Borderlands 3 DLC: Complete List of Epic New Adventures and Loot

Borderlands 3 is a looter-shooter developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. Released in 2019, the game is a sequel to 2012’s Borderlands 2.

The gameplay of Borderlands 3 is simple. You play as a Vault Hunter, choosing one of four classes to run and gun your way through different areas, completing quests and killing enemies along the way. On your adventure, you’ll encounter a huge amount of loot, primarily weapons, and collecting as much as possible is a huge element of the game.

While the game didn’t review quite as well as its predecessors, it still proved to be a success for the Borderlands series.

Borderlands 3 DLC

There is plenty of DLC out there for Borderlands 3. While much of it is cosmetic packs originally rewarded for supporting the game and later sold as standalone DLC, there are also major expansions that bring a lot of depth to Borderlands 3. It’s definitely a mixed bag, but there’s something to be found for everyone who still plays the game here.

Gold Weapon Skins Pack

Initially given out as a pre-order bonus for Borderlands 3, the Gold Weapon Skins Pack later became available for standalone purchase with a $4.99 price tag.

The pack comes with a small gold weapon trinket that you can hang from your weapon, as well as a single gold weapon skin that can apply to every gun in the game. Considering Borderlands 3 has a reported number of over a billion variants through the generative weapons system, you can get a lot of use out of this skin! To recap, that’s:

• Gold Weapon Skin
• Gold Weapon Trinket

Neon Cosmetic Pack

The Neon Cosmetic Pack was initially a perk of grabbing the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions of Borderlands 3 at launch. However, Gearbox went on to make it a standalone download for $4.99.

This pack includes a neon weapon trinket, as well as a neon ECHO device skin. On top of this, you get both a Neon Vault Hunter head and skin, which you can use regardless of which character you’re playing. The Neon Cosmetic Pack is particularly useful in multiplayer, where other players can see your Vault Hunter skin. In total, here’s all the contents of the Neon Cosmetic Pack:

• Neon Vault Hunter Head
• Neon Vault Hunter Skin
• Neon ECHO Device Skin
• Neon Weapon Trinket

Gearbox Cosmetic Pack

Like the Neon Cosmetic Pack, the Gearbox Cosmetic Pack was included in the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions of Borderlands 3. Nowadays, you can pick it up for $4.99.

This is one of the smaller packs for the game, offering just a simple weapon trinket as well as the Gearbox weapon skin. This can be applied to every weapon in the game, giving it a whiteout effect.

• Gearbox Weapon Skin
• Gearbox Weapon Trinket

Retro Cosmetic Pack

Once again, the Retro Cosmetic Pack is a bonus for the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions of Borderlands 3 made available for $4.99 post-release.

The Retro Cosmetic Pack brings the best elements of the previous DLCs, providing good value for money here. The Retro Vault Hunter head and skin allow you to customize your character with a cool blood-red look, while the weapon skin is made for use on any weapon in the game. The ECHO device skin is just the cherry on top of it all. In total, here’s everything the Retro Cosmetic Pack has to offer:

• Retro Vault Hunter Head
• Retro Vault Hunter Skin
• Retro ECHO Device Skin
• Retro Weapon Skin

Toy Box Weapons Pack

As the final piece of DLC available in the Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions, the Toy Box Weapons Pack is one of the smaller downloads of the set. Like the others, it currently costs $4.99 to buy by itself.

With the Toy Box Weapons Pack, you get two new toy guns, each coming with their own unique effects making them worthwhile to use. There’s also a new grenade mod, as well as a toy weapon trinket. Even compared to some of the other cosmetic DLC packs, this offers a particularly small amount of content. To recap, here’s everything the Toy Box Weapons Pack brings to the table:

• Toy Guns with unique effects
• Toy Grenade Mod
• Toy Weapon Trinket

Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot

Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot is the first major expansion pack for Borderlands 3, releasing in December 2019 for $14.99.

In the DLC, fan-favorite character Mad Moxxi has decided she wants to raid the space casino of Handsome Jack, the deceased antagonist of Borderlands 2, to grab the last of his riches for herself. That’s where you come in. You and your fellow Vault Hunters are recruited for the task, and it’s not going to be as simple as it initially appears.

This expansion brings a ton of new content into the game. The main location of the DLC, The Handsome Jackpot, is a glitzy casino with a bunch of interesting new zones to explore. These areas are home to a great selection of quests. Some are mandatory to the story, while others are totally optional. Regardless, each is packed with the traditional Borderlands humor the series has become renowned for. On top of this the new Legendary weapons and Vault Hunter heads / skins provide new ways for you to customize your character. In total, here’s everything Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot has to offer in Borderlands 3:

• The Handsome Jackpot – an all-new location to explore
• Seven Main Story Missions and eleven Side Missions to complete
• A number of new NPCs to interact with
• New Legendary weapons
• New Vault Hunter Heads
• New Vault Hunter Skins

Guns, Love, and Tentacles

Released in March 2020 for $14.99, Guns, Love, and Tentacles is the second major expansion for Borderlands 3.

The plot of Guns, Love, and Tentacles sees Sir Hammerlock make his return, after appearances in Borderlands 2 and 3. This time around, he’s getting married to his partner Wainwright Jacobs on the world of Xylourgos, and you’re invited. Unbeknownst to the grooms-to-be, the world is inhabited by a cult that worships a frozen monster in the skies. The cult has its eyes on breaking up the pair, and it’s up to you and your fellow Vault Hunters to ensure it all goes ahead as planned!

Compared to Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, Guns, Love, and Tentacles has a little more to offer at the same price. This time around, you’ve got Xylourgos, an entire new planet to discover, with new enemies to boot. While there are fewer Story Missions here, there are more Side Quests, so it’s a DLC that rewards the curious. Long-time fans will recognize many characters from Borderlands games gone by, with lots of fun cameos from popular characters that could be lost on newer players. You’ve also got the standard fare for Borderlands 3 DLC, with Vault Hunter Heads and Skins with new weapons too.

• Xylourgos – a new planet to explore
• Six Main Story Missions and fourteen Side Missions to complete
• Many characters returning for cameos from previous games
• Tons of new enemies to defeat
• New Legendary weapons
• New Vault Hunter Heads
• New Vault Hunter Skins
• New Interactive Room Decorations
• New Vehicle Skins

Bounty of Blood

June 2020 saw the release of the Bounty of Blood DLC for Borderlands 3, available for the price of $14.99 – the standard for the game’s major expansions.

In Bounty of Blood, your Vault Hunter is answering a sheriff’s bounty from the desolate planet of Gehenna. You’re tasked with defending the town of Vestige from a group called the Devil Riders, who are looking to take over what’s left of the entire planet. With an anonymous narrator and its distinct Western theme, Bounty of Blood is designed to feel like a classic Western movie.

Like Guns, Love, and Tentacles, Bounty of Blood provides a new planet to explore – Gehenna. This allows for a bunch of enemy types to be introduced, and a cast of fresh characters rather than the group of Borderlands all-stars shown in the previous DLC. There’s a place for both, but the new cast comes as a welcome change after Guns, Love, and Tentacles. Perhaps the biggest addition is the Jetbeast, an entirely new vehicle type that provides you with a method of transportation across Gehenna. Bounty of Blood also adds a huge gameplay dynamic – flora. New plants including the Breezebloom, Coresploder, and Traitorweed are littered around the map, each having a unique effect on combat when you or an enemy gets close. It makes you consider combat in a way Borderlands 3 players won’t be used to. Here’s everything you can expect in Bounty of Blood:

• Gehenna – a new planet to explore
• Five Main Story Missions and eleven Side Missions to complete
• Cast of new characters to meet
• Jetbeast – a new vehicle type with customizations
• Breezebloom, Coresploder, and Traitorweed – new flora with in-game effects that change combat dramatically, forcing you to use your environment
• New Crew Challenges
• New enemy types
• New Legendary weapons

Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck

Three months after Bounty of Blood, we got the DLC Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck in September 2020. It follows the standard Borderlands 3 expansion pricing, at $14.99.

In Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, returning character Patricia Tannis is looking into why the Psychos of Pandora are the way that they are. She believes she has found some reasoning, although she needs someone to explore a Psycho’s mind to find out for sure. You and the other Vault Hunters must enter the mind of the Psycho Krieg, surviving in his mind to find out the truth.

The DLC brings one new location, the Pyschoscape. Located inside Krieg’s mind, it tells a twisted tale of the psyche of a Borderlands Psycho. With five Main Story Missions and thirteen Side Missions, it’s a pretty standard length for these DLCs. One major selling point is that the entire living cast of Borderlands 1 makes their return, a treat for long-time fans of the franchise. On top of all of this, Psycho Krie and the Fantastic Fustercluck adds lots of new Legendary weapons, and Vault Hunter Heads / Skins. These can all be used outside of the pack, too!

• The Psychoscape – a new location deep inside Krieg’s mind to explore
• Five Main Story Missions and thirteen Side Missions to complete
• Entire main cast of Borderlands 1 returns, as well as some Borderlands 2 favorites
• New enemy types
• New Legendary weapons
• New Crew Challenges
• New Vault Hunter Heads
• New Vault Hunter Skins

Final Form Cosmetic Pack

We’re not going to sugarcoat it. The Final Form Cosmetic Packs represent perhaps the worst value for money of any Borderlands 3 DLC. These four packs were released in November 2020, each available separately for $9.99.

There’s a Final Form Cosmetic Pack for each of the four Vault Hunters in Borderlands 3: FL4K, Moze, Zane, and Amara. Each pack offers a complete model replacement for the Vault Hunter, as well as a new Head and Body skin. At its core, this sounds completely fine. However, once you realize that purchasing all four would set you back almost $40, it’s a lot harder to justify. If you can grab this as part of a bundle at a reduced price with the rest of Borderlands 3‘s DLC, that’s the only way we can see to get decent value here. Here’s what you can expect if you pick up all of the Final Form packs:

• FL4K’s Grand Archivist Vault Hunter Head
• FL4K’s Grand Archivist Vault Hunter Body
• Moze’s Commissar Andreyevna Vault Hunter Head
• Moze’s Commissar Andreyevna Vault Hunter Body
• Zane’s Assassin One Vault Hunter Head
• Zane’s Assassin One Vault Hunter Body
• Amara’s Partali Renegade Vault Hunter Head
• Amara’s Partali Renegade Vault Hunter Body

Designer’s Cut

The Designer’s Cut DLC was released for $14.99 in November 2020. While priced the same as the major expansions, it certainly doesn’t bring as much content as previous releases.

The major addition here is the Arms Race game mode. This is a Battle Royale-esque mode, which drops you into a map without gear. You must then collect loot while staying alive against waves of enemies. Axton and Salvador from Borderlands 2 provide a wave of commentary throughout, keeping the trademark humor alive and well. On top of this, the Designer’s Cut pack also introduces four new skill trees – one for each Vault Hunter. It’s a good way to add a new dynamic to each character, but not nearly enough to justify the price tag.

• Arms Race game mode
• Amara’s Enlightened Force skill tree
• FL4K’s Trapper skill tree
• Moze’s Bear Mother skill tree
• Zane’s The Professional skill tree
• New Vault Hunter Skin
• New Weapon Trinket
• New ECHO Device Skin

Director’s Cut

Released in April 2021 for $14.99, the Director’s Cut DLC for Borderlands 3 is a vast improvement on the Designer’s Cut, in terms of value for money.

The Director’s Cut brings four new missions to complete. While it’s not a massive amount, it’s something. These missions take you to several new locations, so you’re not retreading old ground here. It also introduces Hemovorous the Invincible, a new Raid Boss that is extremely difficult to defeat. If you can overcome the battle, solo or with friends, you’ll be rewarded with some of the best loot Borderlands 3 has to offer. The Director’s Cut also adds a Behind The Scenes menu, where you can watch a bunch of content centered on the development of the game. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s a fun insight into how the game came to fruition. Overall, here’s all the content Borderlands 3‘s Director’s Cut has to offer:

• Four new Story Missions to complete
• New locations to explore on multiple planets
• Hemovorous the Invincible – new Raid Boss to kill
• Three Vault Cards, which can activated to unlock themed loot, cosmetics, and new gear
• New Behind The Scenes menu gives you access to concept art, clips of early development, and a fully voiced animatic of an unused cutscene
• New enemy types

Is Borderlands 3 DLC Worth The Money?

In terms of the story DLC, there’s no doubt that Borderlands 3 offers great value for money. While many long-time fans of the franchise feel that this game doesn’t live up to previous releases, those who enjoyed the game will still find plenty to love about the story DLC. It’s just more of the Borderlands 3 you’re already familiar with. With each of the main packs priced at $14.99, it’s hard to go wrong, even if you just grab one or two of them.

The cosmetic DLC for Borderlands 3 is a little harder to justify. Most of them only add a couple of new items, and despite this, a third of the price of the much larger content drops. With the character packs, rarely, you’ll even see your character in-game! With these, we’d suggest that you pick one or two of your favorites. It’s not worth the money to buy them all, but we can see how there’s value in grabbing a couple of them. Just avoid the Final Form Cosmetic Packs, which don’t represent a good deal in any way, shape, or form.

Overall, Borderlands 3 has a strong offering of DLC. While the game may not be supported nowadays, it was still receiving great content a year and a half after its release, which is more than most titles can say.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©2K.