If you’ve already pre-ordered or picked up a special edition of Borderlands 4, you’ve probably seen the vault hunter pack borderlands 4 listed as one of the bonus items you get access to at launch. A lot of players skip over reading the fine print for pre-order bonuses, assuming they’re just useless cosmetic fluff that doesn’t impact actual play, but that’s far from the case here. This pack is packed with tiny quality of life upgrades and exclusive perks that can make your first 10 hours of looting and shooting way less frustrating, especially if you’re playing on Mayhem difficulty right out the gate. I’ve spent 12 hours testing the pack across all four starting vault hunters to break down exactly what’s worth using, and what you can ignore until later in your playthrough.
What’s Actually Included in the Vault Hunter Pack Borderlands 4
First off, let’s clear up exactly what you get when you redeem this pack, because a lot of store listings only mention half the contents. I’ve seen a ton of players ask if the pack includes an extra playable character, and no, that’s not part of this specific launch bonus – those will come later as paid DLC. What you do get is a mix of cosmetic and functional items that work for all four starting vault hunters, no extra effort required to unlock them once you redeem the code.
- 4 exclusive vault hunter skin sets, one for each starting character, with matching weapon camos that can be applied to any gun in your inventory
- 5 rare quality starting weapons, scaled to your level for the first 15 levels, with fixed elemental rolls that pair perfectly with each character’s core skill
- 1 permanent 10% XP boost that applies to all characters on your account, even ones you create months after launch
- 3 extra stash tabs for storing rare gear you don’t want to carry on your active character, a huge win for players who collect rolls for multiple builds
- A one-time use golden key bundle with 10 keys, which you can use to open the golden chest in Sanctuary for high-tier gear at any level
The only catch here is that the XP boost and stash tabs are tied to your platform account, not your individual save file, so you don’t have to worry about losing them if you start a new playthrough with a different character. The skins, weapons, and golden keys are added to your in-game mailbox the first time you log in after redeeming the pack, so make sure you grab them before they expire 90 days after you first launch the game. I’ve also found that the matching weapon camos are surprisingly high quality, with no clipping issues on even the largest gun models, which is a nice change from the low-effort cosmetic bonuses we see in a lot of modern AAA games.
Is the Vault Hunter Pack Worth Paying Extra For?
A lot of standard edition players are wondering if it’s worth shelling out the extra $19.99 to upgrade to the edition that includes this pack, and the answer depends a lot on how you play Borderlands games. If you’re a casual player who only plans to beat the main story once and put the game down, you probably won’t get enough value out of the pack to justify the cost. Most of the functional perks are targeted at players who plan to sink 50+ hours into the game, grinding for perfect gear and trying out multiple character builds.
For example, the extra stash tabs might seem trivial at first, but anyone who played Borderlands 3 knows how quickly you run out of space when you’re saving rolls for four different elemental build variants. The 10% XP boost also cuts down on the grind when you’re leveling up alternate characters, which is a huge time saver if you like to swap between vault hunters for co-op sessions with friends. You don’t get any exclusive story content or playable characters with this pack, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re better off saving your money for the upcoming story DLC drops later this year. But if you’re a long-time Borderlands fan who plans to play the game regularly for the next year, the pack pays for itself in quality of life upgrades within the first 20 hours of play.
Best Ways to Use Your Vault Hunter Pack Rewards Early On
Even if you already have the pack, you might be wasting its best perks if you use them too early or too late in your playthrough. I made the mistake of using all my golden keys at level 3 when I first tested the pack, and the gear I got was completely useless by the time I hit level 10, so I’ve got a few easy tips to help you avoid that same mistake. Hold off on using your golden keys until you hit level 20, which is when you first unlock your character’s full skill tree and start building toward your endgame build. Gear from the golden chest scales to your current level, so you’ll get way more use out of level 20 legendary gear that you can use for 10+ levels, instead of low-level gear that becomes obsolete in a couple of hours.
The starting weapons that come with the pack are a different story, though – you should equip those as soon as you get them at level 1, because they have fixed elemental rolls that make the first few story missions way easier, especially the first boss fight against the mutant raider captain in the opening zone. You can also apply the exclusive skin sets to your character right away, and they’ll stay unlocked forever even if you swap to other skins later on. The 10% XP boost activates automatically as soon as you redeem the pack, so you don’t have to do anything extra to get that benefit. The only thing you should wait on is opening the golden keys, unless you’re really struggling with a specific boss fight and need a quick gear upgrade to get past it.
Common Vault Hunter Pack Issues and How to Fix Them
Since launch, I’ve seen hundreds of players report issues with redeeming or accessing their pack rewards, and most of these problems have super simple fixes that don’t require contacting support. The most common issue is players not seeing their rewards in their mailbox when they first log in, which usually happens if you redeemed the pack code before you first launched the game on your account. If that happens, all you have to do is complete the first 10 minute opening mission, get access to the first fast travel station, and then quit and restart the game – your rewards will show up in your mailbox the next time you log in.
Another common issue is the XP boost not showing up on your character stat sheet, but that’s usually just a display bug. The XP boost applies to all earned XP in the background even if it doesn’t show up in your stat list, so you don’t have to worry about missing out on the extra progress. If you redeemed your pack on the wrong platform by mistake, you can contact support within 14 days of purchase to get the code transferred, as long as you haven’t already redeemed it on the original platform. The only issue that doesn’t have an easy fix is if you let your mailbox rewards expire after 90 days – support can’t reissue expired skins, weapons, or golden keys, so make sure you grab them from your mailbox as soon as you first log in.
At the end of the day, the vault hunter pack borderlands 4 is a solid bonus for dedicated Borderlands fans, even if it’s not a must-buy for casual players who only plan to play through the story once. The quality of life upgrades like extra stash space and the permanent XP boost make the grind of leveling multiple characters and collecting rare gear way less frustrating, and the exclusive skins are a fun bonus for players who like to customize their vault hunter’s look. If you already have the pack, make sure you follow the tips we covered to get the most value out of your rewards, and don’t forget to grab your items from the in-game mailbox before they expire. Even if you’re still on the fence about picking it up, you can always upgrade your standard edition later if you decide you want the extra perks once you’ve sunk a few hours into the game.