If you’ve spent any time playing Borderlands 4 lately, you might have run into a frustrating quirk that throws off your entire playthrough: borderlands 4 enemies dropping too much xp out of nowhere. I first noticed it when I was grinding through the Floodmoor Basin side quests on my first Zane run, and a single group of rabid skags gave me enough XP to jump two full levels, putting me 3 levels above every main story quest I had left. At first I thought it was a fun bonus, until I realized I was one-shotting every story boss and none of the loot I picked up was worth equipping, since it was all multiple levels lower than me. For players who want to experience the game’s balanced difficulty and loot chase as intended, this glitch can kill the fun of a new playthrough really fast.
Why Borderlands 4 Enemies Are Dropping Too Much XP Right Now
Most players reporting this issue noticed it pop up right after the latest quality of life patch Gearbox released last month. The patch was supposed to add a 25% XP boost for players playing with lower-level friends, to reduce the grind for new players joining co-op runs. But a coding error made that boost apply to all players, regardless of the level gap between party members, leading to massively inflated XP gains even for solo players. Most cases of excessive XP drops are tied to unintended patch glitches, not intentional game design, so you don’t have to worry that this is how the game is supposed to play forever. Another common cause is glitched XP-boosting gear: a small number of Scholar class mods and Veteran artifacts are currently applying 10x their listed XP boost, so if you’re wearing one of these items, that’s almost certainly the source of your overinflated levels. I tested this myself last week: when I equipped a blue Scholar mod I picked up from a random boss, I was getting 1200 XP per basic bandit, and when I took it off, that dropped back to the normal 120 XP per kill.
How Excessive XP Drops Ruin Your Borderlands 4 Playthrough
At first glance, faster level ups might sound like a good thing, especially if you’re used to grinding for hours to unlock new skill nodes. But for most players, this glitch breaks the core loop that makes Borderlands games so addictive. Here are the most common issues players run into with overinflated XP gains:
I ran into that last issue when I was playing with my roommate, who was running a Moze character on the same save file. I was 4 levels higher than him because I’d been grinding skag spawns for a side quest, and I was one-shotting every enemy before he even had a chance to shoot them. He stopped having fun within 20 minutes, and we had to start a new co-op run from scratch to fix the balance. Excessive XP gains don’t just make the game easier, they strip away the core Borderlands loot chase loop that makes the franchise so fun to play for hundreds of hours.
Actionable Fixes to Balance Your XP Gains Without Breaking Your Run
The good news is there are a few easy fixes you can try right now to get your XP gains back to normal, without losing any of your progress or having to start a new character. First, check if you’re wearing any glitched XP-boosting gear. Take off any class mods, artifacts, or weapon perks that list XP gain as a bonus, and run a few fights to see if your XP per kill drops to a normal level. If that fixes it, you can either keep that gear stored until the glitch is patched, or use it only when you’re grinding for alt characters. Always back up your save file before tweaking any game settings to avoid losing progress if something goes wrong. If the issue isn’t tied to your gear, try adjusting your co-op settings if you play with friends. Turn off the "level sync" option in your gameplay menu, and disable the "co-op XP boost" toggle that was added in the latest patch. That will turn off the bugged cross-level XP buff that’s causing most of the excessive gains for group players. For solo players, you can also temporarily bump your Mayhem difficulty up by one level to make enemies more challenging even if you’re overleveled, while you wait for an official patch. If you’re running a new character, avoid grouping with players 10+ levels above you until the scaling glitch is patched, as that will almost always trigger the excessive XP drop bug.
When Excessive XP Drops Are Actually a Welcome Bonus
This glitch isn’t always a bad thing, depending on what you want out of your Borderlands 4 playthrough. If you’re running your second or third Vault Hunter, and you already sat through the main story once, faster level ups can cut down the early game grind significantly so you can jump straight to endgame content with your new build. I’ve been using the glitch intentionally for my Fl4k alt run, because I don’t want to spend 15 hours grinding through the first two acts again just to test a new pet build I thought of. It’s also great if you have friends who are already at max level and you want to catch up to play endgame content with them without spending a week grinding solo. The only "right" way to play Borderlands 4 is whatever way is the most fun for you, so don’t feel pressured to fix the glitch if it’s making your playthrough more enjoyable. Just keep in mind that if you plan to play co-op with newer players, you might want to hold off on using the glitch to level up too fast, so you don’t ruin their experience by one-shotting every enemy before they get to participate.
At the end of the day, borderlands 4 enemies dropping too much xp is a temporary glitch that will likely be fixed in the next official patch, but in the meantime, you have full control over how you handle it. If it’s ruining your first playthrough by making content too easy, try the quick fixes we listed to get your progression back to normal. If you’re using it to speed up alt runs or catch up to friends, lean into it and enjoy the faster level ups. I’ve bounced between both approaches depending on what I’m playing that week, and it’s made my time with the game a lot more flexible. No matter what you choose, the most important thing is that you’re having fun looting and shooting your way through Pandora, glitch or no glitch.