Borderlands 3 has much to offer beyond the main campaign, giving you plenty to do even after you complete the game's main story. Exploring the wastelands to discover missed environments, finding skipped collectibles, and taking on the various DLC are just a few of your options once the credits roll. The expansive world gives you a lot to do, but only if you are willing to search for additional content.

The ability to have up to four players take on the challenges of this game in multiplayer makes it easy to accomplish more on your first playthrough. With crossplay available for Borderlands 3, this remains true as you assemble a team of characters with unique skills. Beating the base game may leave less for you to do or more depending on what content you and your friends engaged with.

10 Play As Other Characters

See What Abilities You've Missed

Every character in Borderlands 3 plays differently, with various skills and abilities being exclusive to certain people you can choose. Every character acts as a class archetype with their skill trees you get to customize throughout your playthrough, but you may only get to experience one or two on your first run. Those participating in multiplayer may find certain players hogging specific characters, preventing them from trying out others.

Try loading up a new save file and choosing a different character to experience a playstyle that's a departure from what you're used to. For example, if you normally play a highly aggressive character, pick one whose archetype relies more on a meticulous approach. A substantial part of Borderlands 3 revolves around how the exclusive aspects of characters interact with the world to give you new experiences.

9 Start New Game+ On True Vault Hunter Mode

Keep Your Strongest Gear

True Vault Hunter mode is another name for New Game+, where you get to start a new run with all your weapons and gear from your previous playthrough. All the items that you collected from chests, boss drops, and other sources will carry over into True Vault Hunter, letting you play the game once again with far more power. Being able to take on early-game challenges with ease has a lot of appeal in this mode.

A new playthrough could be the perfect opportunity to use a new character or adjust your build with the gear you've acquired but can't use. While no item in the game has a specific stat requirement to wield, many are lackluster unless you are using them in the right build. Experiment with new archetype builds in True Vault Hunter mode to craft an experience different than what you've already seen in Borderlands 3​​​​​.

8 Try Turning On Mayhem Mode

Increase The Chaos And Loot

Another setting you can try after beating the game is Mayhem Mode, an alternate difficulty that cranks the chaos of Borderlands 3 to its maximum. This mode is perhaps the hardest you can challenge, with enemies gaining more health and dealing more damage to you. This turns bosses and other tough enemies into incredibly tough opponents for even the most hardened veteran of the main campaign.

There are three levels of Mayhem Mode, with each progressively increasing the difficulty of the enemies you encounter. Level 3 Mayhem Mode is the highest this can go and features some of the strongest enemy encounters in the game.

Mayhem Mode may feature some of Borderlands 3's strongest enemies, but this also means that you can find the rarest loot on this high difficulty as a result. Legendary items are amongst the most challenging gear to find in the game, so turning on Mayhem Mode could be your opportunity to farm. You can always turn Mayhem Mode on or off whenever you want if you want to fine-tune when Legendary items will appear the most.

7 Defeat Every Proving Grounds Arena

Show Who's The Strongest

After you've opened enough Vaults, you have the opportunity to translate Eridian symbols in different locations to unlock Proving Grounds arenas. Those trying to get every achievement in Borderlands 3 will want to open all these spots for the combat challenges they have. Proving Grounds are side missions where you are thrown onto a battlefield with waves of enemies and a boss you need to take down.

The mini-raids offered by Proving Grounds are great places to farm extra loot and challenge more enemies in postgame content once the story is over. The faster you complete an arena, the better the loot you receive in Borderlands 3. Learning how to get better at Proving Grounds can be a great activity once you've beaten the game, as you figure out some tricks like those shown in the above video by YouTube creator Ki11er Six.

6 Challenge The Circle Of Slaughter

Defeat Waves Of Enemies

A similar combat challenge to the Proving Grounds is the Circle of Slaughter, a wave-based mode you can participate in by talking to the NPC Mr. Torque. Unlike Proving Grounds, this mode simply throws hordes of enemies at you with almost no rest, making it extremely challenging. Get together with a team of veterans for Borderlands 3 to stand a chance against the Circle of Slaughter even on lower difficulties.

This mode is best done with a team that coordinates character builds together, so coordinate with your allies to form a squad ready to face whatever challenges may appear in the Circle of Slaughter.

5 Complete All Optional Missions

Finish Every Piece Of Side Content

The sheer amount of missions seen in your first playthrough may cause you to miss some optional content as you continue through the main campaign. New Game+ or a new save file gives you a chance to explore and discover optional missions you may have missed on your first run. While not every side quest will be the most interesting, those looking to complete the game 100% will need to do every one.

4 Attempt An Arms Race Run

Be The Last Vault Hunter Standing

DLC has introduced a new mode called Arms Race in Borderlands 3, which acts as a stand-alone mode for the game where you drop onto a map without any supplies. This battle royale-inspired mode challenges your resourcefulness as you explore the central map for useful loot. As the map gets smaller and smaller over time, you are eventually challenged to fight a deadly boss at the end of a run.

Taking on this mode again and again can provide a fresh experience outside the main story, especially if you try an Arms Race run with different characters. The procedural generation of resources every time makes each drop interesting and worth trying more than once. Seeing how long you can survive or if you can succeed will challenge you since you can't rely on powerful gear collected in the main game.

3 Listen To Every Audio Log

Discover What Everyone Was Up To

Collectibles are nothing new to Borderlands games, but Audio Logs have always been some of the most interesting to find, given how they add context to the world and characters. The insight provided by audio entries you collect and listen to could make certain events in Borderlands 3 make more sense as you play. However, many of these logs are only found when you go out of the way to look for them.

As you can see in the above video by YouTube creator EruptionFang, there are over 80 Logs for you to track down. Many Audio Logs, sometimes called Echoes, will often have details on the characters you play as. Past characters from the Borderlands series also have Logs detailing what they've been up to since previous events from other games, making them worthwhile items to find for rare context alone.

2 Earn Every Trophy/Achievement

Reach 100% Completion

Finding every collectible, completing every Proving Grounds and Circle of Slaughter challenge, and finishing other tasks will all take you one step closer to finishing 100% of Borderlands 3. The content in the game will no doubt keep you returning to old save files to ensure you haven't missed anything. Traveling through each environment carefully might reveal content you never realized was there in previous runs.

With the additional DLC in Borderlands 3, you may have even more to accomplish than you originally thought. Various events and new details from the Designer's and Director's Cut versions of the game may include extra details such as never-before-seen achievements or trophies to earn. Feel free to check out videos like those provided by YouTube creator Pandallax Achievement Hunting to see what goals you might have missed.

1 Play Other Games Like Borderlands 3

Search For More Action Elsewhere

Plenty of spin-off games to Borderlands 3 capture the chaotic looter-shooter action of this title, including Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, an RPG first-person shooter based on a game played within the Borderlands universe. This fantasy-esque spin on the classic Borderlands formula has unique twists on skills and abilities for characters, making it a similar yet different game to experience.

Those who love loot spilling out of their defeated enemies should look no further than Diablo IV for a game that also rewards players with a wave of items for taking down foes. For fans of tight FPS gameplay, Far Cry 6 or Destiny 2 could also be worthwhile experiences. Thankfully, there is no shortage of action titles that have their take on Borderlands 3's addictive run-and-gun action that you can try once you've beaten the game.

Source: Ki11er Six/YouTube, EruptionFang/YouTube, Pandallax Achievement Hunting/YouTube