Borderlands 4 is getting its first major DLC, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, this March, which will further expand the bombastic looter-shooter. Many players feel that this expansion couldn't come sooner, considering how content-lean Borderlands 4's endgame turned out to be.
Headlining Mad Ellie is a brand-new Vault Hunter called C4SH, bringing the game's total number of playable characters to five. Of course, considering that this expansion is being referred to as a Story Pack, players can expect an injection of fresh narrative content as well. This separates Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned from Borderlands 4's Bounty Packs, which are expansions focused mostly on brief gameplay challenges and new items. Much like Borderlands 4's endgame, audiences have been underwhelmed by Bounty Pack 1's lack of content, especially measured against the cost of admission. Here's hoping Mad Ellie, with its more substantive changes, will land to a better overall reception.
C4SH Is Coming to Borderlands 4 Via the Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned Expansion
Borderlands 4, like its predecessors, features four playable Vault Hunters, each with their own unique strengths, weaknesses, and progression paths. This is to say that Vault Hunters, and the variety that they bring, are core to the Borderlands 4 experience, which is why the arrival of C4SH is so promising.
C4SH used to work as a dealer robot in a Kairos casino before opting for a life of high adventure as a Vault Hunter. But it would seem that he hasn't totally left his gambling-laden past behind. Indeed, his programming, once designed to facilitate the risky and cavalier habits of the casino's patrons, has seemingly morphed into an obsession with chance. This fascination with the laws of probability informs the basics of C4SH's gameplay, which Gearbox describes as being "distinctly unpredictable," his Action Skills always involving the element of chance in some way.
At this point, we still have quite a bit to learn about C4SH and how he will function on the battlefield, but his ostensible wild-card archetype certainly seems promising. C4SH's chance-based nature makes him great as a post-launch DLC character as well, since one can imagine that he will support more unusual playstyles, best suited for those already familiar with Borderlands 4's mechanics and seeking something experimental and refreshing. Aside from this unique gameplay premise, C4SH has a compelling, cyber-goth aesthetic and an interesting backstory, so he has every chance to meaningfully enrich Borderlands 4's narrative and combat sandbox.
Chance-based games like Balatro and Clover Pit have made significant waves in the games industry in recent years, so perhaps C4SH will take some inspiration from this burgeoning subgenre.
Mad Ellie and The Vault of the Damned Seems To Be Bringing Back Mancubus Bloodtooth
The owner and operator of Borderlands 3's The Lodge, Mancubus Bloodtooth, narrates the Mad Ellie and The Vault of the Damned trailer, and appears onscreen for a brief moment. Bloodtooth himself is creepy but well-intentioned, his Lodge serving as a safe haven for players in BL3's Guns, Love, and Tentacles expansion, though another DLC revealed that The Lodge is not fixed to one point in space. In other words, it can travel between locations and across galaxies, which explains its appearance in Mad Ellie.
As Borderlands 3 players are well aware, Guns, Love, and Tentacles doesn't shy away from cosmic horror themes: the expansion's setting, Xylourgos, is the home of a fanatical cult that worships the Goliath monster Gythian. But like most of Borderlands 3, the cosmic horror of Guns, Love, and Tentacles is couched within self-referential and irreverent humor. Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned seems to be notably more serious, and with Bloodtooth and The Lodge being associated with cosmic horrors, the expansion could deliver some effective scares and unsettling moments. It will be interesting to see Bloodtooth and The Lodge potentially portrayed in this new light.
Mad Ellie and The Vault of the Damned Is Bringing a Slew of New Gear to Borderlands 4
The most obvious and pedestrian aspect of the Mad Ellie DLC is the collection of new loot for players to collect. The meat and potatoes of the expansion are C4SH, the new main story missions, and the new explorable region of Kairos, but the arrival of new Legendary gear, Vault Hunter outfits, and various other cosmetics are arguably just as important. Certainly, the Borderlands series lives and dies on the back of its loot, and Mad Ellie seeks to bolster that already substantial amount of gear offered by BL4's base game.
Complete List of New Content Coming in Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, According to Gearbox
- New Vault Hunter, C4SH
- New Main Story Missions
- New Map Zone
- New Side Missions
- New Legendary Gear
- New Cosmetics
- 4 Vault Hunter Heads & Styles
- 4 Weapon Skins
- 2 Vehicle Skins
- 3 ECHO-4 Drone Skins & Attachments
- 1 ECHO-4 Frame
Borderlands 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
WHERE TO PLAY
Borderlands 4 brings intense action, badass Vault Hunters, and billions of wild and deadly weapons to an all-new planet ruled by a ruthless tyrant.
Crash into Kairos as one of four new Vault Hunters seeking wealth and glory. Wield powerful Action Skills, customize your build with deep skill trees, and dominate enemies with dynamic movement abilities.
Break free from the oppressive Timekeeper, a ruthless dictator who dominates the masses from on high. Now a world-altering catastrophe threatens his perfect Order, unleashing Mayhem across the planet.
BE A BADASS
Become an unstoppable force of battle, blasting through enemies with an all-new arsenal of outrageous weaponry. Move across the Borderlands like never before—double jumping, gliding, dodging, grappling, and more—dealing death from every direction. Explode each encounter with devastating Action Skills that unleash your Vault Hunter's unique abilities. Craft your perfect build with branching skill trees and a deep, rewarding loot chase full of wild weapons and powerful gear.
FIGHT SOLO OR CO-OP
Wreaking havoc across Kairos is awesome alone and even better with friends in 4-player online co-op.* Borderlands 4 is designed for co-op from the ground up; whether you're hunting for loot, tackling missions, or wandering freely, level scaling and individual difficulty keeps the party together and having fun.
LESS BORDERS, MORE LANDS
Freely explore a vast and dangerous world rife with warring factions. Hop on your hover bike and ride through lush fields, towering peaks, and deadly deserts full of fearsome enemies, dynamic events, and engaging quests with unforgettable characters. Unite the people of Kairos and ignite a revolution, tackling this adventure however you see fit in a seamless Borderlands experience.
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Full
- Prequel(s)
- Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2, Borderlands
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- PC Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Local Co-Op Support
- Console-only
- How Long To Beat
- 26 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 44.46 GB
