Borderlands 3: How to Level Up Fast

Borderlands 3 brings more of the series’ classic looter shooter action to our screens seven years after its predecessor. You’ll still be picking up tons of guns, shooting bandits in the face, and of course, leveling up your Vault Hunter. Problem is, sometimes you’ll need to grind out levels before you can take on a main story mission. Here’s how to level up fast in Borderlands 3.

How to Level Up Fast in Borderlands 3

• Main Missions
• Side Missions
• Crew Challenges
• How You’re Killing Enemies
• Equip the Right Artifacts

There are a bunch of different ways you can earn experience and level up fast in Borderlands 3, and we’ve detailed them above. If you’re looking for a bit more of a breakdown on the best ways to level up fast, though, keep reading.

Completing Main Missions

Yes, yes, it’s an obvious one, but it really is the best way you can get a ton of experience in a short amount of time in Borderlands 3. Simply continue to follow your quest markers and take down all of the enemies as you go.

We’ll talk a little later about how to maximize the experience you get from killing enemies, but for now, just focus on those main missions.

Side Missions

Sometimes, though, you’re going to come to a bit of an impasse in Borderlands 3’s main story questline, where you’re simply not a high enough level to take on the challenging enemies that await.

While we’d advise you always try and take on quests a level or two above where possible, sometimes you really do need to level up before you’re ready to take on a mission.

That’s where side missions come in. While they don’t quite offer the same amount of experience as Borderlands 3’s main missions, they do still offer a good chunk upon completion all the same. Keep an eye out for markers on your map indicating a quest giver is nearby, and add them to your log.

Even if you don’t do them right away, they can be a good source of experience further down the line, and doing this cuts out the need to do as much backtracking and seeking them out, too.

Complete Crew Challenges to Level Up Fast

As you’re likely well aware by now, Borderlands 3 doesn’t just take place on Pandora. You’ll actually be visiting all kinds of different open world areas on your quest to stop the Children of the Vault.

Each of these areas has something called Crew Challenges, which task you with seeking out various collectibles of sorts. For example, in The Droughts, you’ll need to find Dead Claptraps, Typhon Logs, and complete a Legendary Hunt if you want to reach 100% planet completion.

Completing each of these challenges will net you a chunk of experience, some dollars, and maybe some Eridian too, if you’re lucky. You can check Crew Challenges for each planet by opening up your map, and then using right on the d-pad to tab over to the ‘Challenges’ list.

Careful Killing Enemies

This is a bit of a minor way to further boost your experience and help you level up fast in Borderlands 3, but one that’s worth mentioning all the same. When you’re driving around the open world areas, make sure you’re not just driving through enemies to kill them.

While this will still work, and you’ll get some experience each time you do it, it’s a fraction of the amount you’ll get for hopping out of your vehicle, and shooting them in the face or using your Action Skill to dispose of them.

While we’re on the topic of enemies, don’t be too afraid of shooting it out with an enemy a level or two higher than you, particularly at the start. Chances are you’ll still be able to take them down. They might take a bit more time and effort on your part, but the experience you’ll get for defeating higher-leveled enemies is worth it.

Equip the Right Artifacts

While you won’t immediately be able to unlock Artifacts in Borderlands 3, when you do, you’ll want to keep an eye out for any that grant an experience bonus. The effects of these completely vary, such as dealing bonus damage to particular enemy types, but some can increase it by a good 5%, which certainly helps in the grand scheme of things.

That’s everything you need to know on how to level up fast in Borderlands 3. For more tips, tricks, and guides, be sure to check out our ever-expanding guide wiki.