The most widely recommended Borderlands 4 XP farm is the Vile Bounty loop at the Makeshift Chalet Safehouse in Carcadia Burn, where you take the purple Vile Bounties from the board, kill the target and refresh the board. In co-op, replaying Ripper Drill Sites with the nearby Encore machine is the main alternative, and contracts, Ultimate Vault Hunter challenges and Circle of Slaughter fill the gaps. Below is how each farm works, how XP changed in 2026, and how to push a Vault Hunter to the level 70 cap as of November 2026, using only normal gameplay.
We checked this against the official Borderlands 4 update notes and patch articles, 2K's Circle of Slaughter announcement, NME's and The Game Post's XP farm guides, the PowerPyx trophy roadmap and Safehouse list, and Game8's level cap page in November 2026.
How XP Works in Borderlands 4 Now
The target has moved twice. The game launched with a cap of 50, the March 26, 2026 update raised it 10 levels to 60, and Version 1.10 on September 10, 2026 added another 10 levels for all players, so the cap is now 70. All Things How reports that the 1.10 increase has been described as the final cap raise, but that is press reporting rather than a developer statement in the notes we read.
How you earn XP also changed. Version 1.7 on May 28, 2026 "reworked XP rewards from some of our toughest challenges," and made Badass enemies and boss fights give more consistent XP that scales with the archetype of boss or Badass you fight. In plain terms, tougher named enemies are now a dependable XP source rather than a gamble, which is exactly what the farms below rely on.
Difficulty matters too. The Game Post lists Ultimate Vault Hunter rank 1 as granting 10 percent more XP alongside tougher enemies, so turning on UVH once you finish the story speeds up every method here. And progression does not stop at the cap: Game8 explains that Specializations unlock after the main story with their own purple progress meter that is separate from character level, letting you equip up to four Specialization bonuses as that meter grows. Our older level cap explainer covers what happens at 70 in more detail.
Farm 1: The Vile Bounty Loop at the Makeshift Chalet
This is the farm most guides point to first. NME calls it one of the fastest ways to level a character, and The Game Post describes the full loop. You need the campaign finished and UVH rank 1 unlocked.
- Fast travel to the Makeshift Chalet, one of Carcadia Burn's three Safehouses. The bounty board is right next to it.
- Take the Vile Bounties, which are marked purple. If none are up, take the blue kill bounties instead.
- Skip collection and patrol bounties. The Game Post notes they give much less XP for the time they take.
- At the target, break the Vile Crystals to strip the elite's shield, then finish it. It drops a reward chest that can contain Legendaries.
- Fast travel back, save and quit to the main menu, and reload to refresh the board. NME says Vile Bounties reappear fairly often this way, and you can sometimes roll several at once.
The Game Post quotes players reaching up to 300,000 XP per hour with this loop, but gives no breakdown, so treat that number as a rough upper bound rather than a promise. For gear, it recommends a crowd-control or burst build, specifically naming Amon with cryo to freeze enemies and break the crystals quickly.
Farm 2: Drill Sites and Boss Replays in Co-op
With friends, The Game Post's pick is the Ripper Drill Sites. Each one is a wave arena that ends in a boss fight, and after clearing it you can use the nearby Encore machine to replay it right away. Because kill XP is shared across the party, several players clearing at once level everyone faster.
Boss replays follow the same idea. PowerPyx explains that bosses can be replayed at Moxxi's Big Encore machine, which is also how most players work through Ultimate Vault Hunter ranks. Since Version 1.7 made boss XP more consistent, a party that chains boss replays gets predictable progress per kill, plus loot.
Co-op does not punish mixed levels. GamerGuides confirms that enemies scale to each player's own level and difficulty, and that loot is instanced, so a level 45 friend and a level 68 friend can farm the same arena without anyone being carried or losing drops. If you play on one console, our split screen guide covers couch co-op for two.
Farm 3: Contracts and UVH Challenges
If you prefer a mix of objectives, contracts are a steady background source. PowerPyx notes that Contract Boards sit at Safehouses and faction towns and that you can hold five contracts at once, so take every contract in an area and complete them together. Eighty of them also earn the Freelance, but Not For Free trophy, which our Borderlands 4 trophy guide covers.
PowerPyx's own advice for players short of level 50 near the end of the story is to do contracts, UVH challenges or replay the Primordial Vaults. UVH challenges work well because each rank asks you to defeat specific bosses, which feeds the boss XP rework directly, and clearing a rank's bosses spawns a Wildcard Mission that pushes you to the next rank with better rewards.
A good routine is to grab five contracts near the Makeshift Chalet, run a few Vile Bounty cycles that overlap with contract targets, and cash everything in together. Our Borderlands 4 map guide lists every Safehouse if you want boards in other regions.
Farm 4: Circle of Slaughter
Circle of Slaughter came back free with Version 1.8 on June 25, 2026. 2K's announcement explains that you unlock it after the "Wrath of the Ripper Queen" main mission, which opens Moxxi's Bottoms Up! bar in Carcadia Burn, and you enter through the arcade cabinet there. A run lasts up to five rounds of three waves each, with a boss added on the third wave.
The appeal for leveling is density: wave after wave of enemies with a boss every round. 2K does not publish XP figures for it, so we cannot rank it against the bounty loop with numbers, but it pairs XP with loot cannons that drop Legendaries and possibly Pearlescent world drops. After each round you choose between cashing out from the prize room and pushing on for more loot, risking what you have collected. In a group, a player who dies goes to a penalty box and can rejoin by killing a Badass enemy spawned into the arena.
Mistakes That Slow Your Leveling
Most slow leveling comes from a few habits rather than the wrong farm:
- Staying on a low difficulty after the story. Every XP farm here gets the UVH bonus once you switch it on, so the extra enemy health is usually worth it if your build can handle it.
- Taking every bounty on the board. Collection and patrol bounties eat time for little XP; reload instead.
- Farming alone when friends are online. Shared kill XP in co-op means a party clearing Drill Sites together levels faster than each player farming solo.
- Ignoring the weekly rotation. The Wildcard Mission and Big Encore boss change every Thursday, and both are boss-heavy activities that benefit from the 1.7 XP rework.
- Over-trusting XP-per-hour claims. Numbers in videos and guides vary widely by build and difficulty, so time your own loop for 15 minutes and compare.
Leveling Alts Faster
Once your main is at 70, new characters do not have to start from zero:
- Level 30 start: PowerPyx explains that after the story, the title screen's New Game option lets you start a new character at level 30 in Ultimate Vault Hunter mode, with story and side content accessible. The map is fogged again, so you reclaim Safehouses as you go.
- Level 13 Story Pack starts: owners of either Story Pack can create a Vault Hunter who starts at level 13 inside that pack's content.
- Shared Progression: Version 1.7 added a toggle when creating a new character that cannot be changed later. With it on, the Story Pack 1 notes say map progress, collectibles, SDU tokens and Vault Powers are shared.
Which Vault Hunter you level next is up to you; our Borderlands 4 tier list shows how each one stacks up after Version 1.11. We do not cover glitches, exploits or third-party tools for XP: they can break saves and go against the game's rules, and the methods above are fast enough without them.
If You Would Rather Skip the Climb
Farming twenty levels on every alt gets repetitive, especially if you just want to test a new build at the top. The store's Borderlands 4 level boost raises your Vault Hunter's level for you. Its listing says it works on PSN, Xbox and PC and that you only provide your SHiFT nickname, which you find under the main menu's Social section in the Account Details tab, with no login information needed.
One detail to check: the listing still describes a level 60 package as max level, even though Version 1.10 moved the cap to 70. Ask the store which level you will reach before you order. Other services are on the main Borderlands 4 page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best XP farm in Borderlands 4?
For solo players, the Vile Bounty loop at the Makeshift Chalet in Carcadia Burn is the most recommended. In co-op, replaying Ripper Drill Sites with the Encore machine is a strong option.
What is the max level in Borderlands 4?
70, since Version 1.10 on September 10, 2026. It was 50 at launch and 60 from March 26, 2026.
How do I refresh the bounty board?
Fast travel back to the Makeshift Chalet, save and quit to the main menu, then reload. New Vile Bounties appear fairly often.
Does UVH give more XP?
Yes. UVH rank 1 grants 10 percent more XP according to The Game Post, along with tougher enemies and better rewards.
Is there anything to level after reaching 70?
Yes. Specializations unlock after the story and have their own purple meter, separate from your character level, with up to four bonuses to equip.
Can I start a new character at a higher level?
Yes. After the story you can start at level 30 in UVH mode, and Story Pack owners can start at level 13 in that pack's region.