Borderlands 3 has a ton of legendary weapons, shields, grenade mods, artifacts, and class mods that players can farm throughout the game. Sometimes, these legendary items can be hard to find, or in some instances have a hard time spawning.
Luckily, some players have discovered areas that are easy and effective to farm, for those having trouble getting that certain legendary they’ve been seeking — and looking to score more great loot. Some players have found certain farming spots yield many great legendaries that they can store back at Sanctuary or sell if they need the money. These are some of the very best, most resourceful farming locations for legendaries in Borderlands 3.
Updated September 12, 2024 by Stephen LaGioia: Even after the release of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Gearbox kept Borderlands 3 relevant and exciting with new content and features, tacking on extras ranging from DLC and the roguelike Arms Race to crossplay support.
Though support has finally winded down, even hardcore fans are finding there is still much to do in BL3, thanks to its countless weapons, Mayhem Mode, and a sky-high level cap of 72. The game yields many effective areas and bosses to endlessly farm. These often hold greater weapons and other loot. And with so many to exploit, it’s time to further update and flesh out this guide, so that players might hone their Borderlands game and get hyped for the fourth mainline title, slated to drop in late 2025.
18 Evil Brick & Evil Mordecai
A Tough Fight Of Good Vs Evil – But With Very Good Loot
- Can be found in Krieg’s Mind (Castle Crimson), as part of the ‘Siege of Castle Crimson’ quest within the Psycho Krieg DLC4
While this can be one of the tougher battles in the game, these two dark, supercharged variants of the Vault Hunters can be appealing to farm. This is namely because they offer a 30% chance to drop the Lovable Rogue, Septimator Prime, and the Flare. These are powerful assault and sniper rifles, and a useful class mod respectively.
Fighting two foes at once also doubles the odds that they’ll drop other potent legendaries, making this a resourceful place to farm. Players can additionally revisit these minibosses fairly easily, as they’re only a short (minute or so) walk from a fast-travel station.
17 Eridian Fabricator
Instant Loot (For A Small Price)
- Obtained via the ‘Footsteps of Giants’ mission in Desolation’s edge, on Nekrotafeyo.
This is a more unorthodox method for obtaining legendary loot, as it merely requires players to hold the Eridian Fabricator. While it can also get rather pricey quickly, it’s by far the easiest way to gain access to tons of legendary goodies — just with a few quick trigger pulls.
Not only does the gun-spewing gun release a slew of green-to-purple rarity weapons at the low cost of ten Eridium — it also produces a few legendary or mission-unique guns with each cash-in. It should be noted that this upgrade costs far more Eridium, specifically 250 for each trigger pull. Still, for those who have spent ample time accumulating loads of the resource, the Fabricator can be a great, often-overlooked means to earn legendaries at the drop of a hat (or gun).
16 VIP Tower/Jackpot Jack’s Bot
A Plethora of Casino Goodies
- Jackpot is located in the VIP Tower, the final boss of the story of Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot DLC.
Upon defeating Freddie, and this robotic version of the iconic Handsome Jack, which itself yields good loot like the Cheap Tips SMG, players will be able to plunder a vast room full of treasure and various gear. He’ll also drop a variety of great DLC class mods, including Zane’s useful Seein’ Dead legendary mod.
With several strong enemies, this is figuratively and literally a treasure trove for players looking for loads of easy-access loot. It’s worth venturing to the end of this bountiful DLC.
15 Proving Grounds Trials
This Is Ground Worth Proving
- To gain access to the coveted loot in the Proving Grounds, players will need to have activated the two beacons on Pandora, another two on Eden-6, and one on Promethea.
- The Trial of Survival is on Pandora’s Devil’s Razor (Gradient of Dawn). Cunning is on Pandora’s Splinterlands (Ghostlight Beacon). Discipline is on Promethea’s Meridian Outskirts (Precipice Anchor). Instinct is on Eden-6’s Floodmoor Basin (Wayward Tether). Fervor is on Eden-6’s Jakos Estate (Skydrowned Pulpit). Supremacy is on Nekrotafeyo’s Desolation’s Edge (Hall Obsidian).
Here, players will clash with an onslaught of enemy waves, with an awaiting final boss. Finishing given objectives within a 30-minute timeframe with enable players to plunder the best loot. This is a good one for farming as it’s a controllable scenario that’s fairly easy to access multiple times.
If this weren’t enough, Gearbox tacked on a feature in late 2022 that enabled the even more brutal True Trials. This yields a boss with far more health — but also some nice loot for players’ troubles. In fact, chests in this area will always be rife with legendaries, even if objectives are not met. Weapons like the Monarch, Backburner, and Maggie have been collected here quite a bit. Not only are awesome drops guaranteed, but these runs are relatively short.
Trial Of Discipline
- Optional mission obtained from the Eridian Lodestar within the Edge of Meridian region of Meridian Outskirts.
At least at the point of rounding level 30, players will want to consider focuing on this side quest which requires them to find and decypher Eridian Lodestars. While many of these distinct trials can prove useful in finding great loot, Discipline can be bountiful and resourceful in particular.
For one, the region players must tread has a fairly high chance of producing the powerful Flipper — which can also be had from the rather unsettling Minosaur. But it can also yield the sticky-firing Dahl weapon called the Kaoson. These are among the best SMGs the game has to offer.
Not only does the Arbolest of Discipline boss drop these and other great weapons, but there are many other opportunities to scoop up solid loot during this grueling trial.
14 Heavyweight Harker
A Worthy Race For Obtaining Great Arms
- The Heavyweight Harker is found in Stormblind Complex in the Designer’s Cut DLC Arm’s Race.
Given his abundance of good loot and relative ease in taking him down, the Heavyweight Harker is a great option for loot farmers. He’s a respawnable boss with a vast dedicated loot pool rife with useful items. These include the Tizzy, Plasma Coil, and Madcap.
He is rather easy to locate and approach, and many have found him relatively easy for the loot he drops. This is especially the case when using Tediores, elemental weapons, and potent grenades to spam him with. While the drop rates are relatively meager compared to some farming options, players are more likely to find more solid items here among the loot that does drop.
13 Jabbermagwai
A Bountiful Hunt
- The Jabbermagwai can be found lurking in Eden-6’s Voracious Canopy, which players will need to slay for Sir Hammerlock.
Players can opt for this fairly accessible beast as a great place to farm on Eden-6. He can be reached by just running along the left side of the zone from the fast-travel spot. Head to the quaint, torch-lit shack, and the creature should show up rather quickly. Players will want to bring explosives and/or crowd-control weapons of some sort, as the Jabbermagawi can and will duplicate—likely several times—if hit with Cryo.
But while this perk can be pesky, it’s an ideal target to farm, as the constant source of foes will provide tons of loot. It’s not unlike a Minecraft mob spawner. There will likely be plenty of rare and legendary pickups for those who milk this exploit long enough, but one of the key finds here is the Hellfire legendary SMG.
12 Ruiner
Farming On The Edge
- Ruiner is found within the Bounty of Blood DLC pack, specifically in the Crater’s Edge.
This respawnable boss may strike an intimidating presence, but the battle is on the easy side. He has several weak points in the form of large, protruding spikes, making him an easy target that should go down with little sweat. His many vulnerable points are left exposed for quite awhile, making him an optimal target for farming despite some irritating moments where he burrows beneath the surface.
Be sure to bring fast-firing weapons that can pummel these points and bring him down quickly. If the beast is defeated in just over 30 seconds, he won’t even get the chance to burrow underground, making the farm all the more swift and easy.
Players can hope to score up to five legendaries for each boss kill, which is ideal given how strong the legendary lineup in this DLC is. The Ruiner often drops the legendary Jakobs pistol called the Bloom, a strong, rapidly-firing gun with charge capabilities.
11 Captain Traunt
A Simple And Explosive Target
- Captain Traunt resides on Athenas, at the end of the Anchorhold district, and is found after the story mission The Impending Storm.
While this original BL3 boss has been surpassed by many DLC options, he still makes for a solid farming target in the core game. Players will want to aim for his back for most of the firefight; either his backpack or the orb attached to the back of his head.
What’s appealing about Traunt is that he’s fairly easy to get to, and pretty simple to kill as long as these weak spots are targeted. He also drops a bounty of loot compared to his difficulty. His unique drops include the sharp, explosive SMG called the Kaoson, and the Hyperion sniper rifle called the Tankman’s Shield, which stacks damage after each kill.
10 Graveward
Send Him To A Quick And Early Grave
- Graveward can be found on Eden 6 under the Jakobs Estate grounds and appears while running the Borderlands 3 campaign.
Graveward is one of the best bosses to farm in the game, considering you can choose to spawn directly next to the boss arena. Along with this, the Graveward fight can be extremely easy and with the right build, can even be killed in seconds. However players will need to learn Graveward’s patterns and be mindful of the tilting ground beneath them.
Graveward has the Lob shotgun in his dedicated loot pool which is one of the best shotguns in the game. Not only that, but he can drop upwards of eight or nine legendaries at one time. There is also a vault directly behind him that has multiple chests that can drop legendaries as well.
9 Arms Race
Let The Race For Legendary Loot Begin
- Arms Race can be accessed first by activating the quest on Sanctuary. Players can then teleport there from the fast travel menu.
Arms Race is one of the latest additions to Borderlands 3 that acts sort of like a battle royal. Players are spawned into a large area that has different segments, each with its own chest. There is also a Murdercane roaming about, but more on that later.
Players need to run around and collect potent weapons in Arms Race so they have something to fight with. Killing enemies can grant them legendary items, but most come from the various chests in different areas. As time ticks on, the Murdercane will shrink, preventing players from reaching certain areas of the map. Players need to avoid getting hit by the Mudercane and make it to the final boss to keep all their hard-earned loot.
Some solid loot can be found often here, including the Tizzy, Plasma Coil, Torrent, and Kickcharger.
Earning The Good Juju
- The Rampager can be found on Promethea, specifically the Forgotten Basilica, during the Borderlands 3 campaign.
The Rampager had more recently become a more favored farming location thanks to the various updates. Despite needing to go through annoying immunity stages, the Rampager is a great farming location that can get players a ton of legendary gear.
Not only can the Rampager drop a lot of world-drop items, but it can also drop the Mayhem level four exclusive weapon called the Good Juju. Players can also bypass exiting the game to farm the Rampager. They simply need to wait until the boss is in its dying animation, then enter the vault door. They can then quickly turn around, leave the vault, and take the boss down again.
7 Psychoreaver & Vaulthalla
Plundering The Heaven Of Vaults
- The Psychoreaver appears as the final boss of DLC 4: Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck. He lurks in Vaulthalla in Krieg’s Mind.
The Psychoreaver isn’t the easiest boss to defeat, but when it is slain, players will be able to enter Vaulthalla. Vaulthalla is filled with chests for players to be able to get more great legendary loot that makes this DLC worthwhile. There are also two bonus rooms that players can enter if they solve the puzzle.
To get the bonus rooms open, players will need to shoot various buttons that appear outside the boss room, in the boss room, and inside the vault. Once all of them are shot, players will be able to enter the first bonus room. After shooting more buttons in the bonus room, players will be able to enter the second one.
6 Slaughter Shaft
Especially The Later Waves
- The Slaughter Shaft can be found on Pandora in Konrad’s Hold, near the far end of the area.
The Slaughter Shaft is one of the best ways to farm legendaries no matter what difficulty you are on. Even playing absent Mayhem Mode can result in tons of legendaries dropping from the enemies in this arena. While there aren’t any dedicated drops in the Slaughter Shaft arenas, every world drop can be found here making it extremely useful, and giving it a very high ceiling for farming.
The only problem with this method of farming is that it will be a tough, chaotic fight for survival. It is far easier to engage with friends if you don’t have the right build. Still, it’s useful that players are allowed to jump right back into the later, tougher waves instantly, so long as they don’t leave the game.
The Cistern of Slaughter
(Promethea, Meridian Metroplex), and the
Slaughterstar 3000
(side mission of Nekrotafeyo) are also great and similar options with survival missions. Though the Shaft, being near the campaign’s end, will likely offer a bit better loot overall, and is the simplest and most convenient to locate.
5 Freddie The Traitor
A Useful Betrayer
- Freddie can be located on the Handsome Jack from DLC 1: Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot. He appears at the end before the final boss.
Freddie the Traitor is a boss that spawns in the first Borderlands 3 DLC. When spawning into the arena, you will be met with tons of enemies to take down and a boss that melts like butter on a hot sidewalk, especially when utilizing Corrosive guns.
The only problem with Freddie the Traitor is that half the legendaries he drops are dedicated to the DLC, but he still drops other legendaries from the main game. This boss is also easier to farm than most others because all you need to do is teleport to make him respawn. That’s right — no more needing to back out of the game and painstakingly restart.
4 Killavolt
High-Voltage Action And Loot
- Killavolt can be found during the main campaign of Borderlands 3 in Lecta City.
Players might remember Killavolt from the main campaign during their brief visit to Lecta City. This shockingly easy-to-kill boss has a larger loot pool now thanks to the updates that Gearbox has done. He can also drop some of the best weapons in the game like the Monarch.
Killavolt can also easily be farmed by players who aren’t looking to exit the game each time they kill him. Vault Hunters will simply need to kill themselves after defeating him. They will respawn outside of the arena where they can drop back down and take on Killavolt once more.
3 Eista The Invincible
A Great Farming Option For Snipers
- Eista the Invincible can be found in Skittermaw Basin after completing the campaign for DLC 2: Guns, Love, and Tentacles.
Eista was added during the second DLC called Guns, Love, and Tentacles. This memorable DLC might not be accessible by everyone but has some of the best farming locations. Eista the Invincible is another boss that can be taken down pretty easily with the right build.
Eista can also drop multiple legendaries from the DLC and base game which makes him very useful, including the potent snipers Skullmasher and Cocky Bastard. He also has specific legendary class mods for each character that can only be obtained from him. He’s not too easily defeated with his three health bars and elemental moves, but he’s worth gunning for when it comes to farming.
2 Scraptrap Nest
A Nest Of Legendary Loot
- The Scraptrap Nest can be found during the DLC 1 campaign: Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot. It appears as a mini-boss of the DLC. The nest and the baddies within can be found in the northwest area of The Compactor.
In the Scraptrap Nest, you will fight a boss that is multiple bosses in one. The main reason this boss is worth farming is because of the number of legendaries it can drop. Scraptrap can be killed pretty easily with weapons like the Recursion that have ricocheting rounds.
As this boss comes from the Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot DLC, there are multiple legendaries it can drop from both the content pack’s dedicated loot pool and the original game’s collection.
A new way to farm the Scraptrap Nest has been discovered as well that allows players to stay in the game instead of exiting out. Players wanting to farm this boss just need to run out of the boss arena like they would to continue the story. They can then stop at the edge of the cliff before the dropdown. Wait a few seconds and run back into the boss arena to get the boss to respawn.
1 Tom & Xam
Two For The Price Of One
- Tim and Xam can be found during the campaign of DLC 2: Guns, Love, and Tentacles. They are located at Heart’s Desire near the end of the DLC.
Tom and Xam are bosses that spawn in the second DLC of Borderlands 3, specifically found in Heart’s Desire in Xylourgos. There is a trick to farming them so you don’t need to reload the game. If you run into their boss arena and kill one of them and fast-travel out, they will both respawn.
This can make farming for legendaries go very quickly since players will no longer have to exit the game — and it’s easy to make return trips and repeat the slaughter. These respawnable bosses can also provide all the world drop legendaries, which is great since they can come from the second DLC and the main game. Their dedicated loot pool includes the shotgun Insider and the assault rifle Soulrender.
