Despite seeing a few spinoff games and a direct sequel, Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 still has a dedicated following which still appreciates its unique charm and appeal. The game manages to hit that sweet spot in terms of accessibility and depth – with its thrilling FPS gameplay, intuitive interface, as well as detailed RPG progression and customization. And of course, there’s the massive arsenal of cool guns – that doesn’t reach an absurd, overwhelming level a la BL3. The release of Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary has given it something of a renaissance while reminding older fans how awesome this zany romp is.
With so much expansive content – and a level cap reaching a whopping 80 – diving into this classic can be somewhat intimidating for newcomers. Even experienced BL2 players may find it hard to reach this new bar with their old characters. With that said, let’s explore ten strategies and tips that will allow players to get to the max level quickly and efficiently.
Play With A Higher-Level Friend
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One of the biggest highlights of the Borderlands series – and particularly this second entry – is its fun, well-crafted co-op mode. What’s great is the game’s fairly flexible system of allowing players of different levels to team up and have a consistently solid experience that’s not too tough.
This open-ended system should be taken advantage of, as it allows a player to jump into the game of a friend who’s progressed farther. Thus, one could ride their coattails to take on tougher monsters with greater ease. As a side note – lower level players may want to emphasize range-focused characters like Zero or Maya, while the stronger player handles the dirty work up close.
Replaying The Warrior
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Bosses can be tough in BL2, but they can also yield a slew of riches and a hefty boost in XP. The (core) game’s final boss, The Warrior, can be particularly useful in this respect. He’s ideal in that teammates can rendezvous to his location with relative ease, simply by fast traveling to Hero’s Pass. Playing him in normal mode will still yield tons of loot and xp – including coveted Legendary guns – while still being manageable to beat.
This bounty of valuable guns and gear will make powering through the game, and thus leveling up a smoother, swifter process. Focus on farming this boss, especially with other players – as they can help pick off other baddies in the arena and net even more XP.
Burn Through The DLC Content
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While there’s plenty to do within the core gameplay of BL2, Gearbox has cranked out a number of DLC packs since its release several years ago. These add some fun new content, but they also scale to a player’s level when diving in.
The most recent release, Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary, should be particularly stressed. This epilogue quest throws a ton of bigger, badder foes and cool new weapons at you, and some fairly short side quests to boot. Beyond this, the normal mode level cap here extends further than other packs. All of these traits make it ideal for reaching a higher level more quickly. The more expansive content in these allows players to get closer to the max level while minimizing the need for grinding, farming, or replaying the same things.
Focus On Badass Enemies
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BL2 has a number of dangerous beefed-up baddies, which are known as “Baddass” variants. These will sometimes be found on their own, though they’ll often evolve into Badasses when their normal form is struck and provoked.
Those looking to maximize their XP earnings should seek out and farm these intimidating beasts. While they’re usually tough to take down, the rewards tend to be worth it. Make a point to coax enemies into evolving multiple times – from Badass to Super Badass to Ultimate.
Farm Tinder Snowflake
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Bosses are typically effective in giving ample XP and loot in general. But much like The Warrior, this DLC boss is one that can be especially effective in gaining lots of XP quickly. Those who are fine with investing in some downloadable content should definitely make a point to gun for this monstrous snowman.
Specifically, “Tinder Snowflake” resides in the How Marcus Saved Mercenary Dave DLC pack. He can be summoned rather simply, by ringing bells on a cliffside dock on Frozen Lake. High-level players decked with Incendiary-laced weapons can “melt” this guy within a couple of minutes.
Spamming With Slag
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Slag may not look as exciting or impactful as some, but it can be deceptively effective in burning through higher-level enemies.
That’s because Slag will both weaken the target and increase the damage dealt to them. Players can get creative and cover lots of ground at once by spamming Slag-laced grenades while gunning down weakened foes in its vicinity with other elemental weapons. Another great aspect of this effect is that it’s equally effective on all enemies. This is particularly useful in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, as it’s even more potent there.
Don’t Neglect The Badass Rank
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BL2‘s unique Badass ranking system is one that’s often neglected, as weapons and XP tends to take center stage. It’s also hard to get too excited about a system that only small slivers of boosts at a time.
Still, these do add up over time, and should thus be tended to somewhat often. Take a gander at the challenges available and knock them out to earn Badass Tokens. These can then be used to give permanent boosts to key areas like gun damage and accuracy, critical hits, and reload speed. Over time, players can begin to overpower enemies with greater ease and burn through the game more quickly.
Farm At Fink’s
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BL2 has its own version of a thrilling survival mode, which can be particularly fun to play with other players. This arena, known as Fink’s Slaughterhouse, can be found in The Fridge. It’s a particularly useful way to wrack up XP and loot quickly, as there will be several waves of countless foes, getting increasingly tougher as one progresses.
This is especially significant in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, as foes will be higher levels and continue to scale to one’s own level.
The Mighty Morphin’ Quest
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It’s always a good idea to seek out quests that grant opportunities to kill several foes. But one especially great one to focus on is the Might Morphin’ Quest. This can be had from Sir Hammerlock, who will send players to Tundra Express with an “evolutionary injector” in hand.
There are a number of things that make this quest great for reaching higher levels relatively quickly. For one, there will be a plethora of Varkids; many of which will evolve into Badasses after busting out of their pods. This would be useful enough, but using the injector will transform them into the more powerful Mutated Varkids, which are good for tons of precious XP. This can be exploited for as long as all of the samples aren’t picked up.
Lots And Lots Of Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode
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Despite the large supply of foes and loot throughout, leveling progress will almost inevitably slow down. This is because there are limits on enemy and player level caps. The DLC will extend this somewhat, but only to an extent. The answer? Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode – which is unlocked after beating True Vault Hunter Mode.
Players seeking a max level will need to have played the game at least twice to get to Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. This grueling mode comes with much tougher foes, and thus more XP. But more importantly, it’ll also continue to scale with players as they level. Combine this with some of the other strategies and tips outlined previously – emphasize Slag, for instance – and watch the XP roll in. Eventually, that coveted 80th level will be reached.