Welcome, Vault Hunters! The long wait is over, and Borderlands 3 is finally in your hands. Before diving headfirst into the mayhem, it’s essential to take note of several quality-of-life improvements and strategic approaches that can help you navigate the game more efficiently. Whether you’re a newcomer or a returning veteran, these ten crucial tips will enhance your first playthrough and make your journey through Pandora and beyond much smoother.
1. Utilize the Fast Travel System to Save Time
One of the most significant improvements in Borderlands 3 is the ability to fast travel from anywhere. No longer do you need to trek back to a specific station; simply open your map via the ECHO device, select your destination, and teleport. This is particularly useful for selling items, turning in quests, or quickly returning to a key location.
Another game-changing feature is that your vehicle acts as a mobile fast travel point. This means that after completing an objective, you can teleport to a vendor, offload loot, and instantly return to your last-used vehicle—keeping the action going with minimal downtime. This also applies if you need to respec your skill tree, allowing for quick adjustments before tackling tough encounters.
2. Don’t Overthink Your Action Skills Early On
It may seem counterintuitive, but your choice of action skills in the first 10-15 hours isn’t as crucial as you might think. Early on, your gear and weapons matter more than a perfectly optimized build. Instead of stressing over skill points, pick abilities that suit your current playstyle—whether it’s boosting your favorite weapon type, increasing survivability, or enhancing movement.
A common mistake is to overlook survivability skills in favor of pure damage. While extra firepower is tempting, staying alive is more important—especially for solo players. Prioritizing shield regeneration or second-wind abilities can significantly improve your efficiency and progress.
3. Master the Elements for Effective Combat
Elemental damage plays a vital role in Borderlands 3, especially as you advance into harder difficulties like True Vault Hunter Mode and Mayhem Mode. Learning the best elemental matchups early can give you an edge:
- Fire → Effective against flesh (unarmored enemies)
- Shock → Best for shields
- Corrosive → Melts armor
- Cryo & Radiation → Situational, but useful for crowd control and damage-over-time effects
To maximize your efficiency, always keep one of each elemental weapon in your inventory—even if they’re slightly under-leveled. Additionally, some weapons have alternative fire modes, meaning an elemental effect might not be active unless you switch firing modes.
4. Take Advantage of the New Matchmaking System
If you’re struggling with a boss or difficult quest, use Borderlands 3’s matchmaking system to find other players at a similar point in the story. You can access this through the Pause Menu > Social > Matchmaking Tab.
For a smoother co-op experience, make sure to enable the non-competitive mode, ensuring that loot is instanced rather than shared. This way, you can progress without worrying about loot-stealing teammates or unnecessary PvP encounters.
5. Check Your Inbox Regularly for Rewards
Under the Social tab, you’ll find an Inbox that contains reward packages from weapon manufacturers for completing specific challenges (such as getting 100 kills with a particular brand’s weapon). These often contain valuable upgrades, so check this frequently—ideally after every level-up.
Additionally, pre-order bonuses and VIP rewards are also redeemed from this inbox. Be mindful of when you claim them, as the item level of these rewards scales to when they are collected.
6. Farm Bosses for Rare Loot
If a boss doesn’t drop the legendary item you were hoping for, don’t fret—you can farm bosses easily. Simply save, reload, and defeat them again. Many early bosses, like Mouthpiece, have dedicated loot pools, meaning that their legendary drops are farmable.
For better odds, equip any loot bonus gear you have before engaging in farm runs. This can be a mod on your shield, relics, or class mods that increase loot drop rates.
7. Use the Environment to Your Advantage
Borderlands 3 introduces new interactive environmental mechanics that can turn the tide of battle. Some key interactions include:
- Melee barrels to knock them toward enemies before shooting them
- Shock panels that electrocute nearby foes when activated
- Target markers that trigger environmental effects, such as radiation pools or explosions
- Destructible cover that can be shot down to expose hiding enemies
Taking advantage of these elements can conserve ammo and add an extra layer of strategy to combat.
8. Explore Side Missions for Extra Rewards
While it’s tempting to speed through the main storyline, side quests offer valuable rewards that often outpace standard loot drops. Completing side missions helps with leveling and ensures you’re properly scaled for the main quest, preventing unnecessary difficulty spikes.
Many side quests also unlock new fast travel points, making future navigation more efficient. So don’t ignore them—especially ones that reward unique weapons and gear.
9. Upgrade Your Backpack Storage ASAP
Loot is plentiful in Borderlands 3, meaning your inventory will fill up quickly. Instead of constantly deciding which items to keep or sell, invest in backpack SDUs as early as possible.
You can buy these from Marcus’s shop on Sanctuary, and prioritizing a few expansions early on will save you a lot of frustration and time spent backtracking to vendors.
10. Use Item Level to Compare Gear
Choosing the best weapon or shield can be daunting, especially with all the stats involved. Thankfully, Borderlands 3 introduces Item Level, a simple metric to gauge gear quality. If you’re unsure about two similar weapons, the one with the higher Item Level is usually the better pick.
Of course, elemental matchups and personal playstyle still matter, but in general, a higher Item Level means better stats and performance.
Final Thoughts
These ten tips will set you up for a successful first playthrough in Borderlands 3. Whether you’re gunning for max efficiency or just enjoying the chaotic fun, these strategies will help you optimize your time, farm efficiently, and get the best loot.
Now it’s up to you—are you rushing through the main story, or are you taking your time to explore and complete everything? Let us know in the comments below. And if you found this guide helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for more Borderlands 3 tips, loot guides, and breakdowns!
Happy looting, Vault Hunters!
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