Ranking The Top Five Borderlands Bosses of All-Time
The Borderlands series is famous for being one of the pioneers of loot and shoot games. As a result, it is no coincidence that it has had some pretty memorable bosses, seeing as how such characters are prime sources of loot. Of course, different people will have different opinions about which ones were the best, but here is our opinion on five of the best bosses from the Borderlands series so far:
5. 5H4D0W-TP
For those who are unfamiliar, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel was concluded with a piece of DLC called Claptastic Voyage, which saw the Vault Hunters being sent into Claptrap’s mind for the purpose of recovering the H-Source from where Tassiter had planted it. As a result, it should come as no surprise to learn that Claptastic Voyage was a very surreal experience, which culminated in the Vault Hunters freeing and then facing off against a Claptrap subroutine called 5H4D0W-TP. By that point in time, 5H4D0W-TP was in possession of the H-Source, which is why he could turn into a copy of the Helios Station that came complete with the huge eye laser. As such, the entire fight saw the player fleeing from 5H4D0W-TP’s attacks as well as 5H4D0W-TP’s digital minions by using the numerous jump pads situated throughout the digital space while getting in as many shot as possible. With that said, the single most memorable part of the 5H4D0W-TP fight wasn’t the fight but rather the finale. In short, Claptrap rejected 5H4D0W-TP’s offer to unite with him in preference for sticking with the other Vault Hunters in a spectacular show of loyalty, which was rewarded by being shot by Handsome Jack as well as the destruction of his entire product line, thus setting up the events of Borderlands 2.
4. Uranus Bot
On the whole, Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary wasn’t a particularly memorable piece of DLC for Borderlands 2. It was fun, but it was too unconnected to the rest of the title for much else. Still, the DLC did contain the Uranus Bot, which can be found protecting the Moonshot Cannon in Helios Fallen. For the most part, it wasn’t a particularly impressive boss battle. In fact, with Axton, it was possible to just let the turrets do the work while hiding behind the very conveniently-situated cover for the entire fight. However, what made Uranus great was its much greater than normal chances of dropping legendary as well as other high-value loot, thus making it a prime location to farm for rare drops.
3. Crawmerax the Invincible
Hailing from the first Borderlands, Crawmerax the Invincible was a huge Crab Worm, which naturally meant that it had a very tough shell as well. As a result, even a complete party of four players could struggle against him, which was perhaps fitting for the very first raid boss in the Borderlands series. With that said, it is amusing to note that Crawmerax had a glitch, meaning that it was possible for players to attack him without being attacked in turn by exploiting a ledge in the stage. The whole thing is particularly entertaining because when the Invincible Son of Crawmerax the Invincible showed up in the Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax DLC for Borderlands 2, the Vault Hunters from the first game made sure to joke about the whole thing, thus making it a part of the series’s canon in some sense.
2. Aurelia
Storywise, the Aurelia fight in Borderlands 3 is rather iffy. Yes, she was a terrible person in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Something that was made very clear by her comments throughout the title. However, Aurelia wasn’t particulaly bad by the standards of Vault Hunters, who tend to be a rather murderous lot to say the least. Furthermore, it should be noted that particular version of Aurelia had clear limits about what she was and wasn’t willing to do, as shown by her noted distaste at the gradual transformation of Jack into Handsome Jack. Regardless, interested individuals can argue on and on about whether Aurelia was an appropriate boss in Borderlands 3 or not from a narrative perspective. However, what isn’t in doubt is that she made for a very memorable boss thanks to her giving interested individuals a taste of a Vault Hunter vs.Vault Hunter fight. The close confines of the room made it a much more intimate fight than a lot of its counterparts from the same title. Furthermore, Aurelia made excellent use of her special ability to create icicles, ice tornadoes, and snow walls, though it is a real shame that the character never showed such versatility when she was a playable character back in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
1. Handsome Sorcerer
Assault on Dragon Keep was one of the better pieces of DLC released for Borderlands 2 as well as the Borderlands series as a whole. In short, it was supposed to be the events of a tabletop RPG campaign held by Tiny Tina plus the surviving Vault Hunters from the first Borderlands, set sometime following the death of Roland as well as the downfall of Handsome Jack. As a result, it made perfect sense that Assault on Dragon Keep served as a part of Tiny Tina’s grieving process for Roland, seeing as how she had something of a familial relationship with the latter. Something that presumably made his loss that much worse for her in light of her family background. In any case, the Handsome Sorcerer was the campaign’s not at all disguised stand-in for Handsome Jack. Due to this, he was introduced as someone who had corrupted Tiny Tina’s fantasy game world with horrendous consequences for most of its inhabitants. One example would be the Dwarves who were enslaved to serve in the mines before being freed (and then fought) by the Vault Hunters. Another example would be the numerous skeletons fought throughout the campaign, which were presumably not too enthused about being awakened from the afterlife. Story-wise, the Handsome Sorcerer was interesting in that the fight caused Tiny Tina to come to terms with what had happened in the real world. However, it also made a point that fiction can hope for something better because it doesn’t necessarily have to reflect fact, as shown by how the Handsome Sorcerer was prevented from killing the in-campaign version of Roland by the in-campaign version of Bloodwing. On the whole, Assault on Dragon Keep might have been a bit muddled in places, but it was very clear about showing Tiny Tina bonding with the rest of the Vault Hunters from the first game in the aftermath of Roland’s death.
