Borderlands 4 Side Quests and Activities Guide: How to Spend Your Time Wisely

Last updated on December 21st, 2025 at 08:05 am

I have sunk far too many hours into the side content in Borderlands 4. At first I was kind of doing everything, Every quest marker, every hidden mission, all of the random stuff. And then I noticed that I was burning out hard.

Here’s what I discovered about squeezing the most out of your playtime without squandering it:

Finish the Main Story First – Seriously

I know, I know. Right now, you want to experience everything. But believe me, I’ve tried that the hard way. Enter side quests too quickly and you lose out on Specialization, a second leveling system that provides bonus XP. That’s a huge deal.

The main campaign first, is the way to go. It opens up like ten times more than you think. Also, side quest rewards actually scale to your level when you turn them in so the timing is not nearly as brutal as it used to be in previous Borderlands games.

The Fadefields: Half the Content resides here

Fadefields has almost 46 side missions, and yes it’s close to half the game’s side stuff. I began here, and honestly it is overwhelming. But here’s the play: target the Order Silos first. They’re not just fast travel points they reveal key Vault Key Fragment locations that you’ll need for the bigger pardon-the-pun challenges later on.

The secret missions in this area are (“Breeding Daisies” and “Whack-a-Thresher”),it’s really worth getting them. I accidentally found them, but they feel different than those marked quests. Look at your Grassroots Campaigner challenge counter under Missions > Challenges > World to see what you’re lacking.

Level Gating: This is to Save You From Grind Later

This is the point at which most players screw up. I learned this the hard way by crashing into a wall at Level 50.

Here’s the timing that worked best for me:

• Level 10: Finish all side missions before you go beating up A Lot To Process. You’ll need the XP boost.
• Level 25–27: Make a huge catch-up round before you head into Dominion. I promise you will thank yourself later.
• Level 50: For this point, I recommend you save “Vend of The Line,” as it’s a guaranteed legendary and will pack more of a punch at endgame.

The Primordial Vaults: Not Worth the Hurry

I got cocky and attempted a vault too soon. Got absolutely wrecked. Primordial Vaults match your level, but the thing is: the glider pack upgrades you find are permanent, so they’re worth grinding eventually.

Those other progression-based traversal tools (double jump, gliding, grappling hooks, directional dashing) are actually a thing in these fights. I had to figure the movement systems out before the vaults started clicking. Don’t be me do the basics before you do anything.

Maurice’s Black Market: Community Wins

This was the weekly activity that took me a little time to figure out. It’s not a traditional vendor. The location of the secret vending machine rotates and players around Kairos find them every week. When found, you gain access to 8 legendary offerings for purchase.

I didn’t jump in until late one week and found myself locked out of some deals. Now I check in regularly. It’s one of those things that rewards sticking with it without devouring hours out of your day.

Contract Integration: The Underrated Move

Activating contracts from safehouses? I didn’t even bother with these for ages. They flow right along main story objectives, so you’re really just grinding out XP as you go. Side by side gains= no new playtime for same level of progression.

The Challenge System: Free Loot for Trying Stuff

The tiered list of challenges offers consistent rewards cash, Eridium, cosmetics. I’d dismissed them until I realized how much this value stacked up. Branch out in your approaches to gameplay, and you hit several birds with one stone!

Pro Tips I Wish I Knew Sooner

Replay missions exist. The majority of side quests are replayable under the Replay Missions tab. Farm those with rewards that might actually interest instead of farming the same boss 6+ times.

Rewards cache with your level. This means you don’t need to worry about a “perfect time” to redeem those rewards like you did in the earlier installments.

Hidden missions actually matter. There are 6+ confirmed unmarked quests (“Forgive Me”, “The Neverending Quarry”) that don’t appear on your map. These aren’t filler they are worth the search.

The Real Talk

Borderlands 4 has good side content now. The traversal, dynamic NPC interactions and the clever reward scaling make it grind less than older ones. But the key to optimization? Play smart, not hard. Rush the main story at first, time your side quests right and do stuff that scales (like Maurice’s Black Market/shop and contracts.)

You do not have to be all things. Just do the right things in the right order.

Read:

Borderlands 4 Complete Guide and Walkthrough: Everything You Need to Dominate