Although many Borderlands 3 players would love to be handed all of the most important items and upgrades in the game as early as possible, developer Gearbox Software had other plans in mind. Even something as essential as class mods in Borderlands 3 are not unlocked until players have a few hours of progress under their belts.
But even further out are upgrades like more weapon slots, which don’t come to Borderlands 3 players until much later. Restricting how many guns a player can carry while showing them four slots may seem cruel, but when the game does unlock all 4 it truly feels like an upgrade.
Unlocking weapon slots in Borderlands 3 is as simple as purchasing the Storage Deck Upgrade from Sanctuary or just progressing through the game. However, the SDU will only be available after a certain amount of story progress.
How to Unlock the Third Weapon Slot
Borderlands 3 players will start with two weapon slots and then to unlock the third weapon slot they will need to unlock Sanctuary. This requires completing the main story mission on Pandora and taking off in the ship.
While aboard Sanctuary, players can visit a number of vendors, including Marcus who sells the SDUs. He will have SDUs for increasing ammo capacity of every ammo type, upgrades for the bank and lost loot, and in the top right is an upgrade for the weapon slots. Unfortunately, while the other SDUs will replenish after buying one, the weapon slot SDU does not.
How to Unlock the Fourth Weapon Slot
Getting the fourth weapon slot in Borderlands 3 is going to take a lot more progress than unlocking the third. Basically, players will need to complete all of the main missions on the planet Promethea and the fourth slot will unlock automatically.
Without going into spoilers, it will be obvious enough to players when they are “done” with Promethea. However, there are missions that will take the player away from the planet, so don’t be confused. In our playthrough, the fourth weapon slot in Borderlands 3 didn’t unlock until our character was about level 24. With 23 chapters in Borderlands 3, that puts things a little under the halfway mark.
Once players unlock all four weapon slots in Borderlands 3 the game opens up even further than before. Being able to carry different weapon types for each engagement can help expand the strategy when it comes to the enemy classes and whether they have shields, armor, or just health. It’s a shame it takes so long to unlock, but getting four weapon slots is a bigger deal than most think.
Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
