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Borderlands 4

Level Scaling Explained

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★ 8 SHiFT Codes as of September 2025
☆ Black Market Location
★ Elemental Weakness Chart
☆ Legendary Weapons
★ Builds: Vex | Amon | Rafa | Harlowe
☆ How to Respec Skill Tree

Level scaling explained

This is a guide about how the level scaling system works in Borderlands 4. Learn the mechanics of level scaling in the game along with what scales with your level by continuing below!

List of Contents

Borderlands 4 Level Scaling Explained

Most Enemies Scale With Your Level

High level Mangler

Most enemies in Borderlands 4 will scale with your current level. This means that early game enemies will always scale up to around your current level.

Higher Level Enemies Will Stay Ahead of Your Level

higher level enemy

If you encounter enemies that are higher level than you, it may mean that the quest difficulty you are doing is classified as very hard.

Lootable Guns Scale With Your Level

Lootable Scaling

All guns that drop as loot will scale with your current level. This means that lootable guns will always match your level once they drop and will not increase with your level as you level up.

Lootable guns include the weapons that Golden Chest contains, so save your Golden Keys and unlock these chests once you reach a high level!

Golden Keys Guide

Gun Rewards From Loot Boxes have Fixed Scaling

Weapons from loot boxes

Mission rewards are often sent to your character via loot boxes found in your inventory. The level scaling of these rewards are fixed according to the level you completed the mission at, and will not scale to a higher level if you decide to open the mission rewards at a later time.

Due to this, we recommend opening a loot box immediately once you receive it!

Repeatable Bosses Scale With Your Level

High level splashzone

Repeatable bosses will scale at your current level regardless if you've defeated them before at a lower level. This makes repeating them worthwhile as the weapons that they drop scales with your current level.

Repeat Bosses Using Moxxi's Big Encore Machine

Moxxi

To repeat a boss, pay cash at Moxxi's Big Encore machine that is usually found outside the boss area. Take note that the Cash fee for boss replays also increases as you level up.

How to Farm Bosses

XP Reward From Repeatable Missions Scale With Your Level

No Place Like Home Overworld Location

XP rewards no longer show as exact numbers and are now displayed with a rarity system similar to guns. This is done because XP rewards now scale with your current level, making early repeatable missions still valuable.

Due to this, we recommend replaying missions that reward you with purple rarity XP. An example would be the side mission No Place Like Home that is classified as an easy quest but will still net huge amounts of XP.

Best Side Quests Worth Doing

Borderlands 4 Related Guides

TIPS & TRICKS

Beginner's Guide to Borderlands 4: Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks Guides

Progression Guides
What to Do First Level Cap: What is the Max Level?
How to Farm Bosses How to Level Up Fast
How to Farm and Use Eridium How to Get More SDU Tokens
How to Crush Jamming Device When Do You Get a Vehicle?
How to Unlock More Weapon Slots How to Increase Inventory Capacity
How to Get Stronger Weapons Can You Upgrade Weapons?
Red Chest Farm Location Should You Do Side Quests?
What is Ultimate Vault Hunter? -
General Guides
What to Buy and Sell First How to Respec Skill Tree
Golden Keys Guide All Bank Locations
How to Store and Transfer Items How to Drop Items
How to Claim Deluxe Edition Items How to Fast Travel
Can You Duel? Pearlescent Rarity
Level Scaling Explained How to Summon Vehicle
How to Link 2K Account Weapon Rarity vs Level
Lost Loot Machine Explained Weapons Levels Explained
Weapon Rarity Explained Fishing Guide
What to Spend Money On Movement Guide
Moxxi's Tip Jar Guide: Location and Rewards Should You Save on Golden Keys?
Legendary Vending Machine Locations Should You Wait on Opening Vaults?
Throwing Knife Farm -
Settings Guides
List of All Controls Matchmaking Guide
Difficulty Differences and How to Change Can You Change Character?
Best and Recommended Settings Can You Change FOV?
Can You Change POV? Compiling Shaders Fix
How to Save and Recover Lost Saves Is There a Minimap?
Combat Guides
Death Penalty: What Happens When You Die? Elemental Weaknesses Guide
Incendiary Damage Guide Shock Damage Guide
Cryo Damage Guide Radiation Damage Guide
Corrosive Damage Guide –

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