Borderlands fans stretch far and wide. The series has garnered a large following among gamers over the past decade. If you ever ask a Borderlands fan to recount a favorite moment from the series, almost assuredly, they’ll recall a moment saturated in comedy. That is what Borderlands is – one giant parody of humanity and pop culture. Borderlands never takes itself seriously, and that is the enduring charm of the series. Solid gameplay mechanics are crucial to a successful game, but the lasting mark of the series is its personality.
During the Vault Hunters’ time on Pandora and its moon Elpis, NPCs of all shapes and sizes task the adventurers with everything from freeing the planet from Hyperion rule to handing out invitations to Claptrap’s party. Some of the funniest moments in the series are actual missions the player must complete.
10 The Name Game
In the earlier moments of Borderlands 2, Sir Hammerlock requires the Vault Hunter to study Bullymongs – a beast native to Pandora. The requirements are as simple as digging through their dung piles or killing them.
Sir Hammerlock is seeking a rebrand of the species. At one moment, he settles on Ferovore based on the results of your actions. Later, he finds that Ferovore has been trademarked, and decides on the name Bonerfarts in his frustration. After the player kills a few more Bonerfarts, Sir Hammerlock relaxes a little and settles on the original name of Bullymong.
9 Winter Is A Bloody Business
In Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, a fun mission that clearly references Game of Thrones appears. Basically, Prince Jeffrey – which is an obvious reference to Joffrey – is a fool and the Vault Hunter must slap him for the pure satisfaction of it.
Of course, players must eliminate his guards, but then the optional task on the quest after allows players the chance to slap Jeffrey two more times. When Jeffrey challenges the Vault Hunter to a fight, he cowers in fear when the fight just barely begins. Oh, and did I mention he sits on a throne made of guns?
8 Face McShooty
At random, a harmless bandit by the name of Face McShooty beckons the player to simply shoot him in the face. He’s almost ravenous for it and insists that the Vault Hunter help him with this desire. The bandits, who are caricatures of the bandits seen in Mad Max, are clearly psychotic due to the harsh realities of life on Pandora.
The parody continues in the extreme with Mr. McShooty. If the player chooses, they can wait and listen to Face McShooty beg the player to oblige him. Once the player pulls the trigger, the quirky bandit utters a “thank you” with his last breath.
7 Claptrap’s Birthday Bash
As alluded to previously, at one point players must aid Claptrap in throwing his own birthday party. The Vault Hunter is tasked with delivering invitations to some of the NPC characters within Sanctuary. But in the end, the effort is futile as you, the player, are the only one who shows up for Claptrap’s sad party.
Basically, you awkwardly eat pizza with Claptrap, blow into a party whistle, and hang around for a couple of minutes until the mission ends and you can get yourself out of that sad, awkward situation.
6 Boomshakalaka & Space Slam
In the Pre-Sequel, a man named Tog asks the Vault Hunter to help a character by the cheeky name of Dunks Watson achieve the ultimate slam dunk, by obtaining a basketball for him to use. Once players provide Dunks with the basketball, he jumps so high that he clears the gravitational pull of the moon and floats off into space.
Lucky for you, Tog offers you another mission so that you can achieve the ultimate slam dunk. Of course, you receive bonus XP if you do it while on fire. Setting off a flammable barrel will help you achieve this, as you jump high above the hoop and slam down on top of it. If you complete the objective, return to Tog for a superstar interview of your accomplishment.
5 Cult Following
In Borderlands 2, there are a series of missions where Lilith has the Vault Hunter investigate the cult activity surrounding the deity Firehawk. Lilith, due to her siren powers, happens to be the Firehawk. She wants to make sure the cult isn’t doing anything harmful to innocents. Essentially, the Vault Hunter follows the direction of the cult leader Incinerator Clayton. The tasks include lighting up ornate FireHawk statues, burning other bandits with fire weapons and collecting the ash, and destroying the “false god” Scorch (which is essentially a fire elemental spiderant).
Then, the vault hunter must take the small bandit Matchstick up to Captain Flynt’s dragon-breathing ship and have him torched in the flames of the ship as a sacrifice. While these objectives were funny simply because Matchstick and the other bandits seem to take joy in their crazed delusions, the cult had to be brought to an end when innocents became involved.
4 To the Moon
Do you remember the obnoxious boom of the moonshot cannon from Borderlands 2, which was one of Jack’s means for quickly delivering Hyperion combat-ready robots to Pandora? Well, in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Jack wanted to run human trials to see if he could quickly transport people from the Hyperion station directly to the moon. You quickly find one unfortunate soul who the Vault Hunter can try to convince to be the guinea pig for this big test.
When he refuses, the Vault Hunter convinces him to get in the container that will be shot to the moon by baiting him with a pizza party inside. Once inside, players can take to the console and shoot him to the moon. Finally, when deciding to take a gander at the crash landing on the moon, players will find the once-happy individual hanging out of the wreckage with a slice of pizza firmly clutched in his hand.
3 You Are Cordially Invited
Upon meeting the unhinged Tiny Tina, players must help her set up a tea party. The Vault Hunter is tasked with collecting the guests, including Sir Reginald (a tiny varkid in a glass jar), Princess Fluffybutt (a hand grenade disguised as a doll), and Flesh-Stick (a crazed bandit who simply messed with the wrong girl).
After everything is in place, Tiny Tina informs the Vault Hunter that she invited Flesh-Stick’s entire crew as well, meaning the Vault Hunter gets to kill every last one of them while she roasts Flesh-Stick in an electric chair seated at the tea party. Maybe poor Tina needs a little therapy. What do you think?
2 Kill Yourself
Just as the title of the mission implies, Jack chatters on the radio near the end of the main storyline of Borderlands 2, annoyed that you have been a complete pain during this whole experience. So, he asks you to do away with yourself, which initiates the mission.
If you oblige him, Jack laughs and mocks you immediately after you respawn. However, you receive both eridium and XP for completion of the mission. If you call the Hyperion Suicide Prevention line, Jack calls you a coward and gives you nothing, though you still receive the XP for completing the task.
1 Poetic License
Scooter needs your help finding love! He’s got just the girl in mind but has asked the Vault Hunter to help him write a poem. The Vault Hunter is tasking with providing the inspiration for the poem by exploring a few points within Pandora. He also throws in a quick request to grab him some ‘adult’ magazines, if his attempts to woo his love interest go south.
Once the poem is complete, Scooter asks the Vault Hunter to deliver it. Unfortunately, Scooter doesn’t receive the reaction he was hoping for. After seeing the poem, the lady excuses herself and disappears in the door behind. At this point, a gunshot can be heard making it crystal clear that she has zero interest in Sanctuary’s favorite mechanic. Hopefully, you grabbed the magazines for Scooter to cheer him up.
NEXT: Borderlands 3 Will Have Record Number Of Bosses And Each Planet Its Own Ecosystem, Says Designer
