In release order, the Borderlands 4 DLC runs Bounty Pack 1 (November 2025), Bounty Pack 2 (February 2026), Story Pack 1 with C4SH (March 2026), Bounty Pack 3 (June 2026), Bounty Pack 4 (July 2026), then Story Pack 2 with Loveless and Bounty Pack 5 together on September 10, 2026. Free endgame drops landed in between: two raid bosses and the Takedown at Hadron Abyss. Below is the full timeline, what each pack adds, which edition includes it, and a sensible order to play everything as of November 2026.
We built this list from Gearbox's official update notes on the Borderlands support site (November 2025 through Version 1.11), the official DLC and additional content page, the Loveless spotlight and the Fandom wiki in November 2026.
Every Borderlands 4 DLC in Release Order
Gearbox ships content in two flavors. Bounty Packs are self-contained, repeatable missions, each with a Vault Card that rewards cosmetics and gear as you earn XP. Story Packs are larger campaigns with a new map zone and, so far, a new playable Vault Hunter. Free updates sit alongside both. Here is how they landed, according to each release's official update notes:
| Date | Content | Type |
|---|---|---|
| November 20, 2025 | Bounty Pack 1: How Rush Saved Mercenary Day | Free to all players today |
| December 11, 2025 | Bloomreaper the Invincible raid boss, True Mode, UVHM 6 | Free |
| February 26, 2026 | Bounty Pack 2: Legend of the Stone Demon, Pearlescent gear, Ordonite Processor | Paid pack, free Pearlescent system |
| March 26, 2026 | Story Pack 1: Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, C4SH the Rogue, level cap 60 | Paid, cap increase free |
| May 28, 2026 | Subjugator and Thol the Invincible raid, UVHM 7 | Free |
| June 25, 2026 | Bounty Pack 3: A Zane to Kill For, Takedown at Hadron Abyss, Circle of Slaughter, cross-platform saves | Paid pack, rest free |
| July 30, 2026 | Bounty Pack 4: Murders and Acquisitions | Paid |
| September 10, 2026 | Story Pack 2: FL4K and the Last Resort, Loveless the Hacker, Bounty Pack 5: Amara and the Vile Shadows, level cap +10 | Paid, cap increase free |
The latest update as of this writing is Version 1.11 on October 22, 2026, which polished Story Pack 2 and rebalanced Loveless rather than adding a new pack.
The Five Bounty Packs
Each Bounty Pack follows a similar recipe: a short story mission you can replay, a new boss and minibosses, a Pearlescent or Legendary loot pool, and a Vault Card. The official DLC page lists them like this:
- Bounty Pack 1: How Rush Saved Mercenary Day. A holiday-themed pack where you team up with Rush against Minister Screw. The DLC page says it is free to all players, with Vault Card 1 also free.
- Bounty Pack 2: Legend of the Stone Demon. A boss, three minibosses, a Pearlescent weapon and six Legendary items, plus mecha and kaiju cosmetics on Vault Card 2.
- Bounty Pack 3: A Zane to Kill For. A digital murder mystery with a boss, two minibosses, a Pearlescent and six Legendaries, plus arcade-themed cosmetics. The notes say it opens after the "Wrath of the Ripper Queen" main mission unlocks Moxxi's Bottoms Up! bar in Carcadia Burn.
- Bounty Pack 4: Murders and Acquisitions. Set in the Toxic Scowl with a pacifist Ripper commune, adding a boss, three minibosses, the PRISM Pearlescent sniper rifle and six Legendaries.
- Bounty Pack 5: Amara and the Vile Shadows. Amara investigates Phase rifts in one of Vile Lictor's old labs. It adds the AeroDramatic Pearlescent shotgun, six Legendaries and a Vault Card 5 with 24 cosmetics and four rerollable Legendaries.
Bounty Packs 2 through 5 are sold individually or together in the Bounty Pack Bundle.
Story Packs and the DLC Vault Hunters
Story Packs are the big-ticket items. Story Pack 1, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned, launched March 26, 2026 with a new zone called The Whispering Glacier, where you join Ellie to destroy an alien monolith and enter the Vault of the Damned. The same day added C4SH the Rogue, a CasinoBot Vault Hunter who fights with a magical card deck. The patch notes say Story Pack 1 is recommended for level 13 and up and needs the "A Lot to Process" mission in the Fadefields completed first.
Story Pack 2, FL4K and the Last Resort, arrived September 10, 2026. It adds the jungle island of Providence, eight story bosses including a new major boss, 13 minibosses, two Pearlescent weapons (Astonisher and Quadratus), 18 Legendary items and six Legendary class mods. You help FL4K rescue their skag companion Mr. Chew from Tediore's invasion force led by Lieutenant Harmony. It is also recommended for level 13 and up, and you start it from a distress beacon near The Bones of Sanctuary in the Terminus Range.
Its playable half is Loveless the Hacker, a Corrosive and Radiation fighter with a summoned Wyrm. Our Loveless skills and trees guide covers her kit, and the patch notes describe C4SH as the first of two Vault Hunters coming through paid Story Packs, which makes Loveless the second.
Free Endgame Content Between the Packs
You do not need to buy anything to get the raid content. According to the official notes:
- Bloomreaper the Invincible (December 11, 2025): a timed raid in The Bloom where faster kills earn Bronze to Platinum reward tiers, with nine new Legendaries in its pool. The same update added True Mode, a difficulty always scaled for a party of four.
- Subjugator and Thol the Invincible (May 28, 2026): a tag-team raid where killing one boss empowers the other. The notes say you must complete the main campaign before jumping into raid content, and the update also added UVHM 7.
- Takedown at Hadron Abyss (June 25, 2026): an endgame raid zone whose final boss is the Child of Terramorphous. The DLC page lists a new Pearlescent, nine Legendaries and five class mods, plus optional timed Mayhem levels and a one-life Hardcore mode.
The free side also includes systems: Pearlescent gear and the Ordonite Processor in February, Shared Character Progression and a level cap of 60 in March, and cross-platform saves in June. That last one matters if you own the game on more than one system, and our crossplay and cross-save explainer covers how it works with DLC you only own on one platform.
Vault Cards, Pearlescents and Events
Two systems tie the paid and free content together. The first is the Vault Card attached to each Bounty Pack. The Version 1.10 notes explain that a Vault Card is activated from the Vault Card screen in your ECHO menu, that it fills from the same XP you earn by exploring, killing enemies and completing quests, and that it has no time limits or expiring rewards. With a card active, Daily and Weekly challenges also give extra loot and XP, so it pays to switch to the card of whichever pack you most want rewards from.
The second is Pearlescent gear, which Gearbox introduced as the ultimate reward. The February 26, 2026 notes describe Pearlescents as able to change element to match an enemy's vulnerability because of their Ordonite corruption, and introduced them through a free activity called the Ordonite Processor as well as the Stone Demon boss fight. Later updates widened the net: Version 1.7 made new Pearlescents obtainable from any loot source that provides weapons, and Version 1.9 gave Pearlescent world drops dedicated drop sources and added three more. Most packs since then have added their own Pearlescent, which is why the loot list for each pack is worth reading before you buy.
Limited-time events sit outside the pack structure entirely. The first, Horrors of Kairos, was a free mini-event that ran from October 23 to November 6, 2025, with two special Legendaries from world bosses. Events like that do not appear on the DLC page, so the update notes are the place to watch for them.
Which Edition Includes What
The official DLC page and the Loveless spotlight break the bundles down this way:
- Deluxe Edition: the Bounty Pack Bundle (Bounty Packs 2 to 5). It does not include either Story Pack or the DLC Vault Hunters.
- Super Deluxe Edition: the Bounty Pack Bundle plus the Vault Hunter Pack.
- Vault Hunter Pack: Story Packs 1 and 2, C4SH and Loveless.
- Individually: every Bounty Pack, Vault Card, Story Pack and DLC Vault Hunter can be bought on its own.
Every add-on requires the base game. Bounty Pack 1 needs nothing extra, since it is free.
The Best Order to Play the DLC
Release order and play order are not the same thing, because most packs only unlock after certain story missions. A practical sequence for a new character looks like this:
- Play the base campaign until "A Lot to Process" in the Fadefields. Both Story Packs and Bounty Pack 5 open after it.
- Run Story Pack 1 and Story Pack 2 in the level 13 to campaign range, since both are recommended from level 13. Owners can also roll a new character that starts directly in either Story Pack at level 13.
- Fit Bounty Packs 2 to 5 in as you go. Bounty Pack 3 waits until "Wrath of the Ripper Queen."
- Finish the campaign, then unlock the endgame: Ultimate Vault Hunter ranks, the weekly Black Market (see our Black Market location guide) and the raids.
- Take on Bloomreaper for UVHM 6 and Subjugator and Thol for UVHM 7, according to the Fandom wiki's rank requirements, then farm Hadron Abyss.
Because two cap increases arrived with DLC updates, plan your endgame around the current maximum. Our Borderlands 4 level cap guide explains the jump from 50 at launch to 70 today.
Catching Up on Everything
With five Bounty Packs, two Story Packs and three raids, a returning player can face a long climb before the newest content feels comfortable. If you want to arrive prepared, the store's Borderlands 4 section lists boosting services for leveling, skill points, specialization points, cash, Eridium and gear. The listings ask for your SHiFT display name and cover PSN, Xbox and PC.
None of that replaces owning the DLC itself: the new zones, bosses and Vault Hunters still need the official packs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many DLCs does Borderlands 4 have?
As of November 2026 there are five Bounty Packs and two Story Packs, plus the two DLC Vault Hunters C4SH and Loveless. Bounty Pack 1 is free; the rest are paid.
What is the newest Borderlands 4 DLC?
Story Pack 2: FL4K and the Last Resort, Loveless the Hacker and Bounty Pack 5: Amara and the Vile Shadows, all released September 10, 2026.
Does the Deluxe Edition include Story Packs?
No. Deluxe includes the Bounty Pack Bundle. Story Packs and the DLC Vault Hunters come with Super Deluxe or the Vault Hunter Pack, or separately.
When can I start the Story Packs?
After completing "A Lot to Process" in the Fadefields. Both are recommended for level 13 and up.
Are the raid bosses paid DLC?
No. Bloomreaper, Subjugator and Thol, and Takedown at Hadron Abyss came in free updates, though the official notes say raid content requires finishing the main campaign first.
Is there more Borderlands 4 DLC coming?
The official DLC page lists content through Story Pack 2 and Bounty Pack 5, and we found no newer paid pack announced there as of November 2026. Watch the official update notes for news.