Borderlands 4 features several independent vaults for players to unlock and loot, but actually gaining access to them might be a head-scratcher for some. The vaults contain powerful waves of enemies and a boss at the end, so players should be equipped with the best gear possible and be ready for some looter shooter madness as they enter the vaults.
There aren't that many vaults, and they are all unlocked the same way and feature roughly the same amount of content. Once one is complete, you can repeat the same steps to find the other vaults. You can also replay the vault boss battles for a chance at more loot via the new Moxxi's Big Encore terminal machines in each Vault. The Vaults provide some distraction from the stellar main story, so here is everything you need to know to unlock the Vaults.
How To Unlock Vaults In Borderlands 4
Exploration Is Required
There are a few steps to find and unlock the Vaults in the game. Firstly, you will need to complete the Silo side activity in each region to get the location of the Vault Fragments. The Silos are giant gunfights with a lot of enemies, leading you to capture and take them over. The Silos are gradually revealed on the map as you explore more of Borderlands 4's open world and can be located with ease from the map menu.
The Vault Fragments are specific to each region and do not work with others. If you want to do the Fadefields Vault, for example, you must collect the Vault Fragment pieces specifically located in The Fadefields.
Once the Silo is complete, a giant signal indicator will shoot out of the ground, and then the general area the Vault Fragments are in will be visible on the map. Head to that large area, and a small hot-or-cold mini-game will commence with an indicator in the top-right corner of the screen. If you remain at one bar or leave the area, try heading in a different direction. If the bar starts to add segments (up to four), then you are heading in the right direction.
After collecting all three of the Vault Fragments from a region, you are ready to tackle the Vault. The Vault location itself works the same way as the Vault Fragments. After collecting the Fragments and completing the Silo, the general location will appear on your map. You then need to complete the hot-or-cold mini-game again to find the Vault entrance.
How To Clear Vaults In Borderlands 4
There Will Be A Gauntlet Of Enemies & A Boss Waiting
The Vaults are divided into multiple platforms. Once you step on a platform, waves of enemies will appear and must be defeated before you can progress to the next one. The best thing to do is stay on the move; each Vault arena is fairly small, so it's easy to get cornered by several enemies at once. Once they are defeated, the path will unlock, and you can proceed. You will then fight another gauntlet and so on until you reach the boss platform.
Once the Vault has been cleared once, the pathways between the platforms will stay open, so you do not have to fight the waves of enemies again if you ever want to return to the Vault. You can just fight the boss.
There will be a brief moment of respite in between encounters, so make sure to scavenge for loot, health, and shields before moving to the next platform. There will be a checkpoint, a respawn station, and vending machines right before the lift that takes you to the boss of each vault, so be sure to fill up on ammo. The Moxxi's Big Encore station will also be on those platforms for future boss runs once it is cleared the first time.
After that, the only thing left to do is take down the Vault boss and claim a valuable upgrade and a chance at some rare loot. The bosses scale to your level, so they can be taken on whenever you want, as Borderlands 4 gives a lot of player choice when it comes to how and when you approach content.
You can view a full interactive map for Borderlands 4 here.
Borderlands 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82/100 Critics Rec: 87%
- 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
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
