After several fan requests, Borderlands 3 developer Gearbox is adding a legitimate raid boss fight to the game through the Director’s Cut DLC. Starting on March 18, players will finally get to go behind Pandora’s sealed door to take on the monstrous Varkid Hemivorous The Invincible, and it looks like she will be joining past raid bosses by putting up quite the fight. An easily repeatable battle that offers the toughest challenge available for Borderlands 3 fans, Hemivorous also drops some of the best loot in the game — giving players with endgame builds the perfect foe to face off with.
While Hemivorous is the first proper raid boss in Borderlands 3, she is hardly the first in the series. The DLC of the original Borderlands game introduced the first raid boss to players, while Borderlands 2 offered an impressive ten raid bosses to do battle with. Considering that these special enemies have taken several different forms and offered many unique mechanics, looking through their history is worthwhile. After all, while Hemivorous certainly looks like an imposing enemy, her Invincible peers have left quite the mark on the franchise’s history.
The beginning of the Borderlands raid boss tradition, Crawmerax The Invincible remains one of the toughest raid bosses to ever appear in the series. Introduced in the beloved Secret Armory of General Knoxx expansion, Crawmerax was the only raid boss of the original Borderlands game. A one-of-a-kind encounter at the time, players were caught off guard by just how difficult the massive crab was. Boasting several one-hit kill attacks and a massive health bar, as well as the ability to spawn some incredibly strong smaller enemies, Crawmerax required the best builds and a full team to bring down effectively. While the first Borderlands game offered no other raid bosses to fight, Crawmerax was more than enough to stick in the minds of fans.
Arguably the most iconic raid boss in Borderlands history, Terramorphus introduced several systems that would become the standard for the series’ raid boss fights — including an Eridium price tag to access the battle. Boasting several different elemental attacks and different types of tentacles to hit players with, this massive Thresher pulls no punches during its fight. Boasting exclusive class mods and a massive loot pool that gives players a chance to get some of the game’s best legendaries, almost every Borderlands 2 player has done battle with the creature at least once. With his arena teased throughout the main story, plenty of emphasis is place on making this optional battle special, and it remains the benchmark for raid bosses.
A fellow Varkid, Hemivorous The Invincible could be evoking similar vibes to the Vermivorous fight. While Terramorphus had a clear path to enter the fight, Vermivorous requires some effort to access. If players want to fight this special boss, they need to evolve Varkids as often as possible. When fully evolved, there is a very small chance that it can become Vermivorous — and if does, players better prepare for a lengthy fight. Requiring a full team or an absurd build to bring down, players may be rewarded for their effort with a Norfleet rocket launcher. Arguably the best weapon in Borderlands 2, players have spent many hours farming Varkids in hopes to get Vermivorous to appear.
Appearing in the Pirate’s Booty DLC, this tough robot requires some serious teamwork to bring down. A Hyperion Engineer with plenty of support from shield bots, players will have to defeat all the smaller protective enemies before they can take on the main threat. This process is easier said than done, however, as Hyperius’ protectors boast massive health pools. With Hyperius himself dealing lethal damage via his rockets, players attempting this fight without a four-player group will likely struggle quite a bit. If he is taken down, though, players will get their hands on Seraph Crystals that can be used to buy some special weapons.
This pirate raid boss is one of the most unique fights in Borderlands’ history, though that does not necessarily make him fun. Players so not actually fight Gee in his fight, with the goal instead being to have his sand worm companions weaken his shield. When killed, the worms leave pools of acid behind, with players needing to trick Gee into following them through the acid. The process takes an awfully long time, forcing players to survive against an invulnerable boss and waves of sand worms — a process that only gets harder due to Gee’s damage increasing as his health lowers. Once defeated, Borderlands fans will be given more of the Seraph Crystal currency.
In Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage, players will fight Pyro Pete, having the ability to return later for a clash with Pete The Invincible. A more straightforward fight, players can take down Pete by keeping their distance and filling him with bullets. While this is easier said than done, as Pete wields fire and acid damage effects that can seriously injure players. Still, a weakness to slag makes him die quicker than some other raid bosses, and if players can land critical hits, they will have access to his Legendary items and Seraph Crystals in no time.
While Sir Hammerlock’s wedding-themed Borderlands 3 DLC saw no true Invincible bosses added, as Eista was more of a fun nod than a true Invincible boss, Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt DLC saw raid two fights added. The first saw players clashing with a stalker named Voracidous, a creature that warned players who it was targeting by pointing its tail in their direction. A tough fight due to the raid boss’s ability to go invisible and help from its companion Chief Ngwatu, players may need to give this boss a few tries. Once beaten, it drops Seraph Crystals and some exclusive Legendary items.
A fight that any gamers afraid of spiders may want to avoid, this massive Drifter is spawned by placing Eridium on a series of pedestals around Hunter’s Grotto. Once triggered, players will quickly find that electric damage does not hurt the boss at all, with attacks that use all other elements doing reduced damage. Still, with three weak spots, the process of bringing down the beast is clear enough, and players should not struggle too much with the creature of they keep a distance. With simple tricks that can see the boss getting trapped behind the lodge, this boss is not nearly as terrifying as it looks. Like others, it drops exclusive legendary weapons and Seraph Crystals.
The only Borderlands raid boss to not have the word “Invincible” in its title, these four dragons see players forced to strategize about the order in which the beasts are brought down. Brood deals corrosive damage, Healianth has shock attacks, Incinerator wields fire, and Boost uses slag. While all the dragons are formidable and should not be fought without a full group of max level players taking down Healianth first is crucial due to its ability to heal the other dragons: Considering their appearance in the beloved DLC Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, it is hardly a surprise that the dragons are remembered fondly, with their unique abilities to boost each other making them even more memorable.
While this boss has the funniest name of all the Invincible fights, it is undoubtedly the easiest as well. Crawmerax’s son may look the same apart from a more colorful design, but he is far weaker than his father. Shooting some corrosive balls and smacking players with his claws, the Son of Crawmerax is predictable. His strongest move is the ability to heal himself, meaning that players will need some weapons with high stats if they want to bring him down. Still, while it was nice to see a callback to the original raid boss, the successor to the throne lacks the same power that the original Crawmerax had. Regardless, Borderlands 2 fans with access to the boss’s Headhunter pack can give the fight a go, even if the boss’s lootsplosion is lacking.
The final raid boss of Borderlands 2, Haderax The Invincible came as part of the surprise DLC Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary. A massive sand worm, players get brief windows to damage this raid boss as it flies through the sky, and the boss saw the start of splash screens for Invincible enemies. The process of summoning Haderax is a reference to the book Dune, which is a nice touch, and the fight itself is tough-yet-manageable for most maxed-out characters. Given that this is one of the last enemies players may fight in Borderlands 2, it seems fitting that killing Haderax rewards players with several chests full of Rainbow rarity gear — which includes some of the very best items in the game.
Like the first Borderlands game, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel only features one real raid boss. Even then, it is a bit of a stretch, as the boss in question is simply an upgraded version of the main story’s final enemy. Still, this foe is plenty of fun to fight, as its multiple phases (and faces) make for some memorable encounters. Requiring Moonstones as a buy-in as opposed to Eridium, players that take down the Invincible variant of the Sentinel will have some of the Pre-Sequel’s best guns bestowed upon them. With special class mods available as well, Pre-Sequel players should give this boss a go — and bringing an incendiary weapon along would not hurt.
While Borderlands 3 has lacked proper raid bosses thus far, the foes at the end of Takedowns continue the Invincible trend, meaning that they do technically have a place amongst figures like Terramorphus and Crawmerax. The first Borderlands 3 Takedown was the Maliwan Blacksite, and while some fans took issue with the thirty minutes of fighting before Wotan the Invincible, the battle itself was entertaining. Seeing Wotan adjust his shield after every phase was a fun touch, as leaping above to deal damage was a fun change of pace. Further, the boss split into separate pieces for his final phase was fun and surprising, making for one of the most unique raid bosses seen in the series. If Wotan was easier to reach, players may have liked the fight more, but the process to reach the boss has made grinding a major pain.
Much like Wotan, reaching Scourge is harder than fighting him. While Gearbox listened to criticism about the Guardian Breach Takedown, making it a bit easier for players to fight their way to the massive Guardian. Boasting unique melee attacks and an insta-kill explosion, players need to be careful once they reach Scourge. With memorable phases marked by the teleportation of players to different arenas, the fight is another great encounter held back by a lack of replayablity. Still, the boss drops some strong loot, and the Guardian Breach Takedown is worth of at least one playthrough.
With Borderlands 3’s raid boss fights being fun so far and only being let down by the Takedown format, things are looking up for the Hemivorous The Invincible fight. Giving players what they want while getting rid of what they do not, Borderlands 3’s first raid boss fight will hopefully be the first of many.
Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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