Borderlands 4 Difficulty Guide: Which Mode Should You Play On?

Choosing the right Borderlands 4 difficulty can make or break your experience. Whether you want a casual story-driven playthrough or an intense challenge with the best loot, the game offers multiple difficulty modes to suit different players. Each option changes how enemies behave, how much damage you take, and the rewards you earn—making your decision an important one.

In this guide, we’ll break down all difficulty options in Borderlands 4, explain how hard each mode is, and help you decide which is right for you.

Difficulty Options in Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 has three base difficulty levels and one additional endgame challenge. Here’s a full breakdown:

Easy Mode

• Best for: Story-focused or casual players.
• Enemy behavior: Enemies take more damage, even without the right elemental matchups.
• Why play it: Perfect for exploring the new planet, enjoying the story, or learning the game mechanics at your own pace.

Normal Mode

• Best for: Most players, especially newcomers.
• Enemy behavior: Balanced combat that still requires some effort without being punishing.
• Why play it: This is the default difficulty, striking the right mix of challenge and fun. Weapon upgrades feel impactful, and progression stays rewarding.

Hard Mode

• Best for: Players who love optimizing builds.
• Enemy behavior: Enemies deal more damage, resist poorly matched weapons, and force you to rely on Elemental Affinities.
• Rewards: More cash and higher-quality loot drops.
• Why play it: A great choice if you want the satisfaction of grinding for gear and creating powerful Vault Hunter builds.

What Difficulty Should You Play Borderlands 4 On?

If you’re unsure where to begin, Normal mode is the best starting point. It provides the intended experience, offering a fair challenge while still allowing you to enjoy the story.

The good news? Borderlands 4 lets you switch difficulty at any time. If Normal feels too easy or overwhelming, you can adjust it mid-game. Co-op sessions also won’t affect difficulty, since each player has individual scaling to balance the experience.

Our tip: Before jumping into Hard, spend some time leveling up and farming gear—you’ll need it.

Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM)

Once you’ve finished the main story, you unlock the Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM), which can be scaled up to level 5. This is where Borderlands 4 truly tests your skills.

• Enemy health boost: Enemies have 200% more HP.
• Damage scaling: Expect another significant bump in incoming damage.
• Elemental Affinity: Becomes absolutely essential for survival.
• Rewards: More XP, faster leveling, and even better loot.

UVHM is designed for players who want the most intense version of Borderlands 4 and aren’t afraid of grinding for the best gear.

So, how hard is Borderlands 4? That depends entirely on your chosen mode. Easy lets you focus on the story, Normal is balanced and rewarding, Hard pushes you to build properly, and UVHM is the ultimate endgame challenge.

No matter your playstyle, there’s a difficulty setting tailored to you—and you can always change it if you need to.