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Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Claptastic Voyage Review

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's fourth and final DLC, Claptastic Voyage, takes Vault Hunters to a world of pure imagination. Yes, it's time to dive straight into Claptrap's head and see what messy memories you can dredge up. How much therapy will we need after playing this mini-campaign? Our review.

The Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is reaching its inevitable conclusion, and where better to spend it than within the depths of Claptrap's mind? Actually, there are probably several better places to spend it, but regardless, you that's where you end up in Claptastic Voyage the fourth and final DLC release for The Pre-Sequel.

Claptastic Voyage tells a side story that takes place shortly after the events of The Pre-Sequel's main campaign. Handsome Jack is well on his way to becoming Pandora's greatest villain, but first he must retrieve a ludicrously powerful weapon that's locked away deep within the robot's psyche. The team of Vault Hunters agree to be digistructed and thrust inside Claptrap to retrieve the information because, despite Jack's sociopathic disposition, a mercenary still has to eat.

The narrative really falls apart if you're playing as Claptrap, despite a few tweaks to the NPC dialogue, but that doesn't really matter at this point. Suspension of belief already gets stretched to the limit once you realize that Claptrap can't climb stairs in Borderlands 2, but can climb ladders in the Pre-Sequel. You're there inside the robot's mind, and that's all that matters. As you might expect, the place is a total mess. We're talking fragmented memories, glitches, viruses, and malware all over the place, but that's not the worst of them. Claptrap's defenses don't recognize you as a valid user, so they try to eliminate you along with everything else.

Claptrap's Voyage is designed for level 30 characters, so be sure to level up before plunging into the depths of the robot's neurotic mind. The experience itself is kind of trippy, and a very creative departure from the "normal" environments of Pandora and its moon, Elpis. In the sky above the Nexus level, you'll see Jack's gigantic silhouette as he peers through Claptrap's eye.

But this is  Claptrap's head we're talking about, so there's bound to be some annoyances. Mostly, they come in the form of computer-related in jokes. Pop-up signs often shoot up from the ground to impede your movement. Flying spam bots project advertisements onto your view to obscure your vision. Another big downside is that there are a lot of floating islands in Claptrap's head. While this makes great use out of the Pre-Sequel's jumping and butt-slamming mechanics, it also means that slipping off the edge of a cliff (or being knocked off it) is a regular occurrence.

There's also a very diverse collection of enemies to be found in Claptrap's mind. You'll end up in a really messed up version of Fyrestone (where you first meet Claptrap in Borderlands), populated by high-jumping digital super-bandits that, thankfully, only exist in Claptrap's head. Not to mention the robot's shockingly powerful sense of despair and self-loathing.

The problem with some of these digital enemies is that they don't follow any sort of rules. You have to watch yourself in oxygen-free environments, but enemies don't have to. They don't even wear helmets as part of the simulation. It's also tough to figure out what enemies are vulnerable to, since almost everything looks robotic. Do you have stay exclusive to electrical and corrosive weapons, or is there virtual flesh to light on fire?

Claptrap's Voyage turns out to be pretty lengthy for a mini-campaign. Perhaps a bit too lengthy in some parts, including a segment where you have to chase down a foe you know will betray you as soon as you meet him. However, most players will appreciate the Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2 content that comes with the add-on, which raises the level cap from 60 to 70. That's ten more skill points to run with.

A voyage through Claptrap's messy, neurotic, brain probably wouldn't be my choice for a DLC destination, much less The Pre-Sequel's last one. I would have preferred one that laid a stronger bridge between The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2. Perhaps one that shows how Nisha became sheriff, or when Wilhelm decided to turn into a giant civilian slaughtering robot. Still, I had fun leaping around inside Claptrap's noggin, even though the experience might have left me a little traumatized.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Claptastic Voyage is available as a stand-alone DLC or part of the season pass. It is also included in the Borderlands: The Handsome Collection.

This review is based on a PC code provided by the publisher. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Claptastic Voyage is available will be available digitally on March 24 for $9.99, as part of the season pass, or as part of the Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. The game is rated M.

• Gearbox Software
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Steven Wong posted a new article, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Claptastic Voyage Review

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Review: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel: Claptastic Voyage

PreSequel++;

With  Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel , I like and dislike different parts of it in almost equal measure. The combat is exciting and the characters are likable. On the other hand, the environments are a little dull and it suffers from a host of obnoxious bugs.

Claptastic Voyage , the first and only “big” piece of downloadable content had the opportunity to fix a lot of what was broken with the base game. For the most part it succeeds in that endeavor, but it still seems like 2K Australia has a bit to learn about making the loot-shooter truly great.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel: Claptastic Voyage  (Linux, Mac, PC [reviewed], PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One) Developers: 2K Australia, Gearbox Software Publisher: 2K Games Released: March 24, 2015 MSRP: $9.99 (included in Season Pass and The Handsome Collection ) Rig: AMD Phenom II X2 555 @ 3.2 GHz, with 4GB of RAM, ATI Radeon HD 5700, Windows 7 64-bit

With the premise of entering the mind of Claptrap, The Pre-Sequel had a ton of freedom with where it could go and what it could do. As with the Dungeons and Dragons -esque setup for Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep , the narrative hook allows Vault Hunters to leave the planet of Pandora (or its moon Elpis) in favor of even more fantastic locales. In practice, Claptastic Voyage takes players from the samey blue-gray moon surface and industrial complexes to samey blue-gray electronics (that look a lot like industrial complexes).

At least, that’s how the first half goes. It’s immediately disappointing that the limitless setting produces such uninteresting environments, but that changes further in. A little ways into the DLC the Vault Hunters can access Claptrap’s old memories, revisiting areas featured in previous titles like Fyrestone or Overlook. Eventually, the shooting goes deep enough into Claptrap’s mind to find wholly original, diverse environments. The Escherian temple of Claptrap’s subconscious is particularly fun to explore.

One thing that Claptastic Voyage does especially well is to fill in gaps in the overarching story that have only previously been hinted at. It does this with the memory exercise in Overlook, illustrating the town’s deterioration to the state players find it in Borderlands 2 . It ends with a direct lead-in to BL2 , showing how Claptrap meets Sir Hammerlock in the frozen tundra on Pandora. It even goes so far as to explain Claptrap’s penchant for dubstep where it wasn’t present in the original Borderlands .

All that said, while the details are cute for fans of the lore, the main plot in Claptastic Voyage  has been done several times in the Borderlands series. Perhaps it’s intentionally self-referential, but the plot device that introduces the main villain early on as an ally who “unexpectedly” betrays the heroes is tired at this point. He is clearly designed to let the player know what’s up, so watching the characters go along and be flabbergasted by the betrayal creates a sort of disconnect between player and protagonist.

At a micro level, the writing follows what we have come to expect from the series. Though it isn’t as laugh-out-loud funny as Tales from the Borderlands has been, it hits the right notes of dark comedy. It manages to get through its eight-to-ten hour campaign without making nearly as many pop culture references as the last few games in the series have done.

Gameplay is largely unaltered from The Pre-Sequel ‘s main campaign. It remains fast and frenetic to moon jump and butt slam between enemies. There are very few zero-atmosphere environments in Claptastic Voyage , so players are free to use the double jump without having to worry about running out of oxygen.

Almost all of the enemies are new in some way, with viruses, bugs, and protection software given physical manifestations to explode. Even the old standby enemies like bandits and psychos behave a bit differently, able to phase in and out of existence occasionally since they are computer projections generated by Claptrap’s memory. The theme of software given life extends to in-universe advertisement, with foes who do nothing but stream audio to the player until they are destroyed. There are also pop-up ads: chest-high walls that appear from the ground and can either be closed or serve as randomized mini stores for health or ammunition.

The final boss deserves special mention, though not necessarily for the best reasons. It begins as an interesting fight, with a lot of different tasks the player has to juggle. There are jump pads, helpful “volatile bits” to trigger, lava to avoid, small enemies to keep at bay and use for revives, and the main boss who can deal some serious damage if he is ignored. It’s exciting for the first 10 minutes. Then it keeps going. Then the boss transforms and recharges his shield. Then it keeps going. Then he transforms and recharges his shield again. I timed it; it took me 45 minutes to solo that one fight, and that was on my second try. (On the first try, I spent what felt like an hour, made it to his final form, died, and started back at the beginning of the fight. I quit for the night.)

It illustrates how 2K Australia can get some aspects of Borderlands so right, but just miss the mark in other ways that bring the whole experience down a bit. The boss just has too much health, and that one element turns it from an interesting fight into a slog. It’s almost as if it is intended to be a raid boss, except that it’s required in order to complete the story. In fact, there is no optional raid boss like there have been in past Borderlands DLC packs, which is a little disappointing considering how phoned in the raid boss in The Pre-Sequel ‘s main game is.

That said, 2K Australia does its own thing for high level content. In addition to farming the end boss for Legendary drops, a special arena unlocks after getting through the story. It boils down to fending off waves of enemies in an arena, but it allows parties to customize various aspects of the battle. Players can increase or decrease the difficulty and add “mutations,” like bonus damage for certain gun manufacturers or increased magazine size at the cost of decreased reload speed. Of course, more difficult settings yield more valuable loot. It’s an interesting idea that I’d like to see explored further in future installments.

Overall, Claptastic Voyage is an improvement to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel . It seems like 2K Australia has been listening to a lot of the criticism of the base game. Aside from some invisible walls, I didn’t experience any of the bugs here that detracted from The Pre-Sequel . The environmental design starts off disappointingly unimaginative, but soon goes to unexpected places. The core gameplay is as fun as it has ever been.

However, Claptastic Voyage still suffers from some of the problems that plague the entire series. The main plot is average, lacking any real standout moments worth discussing. It exists as a vehicle to get players between gunfights or to the more entertaining optional missions. This won’t go down in history as an example of exceptional DLC, but it does what it does well and it’s worth the time to play through.

• Borderlands the Pre-Sequel
• Vault Hunters
• Legendary Gear
• Merchandise

BLTPS – Claptastic Voyage Loot

UPDATE: Added an overview of all legendary items that can be found in Borderlands the Pre-Sequel

With Claptastic Voyage , the new downloadable content for Borderlands the Pre-Sequel, 2K Aus adds a  lot of new loot to the game.  New Unique, Rare, and Legendaries weapons. There is also a new weapon rarity called Glitched weapons .  This results in even more variety than with the Holodome Onslaught Loot .

• 14 Legendary  Gear
• 1  Rare  Gear
• 10  Unique Gear
• 1 Uncommon  Gear

Do you want to know more about the   Glitched Gear , I also wrote a whole article about that subject. For this post, I’m sticking to the  Gear that’s listed in the overview. I got weapon charts, legendary drop locations, and even some legendary guides. Some details are still missing but I’m updating this page when I find new details.

Got confirmation that the Grinder is spitting out these new legendaries and if you are lucky you can stumble upon them in the shops.

Legendary Skins

With the May 19, 2015 Patch of Borderlands the Pre-Sequel Loot Bugs inside the Claptastic Voyage have a new drop assigned to them. These are the Rare and Legendary Skins for all Vault Hunters.

Claptastic Voyage Legendaries

Absolute zero.

Elements:  Cryo Red Text:   In this universe there is only one absolute. Special Effect:   High elemental proc chance How to get the Absolute Zero ?  The Absolute Zero drops from the Final Boss, EOS.

Elements:   None,  Fire, Cryo, Corrosive & Shock Red Text:   Play unfair. Special Effect:   Acts like the Borderlands 2 ‘Bitch’ only gets random glitches. How to get the Cheat Code  ?  Cheat Code is guaranteed collectable from finishing last main mission. (Thx: Samhmcq)

Elements:   None Red Text:   OMG. what’s it doing to Sanchez?! Special Effect:  Killing an enemy with the Flayer creates extra Gore Effects. (Seems like just a coach gun with a higher clip and that’s a good thing) How to get the Flayer  ?  The Flayer drops from ANY virus, good farming location is the Motherlessboard.

Elements:    None,  Fire, Cryo, Corrosive & Shock Red Text:   Dakka dakka dakka! Special Effect:   (Seems to reload faster) How to get the Fusillade  ?  The Fusillade seems to be a World Drop. Reported dropping from several different enemies. Insecure ultimate badass bot,  very insecure turbo bots & mini clap wolf.

 Kaneda’s Laser

Elements:    Explosive Red Text:   If somebody’s gonna kill  him, it should be us! Special Effect:   Shoots a laser rocket that explodes in a small radius. Reloads fly unpredictably. How to get the Kaneda’s Laser?  Kaneda’s Laser drops from EOS, the final boss of Claptastic voyage.

Laser Disker

Elements:   Explosive Red Text:   Shazbot! Special Effect:  Shoots explosive disks that blow up on contact. How to get the Laser Disker? The Laser Disker drops from  SHADOW-TP (thx:  Trollstien Griffin)

Luck Cannon

Elements:  None Red Text:   Better lucky than good! Special Effect:   Luck Cannon shoots one accurate high damage bullet that has a chance to inflict massive damage (Money shot kind of effect of + ~300%). How to get the Luck Cannon? The Luck Connon drops from Ultimate badass glitches. An easy way to farm for this is at the final boss when he is in his second form. (thx: Re1easedabeast)

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Enter the Claptrap

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Enter the Claptrap is a main storyline mission in the Claptastic Voyage DLC from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel .

• 1.1 Objectives
• 1.2 Strategy
• 1.3 Completion

Walkthrough [ ]

Objectives [ ].

• Meet Jack in Deck 13½
• Enter digistruct pad
• Pick up admin password
• Initiate CL4P-TP simulation
• Enter CL4P-TP simulation
• Get to Nexus
• Follow Claptrap's Consciousness
• Talk to SYS_ADMIN
• Hand in admin password
• Extract H-Source from Claptrap's code

Strategy [ ]

This mission is given to the Vault Hunters automatically upon visiting Deck 13 1/2 for the first time. The Vault Hunters meet Handsome Jack there and discover that Jack is after a data package called the "H-Source," which has been hidden inside Claptrap's mind by Harold Tassiter . The H-Source is rumored to contain top-secret Hyperion research and technology, and Jack believes it will bring him great power.

To extract the H-Source, Jack creates a simulation of Claptrap's mind and digitizes the Vault Hunters inside of it. The Vault Hunters pick up an admin password which should gain them access to the system, and proceed to The Nexus . They meet Claptrap's Consciousness, who offers to lead them to SYS_ADMIN to use the password. The Vault Hunters fight through some bugs in Claptrap's software on the way. SYS_ADMIN accepts the admin password from the Vault Hunters, and says that the H-Source is currently in Cluster 00773 P4ND0R4 , but has been marked as "Do Not Remove" by Tassiter. It revokes the password, leaving the Vault Hunters, Jack, and Claptrap to come up with a different plan.

Completion [ ]

Turn In: Claptrap's Consciousness

• Admin Password - "Login: admin/password"
• The mission title is a reference to the 1973 classic kung fu movie Enter the Dragon , starring Bruce Lee.

See also [ ]

• Mission Transcript

• Borderlands
• 2 Add-on content
• 3 Borderlands 2

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - Claptastic Voyage Review

• First Released Oct 13, 2014 released

Journey to the center of the Claptrap.

By Cameron Woolsey on March 20, 2015 at 5:00AM PDT

In Claptastic Voyage, you learn that there is more inside Claptrap's rusted head than bugs, dubstep remixes, and horrible loneliness. Nestled deep in his chrome dome lies a particular MacGuffin desired by Jack above all: the H-Source, a powerful code, used to unlock Hyperion's greatest assets, such as badass weapons. Without other options, Jack digitizes his chosen vault hunters, sending them into Claptrap's mind. They do battle against vicious bugs and viruses, all the while exorcising some of Claptrap's inner demons. The story occurs after the events of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and at last explains how the plucky robot goes from accomplished vault hunter to fending off bullymongs in the frozen wastelands of Borderlands 2. But where Claptastic Voyage excels, such as in its new enemies and awesome glitched weapons, it stumbles in mission design, leading you along one dull fetch quest after another, even though a surprising change of scenery helps alleviate the mounting boredom.

Nevertheless, the first few hours of the pack are a bit of a chore, as you travel through Claptrap's consciousness and memories hunting down needed objects. One of your earliest tasks is to scavenge for broken pieces of a bridge so you can continue. The stereotypical obstacles cause the quest to march on at a sluggish pace, and during the moments when a lack of real progress causes Jack to sigh in frustration over the intercom, I began to understand how he felt. After all, what is less exciting than a fetch quest within what is technically one large fetch quest?

The environments in which you tackle these early bits are a bit of a drag as well. Sure, there is that warm swelling of nostalgia when you first enter Claptrap's memories of Pandora's rustic Fyrestone, complete with cameos of broken holographic characters such as Dr. Zed who offer guidance. However, it is merely a brief distraction, as if to inquire, "Hey, remember this?" before ushering you onward with your dreary item hunt. I understand that this is merely a broken memory and little else. But as the quest inched onward, I longed for those old Borderlands days when Fyrestone was like an "Old Western" town in which to stock up on supplies, chat up the locals, and grab new missions (accompanied by that lovely acoustic soundtrack), instead of being just a brief distraction.

Thankfully, the game does loosen up some as you move along. As you venture deeper into Claptrap's consciousness, the broken memories of former Pandora, the structures made of neon lights and steel, and even the black hexagonal skies are brushed away. They are replaced with bright pink-orange hues, clouds, and floating islands, not unlike anything out of BioShock Infinite. Go deeper still, and you stumble into something akin to M.C. Escher, with waterfalls flowing from floor to ceiling and staircases on the walls leading to nowhere. It's a striking visual contrast with the cold interiors that first greet you. Claptastic Voyage deserves some credit in refusing to stick to one type of aesthetic, adding an appreciated splash of whimsy to the mind of our dubstep-loving robot. The main story itself revolves around running about searching for keys or other precious objects, but at least the landscape becomes fascinating enough to serve as a nice distraction from the tedium.

The electric combat that I loved so much about the gravity-defying Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel also helps to put a charge into this short digital adventure. New enemies come in the form of glowing bugs and glitches, sharp-angled foes that attack in swarms and phase in and out of existence. Worse, however, are computer viruses, able to adapt to the elemental effects of your weapons. These foreign invaders are tough, but they provide some engrossing confrontations, with flying bolts of energy turning every battle into an industrious light show. It's doubtful you'll soon grow weary of blasting these nasty baddies, and you have plenty of opportunities to fight enemies from high in the air or butt-slam them into sparkly digital bits. You must also tackle Claptrap's own immune system, manifested as insecurity bots, robotic guard dogs, turrets, and more.

You won't always find yourself against one group of enemy types at a time. Scenes become chaotic as bugs and viruses clash with Claptrap's defense troops. If you find yourself being overwhelmed, you can look to the skies for volatile bits, floating lazily while switching colors between pink and green. Shooting one while it's green sends a barrage of corrosive missiles at nearby enemies, while pink gives you a welcome health boost. You find yourself caught in many encounters where these bits make a huge difference in whether you go down for the count or continue the fight.

Claptastic Voyage features a new peculiar weapon type, one that is about as mixed up as Claptrap himself. Glitched weapons, typically recognizable by their sheen of flowing ones and zeros, flicker wildly, randomly changing their behavior. For example, by default a glitched weapon glows with a soft blue and doesn't act out of the norm, but with a flash to green, it's suddenly imbued with a scatter shot. When yellow, it fires nonstop until you reload or switch weapons, and when red, it shaves colossal chunks of health off enemies. I must admit: glitched weapons are easily my favorite component of this pack. They add a flare of unpredictability to every battle, allowing you to change tactics at any moment. One of my favorite weapons was a glitched laser gun, which performed admirably against single enemies, but not so well against multiple targets, forcing me to turn heel or leap away before getting overpowered. But in some of those fights, with a sudden shudder the gun turns green--once a rifle, now a rapid-fire shotgun--and allows me to turn back to lay waste to the pursuing army of hapless bugs and viruses. It is just so satisfying.

But not everything about Claptastic Voyage is equally as rewarding--and here I'm referring to the pack's extra content. Finishing the main quest opens up the mutator arena, offering loot if you survive three waves of enemies. Before starting, you can choose a game mode, such as half gravity, a difficulty--the higher you go the better chance for rarer loot--and a game modifier, which includes increasing butt-slam damage or increasing reload speed and likelihood of ammo drops for the rocket launcher while also decreasing its damage. The arena fights are not all that engaging, however, and I quickly decided that the chance of rare loot wasn't worth the effort.

It also doesn't help that the arena's two hosts, a racially insensitive hot dog and a bored cat with a perpetual birthday, are incessantly annoying. Now, you would perhaps believe this has the makings of comedy gold, but in reality, no--it does not. The scripts for these two could have used some brushing up, as the unlikely duo often try too hard to be edgy and funny all at once. And hearing the hot dog shout "Treat 'em like Truxicans crossin' the border!" is not only aggravating after the tenth time, but also strays too close to being actually offensive. That, mixed with lousy hot dog puns and the cat's bored phrases interspersed with "meow," meant I found myself looking forward to the end of the third wave just so I didn't have to hear them anymore. I just…I just really miss Mr. Torgue.

Not all of the extras are bad, but they also aren't particularly thrilling, either. Some of the side missions that appear following the story are, again, more fetch quests whose prizes aren’t worthy of the time spent going back and forth to complete them. There are some standouts, though, such as helping Claptrap live out his hidden fantasy as a caped superhero or getting him in touch with his, ahem, more feminine side. Claptastic Voyage also comes equipped with the Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2--this increases the level cap from 60 to 70, which means 10 more skill points for your chosen vault hunter.

Claptastic Voyage, much like our dear Claptrap himself, is an imperfect little thing. But it's still decent thanks to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's outstanding combat formula and some superb environments revealed as you delve further into the story. The adventure is a lengthy one, coming in at around 10 hours with the main quest and side missions complete--though that time should vary depending on your vault hunter's level. Yes, this is the end of Claptrap the mighty vault hunter, and though Claptastic Voyage could have been a better sendoff for his implausible profession, at least we know that his story will continue onward for some time to come. So long as there aren't any stairs in the way.

• Leave Blank
• Glitched weapons are fantastic
• The new enemy types provide a great challenge
• Later environments are a sight to behold
• Too many fetch quests!
• Extra content doesn’t satisfy
• Nothing interesting is done with returning environments

About the Author

Cameron Woolsey

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The 5 essential Borderlands DLC expansions you should definitely play

If you're working through the series don't skip these DLC missions.

— Check out our retrospective on how Borderlands 2 was ahead of its time

— Load up with loot with Borderlands 2 SHiFT codes

There are 47 pieces of DLC for Borderlands 2 on Steam. 47! That includes a whole mess of skins, but also some meaty expansions, like Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty and Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep. I've been replaying them to figure out which bits of DLC are actually worth the time to play.

What about Claptrap's Robot Revolution from the enhanced Borderlands 1 ? Or the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned? Even the Pre-Sequel had a season pass. Will you regret going on a Claptastic Voyage or fighting through the Shock Drop Slaughter Pit?

Here are the best Borderlands DLCs, with some guidance on how and when to start them during each game's campaign.

Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx 

How to start it: Fast-travel to T-Bone Junction (you can fast-travel to DLC areas before you've repaired the system) When to play it: After you've finished the story Level: 35 on first playthrough, 51 on second

The Secret Armory of General Knoxx was a taste of things to come. It's the moment where Gearbox hit on the tone that would become the defining feature of Borderlands 2—it has a villain who contacts you frequently over the ECHOnet to shoot the breeze, and the dialogue suddenly gets funny and gives characters like Mad Moxxi and Scooter actual personalities.

As well as having better writing, it gave the series its first raid boss—a giant crab worm called Crawmerax the Invincible balanced to be an endgame challenge for groups of max-level characters. Raid bosses designed to demolish you would become a mainstay of the series.

In addition to all that, it tried to overcome the Borderlands problem of being too spread out by making vehicles even more prevalent and adding new ones—a superfast rocket car, a carrier designed for four, and a monster truck. It's still more spacious than it needs to be, but it tries. Finally, the armory itself is a lootsplosion that makes all the hard work it takes to get there feel worth it. It's the original Borderlands' one truly essential add-on.

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Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep 

How to start it: Fast-travel to Unassuming Docks When to play it: Immediately after finishing the story in your first playthrough Level: 30-35

Of all the DLCs released for Borderlands 2, this is the unmissable one. A D&D-themed expansion in which the Vault Hunters take part in a game of "Bunkers & Badasses" being run by Tiny Tina, it's both a send-up of fantasy cliches and a series of spot-on jokes about the kind of D&D games teenagers run. 

At the same time it's a retelling of Borderlands 2 through the lens of a different genre that acts as a weird kind of therapy session for the characters who've survived it. Like a lot of Borderlands 2 it presents you with a mountain of silliness, then when you climb to the top it surprises you with legit character development and emotional pay-off.

If you care more about guns, Dragon Keep has a couple of the best in the game. The Grog Nozzle is a pistol that heals you for a percentage of the damage you cause, even if that damage comes from other sources—like grenades. The SWORDSPLOSION!!! is a shotgun that shoots a sword, which explodes into several other swords, which also explode. It's the most Borderlands gun there is.

Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty 

How to start it: Fast-travel to Oasis When to play it: Change up your second playthrough by playing this instead of whichever sidequests you don't feel like going through again Level: Either 15 or 30 in your first playthrough, in your second it will match your current level

A desert full of pirates and sandworms where you can fly around on vehicles modeled after the hovering skiffs from Return of the Jedi? It sounds amazing. And it would be an easy recommendation if it weren't for the fact that Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty doesn't have an ending to speak of and just kind of stops. Still, it introduces some fun characters like Scarlett herself and Shade, a lonely desert hermit who pretends mannequins are his friends (and who shows up again in Tales From the Borderlands). 

The other comparable expansion is Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage, which is balanced for the same levels. It's a bit more filler-ish, however, with missions that send you back through the same area in the opposite direction or just feel like padding. If you're a big fan of Mr. Torgue shouting about explosions that might bump it up above Captain Scarlett, and it does have good loot.

Borderlands 2: Headhunter 5: Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax 

How to start it: Fast-travel to Wam Bam Island When to play it: After everything else Level: Between 15 and 35 on first playthrough, balanced for your level after that

Normally the beach episode is an excuse for a certain kind of fanservice. The Borderlands equivalent is less about bikinis and more about rewarding long-term player commitment with a last hurrah for its world. The fifth headhunter pack DLC, Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax, includes a boss fight against the son of the original raid boss from The Secret Armory of General Knoxx (balanced to be defeatable solo this time), and after that there's an epilogue in which villains from each character's past try to get revenge. The dialogue's full of callbacks and references too, the Borderlands series being nostalgic for itself in a gleefully self-indulgent way.

The headhunter packs were smaller DLC stories designed as budget additions to Borderlands 2, each themed around a holiday. Of the others How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day has some good loot though it feels pretty slight, and Mad Moxxi's Wedding Day Massacre has a fun story about helping feuding hillbilly clans settle their differences.

One last Borderlands 2 DLC to note is the Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack, which increases the level cap by 11. It's worth it for your True Vault Hunter Mode replay, because otherwise you'll hit the level 50 cap well before the end of the storyline, especially if you're diverting into DLC missions along the way.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel: Claptastic Voyage 

How to start it: Fast-travel to Deck 13 1/2 When to play it: After the main story Level: 30-40 on first playthrough, 40-50 on second

The Pre-Sequel didn't get much DLC, but this one campaign add-on is worth trying. It sends digitized versions of the characters inside Claptrap to track down valuable secret plans that have been hidden in the annoying/delightful robot, and it includes a trip through his memories—like a glitched-out recreation of Fyrestone, the first hub from the original game. 

It builds to a conclusion that bridges the final gap between the Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2, kind of like the finale of Star Wars: Rogue One. Fans will lap it up. If you hate Claptrap you should totally skip Claptastic Voyage, but if you like the little guy you'll appreciate this.

Jody's first computer was a Commodore 64, so he remembers having to use a code wheel to play Pool of Radiance. A former music journalist who interviewed everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Trent Reznor, Jody also co-hosted Australia's first radio show about videogames, Zed Games . He's written for Rock Paper Shotgun , The Big Issue, GamesRadar , Zam , Glixel , Five Out of Ten Magazine , and Playboy.com , whose cheques with the bunny logo made for fun conversations at the bank. Jody's first article for PC Gamer was about the audio of Alien Isolation , published in 2015, and since then he's written about why Silent Hill belongs on PC , why Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is the best fantasy shopkeeper tycoon game , and how weird Lost Ark can get . Jody edited PC Gamer Indie from 2017 to 2018, and he eventually lived up to his promise to play every Warhammer videogame.

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