Although the campaign is a major element in Borderlands 4, the game follows the series tradition of offering a challenging endgame experience with its Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.
Completing the main story is only part of the objective in Borderlands 4. There are many collectibles to look after — you can use our interactive map to help you with that — and weekly challenges to face once you’re in the post-game. However, if you want to keep the game difficult enough to push you to chase better guns and get max level, you need to play in UVHM.
In this Borderlands 4 guide, we explain how to unlock all of the Ultimate Vault Hunter Modes, and everything you need to know about the mode.
Borderlands 4 Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode explained
Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode in Borderlands 4 is the endgame mode that increases the difficulty level of the game after you have completed the campaign. You can activate and deactivate the UVH mode anytime by changing your session’s difficulty settings.
By playing in any of the five Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode ranks, you will face stronger enemies. Besides dealing more damage and having more life, enemies will spawn with modifiers that give them extra abilities.
However, beating the buffed enemies will be worth it in the end, as you’ll have a higher chance of receiving better loot such as legendary pieces of gear in UVHM.
How to unlock all Ultimate Vault Hunter modes in Borderlands 4
There are five Ultimate Vault Hunter ranks in Borderlands 4. The prerequisite to unlock a new rank is to complete a Wildcard mission, which is a harder version of a quest you’ve already played.
These Wildcard missions are given to you by Lilith in Moxxi’s bar (Moxxi’s Bottoms Up! Fast Travel station), but they only become available after you have finished a series of challenges, which are found in the Challenges tab within the Missions menu.
Below, we’ve listed every challenge you need to complete in order to unlock the Ultimate Vault Hunter ranks.
UVH 1
To unlock Ultimate Vault Hunter 1, you need to finish the campaign and complete the following quests:
- Ultimate Vault Hunter: Zane’s Firmware
- Ultimate Vault Hunter: Maurice’s Bounty
- Ultimate Vault Hunter: Big Encore
- Ultimate Vault Hunter: Wildcard Missions
These missions are given to you by Lilith right after you finish the final boss, so you don’t need to worry about finding them.
Once you’re done with these missions, you can access the Session Settings and activate UVH 1. This option will be available for all your characters after you have unlocked UVH 1 for the first time.
UVH 2
The Ultimate Vault Hunter 2 Wildcard mission becomes available after you complete the following challenges while playing on UVH 1:
- Bio Break: Kill Bio-Bulkhead (Synthetic Nave, Dissected Plateau).
- Song’s Over: Kill Bramblesong (Abandoned Auger mine, Stoneblood Forest).
- Omega 86’d: Kill Bio Armored Omega Thresher (final boss in the “One Slime Issue” side mission).
- No Points Awarded: Kill Sydney Pointylegs (Ripper Drill Site, Hungering Plain).
After you complete the challenges, interact with Lilith to start the “Rush The Gate” Wildcard mission, and complete it to unlock UVH 2.
UVH 3
In Ultimate Vault Hunter 2, you need to go complete the following challenges to rank up to Ultimate Vault Hunter 3:
- Now Who’s Gonna Watch This Core: Kill Core Observer (Order Bunker, The Howl).
- Pelted: Kill Shadowpelt (Abandoned Auger mine, Cuspid Climb).
- So I Felt Like: Kill Rocken Roller (Abandoned Auger mine, Ruined Sumplands).
- Blasted Furnace: Kill Frank the Furnace (Ripper Drill Site, Idolator’s Noose).
Interact with Lilith to start the “His Vile Sanctum” Wildcard mission, and complete it to unlock UVH 3.
UVH 4
To unlock the fourth Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode rank, you must be on UVH 3 and complete the challenges listed below:
- But What If… You Were the Fake?: Kill Mimicron (Order Bunker, Idolator’s Noose).
- Who Named This Guy: Kill the Immortal Boneface (Ripper Drill Site, Cuspid Climb).
- Draggin’ Wagon: Kill Battle Wagon (Ripper Drill Site, Stoneblood Forest).
- Bloom Boom: Kill Skull Orchid (Abandoned Auger mine, Grindstone of the Worthy).
Meet up with Lilith to start the “Her Flaming Vision” Wildcard mission, and complete it to unlock UVH 4.
UVH 5
To unlock the highest Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode rank available, you need to complete the Wildcard version of each of the Primordial Vaults on UVH 4. Before you can enter their Wildcard versions, you must have finished their regular versions for the missions to become available.
- The Inception: Complete the “Primordial Vault: Fadefields” Wildcard mission.
- The Origin: Complete the “Primordial Vault: Terminus Range” Wildcard mission.
- The Base: Complete the “Primordial Vault: Carcadia Burn” Wildcard mission.
Finally, complete “The Timekeeper’s Order” Wildcard mission given to unlock UVH 5.
Do you need more help with Borderlands 4? For those who are new to Kairos, check out our beginner’s guide before you get started and our best classes guide to find the right one for your playstyle.
If you want to have fun with your weapons, be sure to read our guide on how to get more SDU tokens. We know that traversing the immense map of Kairos is a challenge in itself, so you should prioritize unlocking a vehicle, as well as fast travel points. And if you’re already enjoying the endgame of Borderlands 4, don’t forget to check the weekly reset time for all current challenges.