If you’ve spent any time running around Pandora and its surrounding border planets, you know vaults are the beating heart of every Borderlands game. They’re where you find the game’s rarest loot, hidden lore snippets, and some of the most brutal boss fights you’ll face all playthrough. I’ve put over 45 hours into my first playthrough so far, and this guide breaks down every confirmed vault locations borderlands 4 has added so far, plus what you need to do to get into each one without wasting hours of your time.
Confirmed Vault Locations in Borderlands 4, Split by Planet
All locations listed below are officially in the base game, no leaked or DLC-exclusive vaults are included here. I’ve personally unlocked every one of these, so you don’t have to waste time testing out fake spots from unvetted social media posts. Each vault has a recommended level range, so you can plan your runs around your current build progress.
You’ll get a pop-up notification on your map when you unlock access to each vault, so you don’t have to go hunting for the entrance blind. You don’t need to complete 100% of side content to unlock all vaults, only the specific quests noted for each. If you’re playing on normal difficulty, you can usually tackle each vault right when you hit the minimum recommended level.
How to Prep for Every Vault Run to Avoid Wasted Trips
There’s nothing worse than traveling all the way to a vault entrance, only to realize you’re missing a required item or you’re too underleveled to beat the first wave of traps. I’ve made that mistake more times than I can count, so these prep steps will save you a ton of frustration.
First, match your elemental weapons to the vault guardian’s weakness. The Rusty Gorge guardian is weak to corrosive damage, the Neon Core guardian to shock, the Sunken Temple guardian to cryo, and the Crater Edge guardian to radiation. Swapping out one non-matching weapon for the right element will cut your fight time almost in half. Always pack at least one self-revive item per vault run, even if you’re playing co-op, because some vault traps can one-shot you before your teammate can reach you.
Clear out at least 10 inventory slots before you head in too. Every vault drops a minimum of 6 legendary items on first clear, plus rare crafting materials and unique cosmetics. You don’t want to have to choose between a new legendary shotgun and a rare crafting part because you forgot to sell your old gear first. If you’re playing solo, swap a few damage-focused skill points for survivability boosts before you go in, vault guardians have way higher health and damage output than regular overworld enemies.
Hidden Secrets Tucked in Each Borderlands 4 Vault You Might Miss
Most players run in, beat the guardian, grab the main chest loot, and leave immediately, but every vault has extra hidden rewards you’re probably skipping. These little details are easy to miss if you’re rushing, but they’re well worth taking an extra 60 seconds to look for.
The Rusty Gorge vault has a cracked wall behind the main loot chest you can melee through to find a hidden Claptrap part, which counts toward the full collectible set that unlocks a free legendary class mod. The Neon Core vault has a hidden data log on a shelf to the left of the entrance, which unlocks a secret Atlas side quest that gives you an exclusive shock SMG with 150% extra damage against robot enemies. You can re-run every vault as many times as you want after your first clear, with a 30 minute cooldown between runs to farm loot or missed collectibles.
The Sunken Temple vault has a small stone altar hidden behind a pillar near the entrance. If you interact with it before you trigger the guardian fight, you’ll get a 2x loot boost for that run, which doubles the number of legendary items you get from the main chest. The Crater Edge vault has a secret boss that spawns only if you kill all 4 minor guardians in under 2 minutes, which drops a unique rocket launcher that can one-shot most regular overworld bosses.
Common Vault Access Mistakes to Avoid
After helping dozens of co-op partners unlock all the vaults, I’ve noticed the same mistakes come up over and over again. Avoid these, and you’ll save yourself hours of lost progress and wasted runs.
First, don’t try to access a vault more than 3 levels below the recommended range. Even if you have a really strong build, the guardian’s damage will scale so high that it will one-shot you even with full shield and health. You can’t open vault chests if you leave the vault area mid-run, even if you come back later, you’ll have to restart the entire encounter from the beginning. That means if you run out of ammo halfway through the guardian fight, you can’t fast travel to a vendor and come back, you’ll have to start over.
Don’t forget to pick up the physical vault access key after you complete the required side quests for the Neon Core and Sunken Temple vaults. I’ve had two co-op partners finish all the required quests, only to realize they never grabbed the key from the quest giver, so they couldn’t get through the vault door. Also, don’t destroy the power cores in the Neon Core vault before you beat the guardian, that will trigger a self-destruct sequence that gives you only 60 seconds to loot and escape, which is almost never enough time to grab all the hidden items. If you’re playing co-op, make sure all players are in the vault entrance area before you trigger the encounter, otherwise players who are outside will get locked out and can’t join until the run is over.
The vault locations borderlands 4 offers are some of the most fun and rewarding content in the base game, so it’s worth taking the time to track each one down and explore every corner. I’ve farmed the Crater Edge vault over 20 times now, and I still find new little details every run, so don’t rush through them. If you get stuck on a specific vault’s access puzzle or guardian fight, you can always post in the public co-op lobby for help, most players are happy to walk you through it in exchange for a chance to grab extra loot.