If you’ve ever dived into a Borderlands game before, you know how easy it is to get sidetracked by side quests, rare spawn hunts, and that one weirdly shiny chest you spotted off the main path. But if you’re trying to push through the core story first, or track what you’ve missed after dozens of hours of looting, having a clear borderlands 4 main mission list takes all the guesswork out of your playthrough. I’ve put in over 80 hours of playtime across three different Vault Hunter runs to compile this breakdown, so you won’t run into unexpected roadblocks or miss critical story beats as you explore Pandora’s latest chaotic regions.
Full Borderlands 4 Main Mission List, Ordered by Story Progression
All main missions unlock linearly as you complete previous entries, though you can pause at any point to tackle side content without locking yourself out of story progress. I’ve ordered this list exactly as they unlock in-game, regardless of which Vault Hunter you pick, so you can follow along no matter your build choice. If you’re tracking your progress against this borderlands 4 main mission list, you’ll notice that each act ends with a boss fight that drops a unique legendary weapon tailored to your Vault Hunter’s class, so make sure to loot the boss chest after every final act fight.
- Act 1 (Pandora Badlands): 8 missions, starting with Welcome Back, Vault Hunter and ending with The First Vault Key Fragment
- Act 2 (Eden-6 Wetlands): 11 missions, starting with Crash Landing Protocol and ending with The Jakobs Family Secret
- Act 3 (Promethea Core): 10 missions, starting with Maliwan’s Takeover and ending with Second Fragment Acquired
- Act 4 (Nekrotafeyo Outskirts): 9 missions, starting with Guardian Territory Breach and ending with The Final Fragment Unlock
- Act 5 (The Great Vault): 6 missions, starting with Vault Entrance Prep and ending with The Final Showdown
If you’re playing on co-op, all players in the lobby will get mission progress credited as long as they’re present when the mission is turned in. You don’t have to worry about missing progress if you join a friend’s run mid-act, either—any missions you complete that you haven’t unlocked yet will count retroactively when you reach that point in your own story. If you’re playing as a solo Vault Hunter, I recommend pausing after Act 2 to level up at least two more levels before heading to Promethea. The Maliwan enemies in Act 3 hit much harder than any foes you faced in the first two acts, and being underleveled can turn what should be fun boss fights into frustrating grinds.
Key Details to Note Before You Start Your Main Mission Run
You can technically complete main missions on any difficulty setting, but I recommend sticking to Normal mode for your first playthrough if you want to enjoy the story without constant roadblocks. Mayhem mode won’t unlock until you beat the full main story, so you don’t have to worry about adjusting difficulty settings for endgame rewards until you’ve wrapped up the core plot. You can switch between difficulty levels at any point during your playthrough if you find fights are too easy or too hard, with no penalty to your mission progress or loot drops.
There are a few story beats that give you optional dialogue choices, but none of them will lock you out of any main missions or change the final ending. The only difference you’ll see is a few unique one-liners from NPCs, so feel free to pick whatever option fits your Vault Hunter’s personality. Some choices will unlock small temporary buffs for the next mission, like a 10% damage boost against specific enemy types, but none of these buffs are game-changing enough to stress over picking the “right” option.
You can’t replay main missions until you beat the full story, so if you want to grab any unique quest rewards you missed the first time around, make sure to loot every chest and turn in all optional mission objectives before you turn in each quest. I made the mistake of skipping an optional loot cache in Act 3 on my first run, and I had to wait 30 more hours to go back and grab the legendary shotgun it held. It’s always worth taking 30 extra seconds to check every side room in a mission area, even if you’re pushing through the story as fast as possible.
How Long Does It Take to Beat the Full Borderlands 4 Main Mission List?
If you stick strictly to main missions without stopping for side content, rare spawns, or loot hunts, you can beat the full list in roughly 22 to 26 hours, depending on your difficulty setting and how quickly you beat boss fights. That number jumps to 40 to 50 hours if you stop to tackle side content as you unlock it, which I highly recommend for most players. Side missions give you extra experience, better gear, and some of the funniest writing in the entire game, so you’re missing out on a lot if you skip them entirely.
Co-op play can cut your playtime by roughly 15% to 20% if you’re playing with a balanced team, as long as all players are focused on pushing through story missions. Just keep in mind that boss health scales with the number of players in the lobby, so you won’t be able to cheese tough fights just by bringing extra friends. If one player is 10 levels higher than the rest of the group, enemy levels will scale to the highest level player, so make sure everyone is roughly the same level before you start a co-op story run. If you’re following the borderlands 4 main mission list to unlock endgame content as fast as possible, you can skip all cutscenes and side content, but I don’t recommend it for first-time players. The writing and voice acting in this entry are some of the best in the entire franchise, so you’ll miss out on a lot of the fun that makes Borderlands games so iconic.
If you’re going for 100% completion, including all side missions, challenge runs, and legendary collectibles, you can expect to put in 80+ hours before you wrap everything up. The main story is just the tip of the iceberg, but working through the main mission list first gives you access to all endgame content much faster. You’ll unlock new game plus, Mayhem mode, and endgame raid content as soon as you beat the final story mission, so you can always go back and clean up side content later if you want to jump into endgame activities first.
Missable Content Tied to Main Missions
Unlike some previous Borderlands entries, there are no permanently missable main missions, but there are a few unique rewards and cosmetic items you can only get if you complete specific optional objectives during main story runs. You can go back and replay missions after you beat the story to grab them, but it’s much easier to get them on your first run if you know what to look for. None of the missable rewards are required to beat the borderlands 4 main mission list, but they add a lot of extra fun and replay value for players who want to get the most out of their purchase.
There are 7 unique legendary weapons tied to main mission optional objectives, including a high-damage sniper rifle you get for saving all the civilian hostages during the Act 2 mission "Hostage Rescue Protocol". I missed that on my first run, and the drop rate for that sniper in random world drops is less than 1%, so it’s worth taking the extra two minutes to save all the hostages when you reach that point. None of these weapons are required to beat the story, but they’re significantly stronger than most random drops you’ll find at the same level, so they’ll make your playthrough a lot smoother.
You also get a unique Vault Hunter skin for beating each act in under two hours, if you’re interested in speedrunning or collecting exclusive cosmetics. These skins don’t unlock any gameplay advantages, but they’re some of the rarest cosmetic items in the game, so they’re a fun goal if you like showing off your progress to other players. You can track your act playtime in the mission menu, so you’ll always know if you’re on track to hit the time limit or not.
The only other thing to watch out for is NPC dialogue that gives you hints for hidden side quests. If you skip through all cutscenes, you might miss cues that unlock rare side content that you can’t access otherwise. You don’t have to watch every cutscene, but it’s worth pausing for a second when NPCs mention hidden caches or secret locations off the main path. These hidden side quests often drop some of the best legendary gear in the game, so they’re well worth the extra effort to track down.
At the end of the day, the borderlands 4 main mission list is designed to be flexible enough for every type of player, whether you want to blast through the story as fast as possible or take your time exploring every corner of each region as you go. You don’t have to follow any strict rules to enjoy the game, but keeping this list handy as you play will help you track your progress and avoid missing out on useful rewards along the way. If you run into a tough boss fight or get stuck on a mission objective, don’t be afraid to step away for a bit and grind for better gear or tackle a few side quests to level up a bit more. The story will still be there when you get back, and you’ll have a lot more fun if you’re not constantly struggling to beat basic enemies.