Borderlands 4 drops Story Pack 2, Loveless the Hacker and Bounty Pack 5

Borderlands 4 has just received a chunky content drop, with Version 1.10 adding Story Pack 2, a new playable Vault Hunter and another Bounty Pack. In other words, Kairos is getting busier just as a free-play weekend gives curious players a reason to jump in.

What's actually going on

According to 2K and Gearbox Software, Story Pack 2: FL4K and the Last Resort sends players to the tropical island of Providence to help the returning beastmaster rescue Mr. Chew from Tediore. The expansion adds new missions, collectibles, landmarks, enemies, boss fights and loot, including two Pearlescent weapons and 18 pieces of Legendary gear.

The update also introduces Loveless the Hacker, an ex-Anshin hacker turned assassin whose biological and digital selves share a psyche. Her kit focuses on Critical Hits, Status Effects, and Corrosive and Radiation damage. A digital virus can digistruct into a physical Wyrm form, because subtlety was apparently never on the design brief.

Bounty Pack 5: Amara and the Vile Shadows adds a repeatable mission involving disturbances linked to Vile Lictor's old laboratory on Elpis. Completing it unlocks a Vault Hunter Skin, Vehicle and ECHO-4 Drone Skin, while new bosses and enemies offer another Pearlescent weapon and six pieces of Legendary loot. Vault Card 5 adds 24 cosmetic items and four pieces of rerollable gear.

Why you should care

Version 1.10 raises the level cap by 10 for every Borderlands 4 player and includes balance adjustments. The free-play weekend is available on PlayStation 5 through PlayStation Plus, Xbox Series X|S through Xbox Game Pass, and PC through Steam. The promotion ends Sept. 13 on Xbox and Sept. 14 on PlayStation and Steam, with platform subscriptions required where stated.

The important distinction is that Story Pack 2 and Bounty Pack 5 are add-on content, not a free expansion magically stapled to the base game. Players with the Super Deluxe Edition receive the relevant packs, while the Deluxe Edition includes the Bounty Pack Bundle; both packs can also be purchased separately.

Our opinion

This is a substantial-looking update rather than the usual cosmetic confetti cannon. A new zone, a new Vault Hunter and a higher level cap give Borderlands 4 players actual reasons to return, while the free-play weekend lets everyone else decide whether the looter-shooter loop still has legs. The caveat is obvious: if you want everything, the edition and DLC pricing will matter as much as the bullet-point content.