Just like its predecessors, Borderlands 3 pummels you with a myriad of insane and often tough enemies. But while the first two BL games at least drawn from a smaller pool of baddies - this game ups the ante in a major way with a bunch of additions, smarter, less-predictable AI, and the ominous “Anointed” foes.
The crazy versatility, various forms, and sheer quantity of diverse baddies can make for a truly tough grind if you don’t train sufficiently, utilize elements, or implement skills wisely.
With this list, we’ll go over 10 of the toughest of the tough; the hardest enemies, bosses, and minibosses you’ll be clashing with during your vault-hunting escapades. While there are, of course, varying enemy conditions and circumstances in this game, these creatures typically tend to give the most fits.
10 Super Badass Varkids
Anytime you’ve got an enemy flying around, you’re typically dealing with a tough opponent almost by default, thanks to the constantly moving target in mid-air. Even the smaller Varkid bugs can be a pain to deal with, but this Super badass variety adds a ton of power and health while proving even more aggressive.
Between their barrage of projectiles, melee jabs, and a devastating charge attack, these mutant insects can put you in a heap of trouble extremely quick if you’re not sharp.
9 Hardened Tank Tinks
Talk about deceptive - these little guys pack quite a punch, and despite their small stature, take a very long time to eliminate if you aren’t equipped with the right weaponry. It’s not only tough to whittle down their shields, but they’re really not easy to land clean headshots on in the first place given how small they are.
While you’re stumbling around trying to hit them, they’ll be walloping you with tons of ridiculously powerful explosive projectiles, and melting your shields and health in the process if you don’t keep moving.
8 Badass Pyrotech Heavy
Basically, you’ll want to target this giant clunker’s back as much as possible, as the pack laced to its backside can at least stun, if not combust briefly when shooting it. The problem is, this thing won’t let you hit its pack easily, and it’s an absolute damage-absorbing tank if you simply fire away at its front. They don’t move a ton - except for when they leap directly at you, making them both large and nimble.
The Pyrotech Heavy can quite literally melt you with its abundance of powerful incendiary attacks. Even the default versions of these beasts can be tough to take down, but the juiced-up Badass variant makes for a devastating mechanical monstrosity.
7 Anointed Militants
Like a Siren-infused version of a Badass, Anointed can be tricky to deal with in general, thanks to their ability to teleport and launch elemental projectiles at you.
Yet, the Anointed Militants, in particular, can be an absolute hassle, even eclipsing some bosses in terms of difficulty. They’re one of the few mobs that truly feel overpowered to the point of being nearly broken. Even if you’ve come prepared with some powerful artillery laced with elemental effects, they’re typically immune or unfazed by most. They’re also super aggressive, which is deadly given how powerful they are.
6 Killavolt
When it comes to bosses, Killavolt can be manageable, but the trick is to be on high alert and keep moving. Moreso than many enemies and even boss encounters, Killavolt requires you to dance around quite a bit in order to avoid environmental hazards - namely the electrified floor tiles.
This would be bothersome enough, but then you’ve got to work around the massive shield that this boss holds in front of him. This can make facing him one-on-one a nightmare if you’re not quick enough. You’ll want to come equipped with quite a few explosives, and damage-over-time elements that can eat away at him.
5 The Graveward
This monstrosity is a bit reminiscent of that epic Warrior battle in Borderlands 2 in the sense that it takes up most of the screen when aiming it in your sights. You’d think this would make for a target that’s pretty easy to land hits on. The issue is, you’ll need to aim at the random smattering of glowing yellow orbs on its body to realistically have a prayer to whittle away its huge health bar.
At the same time, you’ll need to steer clear of a barrage of mammoth projectiles of flames, corrosion, in addition to a massive beam of death that you’ll always seem to be lethally close to.
4 General Traunt
Like an even more massive version of the Pyrotech Heavy, this boss sports a gigantic suit of armor and an array of impactful long-range weaponry.
Again, you’ll want to keep moving, as he’ll be spraying and launching shots like an armored version of Rambo. You’ll want to aim for his back, which is at least feasible considering his relatively slow movement. But you’ll still need to be extremely careful - given his projectile attacks and his ability to dive straight at you.
3 Pain And Terror/Agonizer 9000
One of the more amusing cameos in the Borderlands franchise - and indeed, in gaming history - also makes for one of the most deadly boss fights. If you know what you’re doing, you can power through this well enough. Yet, given how long this fight gets drawn out and the barrage of environmental hazards and attacks to weather, this showdown can be “painful” and “terrorizing” indeed.
The appropriately-named “Agonizer 9000” is a massive machine that seemingly takes ages to take out, so come prepared for a marathon show.
2 Billy The Anointed
Seasoned Borderlands players already know just how brutal those oversized Goliaths can be, even in their “natural” state. Well, try a flame-spewing, teleporting version of one of these guys. Even when landing some clean shots, this thing’s health will seem to whittle down at a glacial pace. On the flip side - a few wrong moves by you and you’ll get steamrolled pretty quickly.
After dying several times on one of these, you’ll yearn for the days these Goliaths merely charged at you and occasionally spewed corrosive sludge.
1 The Rampager
If you thought Skags were annoying, you clearly haven’t experienced the wraith of the Rampager, which is essentially a gigantic, leaping Skag on steroids. Aside from rare bouts of sitting still, this thing will constantly be on the move, leaping, slashing climbing, and spitting all sorts of elemental insanity at you.
You may want to get a friend involved with this one because this beast will swiftly hone in on you and launch an unforgiving barrage of attacks. Taking advantage of skills like FL4K’s pet can take some of the heat off, but with an insane boss like this, they can only do so much.
