed, Fire Rate, and so on, are appreciated but not obligatory since the difficulty level isn't high. Best in slot Repkit would be a low cooldown, 12 to 8 seconds, Order Repkit with 2 charges that gives Movement Speed on use
  • Shield/Armor Movement speed on Break or when Full is a must. Prioritize gear that has low Recharge Cooldown and Bigger Recharge Numbers for Shields and more Plates/ Faster Plate Recharge Time for Armor.
  • Class Mods Any universal features that directly/indirectly buff the Gun Damage(Fire Rate, Gun Damage, Reload Time, Ordnance Damage, and so on) or Action Skill Damage (Action Skill Cooldown Time, Action Skill Damage, Action Skill Duration, and so on) are a must. Before a Build has Capstone and is online, prioritize Gun Buffs. After Build is online - Action Skill Buffs or Build-specific essentials.
  • Enhancements Enhancements, while having an overwhelming amount of variety and features, follow the same approach listed for Class Mods.
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How to Level up Faster in Mid Game in Borderlands 4

Mid Game Fast Leveling follows the approach described for Early Game, as players need to finish the Main Story to be able to access additional Fast Leveling tools in the Late Game.

Depending on the amount of Side Content done during the Fast Leveling process in the Early Game, players might bump into a few instances of level-gated Main Story Missions. The level-gated content means Enemies are more than 2-3 levels above the player level. This leads to an unbalanced experience where players take too much damage from Enemies and can be one-shot. If this is the case, players should take a break from the Main Missions and do Side Content like Patrols, Bounties, and Ripper Drill Sites. While more challenging then previous Story encounters, Ripper Drill Sites offer a quick way to Gear up and farm XP.

How to Level up Faster in End Game and Farm XP in Borderlands 4

Once players finish the Main Story and do all UVHM features tutorials, like Firmware Machine, Maurice's Black Market Machine, and so on, they need to complete a Wildcard Mission to switch from their difficulty to the Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode(UVHM) difficulty. The switch is automatic and happens right after the Wildcard Mission is finished. For players who want to switch back to their previous difficulty settings, there's a Session Settings in the Main Menu where the difficulty setting can be changed on the fly.

For the best XP Farm to quickly accumulate those Specialization Points, it is best to stay at least on UVHM 1 and do Vile Bounties.

Vile Bounty is a new type of side content exclusive to the UVHM difficulties. They are similar to regular Bounty Contracts. The Targets are tougher - the Vile version of regular Enemies. This means they have glowing crystals covering their body, making them immune to any sort of damage unless the crystals are destroyed. The Crystals can be quickly destroyed by Grenade Ordnance or Splash Damage Weapons like any Torgue Gun. The fastest way to deal with the Vile Enemies are Ripper Grenade Ordnance. Ripper Grenades instantly teleport to Enemies, and the Damage is enough to shatter the Crystals with one or two Grenades.

Vile Bounties provide a decent chunk of XP, and a 10-15 minute Farm leads to a level up even on level 50 and beyond, as XP granted as rewards for Vile Bounties scales in percentages. While players can use any Safehouse or Faction Town to pick up a bounty or two, sometimes even three, from the Contract Board, the best Safehouse that offer the shortest route to the Target the most are the following:

Teleporting between these Travel Points and save-loading when they are out of Vile Bounties is the fastest way to Farm XP and Level Up faster in the Late Game.

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How to Level up Faster in Multiplayer in Borderlands 4

Fast Leveling in Borderlands 4 in Multiplayer follows all aforementioned steps applicable for Solo leveling, described above. One strong benefit of leveling up in Co-op, that's not available for Solo players, is that it allows multiple players to do different content simultaneously while receiving 75-80% of the original XP reward. The XP tax works only on players who are far away from the XP source, not affecting the player(s) near it.

It is important to keep in mind the following rules of Multiplayer gameplay:

  • Your party as a whole, or any of the members, is not able to leave a Region until the Main Story of that Region is completed.
  • Visually, this looks like a big golden barrier that is preventing you from leaving a Zone and crossing to the next one. Both Regions and Zones can be viewed on the map
  • It is possible to Fast Travel on allies. To do so, players need to open their map, find the icon of their ally on the map, and use the Fast Travel input (can be seen above ally's icon when hovering over it
  • All allies have their own instances of Weapon and Gear drops whenever any loot drops

As such, it is recommended to use the following multiplayer leveling patterns:

Multiplayer leveling tips for 2-3 players

  • Have at least one player do the Main Story Mission
  • The rest of the players can focus on doing side content
  • The priorities for the side content are: Safehouses and Order Silos > Patrol Contracts > Propaganda Speakers > Other Contracts > Side Missions
  • Every 3-5 levels, do a few Capsules that are near Safehouses and a Survivalist Cache or two to catch on gear levels and find upgrades. Make sure to all teleport to a player before he opens up a Cache or hands in a Capsule
  • Gather together for challenging fights, Badasses, and Bosses, as these have more chance to give upgrades or Legendaries

Multiplayer leveling tips for 4 players

  • Have at least one player do the Main Story Mission
  • The rest of the players can focus on doing side content
  • The priorities for the side content are: Safehouses and Order Silos > Patrol Contracts > Propaganda Speakers > Other Contracts > Side Missions
  • Every 3-5 levels, do a few Capsules that are near Safehouses and a Survivalist Cache or two to catch on gear levels and find upgrades. Make sure to all teleport to a player before he opens up a Cache or hands in a Capsule
  • Use the extra player effectively - for scouting the map, doing Speakers or Patrols while the other 3 engage in Main and side content
  • Gather together for challenging fights, Badasses, Bosses, and Chests as these have more change to give upgrades or Legendaries
  • If your group has one Vault Hunter that's geared much better than the rest - this player can focus on the content you find the hardest while the rest of the group does different side content tasks

Tips and Tricks to Level Up faster in Borderlands 4 for Solo or Multiplayer

Tips and Tricks to Level Up faster in Early Game (Level 1-20):

  • Enable Easy Difficulty
  • Claim Safehouses and Order Silos that are near the Main Story Mission route
  • Pick up Patrol Contracts in Safehouses when available
  • Use traversal and movement techniques and tricks that save time
  • Do Capsules Activities that are close to discovered Safehouses or Faction Towns to catch up on higher-level loot and Gear upgrades

Tips and Tricks to Level Up faster in Mid Game (Level 20-30):

  • Follow the Tips and Tricks from Early Game
  • Look out for good Manufacturer-licensed part combinations on Blue and Purple Rarity Weapons to Boost your DPS
  • Pick up loot for future disassembly with the right Firmware parts that suit your Build, cover Build weaknesses, or work universally across builds (Gun Damage, Fire Rate, Reload Time, Action Skill Damage, Action Skill Cooldown Rate, Ordnance Damage, Ordnance Cooldown, and similar)
  • Put the content on hold and do Ripper Drill Sites to catch on XP and loot when facing Enemies that are 3-4 levels above you

Tips and Tricks to Level Up faster in End Game (Level 30-50):

  • Farm Vile Bounties from the aforementioned Safehouses for quick XP gains and Specialization Points
  • Teleport around Safehouses, Order Silos, Faction Towns, and other Fast Travels points to bring yourself closer to the Vile Bounty Target
  • Vile Bounty Targets can be missing when arriving at their location. This is a rare occasion, and the fastest way to deal with it is to abandon the Contract.