Borderlands 3 is the new hit looter-shooter from Gearbox and 2K games, following up on the beloved Borderlands franchise with more of the same style of gameplay. Borderlands 3 is rife with challenging bosses, sprawling areas to explore, and fun side content to discover.
Borderlands 3 throws a whole slew of bosses at the player throughout its lengthy story, not to mention optional bosses that appear in side quests and hidden areas. One of the more challenging bosses in the main story is Warden, with two health bars and some dangerous attacks to boot.
The Boss
Warden appears in the main story mission “Hammerlocked.” This portly powerhouse boasts two separate health bars: one yellow, one red. The yellow bar is the first, and is weak to corrosive damage. During this first phase, Warden will throw out super moves that include firing rockets and lasers at the player. During these super moves, Warden is invincible. However, Warden will only throw out these moves while his yellow bar is present.
After the yellow bar is gone, the second phase begins and the player can start chipping away at his red health bar. During this phase, Warden will hop around the boss arena, and can heal his entire red health bar back if he manages to place down a glowing yellow healing spot on the ground. Throughout the entire fight, Warden also spawns minions to distract and damage the player.
The Strategy
Warden can soak up a lot of damage, so players may want to pick up some of the Legendary weapons available early on in Borderlands 3. Corrosive damage is especially effective on the yellow health bar, and during the red health bar phase Warden is weak to head shots. A mid- to close-range weapon with a scope, like a shotgun or SMG, can be helpful when focusing on the head. During super moves, Warden is invincible, so it is best to just get behind cover. The rockets are extremely dangerous, so avoiding them is a must.
It is a safe bet to take out all of Warden’s minions before focusing on him, but he will continue to spawn more. Some may find it more effective to stay moving to avoid the minions and focus on the main boss, and taking out the minions during super moves when the boss is no longer vulnerable.
Some players may want to bring several weapons to deal with the various phases of this fight. In the second phase, it is important to stay mobile to avoid Warden’s jumping. Once he starts trying to heal, the player should unleash all of their skills and attacks on him at once to prevent it. Saving skill for these critical moments is the best way to be ready.
Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.
