http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/BorderlandsBanditsAndBanditFactions

Spoilers Off for games prior to Borderlands 3 as well as for spoiler characters that are marked as such. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned.

The different bandit factions that the Vault Hunters have to face while on Pandora, in addition to the Evil Corporation Of The Week™.

For the Borderlands 3-introduced Children of the Vault faction, go here.

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Bandits

"The Bandit gun philosophy is simple: MORE BULLETS! MORE SHOOT BITS FOR BRAIN SPLATS! BANG BANG BANG BANG! ...BANG!"

After the events of Borderlands, individual groups of bandits and outlaws began producing their own weapons more to their own liking. Unlike all other manufacturers, the Bandit brand isn't found anywhere but Pandora and are not a unified company in the slightest; rather, "Bandit" is a catch-all term to any weapon produced by bandits on the planet.

Their weapons and gear are recognizable by high damage and loaded magazines, but below average firerates and accuracy, producing weapons that can be fired forever without reloading. Their shields often give a melee damage boost upon being depleted, and their grenades boast AoE features, such as MIRVs and Bouncing Betty's.

Pre-Sequel reveals the the Scavengers of Elpis made guns incredibly similar (if not almost identical) to their Pandoran brothers, cobbled from scrap to fight off the space-faring beasts of the moon. So-called Scav weapons have different colour schemes and slightly different naming themes, but outside of that are essentially just blue Bandit guns.

Likely folded into the Children of the Vault for Borderlands 3, considering the cult has united most of the bandit clans on Pandora. For tropes related to that cult, see their page.

In general

The Aesthetics of Technology: If it looks like it was cobbled together from bits of scrap and rejected parts from other manufacturers, it's probably Bandit tech.
Always Chaotic Evil: Played straight for the Bandit manufacturers, but averted when it comes to the weaponry itself. Marcus, and many other characters both sell and carry Bandit weapons without any qualms. The weapon generation system also means that the supposedly superior weapon brands (including, ironically, Hyperion) use Bandit sights, barrels and even pistol grips on their own guns without concern.
Book Dumb: Bandits are not too good at spelling. Their weapons have names such as "Ass Beeter!", "Mashine Gun" and "smig". The Scavs of Elpis are a bit better (in that they at least know how many letters are in "SMG"), but they still make some fairly glaring errors - and use a lot of pseudo-Australian slang. On the other hand, they're apparently highly skilled gunsmiths capable of building homemade guns that can rival, or outright beat supposedly superior brands like Hyperion in a fight.
Crippling Overspecialization: Their high magazine size comes at the cost of almost every other stat save for firerate, particularly accuracy and reload time.
Idiot Savant: Most bandits are crazy, insane and quite murderous, but they're surprisingly good at cobbling up fully functional guns, hence the Bandit/Scav/CoV brands, some which are very powerful, and can even engineer and maintain surprisingly complex machinery. Justified that a lot of bandits are former engineers, workers and soldiers from Dahl that were abandoned on Pandora when things went south.
More Dakka: The most dakka you'll be able to hold in your hand with one gun. It's a rarity if a bandit assault rifle has less than a fifty round ammo capacity, and they are a rarity among the gun makers in 2 in that a lot of their guns visibly change magazine models on higher-rarity/capacity guns^note. The Bandit shotgun barrel has three muzzles, making it the second most dakka-ey shotgun component after the four-shot Torgue barrel.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: With how many of them you kill it's easy to forget these guys are actual threats to anyone who isn't a Vault Hunter, be it with heavy, if clunky, weapons or sheer numbers. You often hear tales of bandits slaughtering innocent people and if Brick's dialogue is any indication some gangs like the Sawtooth are dangerous enough to be capable of capturing other Vault Hunters and hand them over to Handsome Jack. And then came the unholy amalgamation of all bandit clans...
- Gameplay-wise any bandit sans the lowliest of grunts can be dangerous as they can hold automatic weapons and some late game variants can wield rocket launchers.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Any Bandit weapon worth a damn has a mostly red colour scheme, and given how Ax-Crazy most Bandits are, that red is probably dried blood. Some higher level weapons have bits of added black to the combination. Scav weapons are generally a cool blue instead.
Reliably Unreliable Guns: While the game doesn't simulate jams or misfires, the Bandit weaponry will reflect the low quality of production by having their reloads take a significant amount of time, at least partially because the magazine is so big, partially because (as reflected by some of their SMG designs) the magazines are held on by cheap latches that you need to smack to eject the empty mag, and partially due to awkward design (the pistols' magazines are canted and housed on the right-hand side, the SMGs use a feeding system in the vein of the Burton LMR, and the rocket launchers' "pods" are ripped out of the housing). Their accuracy also tends to be rather low to reflect their homemade production.
Savage Spiked Weapons: Variation for guns. At least a few of their weapons either launch spikes or have spikes attached, most notably the Bandit/Scav shotgun grip part putting a spike right under the barrel. The Children of the Vault add substantially more spikes to their armaments as well.
Short-Range Shotgun: Bandit Shotguns are among the most inaccurate in the game, but it's made up by...
Shotguns Are Just Better: Having the largest magazines and high damage. Bandit Shotguns tend to be the best weapons in the Bandit product line for this very reason.
Starter Equipment: Bandit weapons are more common early in the game, though it's certainly possible to find powerful Bandit equipment much later.
Starter Villain: Usually the first type of enemy Vault Hunters face with the only exception (so far) being Pre-Sequel.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- Bandit guns are essentially the new S&S, replacing them as the high ammo capacity manufacturer from the second game onward.
- The Pre-Sequel rebrands Bandit weapons as Scav models to fit the native ne'er-do-wells of Elpis, which swap out the red and orange color scheme for mottled blues and purples but otherwise look and behave identically.
Talking Weapon: Two are found in the Pre-Sequel.
- The Boganella is a triple-barreled shotgun with a... colorful vocabulary.
- The %Cu+ie ^_^ ki||er is Cute But Psycho personified. Literally everything the SMG says has some variation of "kill" with an overly enthusiastic high pitched female voice that almost puts the Bane to shame in how annoying it can be.

Individuals

Introduced in Borderlands

Nine-Toes

Also, he has three balls.

The leader of the bandits attacking Fyrestone in the first game.

Adaptation Personality Change: Instead of just another Psycho as in the game, Nine-Toes from the comic The Fall of Fyrestone is a far more competent, intelligent, poetic individual. He's treated as a legitimate threat who actively destroyed Fyrestone and put a stop to Vault Hunters coming to the city.
Badass Boast:
- "You woke the wrong dog."
- "I'm gonna rip your arm off and beat your baby with it!"
Body Motifs: Feet, as shown by the name "9 Toes", how his gun is called "The Clipper", and his skags are called "Pinky" and "Digit".
Does This Remind You of Anything?: His character intro has a "Safety First" (with a fist logo) signpost covering his crotch.
The Dragon: To Sledge.
- Co-Dragons: According to the strategy guide he and Bonehead are in competition to see who can destroy Fyrestone and solidify their place as Sledge's right-hand man.
Exotic Equipment: "Also, he has three balls."
I'm a Humanitarian:
- "You remind me of my mother... I ate my mother."
- "I'm gonna eat you when I'm done!"
I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Heavily implies to have shot off his tenth toe with his gun. Or, since the flavour text for the Clipper is "Don't drop it... might lose a toe", accidentally cut one off by dropping the (bladed) gun.
Kill It with Fire: His unique repeater pistol, the Clipper, has an incendiary effect. Incendiary damage is also probably the most effective way to take him both him and his two Skag pets.
King Mook: He's basically a Psycho with lots of spikes who can actually use a gun. Stat-wise he's just a Badass bandit with a unique pistol, but since you haven't faced Badasses or Bruisers yet he's your first really challenging Bandit opponent.
Named After the Injury: Having gone mad like so many others on Pandora, he doesn't remember how he lost his toe. The unique gun he drops, The Clipper, is equipped with a blade and has the flavor text "Don't drop it... might lose a toe," suggesting that Nine-Toes dropped The Clipper on his foot at one point.
Never My Fault: According to the official Borderlands guide, Nine-Toes has a rivalry with Bonehead because he believes Bonehead cut off his toe and used it for a voodoo ceremony. The item description for "The Clipper" actually implies that Nine-Toes actually lost his toe after dropping the gun, either on his foot or dropping it and causing the sensitive trigger to fire at his foot once it landed on the ground.
Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop The Clipper^note.
Spikes of Villainy: Spikes adorn his shoulder armour, his head, and even his nipples.
Starter Villain: The first official boss in the game.
Too Much Information: Just read his Boss Subtitles!
Wicked Cultured: Nine-Toes comes off as a lot more well learned and poetic in the Fall of Fyrestone comic. Lilith just finds it annoying.
Wolfpack Boss: He's basically just a Badass bandit with a unique pistol, but the big challenge in this fight is that he's backed up by a pair of Badass Skags, his two pets Digit and Pinky.

Sledge

P.S.: You guys aren't friends.

Voiced by: Christopher Sabat

A massive bandit leader characterized by a love of midgets and close combat.

Back from the Dead: Gets resurrected as Motorhead in Secret Armory.
Came Back Wrong: Can be faced as a DLC boss as "Motorhead", where midget engineers have resurrected him as a mindless slab of muscles with miniguns where he head and arms should be.
Close-Range Combatant: He's armed with a shotgun and a sledgehammer, so he's pretty dangerous close-up and not so much at long range. However, he can catch up to you surprisingly quickly in the enclosed area you fight him in, especially if you trigger his Turns Red state.
Hulk Speak: "Sledge give little runt BIG Death!"
The Juggernaut: Befitting his role as the first Wake-Up Call Boss in game, Sledge is incredibly strong. This is especially apparent in New Game Plus and Moxxi's Underdome arena, in which he has significantly more health than other human bosses of similar level in addition to his helmet that protects him from headshots.
Large and in Charge: Like Brick, he's a 7-foot tall slab of muscles, as well as the leader of the bandits in the Arid Badlands.
Legacy Character: Seems to have a couple. Smashhead is an optional Goliath mini-boss in 2 (who has an increased chance to drop Sledge's Shotgun when killed), while Brick has also adapted several of Sledge's attributes. Sledge's helmet is also a head option for Salvador.
Mighty Glacier: He's pretty slow-moving, but he's got a really nasty rapid volley shotgun, lots of health, and thanks to his helmet he's completely protected from headshots unless you can hit the really small eye-slit. He also turns into a Lightning Bruiser if you miss the eye-slit and shoot him in the helmet.
Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop Sledge's Shotgun^note.
Short-Range Shotgun: He's the namesake of the infamous "Sledge's Shotgun", a Unique/Legendary Shotgun that's show up throughout the series that has massive damage but ludicrous spread.
Spikes of Villainy: Absolutely covered in spikes.
Turns Red: He normally moves at the same casual walk as the Giant Mook Bruisers, but if you shoot him in his helmet he'll gain a large burst of speed for several seconds.
Wake-Up Call Boss: Angel refers to him as the first truly dangerous opponent you'll face. He's also the first of the game's 3 major bandit leaders.

Mad Mel

Leader of the vehicle-riding bandits who have been stealing Scooter's runners in the first game.

Cool Car: A skeletal repaint of the Monster (which you can access in the 3rd DLC). It can take a lot more damage than regular Bandit runners and is also equipped with a rapid-volley rocket launcher.
Dragon Ascendant: It's mentioned he took over the Badlands bandits after you bumped off Sledge.
King Mook: He uses the same character model as a regular Badass Bruiser, but you're unlikely to notice in-game since he never leaves his vehicle.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: He's the game's only boss fight that involves vehicle combat. This can also make him into That One Boss since the game's vehicular combat is significantly less polished than its regular shooting combat, not to mention the fact the game's vehicle physics seem utterly broken on modern systems.
Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Spouts a generic Bruiser line, but effective nonetheless: "Come on little one, time to die!"
Vehicular Assault: He spends his boss battle driving around in the aforementioned Cool Car, and will crush you under its tires if he can.

Krom

Voiced by: Oliver Tull

Bandit boss of the Rust Commons in the first game, and second in command to Baron Flynt.

Bald of Evil: He has a ponytail in the back, but other than that, he's entirely bald.
Creepy High-Pitched Voice: In contrast to Sledge and Mad Mel, his voice is surprisingly high-pitched. He also has a very pronounced "redneck" accent.
Dying Declaration of Hate: One of his death quotes is him stating how much he hated Pandora anyway.
Embarrassing First Name: According to his wiki profile (which got it from the strategy guide), his real name is Leslie.
Gatling Good: Uses a gatling turret.
Glass Cannon: Krom dies very quickly for a boss. However his gatling gun will tear you apart if you don't take cover.
Kick the Dog: Randomly shoots a Claptrap before fighting you.
Level in Boss Clothing: You spend more time dealing with Krom's high ground advantage and his bandits than the man himself.
Malevolent Masked Men: The lower half of his face is covered with what appears to be a curiously designed dust mask and a collar of some sort.
Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop Krom's Sidearm^note.
Stationary Boss: Due to fighting you on a turret instead of on foot.
The Turret Master: Fights from the top of a canyon on a turret.
Uniqueness Decay: One of the defining traits of Krom's Sidearm was that it fired in bursts while aiming down the sight. This later became the main gimmick of Dahl firearms (ironically, his gun was manufactured by Atlas).
Wake-Up Call Boss: Krom stands out as someone that you can't immediately get close and shoot to death as he starts on top of a hill with several bandits protecting him, even sniping him is a tricky job. If you don't use cover often or proceed with caution, knowing what you're doing, he will make short work of you.

The Kobb Brothers

Taylor and Jaynis Kobb

A pair of brothers fighting over a bandit town in Rust Commons East.

Cain and Abel: Subverted. Taylor is just as bad if not worse than his brother, as it would turn out.
Crazy-Prepared: Taylor apparently puts armed midgets in storage containers (complete with beds and toilets) in case he has a sudden need to betray someone.
King Mook: Both brothers use a generic Bandit Raider design, though both have miniboss-level health and shields and Taylor fights with a rocket launcher, which Bandit Raiders normally don't use.
Obviously Evil: Taylor. The fact that he's a King Mook should have clued the player in that they would end up fighting him.
Rare Random Drop:
- Jaynis drops an unique weapon called The Meat Grinder^note because he cannot be farmed.
- Taylor drops a weapon called The Roaster^note

Baron Flynt

That's Medicinal.

Voiced by: Ian Sinclair

The supreme leader of the bandits in the first game and the first of the Flynt siblings introduced in the series, he lords over the Salt Flats from an abandoned mining rig.

All for Nothing: The Vault Hunters kill Baron and his men believing that he has the fourth and final vault key piece - nope, turns out there is no fourth vault key piece and you were duped by Tannis (who was duped by Atlas into giving them the key). Had the Vault Hunters known there was no fourth piece, they wouldn't have even needed to bother killing Baron.
Close-Range Combatant: His shotgun has horrid accuracy, but given it fires rockets that have a moderate explosion size and the fact that fighting him without sniper rifles forces you to deal with a limited-sized arena, he can be very dangerous.
Co-Dragons: His two Giant Mook assistants, Hanz and Franz.
Disc-One Final Boss: He is the leader of the bandits, being the boss of Sledge, Mad Mel, and Krom. After him comes the Crimson Lance and the Guardians.
Evil Gloating: By far the most talkative bandit leader in the game, he taunts you several times over the radio before you finally confront him face-to-face. He also continues you taunt you over the radio during his boss fight, something other bosses don't do.
His Name Really Is "Barkeep": According to cut dialog from his brother Captain Flynt in Borderlands 2, Baron is literally his first name. Their parents were douchebags, though they evidently broke the pattern with Zane.
Kick the Dog: According to Tannis, Flynt punched her dog.
Lean and Mean: Unlike all of the other bandit leaders, who are all huge mountains of muscle, Flynt's a lanky, regular-sized guy. Despite this, he's still very tough in a fight, and in fact has more overall durability than his own Giant Mook bodyguards, partially due to having special damage resistance.
Lightning Bruiser: He's rather nimble and his rocket shotgun hurts like a mother. Get caught by a volley of them and your character might fall in the Fight For Your Life state.
Orcus on His Throne: He sits up on his chair even after you reach him. The only time he gets up and attacks you is after you kill Hanz and Franz.
Rare Random Drop: He drops the Boomstick^note.
Smoking Is Cool: Has a small lit... something whenever he appears.
Sophisticated as Hell: His dialogue has shades of this, at least compared to all of the other bandit leaders.
The Stoner: If his Boss Subtitles are to be believed, that's not a cigarette.
Wardens Are Evil: According to the official strategy guide for the first game he was Pandora's Warden for the planet's convict labor force before Dahl abandoned the planet. Him being a former Dahl official also explains how he's able to constantly taunt you over the ECHOnet, which bandits aren't supposed to be able to access.

Mr. David Shank

Mr. Shank

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_borderlands_2010-02-25_20-12-18-63_6342.png

Voiced by: Stan Robak

The extremely heterosexual leader of Lockdown Palace, and Moxxi's second husband. He kidnaps Athena in the Knoxx DLC.

Armored But Frail: Shank has an extraordinarily strong shield that gives him full-on boss-level durability, but once that's gone his health is pretty mediocre (no higher than his own basic Elite Mooks).
Bad Boss: In his boss intro cutscene he shanks one of his own men simply for calling him Shank instead of Mr. Shank.
Bald of Evil: As can be seen in his picture, Mr. Shank doesn't have any hair on his body.
Blade Enthusiast: He has several knives on his person and seems to really enjoy using them. Not to mention the knife he has jammed in his face.
Body Horror: As can be seen in his picture here. He has a knife jammed through his skull so that the tip is jutting out through his eye socket.
Canon Name: Moxxi calls him "David", so it's easy to assume that's his first name.
Depraved Bisexual/Depraved Homosexual: He used to be married to Moxxi, so he could be bi, or perhaps he realized he was gay during or after the marriage, or was just using her as a beard. But we can all agree on the "depraved" part.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Judging by his dying words, his relationship with Chaz was a loving one. Despite Moxxi and him both being divorced and him possibly using her as The Beard, she's still saddened by his death.
Flying Under the Gaydar: Attempts this, but his romantic feelings for his boyfriend Chaz are pretty blatant. The question amongst fans isn't whether or not he's gay, but whether he's bi or was basically using Moxxi as The Beard.
Fragile Speedster: Shank's pretty damn fast, but can't take much damage once his shield is gone.
Insistent Terminology: That's MR. Shank.
Manly Gay: Has shades of this, although he tries his best to cover it up. Also has some elements of Macho Camp. It's possible he's really just Camp Gay and that any masculine behaviour he displays is due to him trying to stay in the closet.
Meaningful Name: Shank is a term for a prison stabbing. Mr. Shank runs a prison. He also has a knife stuck in his head and uses knives in combat.
Pet the Dog: After being freed, Athena notes that Mr. Shank and his men were actually fairly reasonable and benign jailers (even though they were still planning to ransom her to a murderous military force). It's indicated that, since he and apparently many of his men were gay, they had no real interest in taking liberties with a female captive.
Suspiciously Specific Denial: Concerning his love affair with Chaz.
Tattooed Crook: He's a criminal who has tattoos and goes mostly naked to show them off.
Teleport Spam: He uses an Atlas Assassin teleporter module (which he stole off Athena) to do this when you fight him.
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: He actually kills a prisoner for calling him "Shank".
Transparent Closet: He tries to deny his homosexuality, but he's fooling nobody. Particularly in his lame attempts to claim he uses the virility/phallus enhancer "Engorge!" to please his "girlfriend" Chazmina.

D-Fault

"Haha we survived the robot apocalypse! We fear nothing! Especially little shits like you! Now git off my land or prepare to default on your life!"

A bandit leader who appears in Claptrap's New Robot Revolution. His clan, located in Dividing Faults, is the only clan who managed to withstand Claptrap's Unwilling Roboticisation process.

Badass Normal: In a setting where everyone and their mother underwent Unwilling Roboticisation, he and his clan were able to prevent such a process.
Crazy Enough to Work: When the player encounters him, he's wearing a tinfoil hat, supposedly as a defense mechanism against Claptrap's assimilation. Considering how everyone in the DLC's area underwent the process, it's difficult to say the idea was wrong.
Cross-Dressing Voices: In the Italian dub, he's voiced by a female.
Genuine Human Hide: A variation, he made his armor out of Claptrap shells.
Punny Name: His gang resides in Dividing Faults, and they're the last non-Claptrapped bandits in the area.

Steve

Steve the Bandit

Heyooo!

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steve_poker_night_2_sam_elimination_card_1389.png

Voiced by: Mikey Neumann

Alongside Claptrap, the mascot of the series. In the second game, it turns out he works with the Zafords.

Abnormal Ammo: As seen in Poker Night 2, he owns a rocket launcher that shoots relatively harmless confetti rockets!^note
Back for the Dead: Shows up in Episode 5 of Tales as the bandit that Zer0 is shooting at.
Catchphrase: "Heyoo!"
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Claptrap, according to Claptrap's webseries and Poker Night 2. GlaDOS even refers to Steve as Claptrap's best friend.
Living Legend: In the second game, there's Bandit graffiti about "Steve the Lion-Heart" to suggest he's one.
My God, What Have I Done?: When he eliminates Claptrap in Poker Night 2 after the robot's urging, he breaks down in tears. Claptrap gets back up and tells him not to be such a drama bandit.
Oh, Crap!: In Poker Night 2, Steve's reaction when an angry Brock Samson heads towards him after Steve shot a confetti rocket at him.
Steve: Heyooo! (shoots Brock)
Brock: Excuse me... (menacingly heads towards Steve)
Steve: ...Heyooo? (flees with Brock in pursuit, who catches up and begins audibly beating him)
Pet the Dog: An almost literal one in Poker Night 2. When Sam is eliminated in the Borderlands theme, as opposed to firing a confetti rocket at him like the others he just taps him on the shoulder and directs him to leave.
Series Mascot: The second of two of them, the first being Claptrap.
Unexplained Recovery: Was apparently killed in The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, but is found alive and well in Borderlands 2, both in The Dust and within The Holy Spirits tavern, apparently either a member of or working with the Zaford Clan.

Introduced in Borderlands 2

Captain Flynt

Burn, Baby, Burn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_flynt_7872.png

Voiced by: Joel McDonald

The leader of the Ripper clan of Bandits and the brother of Baron and Zane Flynt, Captain Flynt's ship ended up trapped in a glacier, stranding him and his crew in Liar's Berg. He was also the former owner of Claptrap, often using it as his personal torture doll.

Anchors Away: He carries an anchor as his melee weapon, fitting for the captain of a ship. He pounds it against the ground to create huge shockwaves if he wants to create some distance.
Arc Villain: For the second chapter's "Best Minion Ever" quest. He's the primary obstacle the Vault Hunter has to deal with before heading to Sanctuary.
Avenging the Villain:
- In a cut dialog, he states that he has a bounty out on whomever killed his brother.
- In the Son of Crawmerax DLC, his son Sparky tries to avenge his father along with six other individuals with a beef with each of the Vault Hunters.
Axe-Crazy: Has a rather unhealthy obsession with torture, fire, and gruesome acts of mutilation and murder. He even considers sending assassins after his younger brother Zane as a way of "keeping in touch".
Bad Boss: He loves to hurt people, and since his ship is frozen in place at the moment, the only people in reach are his own men. So, uh, guess what he does.
Battle Amongst the Flames: Invoked in his boss battle, where he will sometimes command his ship to starting exhausting pillars of intense fire all around the deck, incinerating anyone who's standing on a vent, restricting player movement, and also warning when Captain Turns Red.
Cool Helmet: Looks like something from an old medieval museum.
Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut: As seen above, his Boss Subtitles use these. Over the "n"s, too, so it's a Spinal Tap thing.
His Name Really Is "Barkeep": The official strategy guide confirms that his first name actually is "Captain" and lampshades the Flynt family's odd naming methods. According to him, his parents were douchebags. Averted in the case of his brother Zane and son Sparky Flynt.
Insistent Terminology: Forgetting the "Captain" is a good way to get him to torture you. Not that he needs much of an excuse to do that.
King Mook: He's essentially a gigantic Pyro Nomad in fighting style, though he brings an anchor to deliver a Ground Pound unlike them.
Older Than They Look: You never see his face, but he's still a fit and powerful combatant. However, he has an adult son, and is the older brother of Zane, who's an Old Soldier.
Pirate: Ostensibly, he and his men are this, with the obvious clue being Flynt's weaponized anchor, but also with their ship stuck on the Southern Shelf thanks to a flash freeze, they obviously have to find other ways to entertain themselves.
Pyromaniac: His ship has a giant dragon head attached that breathes fire, the arena you fight him on has several vents that shoot out fire, he uses an incendiary pistol to fight you, and he likes to cover himself in flames. As such, he's also highly resistant to fire damage.
Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the Tinderbox^note.
Starter Villain: The first bandit leader you encounter in the game before the plot really starts kicking off.
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Seriously, call him Captain Flynt. You have little excuse not to, though, since it's both a title and his first name.
Torture Technician: Really likes his torture, especially if Claptrap is the one on the receiving end.
Turns Red: Sometimes in battle, he will cloak himself in flames and become impervious to damage while shouting in anger. The only things that can damage him during this event are headshots and explosive weapons.

Boom-Bewm

Boom... and his brother Bewm

Voiced by: Eric Vale

The lieutenant of Captain Flynt, Boom-Bewm consists of explosive-loving bandits Boom and his midget brother Bewm.

BFG: Boom begins the fight on a huge cannon aptly named "Big Bertha". After shooting it enough, he'll get down and fight you directly.
Co-Dragons: Flynt's first mates, whom the Vault Hunter must defeat to get to Flynt himself.
Dual Boss: Boom mans the cannon, while Bewm flies around on a jetpack.
Early-Bird Boss: Both brothers and the cannon are all armoured, and it's unlikely a corrosive weapon will have generated on a first playthrough, making them soak up vastly more gunfire than any enemy before. Balanced by the fact the player will likely have a level advantage on them.
Flunky Boss: Defeating one of them causes Psychos to spawn in pairs periodically until the other one's dead.
Jet Pack: They don't seem to grant full flight, but boost jumps quite a bit.
Mad Bomber: They're complete nutjobs who love warship cannons and grenades. Both also use Torgue shotguns when on foot, and they have a chance to drop the Bonus Package, a Legendary Grenade Mod that spawns a ridiculous amount of child grenades.
Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Boom gives one in his introduction.
Boom: Light the fuses, bitches-– I'm ready to BLOW!!!
Post-Apunkalyptic Armor: The pair of them are the first armored bandits the player sees (and the only ones in the first playthrough), and their armor is clearly made of scrap metal welded together.
Rare Random Drop: They have a chance to drop the Bonus Package^note Because they both can drop it, it's possible to have two Bonus Packages in one fight.
Sibling Team: "Boom-Bewm" is the team of explosives expert Boom and his midget shotgunner brother Bewm.
This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: "Light the fuses, bitches!"
Verbal Tic: Boom loves saying the word "boom!" Claptrap lampshades this out after you defeat him.

Flanksteak

Voiced by: John Swasey

The leader of the Bloodshot bandits that antagonizes the town of Sanctuary, and is later seen waging a turf war against the Firehawk.

Comically Small Bribe: Inverted: Comically Small Ransom. He captures Roland and tries to ransom him to Hyperion for millions of dollars, but Hyperion would much rather send killer robots to retrieve Roland themselves than pay money to the bandits. Flanksteak keeps trying to lower the bid on the ransom, until it's just twenty bucks, doubly humorous if you've gotten to a point in that game where any cash pickup can give you four-digit sums.
Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: Flanksteak is fond of really graphic and esoteric threats.
Flanksteak: We're gonna make the Firehawk choke to death on his own feces!
Angel: Dude. Ew.
The Unfought: Flanksteak is never fought or even seen in person, even when you storm Bloodshot headquarters; apparently he was killed when Handsome Jack sent Hyperion forces to kidnap Roland.

Bad Maw

Bad Maw... And His Merry Midgets

The key keeper and guardian of the Bloodshot Stronghold's front gate.

Three-Point Landing: His dramatic entrance ends with this when he jumps on a drawbridge that has not even been fully drawn.
King Mook: He's a massive Nomad Torturer who's twice the size of a regular one and sports 3 chained Midgets instead of 1 on his shield. Other than that, he's identical to them in fighting style and weaknesses.
Peninsula of Power Leveling: He is one of the bosses who always spawns near a Fast Travel Station (just the outside entrance of the Bloodshot Stronghold), making him a good boss for farming Eridium early in the game. This also makes him a good target for the "Short Chained", the "Badass Bingo", or any weapon-specific Badass Challenges.

Face McShooty

Voiced by: Chris Cason

A member of the Slabs clan of bandits you encounter on Thousand Cuts. Face McShooty just wants you to shoot him in the face.

Achilles' Heel: The only way to kill him, or even hurt him, is to shoot him in the face.
Boom, Headshot!: His calling in life.
Captain Obvious: Shoot him anywhere else but not his face and he won't be pleased. He'll also comment about how much you did not shoot him in the face.
Deadpan Snarker: Mr. McShooty has a surprisingly amount of snark for someone who just wants his face shot.
Face: I MAY BE CRAZY, BUT AT LEAST I KNOW WHAT A GODDAMNED FACE IS - SHOOT ME IN IT!
Death Seeker: He really wants you to shoot him in the face.
Delinquent Hair: Has a mohawk to distinguish him from the other Psychos.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: His name is Face McShooty and he gives you a quest called "Shoot This Guy in the Face". Try and figure out what the objective is.
Flat Character: And he's not exactly subtle about what.
Large Ham: He screams everything he says to you with extreme glee.
Face: SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! IN THE FAAACE! NOT ON THE ARM, NOT IN THE SPINE, IN THE FAAAAACE!!!
Legacy Character: Another Face McShooty has a chance to spawn after completing the sidequest taking place of the first one you shot in the face, implying there could've been other Face McShooties in the past.
Meaningful Name: His name is exactly what he wants you to do to him.
Motor Mouth: He's loud and speaks very fast most of the time.
No Indoor Voice: Doesn't shut up about how he wants you to shoot him in the face.
No-Sell: Shooting him in the face is the only way to kill him. Shooting him elsewhere just angers him.
Notice This: Just in the unlikely case you fail to realize where you must shoot him, Face has a double arrow sign pointing towards how you must kill him.
Overly Long Gag: Just about anything describing this guy (from the quest, to his name, to this very entry) makes it abundantly clear what he wants you to do (shoot him in the face).
Sophisticated as Hell: If you stand near him long enough without shooting him in the face he speaks a few lines in a much more coherent way, before relapsing into the his usual screaming self.
McShooty: "I NOTICED YOU DIDN'T SHOOT ME IN THE FACE YET! CURIOUS AS TO WHY! Maybe you are weighing the moral pros and cons, but let me assure you that OHMYGODJUSTSHOOTMEINTHEGODDAMNFACE!!!"
Suicide by Cop: Doesn't want to shoot himself in the face. Wants you to shoot him in the face.
Talkative Loon: Hoo boy.
"IT HAS TO HAPPEN! HNNNG! FACEY FACEY FACE FACE! TIRED OF WAITING! NO MORE WAITING! NEED A FACESHOT! BOOM! SQUISH! YAY!
"AT THE SOUND OF THE BELL IT WILL BE FACESHOOTING O'CLOCK! BONG! KNOCK KNOCK! WHO'S THERE? SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! END OF JOKE!
The Un-Reveal: Why does he want to be shot in the face? Death Seeker tendencies? Real Men Get Shot + Macho Masochism? All of those? We may never know...
Zero-Effort Boss: You just gotta shoot him in the face. Lampshaded by the achievement/trophy for the mission: "Well, That Was Easy".

Flesh-Stick

Voiced by: Sonny Strait

A Psycho bandit who is encountered in the Tundra Express. Tiny Tina wants you to "invite" him as the "guest of honor" for her tea party....

Ain't Too Proud to Beg: His final words are him screaming "I'm sorry!" in a desperate and futile attempt to get Tina to spare him.
Asshole Victim: He thoroughly deserves what Tina does to him.
Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: He goes from angrily threatening Tina to taunting rants to pathetically begging for his life within a matter of minutes as the Vault Hunter guns down his flunkies.
Ax-Crazy: Being a Psycho automatically qualifies him, though he's saner than most. Note that by "saner" we mean "not spouting constant nonsense that usually involves meat and fluid".
Delinquent Hair: The only thing distinguishing him from generic Psychos is his triple mohawk.
The Dreaded: Just seeing him again makes Tina terrified due to the trauma she has due to him.
Electric Torture:
- Tina repeatedly zaps him while the tea party progresses, culminating in him being vaporized.
- In the Tiny Tina DLC, rolling Flesh-Stick in the Tina slots causes an electric grenade to drop out with Tina screaming "Flesh-Stick? DIE!"
I Want Them Alive!: On the receiving end; in a departure from most quests, Tina requests that you not kill Flesh-Stick so that she can do the honors herself.
Karma Houdini Warranty: He got away with selling Tina and her parents to Jack, causing them to be subjected to horrific experiments and driving Tina insane. In Borderlands 2 you can lure him to her place where she tortures him to death.
Kick the Dog: He actively taunts Tina over the deaths of her parents when she's holding the tea party, only stopping once it's clear his fellow bandits won't be able to save him.
"Not So Different" Remark: He compares Tina to himself, saying that the deaths of her parents made her strong.
Peninsula of Power Leveling: It was formerly possible for players to grind Flesh-Stick for a good chunk of experience for the sake of power-leveling by continually killing him and respawning him by restarting the quest he was involved in. It has since been patched, with Flesh-Stick giving no experience upon death.
Too Dumb to Live: Even when Tina has him completely at her (and the player's) mercy, he still thinks it's a good idea to taunt and threaten her, earning him a well-deserved blast of electricity each time.
You Killed My Father: Tina holds him responsible for the death of her parents. While it was Handsome Jack's scientists who actually killed them, Flesh-Stick was the one who sold out Tina's family to Hyperion as test subjects.

Assassins Quartet

Assassins Oney, Reeth, Rouf and Wot

Four assassins hired by Jack to investigate whether an old Vault Hunter really is alive.

Boss Rush: You fight all four of them in succession in the same area. In the higher levels of Digistruct Peak, you have to fight all four of them at once.
Death by Irony:
- Invoked by the quest title involving them - "Assassinate the Assassins".
- Each has a Weapon Specialization, and an optional objective is to kill them with their favourite type of weapon.
Dumb Muscle:
- Jack considers them as such, although whether they're genuinely stupid is left ambiguous.
- Tannis notes that at least Reeth, Rouf and Wot's names are anagrams of the numbers they chose. Oney... is a lot less creative in this department.
King Mook: Functionally, they're beefed-up versions of different bandit types. Wot is a Marauder, Oney is a Nomad, Reeth is a Psycho, and Rouf is a Rat.
Rare Random Drop:
- All of them have a chance to drop the Emperor^note.
- Oney can also drop the Judge^note.
- Reeth can also drop the Fremington's Edge^note.
- Rouf can also drop the Dog^note.
- Wot can drop the Commerce^note.
Stock Audio Clip: Wot's injured sounds are the exact same sound effects used when Zer0 takes damage.
Theme Naming: As mentioned before, their names are anagrams of the numbers One, Two, Three, and Four. Or rather, everyone's but Oney's is.

Introduced in Tales from the Borderlands

Kroger and Finch

Two bounty hunters on Vallory's payroll looking to collect on Fiona's bounty.

Archenemy: The duo are mostly fighting Fiona and Sasha throughout the game.
Asshole Victim: When they die, all sympathy is lost for them since Finch laughs at Fiona for losing Sasha and Kroger tried to kill Fiona and Rhys in his final scene.
Bantering Baddie Buddies: The two serve as both comedy relief as well as villainous thugs.
Butt-Monkey: They suffer a lot of defeats throughout the game, not that they don't deserve it.
Faux Affably Evil: They talk very calmly for murderers.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: Antagonists they may be, but they evidently work well together- they're drinking buddies, Kroger reassures Finch that he doesn't have to act tough about getting shot in the chest by Fiona in Episode 2, and the former wordlessly holds Finch's hand to reassure him when the former is having a mini-panic attack as the rocket in Episode 4 is taking off.
Humiliation Conga: They go through a massive one-Fiona gets to shoot Finch several times, and Sasha gets to fight Kroger. Oh, and as it turns out, Fiona is very dangerous when she's tied upside down to a swinging rope, and doubly so when Sasha's using her as a lethal swing set. Also, Vallory treats both of them like disobedient children.
Mook Lieutenant: Both of them are the primary thugs encountered throughout the game, being significant members in Vallory's gang.
Villainous Friendship: The two of them are close friends who are always seen working together. In fact, Kroger tries to avenge Finch's death.

Kroger

Moustache. Hired to kill you.

Voiced by: Adam Harrington

Avenging the Villain: In Episode 5, after Rhys and Fiona's interrogation, he shows up to kill Fiona for Finch's death, whether or not she actually did the deed herself.
Hand Cannon: He carries a Dahl repeater with a custom finish, an accessory that lets you fire two bullets at the cost of more ammo consumption and the Torgue pistol sight.
Karmic Death: No matter what choices you make, Kroger will be neck snapped by Loader Bot, after he gunned him down back on Helios.
Kick the Dog: He shoots Loader Bot after he saves Rhys.
Made of Iron: He somehow managed to survive the crashing of Helios despite all the escape pods having apparently been launched.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: In Episode 5, he survived the space station crashing on Pandora without a scratch and hunted down Vaughn by himself before meeting up with the Stranger.
Revenge Before Reason: He's too obsessed with trying to kill Rhys to see that the space station is crashing down and Handsome Jack took over the systems.

Finch

Don't talk about his hair. (Also trying to kill you)

Voiced by: Dave Fennoy

Artificial Limbs: Has a cybernetic left forearm.
Bald of Evil: If he's shot with the fire damage element, his topknot pretty much burns away. He's not happy about losing it.
Berserk Button: He does not take insults to his topknot lightly. Or shooting his topknot. Funnily enough, Vallory thinks Finch's topknot is stupid.
Dual Wielding: He packs two guns: one is a green-rarity Jakobs Longarm (the standard issue-sidearm for Vallory's goons) with a Jakobs grip, and the other is the legendary Torgue Double Penetrating Unkempt Harold.
Facial Horror: Whatever element you have Fiona shoot him with, it does a small number on his face (and a humongous one on his topknot) come Episode 3.
Foreshadowing: The golden pincers that he's tattooed on represent the symbol of Vallory's gang.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears cool shades and works as hired muscle for a crime lord.
Karmic Death: He can end up finally killed by Fiona after mocking her throughout the game.
Macho Masochism:
- Finch invites Fiona to try and shoot him with her new Roshambo. Kroger then mentions that one of Finch's pastimes is letting people shoot him in the chest (to which Finch responds that he typically is drunk and charges them 40 bucks first). Unfortunately for them, they didn't expect the pistol to be able to deal elemental damage, which incapacitates Finch just enough for Fiona and Sasha to make an escape.
Made of Iron: Finch has some sort of resistance to bullets, though how this works isn't elaborated on. Unfortunately for him, this resistance doesn't extend to elemental effects.
Pet the Dog: After Scooter's sacrifice, he solemnly nods as Fiona decides to release Scooter's satellite, despite the fact that they were ready to shoot him for doing so earlier.
Rasputinian Death: He can be shot a total of three times throughout the course of the game, meaning the player can hit him with all three elements that Fiona has at her disposal. The first two shots are mandatory to progress through the game, while the third shot is optional. Taking the third shot kills him, but at that point the Traveler has kicked his ass badly enough that he'll die whether you shoot him or not, and Kroger will still blame Fiona for his death.
Scary Black Man: He's an intimidating thug.

Vallory

The Queenpin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/62c2a214fdd339ebd40ee1b06167a070.jpg

Played by: Susan Silo

A crime boss who happens to be August's mother. She's someone that you do not want to cross.

Big Bad: Ultimately, she's the one behind all the forces aligned against Fiona and Rhys.
Big Bad Wannabe: Once she gets her hands on the fully assembled Gortys and opens the Vault, she turns out to be completely unprepared to handle the resulting Vault Guardian, and ends up squished like a bug.
Cleavage Window: Wrinkle-free! It still doesn't make her less terrifying, though.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Handsome Jack was a humorous, but also petty and megalomaniacal Corrupt Corporate Executive who often stayed as far away as he could from fighting Vault Hunters, relying primarily on Hyperion's resources. Vallory, however, is a no-nonsense Pandoran crime boss, and fully willing to enter the field and fight if the task at hand calls for it.
Cool Old Lady: For an old lady, she's capable of intimidating Vault Hunters and is totally willing to have a knife-fight with Brick.
The Dreaded/The Mob Boss Is Scarier: Felix decided to betray Fiona and Sasha rather than risk Vallory's wrath. Even Brick and Mordecai, seasoned Vault Hunters who have faced down an Eldritch Abomination as well as Handsome Jack consider her intimidating as hell (though this might also be another of Rhys and Fiona's embellishments).
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Has a number of (sane) bandit women in her employ.
Evil Matriarch: She's August's mother, and she's not above treating him like a teenager with an attitude. She's also more lenient on August than she is with Vasquez if you out the blame on August for the deal going wrong.
Evil Old Folks: She's at least around Felix's age.
Eye Scream: She has a blinded eye that seems to be caused by a creature attack.
Fat Bastard: She's a crime boss with a large heavy-set appearance.
Faux Affably Evil: She puts on a presentable, fairly nice persona, but it's quick to slip into bouts of Tranquil Fury if you fail or defy her. Or simply is of no use to her anymore.
Fur and Loathing: Her fancy mob boss outfit has a lot of fur.
Hostage for MacGuffin: Coerces Gortys into working for her to get at the Vault of the Traveler by threatening to murder all her friends starting with Loader Bot.
Kick the Dog: In episode 4, if Fiona continually defies her, Vallory proceeds to stab Sasha (or Vaughn if he's present) in the arm to make her more pliable.
Knight of Cerebus: Compared to the other, more comical villains, she stands out as a very dangerous threat and events take on a much more serious tone whenever she appears onscreen.
Large and in Charge: She's a good head taller than most other characters, being almost as tall as Brick. She also bosses around Finch and scolds him for being a nuisance.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: She's terrifying to normal people since she's a ruthless Pandoran bandit lord, but when faced with, say, a Vault Hunter like Athena she needs something equally powerful to deal with her. And when she faces The Traveler she's squashed like a bug she is compared to such threat.
The Man Behind the Man: August and Vasquez are both working for her, and Felix betrays Fiona and Sasha in fear of her.
The Queenpin: As noted by her title, she's evidently a mob boss of sorts though in Pandora this mostly just means she's a slightly more influential bandit.
Sinister Shades: She sports a pair of shades in her initial appearance, which at least hides her bad eye.
Sinister Shiv: She carries a shiv as her personal weapon and is pretty eager to look for a reason to use it on anyone.
Stout Strength: She can wield a Coach Gun, a Jakobs shotgun notorious for its insane recoil, with only one hand and fire it accurately with no visible effort. She can also carry and wield her rocket launcher with ease, but Fiona gets pinned helplessly underneath it in Episode 3 and can barely lift it in Episode 5, needing Sasha's help to actually keep it steady.
Summon Bigger Fish: After Athena manages to fight off her thugs, she calls up Brick and Mordecai (who have their own reasons for capturing her) to deal with her.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Pulls this on Vasquez once she gets Gortys and would've done the same to the protagonists if Athena hadn't stepped in.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Her dialogue implies that she sees the challenge of fully assembling Gortys to be the only factor in hunting down the Vault of the Traveler, which itself implies that she either has no idea Vault Monsters exist or assumes the Vault of the Traveler just doesn't have one. This turns out to be a literally fatal mistake.

Bossanova

Musician, motorcyclist, murderer.

Played by: Jason Topolski

A bandit king who runs a death racing ring and literally emits dubstep.

Death by Looking Up: Both he and Zer0('s hologram) are crushed by the announcer box at the death race.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Zer0 stabs him through the subwoofer.
Make Me Wanna Shout/Musical Assassin: Blasts his dubstep out of the subwoofer on his chest loud enough to use as a supersonic weapon.
Plot-Irrelevant Villain: He has nothing to do with any of the later, and far more important, events. In fact him being involved is just a matter of being at the wrong place at the worst time (for Rhys and Fiona) and stealing the "Hyperion Mystery Box" mucking up (possibly even further) the fake Vault Key deal.
Profane Last Words: He really, really, really, really, really, really hates Zer0.
Starter Villain: He's the main antagonist of the first episode and otherwise has no real connection to the rest of the plot. His main role is to give Rhys and Vaughn a taste of Pandoran insanity.
Villain of Another Story: He doesn't really ever come into any sort of contact with the protagonists aside from taking the briefcase full of money (which he calls the "Hyperion Mystery Box of Wonder" anyway), and spends most of Episode 1 with him and his forces fighting Zer0.
Vocal Dissonance: He's a pretty big man with a deep and booming voice fitting his stature, but that is due to a voice modifier he uses. At one point he forgets to turn it on and you can hear his real voice, which is rather high-pitched. You also hear it when Zer0 stabs him through the subwoofer.

Forces

Marauders

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl2_marauder.jpg

"Shotty's been achin' for somethin' to kill!"

The unmutated human populace of any Bandit clan, Marauders form the bulk of their clan's fighting force, heading into battle with a variety of weapons and varying levels of toughness. After the events of Borderlands 1, some former Crimson Lancemen took to adopt the Bandit life rather than join with the Crimson Raiders.As of Borderlands 3, the grand majority of Bandits joined under the Children of the Vault cult, renamed as Fanatics.

Airborne Mooks: Buzzards are armored and well armed flying machines that are piloted by Marauders (their pilot share the health bar with their Buzzard, but they're clearly Marauders).
From Camouflage to Criminal: Some of them are former Crimson Lance soldiers. Many of them are still wearing the old armor and several audio logs from Roland refer to Lancemen who decided not to join the Crimson Raiders and join the bandits. This generally doesn't make a difference gameplay wise, but most Badass Marauders you see are more likely to have Lance Armor (and much more likely to be former Lancemen).
The Goomba: Usually the first type of armed enemy that is fought (and slaughtered) by players to teach them how to deal with mooks that can fire back at them.
Grenade Spam: If a Nomad issues a grenade order, all Bandits in the area will begin to toss a massive amount of explosives your way to flush you out of cover.
Master of None: They're the most balanced type of mook, but are usually at the bottom of the pecking order of the enemy food chain. Anything they can do later enemies can do too, often better than them.
Metal Slime: They have a Mini Mook variant called Loot Midgets, who hide in containers (particularly treasure chests) to ambush anyone who opens them. They're treasured greatly by players grinding for Legendary items for their generous drop rates, though they can pack quite a punch for such small enemies.
Mini Mook: The Shotgunner Midget, a somewhat slow and hobbling Bandit that falls backwards when they fire their shotguns at you.
Mooks: They're the basic and most numerous Bandit type you'll be facing in most situations, and typically aren't a huge challenge in comparison to other threats.
Oh, Crap!: Sometimes it's their reactions to seeing a Vault Hunter using their action skills (if it isn't foolhardy taunting in the face of it), but what does consistently get them worried is shooting a Goliath's helmet off, which causes most of them to beg you to stop or remind you why that's a terrible idea.
Palette Swap: In just about every DLC, if there's a human population with guns trying to kill you, they're going to be Marauders in different outfits even if they're not bandits. They use the same animations and AI too.
Shotguns Are Just Better: Plenty of Marauders brandish shotguns as part of their arsenal, but one voice variation you can hear a Marauder sport in Borderlands 2 takes this to an obsessive and Companion Cube degree.
SHOTGUUUN RHINOPLASTY!
I'll let my shotgun do the talkin'!
You lookin' at my shotty?! Don't look at my shotty!
(While dying) Bury me with shotty...'
Stupid Evil: It's a universally shared trait for most Bandits, but one voice variation a Marauder takes it to a new level in battle.
(When a live grenade lands at their feet) Hey, is that a grenade? / Weird. Grenade. / Hey what are you throwing rocks at me for?!
(Allies are getting shot all around him) Why is everybody dying?! / They killed one of us! That's bad right?
(Following a Nomad's cover/focus fire/grenade order) Cover! Right! What's cover? / I didn't hear that! Focus on who?! / How long do I wait after pulling the pin?!
Suicidal Overconfidence: Many Bandits are foolhardy, attacking even the famous and notoriously dangerous Vault Hunters despite the low odds of them winning, for no good reason other than a sincere belief in their skill.
Zerg Rush: Averted most of the time, as most Marauders prefer keeping at least a little bit of distance normally, but if a Nomad issues a charge order, then all Bandits in the area will puts their weapons away, pull a buzz axe out and rush you down. This can be a little deadlier than it sounds because unlike Psychos, they're protected by both better HP and shields.

Psychos

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl2_psycho.jpg

"Strip the flesh! Salt the wound! *crazed laughter*"

The insane and motor mouthed sociopaths among the Bandit ranks, all Psychos share the combat philosophy of charging directly at their targets at high speeds to hack them apart with their buzz axes with no sense of personal safety.

Action Bomb: Suicide Psychos will either bomb you with an endless grenade supply, or run up to you to blow themselves up on top of you for a massive amount of damage.
Agony of the Feet: Players are encouraged to shoot Psychos in the feet / legs to make them stagger, slowing them down when they're chasing after you in a full sprint.
Ax-Crazy: Completely off their gourd and they're brandishing axes to boot.
Batter Up!: Sluggers are a variant in 3 that wield spiked baseball bats. They will also bat grenades at the player if they can't easily reach them.
The Berserker: They charge at enemies with absolutely no regard for their own safety no matter how outclassed or overwhelmed they are and will not stop attacking until they or whatever they're attacking die. Players can run away from them too.
Body Horror: Badass Psychos have mutated to gigantic sizes, with one arm becoming muscle bound and twice its length while the other has atrophied considerably.
- Slagged Psychos are extremely thin and sickly, glow eridium/slag purple and can puke up a torrent of slag as an attack.
Combat Sadomasochist: Part of their madness is caused from the sensory deprivation of being unable to feel pain properly. It gets to the point that they consider unmasked Goliaths playmates.
The Computer Shall Taunt You: While all enemies will show contempt to any players that manage to elude them Psychos will sound downright frustrated or sad that you backed away from the fight. A Psycho who sends a Vault Hunter into FFYL in 3 will start doing gladiator-like posing and gloating to an invisible crowd.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: They boast the most bizarre quotes in the game, featuring such gems as Borderlands 2's "You can't kill me, I'm already dead tomorrow!"
Does This Remind You of Anything?: There's a rare midget psycho who wears a skull for a helmet and throws bones at you. His name? "Midget Boner".
Early-Installment Weirdness: Psychos in 1 are much less of Talkative Loons and almost never spout the complete nonsense they do from 2 onwards, being far more prone to yell more nightmarish (and coherent) threats about carving your flesh or eating you.
Editorial Synaesthesia: Invoked and Played for Laughs by the Psychos. One of their in-game banters is "I can hear with my teeth!"
Elite Mook: Besides the usual Badass variant, 2 had Armored Maniacs in TVHM which wore armor which made them considerably sturdier and required Corrosive weapons to bring down quickly.
Fragile Speedster: At early levels they're pretty fast but go down easily and their attacks don't hurt TOO much. Badass variants and ones in higher difficulty levels can easily be sturdy and strong enough to qualify as Lightning Bruisers, however.
The Goomba: Psychos aren't very tough at all, they go down in a few hits and if they do manage to beat you into a Fight For Your Life they're easy Second Wind targets thanks to their habit of standing within gunfire range to ineffectually toss axes at you. Later on into the game/playthroughs the game throws special variations to up their threat levels, such as Badass Psychos, Armored Psychos, Slagged Psychos, and Suicide Psychos.
Ground Pound: In 3, Badass Psychos gain the ability to slam the ground for a damaging shockwave, and even drive their axe into the ground hard enough to make an earthquake that travels in a straight line.
HP to One: In 1 any Psycho sans (ironically) the Badass and Midget variants of your level will drop your HP to one if they hit you. In 2 Badass Psychos are usually powerful enough to insta-down a player if they don't have enough HP to healthgate^note the hit.
Leeroy Jenkins: It doesn't matter if you have a pistol or a shotgun really to blast them, these guys will charge at you relentlessly.
Mascot Mook: The Psycho is featured prominently on all four games' box cover art (even in The Pre-Sequel where you don't even find any in-game), and as such they're one of the series' most iconic enemies.
Insane Proprietor: A cut vending machine that seemed to have deal exclusively in Bandit equipment had a Psycho conducting the sales pitch. Naturally, they're extremely vulgar and threatening.
Return within thirty days for a full refund, I smeared my diarrhea on the handle! That's viral marketing!
I Shall Taunt You: Only in the first game, if the player alerts a Psycho but don't turn them hostile they'll try to goad them into a fight by daring them to come closer, sometimes saying they can "almost smell them".
Smash Mook: Up until 3, they generally had two attacks; Hit you with their buzz axe, and throw their buzz axe at you.
Talkative Loon: They're loud, motor mouthed psychopaths who babble bizarre or violent threats at you while they hack you apart with their axes.
Word-Salad Horror/Word-Salad Humor: Tend to flip-flop between these two a lot. Little to none of their bizarre diatribes follow any coherent pattern.
Zerg Rush: Their favorite tactic and is shared across all variants. Many battles against Bandits will have you have to deal with a wave of Psychos rushing you down at some point or another.

Bruisers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl2_bruiser.png

"C'mon, little one! Time to die!"

The giant and muscle-bound heavy hitters of the Bandits, Bruisers march forward in a slow but steady pace towards their targets while filling them with lead from their assault rifles/shotguns, and sometimes in the first game, with an endless supply of rockets. Their positions as the local leaders of Bandit clans was usurped by the Nomads in the sequel, only to be undone come the third game.

Giant Mook: They are bigger and bulkier than typical bandits.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: Badass Bruisers in the first Borderlands had a helmet that glows white around the eyes, marking them as dangerous foes. In Borderlands 2, this is one of their default helmets.
Mighty Glacier: Bruisers will never move beyond their steady marching, but they have the health to back up their strategy of constantly pushing forward towards you.
Nerf: Their overall toughness and potential arsenal was decreased between the first game and the sequel, have some of their innate resilience taken away and can no longer wield rocket launchers to bombard even the toughest of players to death. That position was taken by the Nomads instead. This would be reversed in 3, where some Bruisers would carry shields similar to Nomads.

Nomads

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl2_nomad.jpg

"Midget lovin' taint-sack!"

Introduced in Borderlands 2, Nomads are the commanding presences that organizes the Bandit rabble into something resembling a fighting force, shouting orders at their subordinates to change tactics on the fly while slowly pushing forward. Basic Nomads are comparable to Bruisers in toughness and tactics, but later variants bring elemental specialization and even giant shields into battle to make them impervious from the front.

Nomads are replaced by Enforcers in 3, which essentially fill the same role, but always have a shield. As for the Nomads, they joined the Maliwan Army as Heavies for better pay and not being Surrounded by Idiots. Ironically they now work alongside the N.O.G.s which remind them of the midgets they once despised.

Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: Capable of doing both interchangeably, they can command their men to either storm your position with full throttle or shout at them to fight defensively.
CHAAAARGE! / Overrun 'em!
Take cover boys! / Get behind something you morons!
Bad Boss: They're very cruel to their men, but they hate Midgets in particular, to the point where they either torture them endlessly or tie them to the front of their shields to cover up the hole in their defense they can't be bothered to fix properly.
Death Seeker: Nomads will generally express relief when they finally die, because of all of the idiots and lunatics they have to deal with every day.
The Dog Bites Back: Freeing a midget bound to a Nomad's shield will almost always make the little guy attack the Nomad that was tormenting them.
Draw Aggro: Not to themselves (it'd still be a wise idea to take them out first though), but among their many commands is for them to call out one player in particular for all Bandits in their area to focus fire on. If you hear your Vault Hunter's name or description get called out, expect a lot of pain to suddenly be drawn to you.
Get that Assassin! / Kill the ninja thing!
Men! Shoot the Siren!
Somebody take that Commando down!
The little girl!^noteThe Mechromancer/Gaige Kill her!
Fantastic Racism: Again, they hate midgets and find any excuse to torment them, and in battle they love comparing their opponents to those horrible and worthless midgets.
You're worse than the midgets!
Die, midget lover!
Midget lovin' taint-sack!
(If their midget escapes from their shield) I. FREAKIN'. HATE MIDGETS! / You're not getting fed this month!
Grenade Spam: One of their commands is to get all Bandits to hang back and start chucking grenades like there's no tomorrow in order to flush you out.
Human Shield: Nomad Torturers use midgets to cover their shield's weak spot, partly out of cruel pragmatism, but mostly due to their sheer hatred of midgets.
In the Back:
- The advisable strategy for dealing with the shield bearing variations, and is practically a requirement for killing a Badass Nomad because their shield has no weaknesses from the front.
- In the case of Pyro and Shock Nomads, shooting them in the back will case their fuel tanks to explode and damage everyone around them for the former and cause the tesla coils on their backs to shock everyone indiscriminately for the latter.
Kill It with Fire: Nomad Pyros wield incendiary bullet spewing machine guns that can double as a traditional flamethrower if you get too close.
Mighty Glacier: They're all rather slow (but the unshielded variants can enter a full sprint for a full body tackle if they feel like it), but their HP means you'll need to put in a little more effort to take down their basic variants, and need then later have to adopt entirely new strategies for dealing with their special versions.
Mook Lieutenant: Nomad Torturers and Taskmasters can give commands to fellow bandits, such as ordering them to focus one specific player, charge, or take cover. Inexplicably, they feel the need to wave their shields around while doing so, giving you an opening to shoot them in the face.
Only Sane by Comparison: When compared to the other bandit types, Nomads tend to consist of the more competent and mentally stable members of a clan, which is also why they tend to be in command of any given assault. However they also show they still have their own morbid quirks to them, such as how some of them attach midgets to their shields.
Pragmatic Villainy: What do they most want you to do besides die and let them take your gear? Leave their territory, and they definitely won't object if you decide to scram off their property.
JUST LEAVE!
(If the player runs away and disengages from combat) Aaaand stay out! / Stayin' back here!
Shield Bash: Get too chummy to a Nomad carrying a shield and he'll do this to you. Note that Badass ones have spikes on them.
Shield-Bearing Mook: Their toughest variants come equipped with giant shields that block the front of their bodies. In the case of Nomad Torturers, they have a hole in their shields that they were too lazy to fix, so they used it as an excuse to tie a midget up over the hole to block it. Get rid of the midget and you can fire through that hole to hurt them.
Shock and Awe: Shock Nomads have giant tesla coils on their backs that will shock you if you get too close.
Stuff Blowing Up: The Heavy Nomad goes into battle with a rocket launcher, and seeing how enemies can't run out of ammo, you can expect to be dodging a lot of rockets if you don't take him down.
Surrounded by Idiots: Nomads generally despise every other bandit in their clan, frequently insulting them while giving them orders. They'll even express relief when they die, as at least they won't have to deal with the morons in their gangs anymore.
Zerg Rush: Not by themselves, they're too slow for that, but they cause one by commanding all Bandits to charge you with their axes.

Goliaths

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl2_goliath.png

"Quit live so much!"

Introduced in Borderlands 2, Goliaths are very large and muscular simpletons who hobble slowly towards their enemies with dual assault rifles, making childish threats. Their most peculiar trait lies in what's under their bulletproof helmets though. For one reason or another, their Bandit allies have tamed the Goliaths by placing a heavy helmet over their heads, but if it were to ever get shot off, the Goliath will fly into a screaming rage, pop their skulls and spine from their skin and begin attacking everything indiscriminately. The more kills they earn, the stronger they will get, increasing in level, size and power. They return in Borderlands 3 a little chubbier, but are still a force to be reckoned with along with a few new attacks and a far more dangerous variant in Anointed versions.

A God Am I: When reaching the level of God-liath:
BOW TO YOUR NEW GOD!
Attack! Attack! Attack!: Enraged or not Goliaths don't really care about taking cover preferring to shoot/punch you until you're dead.
Berserk Button: (In)Conveniently placed as their helmets. Shoot it off somehow and the Goliath becomes enraged going about killing anything— friendly or not.
The Berserker: If you shot its helmet off, a Goliath will drop its guns (changing one type of gun to another type of gun), changes its appearance, tone and opting to fight any nearby targets in melee combat instead.
Body Horror: The Goliaths' mutations has caused their skulls and spines to pop out from their necks and out the deflated skin that use to be their face/mouth hole, which enrages them to a bloodthirsty rampage. This can apparently be solved by shoving their skull back in and preventing it from popping back out via a heavy helmet, but anyone who wants to incur their wrath is free to shoot it off.
The Dreaded: Among Bandits, who will plead and helpfully let you know why shooting a Goliath's helmet off is a terrible idea and promptly freak out if they start getting too powerful. For the players though, Goliaths can be a fun distraction to take the edge off of themselves in a gunfight.
(Nomad) G-Goliath! I order you to stop! / We're all gonna die!
(Psycho) This isn't fun anymore!
(Marauders) "Head for the goddamn hiiills! / (Speaking to it like a pet dog) No Goliath, bad!''
Dual Wield: Most Goliaths carry two Assault Rifles/Shotguns/Rocket Launchers. The Badass variant in 2 prefers a big gatling gun, though.
Fat Bastard: All Goliaths are packing a noticeable amount of fat on top of their muscles. They've gotten even fatter in 3 with a gigantic hanging gut, not that it's made them any less acrobatic.
Foil: Enrage Goliaths and Psychos have this dynamic. Both are front line enemies, but whereas the Psychos are just batshit insane they never actually attack their allies of their own volition, Enraged Goliaths on the other hand don't discriminate between enemy and friendly (and are at least eloquent in their threats).
Gatling Good: Badass Goliaths wield miniguns (actually those stationary turrets you can sometimes find in Bandit strongholds).
Ground Pound: When enraged, Goliaths can wind up a powerful ground pound that kill many targets at once and will probably blow away a Vault Hunter.
Guns Akimbo: In their initial "calm" form, Goliaths double-wield guns
In a Single Bound: When enraged, Goliaths can jump massive distances to reach their target, doing a Ground Pound when they land.
Incoming Ham: You'll know when they're about turn into a berserking monstrosity when you hear a distinctive and metal PING! sound and when they have a drastic change in voice tone.
Mistake!~ (Pause) ... BIG, GOD DAMN MISTAKE!
Angry! (Pause) I'M SO GOD DAMN ANGRY!
It's- (Pause) Oh! IT'S SERIOUS NOW!

Me gonna... STRANGLE YOU WITH YOUR OWN ARTERIES!!
I'm finally... I'M FINALLY... FREE!!!
Should... not... have... DONE THAT!
You... can't... GO BACK NOW!!
I'll show yooooou A FREAKING MONSTER AAARGH!
Increasingly Lethal Enemy: Goliaths evolve upon killing something and you can help by weakening enemies for them. Just make sure you can kill him too or you'll end up dead like the schmucks you fed to the Goliath.
Item Farming: It's not a bad idea to try and protect/help the Goliath level up to their full potential. Whatever they kill, they multiply their EXP value by x2 and add it to their own EXP, and the higher of a level they reach, the better chances they have of dropping rare loot and valuable items such as Eridium. Just know you'll have to put him down yourself (as the enraged Goliath can be killed by other enemies) if you want that payout when you're done.
Laughing Mad: In 2 enraged Goliaths are prone to burst into manic cackles while killing stuff.
Large Ham: Without a doubt sports the largest ham of any Bandit when their helmet is off.
I'M GONNA GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT!
MURDERING YOU IS GONNA FEEL SO RIGHT!
YOU BETTER GOD DAMN SCREAM FOR ME!

SPARE YOU ACROSS THE WALLS!
HERE I COME, BITCH!
SCREAM FOR ME!
TO RUN MY FISTS!
EAT SOME CRAP!
Lightning Bruiser: Enraged Goliaths are pretty fast and can take more gunfire than regular Psychos before dying. It only becomes worse as they gain levels.
Metal Slime: The rare Loot Goon Goliaths and the One Armed Bandits are these. The former is a Badass Goliath with a large Dahl weapons chest strapped onto their backs, killing them lets you open the treasure chest, and farming the Goliath himself by letting him rampage lets you reap the rewards of both the Goliath's drops and his treasure chest. The latter is a Goliath with a slot machine strapped to his back, killing him allows you to play the slot machine for however long you wish, complete with all the rewards they normally give back at Sanctuary.
My Rules Are Not Your Rules: Enraged Goliaths will attack any nearby target whether it be friend or foe. Maya's "Thoughtlock" ability temporarily turns any enemy into an ally, but this will have no effect whatsoever when the brainwashed Goliath is already Enraged, it will still attack both you and its friends.
Scare Chord: If you somehow don't notice a Goliath becoming enraged don't worry, a screeching chord will make sure to alert you something pissed him off.
Shoulder Teammate: Psycho Midgets can hop up on a Goliath's shoulders and start chucking buzzaxes on top of the Goliath's gunfire. If the helmet comes flying off and the Midget hasn't died yet, he's typically the first kill the Raging Goliath will go for.
Simpleton Voice: When not enraged, Goliaths speak like simpletons and make equally as simple threats.
Squish you!
Let's make face gravy!
Prepare for die!

Me don't wanna hurt you, hehe just kidding I do.
Time for ambitions, investing, time for kill!
Smash Mook: Enraged Goliaths usually have only one strategy: punch shit until it frigging dies.
Stout Strength: They're rather portly, downright obese in 3, but have nasty melee attacks even when not enraged.
Stuff Blowing Up: Blaster Goliaths come with dual rocket launchers that can quickly and instantly blow away a Vault Hunter in all but extreme ranges, and god help you if he's got dual Vladof launchers. They're so dangerous that you're better off just shooting the helmet off so they'll throw their launchers away and switch to melee.
The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In 3 they may have this to say on death, so Jeremy should probably find a place to hide.
I am real! Now I'm coming for you, Jeremy!
This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: The Raging Goliaths have quite a few of these.
(After Zer0's Decepti0n Fades) "Avoid me all you want, BITCH!"
(When Salvador is Gunzerking) "I'll take your bullets, BITCH!"
"I'll kill you SLOWER for that, BITCH!"
"Fear your master, bitches!"
"Die for me, BITCH!"
Turns Red: Literally. Shoot their helmet off and their skin turns blood red in rage, giving them a playstyle of The Berserker.

Rats

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl2_rat.png

"I'm SSSSTARVING!"

A variant of Bandits that can commonly be found either fighting alongside them or nearby in optional areas that split off from Bandit camps, the Rats are degenerated and emaciated opportunists who are, above all else, desperate for a meal. Specifically, human flesh. They are absent in Borderlands 3 due to either being killed off by the New Pandora Army or The Calypso Twins finding them too creepy or thin to assimilate into the Children of The Vault.

Animal Motif: Rats, as shown by their masks resembling a rat's face, their overgrown nails resembling claws, their tactic of hiding underground, and their nature of opportunists. In real life, rats are also known to band together and form cannibal clans that target other rats, something the Rats in Borderlands do as well.
Animal Theme Naming: Their faction are called Rats because they live underground and are opportunistic cannibals.
Bandit Mook: Nearly every Rat is capable of stealing items off the floor. Did you see a nice, blue or purple rarity weapon fall onto the floor? Better grab it before any of the Rats can, or else you'll have to kill them to get it back.
- Playing this more straight is the Rat Thief, a small and mutated Rat who sneaks up on the Vault Hunters to pickpocket their money. If you just saw a couple thousand dollars suddenly vanish from your wallet, check behind you and you'll see a Rat Thief making off with your cash. Kill him before he reaches his burrow to get it back or else your money is lost for good.
Body Horror: No human being should be that thin. A more straight forward example is the Lab Rat: a person who presumably fell under Hyperion experimentation and has grown a single gigantic arm and a gauntly tall and bloodied body.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Rats are seen ambushing Maya in the A Meat Bicycle Built For Two cinematic, and might've come close to killing her, but they're no match for a rampaging and lovestruck Krieg rushing in to save her.
Elite Mooks: Field Rats are noticeably tougher than regular Rats. They're not quite as tough as Badass Bandits, but are considerably more commonplace.
Eye Beams: For one reason or another, Lab Rats can fire a blue ray from their eyes when they get close enough. It hits devastatingly hard, and is one of the strongest attacks in the game as far as Mook-tier firepower goes.
Fantastic Racism: Even among bandits, the Rats are considered exceptionally disgusting and in many cases they are segregated into their own parts of bandit camps. They aren't even a part of the COV in 3 because the Calypsos refused to work with them.
Fragile Speedster: The majority of Rats fought are nimble and weak opponents who go down easy under gunfire. The exceptions to this are the Field Rats and the Lab Rats.
Fright Deathtrap: While cutting down Rats in A Meat Bicycle Built For Two, Krieg grabs a Rat and starts shouting insanity into his face, making him fall over in fear. Given that he doesn't get up later, it's a safe bet to think he died from terror.
Gas Mask Mooks: Unlike the Bandits who prefer face masks, nearly all Rats don gas masks.
Giant Mook: Lab Rats are larger and more durable than most bandit enemy types and prefer to slowly limp towards you before blasting you with their Eye Beams. They're tough enough to consistently win a one-on-one fight with raging Goliaths of Badass, Super Badass, and even Ultimate Badass rank.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Lab Rats are being tortured by visions of 'something', which judging from their quotes are glimpses into whatever alternate dimension The Destroyer came from. Worst yet, they slip into sheer panic if Maya uses her Phaselock on them, causing them to apparently get a deeper look into their visions.
I'm a Humanitarian: Even moreso than other bandit types, the Rats absolutely love eating human flesh, including that of other Rats. Dying Rats will even demand that their brethren eat them, which they'll gladly oblige if they get close to the corpse.
I Taste Delicious: A variant if you burn them alive with fire.
I SMELL DELICIOUUUUS!
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: For a loose definition of "hero", but the events of The Pre-Sequel go into how the Rats might've came to be. Colonel Zarpedon of the Lost Legion introduced a disease known as Space Hurps into the Hyperion Moonbase, getting their work force diseased with symptoms that are almost identical to the Rats from Borderlands 2. The Vault Hunters get infected with the disease while working under Hyperion CEO Tassiter to quarantine the area and its victims, and find out that the disease can be vented by leaving the infected area before it can settle to its final stage. Had Tassiter and the Vault Hunters not quarantined the Infected, they likely would not have led to the condition spreading down onto Pandora and creating the Rats.
Noodle People: They're unnaturally thin, down to the bone.
To Serve Man: All of their quotes and taunts make it clear that they want to eat you. And if they die, they beg their Rat allies to eat them to gain their strength. Naturally they'll oblige; if they get near a dead body a Rat can begin eating them to regain health.

Scavs (The Pre-Sequel!)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scav2.png

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scav.jpg

Scavs, short hand for Scavengers, are the bandit equivalent on Elpis, with the primary differences being space suits, laser weapon technology, and Australian accents ^note. While they're not as heavily mutated as Pandoran bandits thanks to a lack of exposure to Eridium, their sanity has taken a massive toll due to being forced to survive in the open space of Elpis.Scavs go into battle with a variety of weapons, using the low-gravity environment to their advantage.

In general

The Bogan: As the Elpis equivalent to Pandora's bandits, the Scavs are this character type in a sci-fi setting. Then there's Boganella, whose demeanor and voice should ring a bell or two if you're familiar in any capacity with Australian TV shows created by Paul Fenech.
Boom, Headshot!: It's openly encouraged in every Borderlands game, but there's another good reason to aim for head when fighting Scavs: the protective bubble their Oz Kits provide are vulnerable to gun fire, and blowing it out can expose them to the airless space, letting them potentially die from asphyxiation like a layer of Damage Over Time. Early on, this can save you some bullets, but later their pained reactions to this can be useful in keeping them open to more headshots.
Energy Weapon: The main difference they bring to combat is the possibility that they're equipped with laser weapons.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: Not that it can be helped. The space suits they rely on to survive have helmets with visors that glow white
Jet Pack: A variant of them called Raiders slowly hover into battle with jet packs to get a high ground advantage on the Vault Hunters.
Mooks: They're the most common variety of Scavs faced, with their primary advantage coming from their numbers and their variance in ordinance.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Functionally they're just Bandits with Australian accents.

Individuals

Deadlift

Bucephalus Deadlift McElroy

The Boss Fight Has Landed

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deadlift.png

Voiced by: Justin S. Cotta

"DEADLIFT TIIIIMEE!!!"

The first Scav boss you deal with, Deadlift is a Scav with a personal guff against Janey Springs. He likes jump pads. He likes them A LOT.

Berserk Button: He's very sensitive about his jump pads. All Zarpedon has to do to motivate him is say that the Vault Hunters said his pads were stupid.
Deadlift: I WILL ANNIHILATE THEM!
Boxed Crook / Recruiting the Criminal: An odd example. Judging by his line about how Zarpedon threw him in prison, she either busted him back out or he broke out on his own. Either way, she does try to have him fight the Vault Hunters, and at first he refuses... until she says they mocked his jump pads.
Brick Joke: The goal of one of the early side missions is to help him overcome his motivational issues. Later, when you kill him, his last words are: "My confidence!"
Cloud Cuckoolander: Illustrated by some of his quotes, as well as his attachment to jump pads.
Deadlift: I can't wait to throw your corpse on to a jump pad, and watch it take to the air like a... child's imagination.
Cluster F-Bomb: Sometimes he will tell people he doesn't like to screw themselves.
Deadlift: Screw Zarpedon, screw Springs and screw YOU!
Companion Cube: He immediately apologizes to the jump pad after disabling it. May or may not be a case of Cargo Ship.
Dumb Muscle: Being a Scav, he's not very bright, but he is rather strong, especially to beginning players who face him early on.
Evil Laugh: He has a rather goofy one.
"Get Back Here!" Boss: As the game's tutorial on using jump pads in battle, he spends the entire battle jumping around, making it somewhat tricky to keep track of him.
Ground Pound: He threatens to do this to you, although in execution it's more like an electrified Goomba Stomp.
Deadlift: I WILL SOAR INTO THE AIR AND CRUSH YOU WITH A BUTT-SLAM! ...HIGH-BROW!
His Name Really Is "Barkeep": He announces his full name is Bucephalus Deadlift McElroy, meaning that Deadlift is his actual middle name.
Incompatible Orientation: He once tried to ask out Janey, only to get shot down because she's not into guys. He's still pretty bitter about that and even yells "Tell that Springs she sucks!" during his boss battle.
Irony: Deadlift primarily uses shock elemental attacks to kill you, but using shock against him is one of the best ways to quickly kill him as shock elemental attacks will destroy his powerful shield faster.
Jerkass: Janey sends you to kill him because he's "kinda a dick."
Janey: Well, he also stole my Moon-Zoomy digistruct key, stranded me out here, and got really rude when I told him I wasn't into guys. But mostly the being a dick thing.
Large Ham: Every single sentence he says is yelled at the top of his lungs.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Downplayed; see Incompatible Orientation and Jerkass.
Shock and Awe: He carries a pretty powerful shock laser weapon and can fire homing shock missiles. Additionally he can electrify the parts of the floor of his arena.

RedBelly

Stand and Deliver [Your Life!]

Voiced by: Matt Dale

Red: Finally! A proper bloody fight!

Belly: Well, I just ate... buuuuut let's BOOGIE!

A pair of Scavs, one regular-sized one and one midget, the latter standing on top of the former to initially appear as one armored figure. They've taken over an old Dahl comms base.

Affably Evil: Even when they're trying to kill you, they remain perfectly cheery and polite... until one of them gets killed, then the survivor gets angry.
Big "NO!": Whenever one of them dies the other will utter a big no.
Dash Attack: Belly has a pretty powerful one that causes a strong nova blast.
The Dividual: They're actually two separate bandits named Red and Belly who fight together as one.
Dual Boss: While you initially fight them as one unit, Red eventually flies off and attacks you on his own.
Expy: Of Master Blaster. Also of Ned Kelly, infamous bushranger most well known for his Last Stand in primitive armor that looks very similar to Belly's. His weak points are even a nod to how the historical Kelly was finally defeated—lacking leg armor, Kelly was finally brought down after he took shots to his legs. His "twist" of being two people calls to mind Boom Bewm from Borderlands 2.
Jetpack: Once Red flies off he keeps flying around the arena with one.
Turns Red: No pun intended. If either Red or Belly dies the survivor literally turns red and becomes stronger and more aggressive.

The Bosun

Time to grow some

Voiced by: Brian Meegan

"Welcome to your death, landlubber!"

Real name: Keith. A Scav leader based in the former Dahl ship of the Drakensburg, he rules his gang alongside his girlfriend Skipper.

Beware the Silly Ones: Although he's made to look very pathetic, his boss battle can actually be pretty nasty as he has rockets, turrets and a pretty mean shock attack to tear your shields apart.
Cores-and-Turrets Boss: In a fashion; While he does fight you himself from aboard his weapons platform, you also have to deal with shield generators that are constantly recharging his shields, though beating him without dealing with his generators is an in-game challenge.
Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: He's constantly making elaborate and ineffective threats as you make your way to him, up to threatening to "squish your brains out your ears and stomp all over your skull with boots made of acid", which Skipper notes would be impossible.
Ditzy Genius: Prior to being a Scav, he was an AI programmer, which is why you're going after him in hopes of getting a military AI. Turns out Skipper is that AI.
Evil Laugh: All things considered when Pickle's plan to douse the lava lake in liquid methane initially fails he cracks a pretty good one.
Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He comes off as pretty pathetic all things considered, what with his ineffective and nonsensical threats as well as having his "girlfriend" sabotaging his efforts. The fact that his girlfriend is actually a reprogrammed AI who still despises him speaks volume of how truly pathetic he really is.
We Have Reserves: He says he is sending his "best" men after you... after you already defeated his best men. He insists he has more.

Forces

Lunatics

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lil_lun.jpg

The Elpis equivalent to Pandoran Psychos. Lunatics are deranged killers equipped with jump jets and buzz axes. Badass Lunatics come with dual shock batons.

Action Bomb: Suicidal Lunatics come with a large red rocket strapped to their backs. They act like ordinary ones up until they decide that they feel like dying, to which they'll prime their jet packs and fly head on into their target for large amounts of damage.
In a Single Bound: The low gravity of Elpis combined with their Oz Kits allows them to jump much farther and faster than their Pandoran counterparts.
Lightning Bruiser: Badass Lunatics are huge variants that swing their shock batons at their opponents. Unlike their Pandoran equivalent, they're not particularly mutated, keeping their body in proper proportions.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Their space helmets come with red visors.

Outlaws

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/outla.jpg

The large and lumbering crooks of Scav crews, Outlaws provide the heavy laser weapons to the fight. Their Badass variants can come with rocket launchers to blow the opposition away.

Energy Weapon: If they're not equipped with laser weapons, it's going to be a rocket launcher instead.
King Mook: Aside from obvious candidates with their own character entires like Deadlift, there also exists the rare Swagman, who is a regular Outlaw but with buffed health and a hat over his helmet. Curiously, he doesn't seem to drop anything in particular or serve a specific purpose.
Shock and Awe: Badass Outlaws come with contraptions that fire electric-orbs at their enemies, dealing massive shock damage if not dodged.
Vocal Dissonance: Who would've thought a voice that high pitched can come from men that massive?

Characters / Borderlands: Bandits and Bandit Factions

Edit Locked

Spoilers Off for games prior to Borderlands 3 as well as for spoiler characters that are marked as such. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned.

Bandits

Individuals

Introduced in Borderlands

Nine-Toes

Also, he has three balls.

Sledge

P.S.: You guys aren't friends.

Mad Mel

Krom

Taylor and Jaynis Kobb

Baron Flynt

That's Medicinal.

Mr. Shank

D-Fault

Steve the Bandit

Heyooo!

Introduced in Borderlands 2

Captain Flynt

Burn, Baby, Burn

Boom-Bewm

Boom... and his brother Bewm

Flanksteak

Bad Maw

Bad Maw... And His Merry Midgets

Face McShooty

Flesh-Stick

Assassins Oney, Reeth, Rouf and Wot

Introduced in Tales from the Borderlands

Kroger

Moustache. Hired to kill you.

Finch

Don't talk about his hair. (Also trying to kill you)

Vallory

The Queenpin

Bossanova

Musician, motorcyclist, murderer.

Forces

Scavs (The Pre-Sequel!)

Individuals

Bucephalus Deadlift McElroy

The Boss Fight Has Landed

Stand and Deliver [Your Life!]

Time to grow some

Forces

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Index

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