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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.


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    In General 
  • Dire Beast: Badass variants of these animals are typically gigantic and twice as dangerous as their normal variants.
  • Elemental Powers: For whatever reason, many Badass Creatures possess elemental abilities and appear Wreathed in Flames (or which other element they possess).
  • Everything Trying to Kill You: You'd be hard pressed to find an actual herbivore anywhere, let alone one that isn't trying to kill you.
  • Extreme Omnivore: Many of the creatures, especially the ones native to Pandora, have a tendency to eat just about anything they can get their mouths on and excrete/throw up guns and ammo, most obviously the Skags who have a certain reputation for it. This delves into Fridge Brilliance when you notice that Rakks, Skags, Stalkers and Bullymongs all sport jaws that can unhinged much wider than normal, as if they evolved to compete against each other over who can swallow the biggest meals whole.
  • Nature Is Not Nice: None of them are friendly, and attack passerby on sight for either lunch or to defend their territory. Certain characters prove that many of these beasts can be domesticated, but they're so few that they're more like the exceptions and not the rule to their ferocity.
  • Non-Malicious Monster: Despite their ferocious nature and appetite, all of the xeno-fauna are simply animals desparately trying to survive in harsh environments. In fact, not all of them are ferocious (initially at least), such as the massive yet peaceful Crystalisks, where they're friendly towards humans until Dahl executives exploit and kill them for their valuable crystals, turning all of them just as hostile as other Pandora fauna.

Pandora

    Skags 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl1_adult_skag_1.jpg
An adult Skag
The most common and iconic beast in the Borderlands universe. The Pandoran equivalent of dogs or wolves, recognized for their armored plates, vertical jaws and eating/defecating from the same hole.
  • All Animals Are Dogs: Well, not quite. You can count on one hand the Skags that aren't feral and try to make a meal out of you, but the non-hostile Skags like Dukino and Mr. Chew are very dog-like in behavior.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: Their mouths, which are easiest to shoot at when they roar at you (Especially Alpha Skags.)
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: Skags eat and defecate from their mouths. Said mouths are also vertically shaped, splits their face down the center and have a long, whip-like tongue.
  • Bombardier Mook: 1 has Skag-riding Siege Midgets, who throw TNT packs at you.
  • Breath Weapon: The Barf Skag. It barfs, which blocks your screen.
    • Badass Skags, which are imbued with their respective elements, will often stop to unleash a torrent of elemental breath and/or vomit on their enemies. Fire Skags breath out fire, Slag Skags puke up tons of slag, etc.
  • Elemental Powers: Fire Adult Skags, Badass Fire Skags, Fire Barf Skags, Fire Pup Skags and Fire Spitter Skags and their Harder Than Hard variations are, well, Incendiary-elemental Skags. Same with their Corrosive, Shock and Slagged counterparts.
  • Endangered Species: Played with, as the manual for 2 states that Skags were once absurdly commonplace on Pandora to the point where settlers had to hunt their numbers down just so they wouldn't get attacked for walking outside. Now there are 'only' hundreds of thousands of Skags on Pandora, which is an improvement in the eyes of Pandora's people.
  • Extreme Omnivore: They'll eat everything they can get their maws on. Including gun parts, which is why they drop ammo.
  • Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: As said before, Skags are practically alien wolves with a massive appetite. They travel and live in packs, are dominated by alpha males, gang up on prey from multiple angles to coordinate attacks and make canine-like noises like barking, snarling and panting (their obviously alien and beastly howl/screech not withstanding).
  • Flower Mouth: How their mouths open. Which makes them easier to shoot.
  • Giant Mook: Adult and Alpha Skags.
  • The Goomba: As far as the wildlife category of enemies go, Skags are one of the most basic enemies of the game next to Psychos.
  • Hard Mode Mooks:
    • Adult Skag: In 1, Playthrough 2 renames them "Feral Skag" and Playthrough 2.5 "Bestial Skag". In 2, True Vault Hunter Mode renames them "Horned Skag" and Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode "Barbed Skag". In 3, Mayhem Mode and True Vault Hunter Mode, they're renamed "Feral Skag". Elemental variations in 2 are renamed as follows:
      • Fire: "Fire Adult Skag" (Normal), "Horned Fire Skag" (TVHM) and "Barbed Fire Skag" (UVHM).
      • Corrosive: "Corrosive Adult Skag" (Normal), "Horned Corrosive Skag" (TVHM) and "Barbed Corrosive Skag" (UVHM).
      • Shock: "Shock Adult Skag" (Normal), "Horned Shock Skag" (TVHM) and "Barbed Shock Skag" (UVHM).
      • Slag: "Slagged Adult Skag" (Normal), "Horned Slag Skag" (TVHM) and "Barbed Slag Skag" (UVHM).
    • Alpha Skag: In 1, "Hardened Alpha Skag" for Playthrough 2 and "Armored Alpha Skag" for 2.5. In 2, "Elder Alpha Skag" for TVHM and "Fossil Skag" for UVHM. In 3, "Behemoth Skag" for MM and TVHM.
    • Armored Skag (2): "Ironclad Skag" for UVHM.
    • Badass Skag (1): "Badmutha Fire/Corrosive/Shock Skag" for Playthrough 2, "SuperBad Fire/Corrosive/Shock Skag" for Playthrough 2.5.
    • Badass Skag (2): "Super Badass Fire/Corrosive/Shock/Slag Skag" for TVHM, "Ultimate Badass Fire/Corrosive/Shock/Slag Skag" for UVHM.
    • Badass Alpha Skag (1): "Hulking Elder Skag" for Playthrough 2, "Stalwart Elder Skag" for Playthrough 2.5.
    • Barf Skag (2): Elemental variations in 2 are renamed as follows:
      • Fire: "Fire Barfer" (Normal), "Vomitous Fire Barfer" (TVHM) and "Fire Yacker" (UVHM).
      • Corrosive: "Corrosive Barfer" (Normal), "Vomitous Corrosive Barfer" (TVHM) and "Corrosive Yacker" (UVHM).
      • Shock: "Shock Barfer" (Normal), "Vomitous Shock Barfer" (TVHM) and "Shock Yacker" (UVHM).
      • Slag: "Slagged Barfer" (Normal), "Vomitous Slag Barfer" (TVHM) and "Slagged Yacker" (UVHM).
    • Chubby Skag (2 and 3): In 2 they're only present in TVHM and renamed as "Tubby Skag" in UVHM. In 3 they only appear in TVHM.
    • Elder Skag (1): "Hulking Elder Skag" for Playthrough 2, "Stalwart Elder Skag" for Playthrough 2.5.
    • Infected Skag (2 -Commander Lilith... DLC-): "Necrotizing Skag" for TVHM, "Badass Necrotizing Skag" for UVHM.
    • Skag Pup: In 1, "Annoyed Pup Skag" for Playthrough 2 and "Colicy Skag" for Playthrough 2.5. In 2, "Horned Pup Skag" for TVHM and "Barbed Pup Skag" for UVHM. In 3, "Li'l Skag" for MM and TVHM. Elemental variations in 2 are renamed as follows:
      • Fire: "Fire Pup" (Normal), "Horned Fire Pup" (TVHM) and "Barbed Fire Pup" (UVHM).
      • Corrosive: "Corrosive Pup" (Normal), "Horned Corrosive Pup" (TVHM) and "Barbed Corrosive Pup" (UVHM).
      • Shock: "Shock Pup" (Normal), "Horned Shock Pup" (TVHM) and "Barbed Shock Pup" (UVHM).
      • Slag: "Slagged Pup" (Normal), "Horned Slag Pup" (TVHM) and "Barbed Slag Pup" (UVHM).
    • Skag Whelp (1): "Angry Skag Whelp" for Playthrough 2 and "Querulous Skag Whelp" for Playthrough 2.5.
    • Spitter Skag (1, 2 and 3): "Hawking Skag" for Playthrough 2 and "Sputum Skag" for 2.5 in 1. "Hawking Skag" for TVHM and "Yack Skag" for UVHM in 2. "Loggie Skag" for MM and TVHM in 3. Elemental variations in 2 are renamed as follows:
      • Fire: "Fire Spitter" (Normal), "Fire Hawker" (TVHM) and "Salivating Fire Skag" (UVHM).
      • Corrosive: "Acid Spitter" (Normal), "Acid Hawker" (TVHM) and "Salivating Corrosive Skag" (UVHM).
      • Shock: "Shock Spitter" (Normal), "Shock Hawker" (TVHM) and "Salivating Shock Skag" (UVHM).
      • Slag: "Slagged Spitter" (Normal), "Slagged Hawker" (TVHM) and "Salivating Slagged Skag" (UVHM).
  • Heavily Armored Mook: Adult Skags get armor and trade their Fire element weakness for a Corrosive element one.
  • Interface Screw: Barf Skags causes blindness on their targets. This is also reflected on the HUD.
  • Kung Fu-Proof Mook: Elemental skags are immune to their respective elements.
  • Mascot Mook: As far as creatures go, Skags are usually the most remembered, if only for the unfortunate fact they always get run over by something in nearly every game introduction.
  • Mighty Roar: Skags usually roar before charging at you. From 2 onwards if a Badass Skag to do this, it's a signal for all smaller Skags to converge which will allow the Badass to convert nearby Skags into the same element they have.
  • Mook Commander: From 2 onwards Badass elemental Skags will buff smaller Skags with their elements making even a small pack of Skag Pups relatively dangerous for low-leveled, or ill-equipped, Vault Hunters.
  • Mook-Themed Level:
    • In 1, "Skag Gully", which outside of certain areas (namely North, where some Rakk hives are located) and Nine-Toes's Cave (where in addition to the aforementioned boss you fight Bandits), only contains Skags.
    • In 2, Snow variations of the Adult, Spitter and Alpha Skags act as Boll's Right Hand Attack Dogs during "In Memoriam". Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt also features "Swamp" variations of the Pup, Adult, Spitter, Barf, Alpha and Badass Corrosive classes, as well as the rarer "Albino" variety required for "I Like My Monsters Rare".
  • Running Gag: In every Borderlands save for The Pre-Sequel!, a Skag traditionally gets ran over by a car in a cutscene. As something of twists, a Skag is riding the car in the intro with its bandit owners in The Pre-Sequel!, and in 3, a bandit ends up taking the place of the Skag when it seems like the inevitable is about to happen in the intro.
  • Savage Wolves: Skags are wolf-like in behavior and vaguely in appearance, but they retain the wolves' aggressive and hungry nature. In 3, they even whimper and yelp like canines if injured or killed.
  • Slave Mook: In 1's DLC The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and in the Lynchwood area of 2, the Armored Skags (not to be confused with Adult Skags), which are Skags mounted by Midgets (1) or Rats (2).
  • Underground Monkey: Skags can come in many variations:
    • Adult Skag (1, 2 and 3): Stronger than Skag Whelp, their Leap attack has knockback and they have a second melee attack in the form of a double slash and a mid-range attack with their tongue. They're also armored, and thus immune to Fire but vulnerable to Corrosive damage.
    • Alpha Skag (1, 2 and 3): Stronger than Adult Skags, resilient to most attacks.
    • Badass Skag (1): Somewhere in between of all other classes, can come in Fire, Corrosive or Shock varieties.
    • Badass Alpha Skag (1): Stronger Badass Skag, comes in either Fire, Corrosive or Shock varieties (no Non-Elemental).
    • Badass Infected Skag (2 -Commander Lilith... DLC-): Sturdier version of the Infected Skag.
    • Barf Skag (2): Adult Skag that only attacks at range by barfing, causing blindness and slower speed.
    • Chubby Skag (2 and 3): Very rare Adult Skags with a chance to drop Legendary/Pearlescent loot.
    • Elder Skag (1): Less resilient Adult Skag.
    • Infected Skag (2 -Commander Lilith... DLC-): Skags with plant growths on their backs. Spit corrosive globs.
    • Rabid Skag (2): Tough Skag which output high amounts of XP when killed.
    • Skag Pup (1, 2 and 3): Basic weak Skag with a Leap attack.
    • Skag Whelp (1): Slightly stronger than Pups but weaker than Adults.
    • Spitter Skag (1, 2 and 3): Adult Skags with an additional long-ranged attack as a corrosive glob.
  • Unique Enemy: Snow Skags appear alongside Boll during the "In Memoriam" sidequest of 2 in the ice-themed "Three Horns - Divide" area. Once Boll is killed, they won't respawn.

Pinky and Digit

Nine-Toes pet Skags who fight you during the boss battle alongside him in 1.

Scar

A big Skag who ate T.K. Baha's leg and killed his wife in 1. You're tasked with taking him down as revenge for the mission "T.K.'s Life and Limb".
  • Covered with Scars: He's got roughed up pretty bad by T.K Baha and maye other people.
  • Evil Cripple: Well, as evil as a wild animal can be anyway. He's missing a leg.
  • Handicapped Badass: One less leg doesn't stop him from being dangerous. He's sure to give greenhorn Vault Hunters a tough fight.
  • King Mook: Larger than your regular Skag and much tougher.
  • Meaningful Name: He's covered in scar and nasty wounds. He also gave plenty of scars to T.K Baha as well.
  • Rare Random Drop: Drops level 1-4 Elemental Artifacts (In Playthrough 2.5 you can also get Level 6 Artifacts) and has a chance to drop "T.K.'s Wave"note  after you turn in the mission he appears on.
  • You Killed My Father: You're tasked with taking him down as revenge. 2 explain he killed Marian, T.K Baha's wife, ate his leg and blinded him when he tried to avenge her.

Moe and Marley

Two big elemental Skag found in the Arid Hills. You're tasked with taking them down for the mission "The Legend of Moe and Marley" in 1.
  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: Moe chases his preys to get into near Melee range.
  • Heavily Armored Mook: Unlike Scar these two are Badass Alpha Skags which means they have a tough armor in their "heads".
  • King Mook: Larger than your average Adult Skag.
  • Playing with Fire: Moe's main element, complete with immunity to said damage.
  • Rare Random Drop: Moe has a chance to drop the "Lady Finger"note  in Playthrough 2.5.
  • Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: There's a Bandit camp set near the are they're fought, and it's possible to get Bandits and Skags to attack each other. This includes both of them.
  • Shock and Awe: Marley's main element, his main attack has him launching shock balls from a distance and has resistance to the element.

Skagzilla

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skagzilla.png
An utterly massive and ferocious Skag locked up in a pen surrounding its cave in the Dahl Headlands, fought as a mini-boss in 1. Ernest Whitting tasks the Vault Hunters with baiting it out and slaying it.
  • Bad Vibrations: Every step it takes shakes the ground around it.
  • Breath Weapon: It can pause to sweep the area in front of it with a huge beam from its mouth.
  • Dire Beast: One of the biggest Skags ever encountered in the series, apparently the result of both being a thought-to-be extinct species of Skag and for also having an appetite for cacti, car fuel and humans, mutating it.
  • King Mook: Of the Skags in the first game.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Skagzilla is incredibly fast, deals a ton of damage with its melee attacks and Wave-Motion Gun, and soaks up tons of damage with its element-resisting armor. That's right, not even Corrosive damage can melt that armor down.
  • Rare Random Drop: It has a rare chance to drop "Whitting's Elephant Gun"note , if you aren't satisfied from the one you get as a mission reward.
  • Shout-Out: Its name and breath attack is an unsubtle reference to Godzilla himself.

Skrappy

Crazy Earl's pet Skag, which you're first tasked by rescueing from a Bandit camp who captured it for underground battles. After the player reaches the Crimson Fastness, it grows up and attacks the player.

Dukino

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dukino01.png
A young, domesticated Skag that the Vault Hunters encounter in Lynchwood. He is the main npc of the Animal Rescue mission, where they assist in giving him food and medicine with Scooter's assistance.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Completely absent since 2. Unlike Skrappy he doesn't even get a mention in 3 or Pre-Sequel.
  • Mercy Kill: Scooter mentioned having thought about it. Thankfully it didn't happen.
  • Monstrous Cannibalism: You mainly feed him Skag chews and raw Skag tongues. He's happy about it anyway.
  • Video Game Caring Potential: The whole point of his side-mission. The Vault Hunters are tasked with providing Dukino with medicine, food and a home for him. The final mission involves saving Dukino from being eaten by his massive, laser-shooting mother.

Dukino's Mom

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mamadukino.jpg
She's the mother of Dukino, the small and domesticated Skag the Vault Hunters nurse to health. After finding Dukino a new home, his mother arrives from her den to try and eat Dukino, forcing the Vault Hunters to come back and save him.
  • Abusive Parents: She's trying to eat her offspring, and presumably has done it before given her appetite.
  • Breath Weapon: Like Skagzilla, she's fond of blasting the space in front of her with a huge energy beam from her mouth.
  • The Bus Came Back: Reappears in The Raid on Digistruct Peak for Overpower level 6 onwards as a fightable boss.
  • Call-Back: To Skagzilla from the first game, down to being massive Skags fought in an enclosure/cave den, and the mission reward is a scopeless sniper rifle in both cases.
  • Flunky Boss: While not intentional on her part, there are plenty of bandits trying to kill her as well, but they won't hesitate to turn their guns on you if you catch their attention. They serve as both a nuisance, but also valid Second Wind targets and a distraction for the boss herself.
  • Offing the Offspring: Attempted by her until she's slain.
  • Rare Random Drop: She's got a chance to drop the "Mongol"note . During the Borderlands 2 $100,000 Loot Hunt event, she also dropped the Logan's Gunnote 
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: A freaking giant Skag that shakes the very ground they're walking on and has a Wave-Motion Gun attack? Dukino's Mom is essentially a rehash of Skagzilla, only even deadlier.
  • Unwinnable by Mistake: If the mission "Demon Hunter" is active and a Vault Hunter didn't land the killing blow, time to reload a save, as it won't reward you from said killing blow.

Tumbaa

A Badass Barf Skag found at the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve level, alongside a Stalker known as Pimon.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Deliverance" shotgun[[note]]Legendary Tediore Shotgun whose reload keeps firing after being thrown and homes into a target; can come in Incendiary, Shock, Corrosive or Slag elements or spawn without any element at all.
  • The Dividual: Usually spawns alongside Pimon.

Skrakk

An abomination created from Skag and Rakk parts by Dr. Zed during the "Monster Mash" mission chain. They return as "Nightmare Skrakks" during T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest DLC for 2 with a few elemental tweaks, and one returns in 3 as part of the "Legendary Hunt (Ascension Bluff)" sidequest.
  • Airborne Mook: Have the flying abilities of Rakks.
  • The Bus Came Back:
    • A pack of these are fought during the T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest DLC for 2 as "Nightmare Skrakks".
    • One of these is fought in 3 during the "Legendary Hunt (Ascension Bluff)" Challenge.
  • Hard Mode Mooks:
    • In the True Vault Hunter Mode of 2, it's renamed as "Fiery Skrakk".
    • Nightmare Skrakks are renamed as "Revenant Skrakks" for True Vault Hunter Mode and "Demonic Skrakks" for Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: A mix of Skag and Rakk parts given life.
  • Playing with Fire: Nightmare Skrakks spit fireballs and are immune to Incendiary damage.
  • Rare Random Drop: In 3, the Skrakk fought can drop the "SkekSil" pistolnote  and the "Infilitrator" class mod for Zane Flyntnote .
  • Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: Skrakks are hostile to Hyperion workers, which can work to the player's advantage.
  • Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors: Nightmare Skrakks are immune to Incendiary damage, but highly vulnerable to Corrosive damage instead.
  • Wolfpack Boss: For "Monster Mash (Part 3)" in 2, the Vault Hunters are tasked with taking down a group of these in the Arid Nexus - Boneyard area.

Enrique

An unique Incendiary Badass Skag and Tiny Tina's beloved pet, the Vault Hunters must take him for a walk and prevent him from being damaged in the "Walking the Dog" mission of Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage.

Dribbles

An unique Badass Skag found in the Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC of 2 after Claptrap sends you to clean his pee. Fought at Scylla's Grove as part of the mission "Follow the Glow" at Ardorton Station.
  • King Mook: Larger version of a Badass Skag.
  • Toilet Humor: The entirety of his mission chain consists on the Vault Hunters cleaning up his pee. When they fight him, he has a chance to pee near a Slag deposit.

Ol'Pukey

An unique non-enemy Skag who ate a deactivated Claptrap unit. Claptrap sends you to retrieve this unit's remains to see if it can be revived.
  • Escort Mission: You need to protect him from enemy fire, a task which isn't easy given the Savage camp next to its nest.

Ghost

An unique Alpha Skag met at a small ice cave in The Burrows.

Pizza-Addicted Skag

An unique Badass Infected Skag that appears in the entrance to Dahl Mine 191 during "The Oddest Couple" sidequest of the Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC of 2.
  • Unique Enemy: Can be fought only once, while "The Oddest Couple" is active.

Buttmunch and Trufflemunch

Unique Skags and pet chiefs of Mincemeat in 3, met during the final part of "Skag Dog Days".
  • King Mook: Buttmunch is a larger Badass Radiation Skag while Trufflemunch is a Badass Corrosive Skag.
  • Rare Random Drop: Buttmunch has a chance to drop the "Barrage"note , while Trufflemunch has a chance to drop the "Bearcat"note .
  • Right-Hand Attack Dog: Of Mincemeat.

Succulent Alpha Skag

The leader of the Succulent Skag Pack, fought at The Droughts during the "Skag Dog Days" quest of 3. Drops Succulent Skag Meat, required for said mission.

    Rakks 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl1_rakk_4_4.jpg
Flying creatures that circle the skies of Pandora in flocks.
  • Bat Out of Hell: Less dangerous and more pesky than other examples, but Rakks are still hostile bat-like creatures. Then again, some can be incredibly dangerous, such as Mothrakk, who could be literal thanks to her raining fireballs and frustrating battle.
  • Bombardier Mook: Many types of Rakk prefer to forgo direct confrontation with their prey, rather using ranged attacks from above.
  • Elemental Powers: Corrosive Rakks, Irradiated Rakklesnakes, Kamikaze Rakks and Shock Rakks.
  • Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: Rakks are comparable to bats in overall biology, traveling in flocks, having prominent teeth, clawed and webbed arms and that make up wings, and even preferring to rest whilst hanging upside down.
  • Hard Mode Mooks:
    • Badass Rakks (1): "BadMutha Rakk" in Playthrough 2 and "SuperBad Rakk" in 2.5.
    • Badass Rakks (2): "Super Badass Rakk" for both True Vault Hunter Mode and Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.
    • Badass Chromatic Rakks (3): "Badass Prismatic Rakk" in TVHM and Mayhem Mode, where they gain a run attack shooting an elemental beams or up to 3 elemental orbs.
    • Bloated and Feeder Rakks (1): "Forager Rakk" in Playthrough 2 and "Cultivator Rakk" in 2.5.
    • Bloated Rakk (3): In Normal Mode only the first 10 eggs thrown will hatch into an Irradiated Rakklesnake, plus their slash attacks damage shields and have a chance of inflicting Radiation damage. In TVHM and Mayhem Mode all eggs will hatch, the name of the beast is "Engorged Rakk", and their slashing attacks bypass shields.
    • Chubby Rakk (2): Only appears from TVHM onwards. In UVHM they're called "Tubby Rakk".
    • Corrosive Rakk (3): "Acidic Rakk" in TVHM and Mayhem Mode.
    • Defender Rakk (1): "Experienced Defender Rakk" in Playthrough 2 and "Hardened Defender Rakk" in 2.5.
    • Irradiated Rakklesnake (3): "Irradiated Creepy Rakklesnake" in TVHM and Mayhem Mode.
    • Kamikaze Rakk (1): "Experienced Kamikaze Rakk" in Playthrough 2 and "Hardened Kamikaze Rakk" in 2.5.
    • Needler Rakk (3): "Spiker Rakk" in TVHM and Mayhem Mode.
    • Rakks (1, 2 and 3): In 1 they're renamed as "Relentless Rakk" in Playthrough 2 and "Vindictive Rakk" in 2.5. In 2, they're renamed in both TVHM and UVHM as "Sky Hunter".
    • Scorpion Rakks (3): For TVHM and Mayhem Mode, they're renamed as "Stinger Rakk".
    • Shock Rakks (3): For TVHM and Mayhem Mode, they're renamed as "Voltaic Rakk".
  • The Goomba: Minus their Badass variants, killing a Rakk is so easy that they're often provided as easy Second Wind targets during fights. This is especially true of Volcanic Rakk, which are so frail that a bullet or three is all you need to to gun them down during the battle with The Warrior.
  • Like Cannot Cut Like:
    • Corrosive Rakks from 3 and Badass Corrosive Rakks from 1 are immune to Corrosive attacks.
    • Badass Incendiary Rakks are immune to Incendiary damage.
    • Corrosive Rakks from 3 and Badass Shock Rakks from 1 are immune to Shock damage.
    • Irradiated Rakklesnakes from 3 are immune to Radioactive damage.
    • Badass Chromatic/Prismatic Rakks cycle elemental damage, gaining immunity to their current element.
  • Mook Maker: Bloated Rakks in 3 drop eggs that hatch into Irradiated Rakklesnakes.
  • Mook-Themed Level: Volcanic Rakks only spawn at the Vault of the Warrior.
  • Rare Random Drop:
    • Bloated Rakks in 1 output Shields and, more rarely, Class Mods.
    • Chubby Rakks in 2 can drop the Cracked Sashnote .
  • Sleepy Enemy: Skelerakks and Volcanic Rakks don't attack the player unless the player attacks first.
  • Suicide Attack: Kamikaze Rakks fly directly to their objective and explode upon impact.
  • Underground Monkey:
    • Badass Rakk (1): Stronger than your regular Rakk, attacks from a distance, and can come in Incendiary, Shock and Corrosive varieties. Drops moderate amounts of ammo and cash.
    • Badass Rakk (2): Stronger than your regular Rakk. Drops moderate amounts of ammo and cash.
    • Badass Chromatic Rakks (3): Stronger Rakks, circles between elements releasing a nova when they do, gaining immunity to their actual element.
    • Bloated Rakk (1): Rare and sturdier Badass Rakks. Drops Artifacts, Shields, Class Mods and large amounts of money when killed.
    • Bloated Rakk (3): Rare and sturdier Badass Rakks. Drops an egg that turns into an Irradiated Rakklesnake. When shot, they release money. When killed, they release cash, Eridium bars, ammo and various items between Uncommon and Legendary rarities.
    • Chubby Rakk (2): Bolder version of the Rakk that drops Legendary items or the Cracked Sash shield.
    • Corrosive Rakk (3): Bolder version of the Rakk that comes exclusively in Corrosive variant. Bombs enemies from a distance.
    • Defender Rakk (1): Mostly similar to regular Rakks, a bit weaker than these.
    • Feeder Rakk (1): Similar to regular Rakk, except it drops ammo and cash in reasonable quantities as well as shields.
    • Irradiated Rakklesnake (3): Hatched Rakks whose attacks can inflict Radiation damage.
    • Kamikaze Rakk (1): Similar to regular Rakk but explode on contact with their prey.
    • Needler Rakk (3): Similar to Regular Rakk but attacks with their tails from a distance.
    • Rakk (1, 2 and 3): The standard Rakk. Doesn't drop anything.
    • Rakk-Trap (1 DLC Claptrap's New Robot Revolution): Standard Rakk with DLC-specific decorations.
    • Rakkman's Minions (2): Standard Rakk with area-specific decorations.
    • Scorpion Rakk (3): Beefier Rakks who attack with their tail.
    • Shock Rakk (3): Bolder version of the Rakk that comes exclusively in Shock variant. Bombs enemies from a distance.
    • Slagged Rakk (2): Standard Rakk with Slag effect. Applies said effect to whoever it attacks.
    • Skelerakk (1 DLC The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned): Standard Rakk skeletonized. Buffier than them.
  • Unique Enemy:
    • Defender and Kamikaze Rakks only appear in 1 during the story battle against the Rakk Hive.
    • Rakk-Traps and Skelerakks aren't seen outside of their DLC.
    • Rakkman's Minions don't appear anywhere else.
    • Volcanic Rakks only spawn at the Vault of the Warrior.
  • Zerg Rush: Their go-to strategy to taking down prey is to swoop down as a flock to repeatedly dive-bomb enemies until they die.

Mothrakk

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mothrakk.png
An impossibly huge Rakk that slowly soars over the skies of the Arid Badlands, raining down fireballs on prey. The Vault Hunters set out to lure her into the open with fire so they may kill her during "Like a Moth to the Flame".
  • Backtracking: The Vault Hunters gain this mission in New Haven after activating the Bounty Board, roughly a third into the game's story. In order to complete the mission, they must return to the Arid Badlands. Thankfully, the Fast Travel System is now available.
  • Giant Flyer: Mothrakk is easily one of the largest flying creatures ever fought in Pandora.
  • King Mook: A giant Rakk, but extra emphasis on 'giant', and it's worth noting that she's got a totally different fighting style compared to regular Rakk, keeping her distance and bombarding enemies with fire.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Mothrakk has tons of health, immunity against elemental Damage Over Time, enough speed to catch up with your vehicle, and melt your health with her fireballs. To make matters worse, not only is she harder to hit thanks to being high up in the sky, she doesn't have a weak spot to exploit. Then again, you can melt her health with strong Explosive weapons, such as the Atlas Ogre or Torgue Cobra.
  • Rare Random Drop: Mothrakk has a chance to drop "The Blister"note  in Playthrough 2.5.

Rakkinshu

A large Rakk that appears while the player does the "Hidden Journals: Rust Commons West" mission in 1.
  • Random Drop: Drops the "Cracked Sash" shield upon being killed.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop "The Sentinel"note .

Son of Mothrakk

A huge, mutated Rakk that sometimes appears in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve.
  • Giant Flyer: Just like his mother, he's an enormous Rakk that dwarfs most other flying creatures.
  • Optional Boss: Because he only appears in the Preserve from the second visit onward, it's entirely possible to go an entire playthrough without encountering him.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Skullmasher"note .
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He serves as a stand-in for Bloodwing, who gets Killed Off for Real in the main story on repeat runs through the Preserve, and fights much the same way (although he doesn't change forms).

Rakkanoth

A large Rakk with a trail circling around Scylla's Grove during the sidequest "The Rakk Dahlia Murder" in the Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC of 2.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has the same loot pool as Son of Mothrakk. Because the latter carries too many problems, it's often recommented to do this boss instead.

    Scythids 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scythid_infoboxpic.jpg
Giant slug-like invertebrates with fleshy appendages that allow jumping and flight.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: The Borderlands manual claims scythids are closely related to horses of all things.
  • Big Creepy-Crawlies: These bastards can jump and fly.
  • The Computer Is a Lying Bastard: In-game information suggests they're vulnerable to fire. They're actually resistant against elemental damage, though they take triple damage against non-elemental bullets and blunt force trauma.
  • Elemental Powers: Badass Poison Crawlers, Badass Shock Crawlers, Badass Fire Crawlers and Bursting Scythids, as well as their Harder Than Hard variants.
  • The Goomba: Barring the Badass variants, putting them down doesn't take much ammo. Just don't use explosives or elemental weapons.
  • Hard Mode Mooks:
    • Badass Poison Crawler: "BadMutha Venomous Scythid" (Playthrough 2), "SuperBad Noxious Scythid" (2.5).
    • Badass Shock Crawler: "BadMutha Lightning Scythid" (Playthrough 2), "SuperBad Galvanizing Scythid" (2.5).
    • Bursting Scythid: "Exploding Scythid" (Playthrough 2), "Kablooey Scythid" (2.5).
    • Desert Scythid: "Wasteland Scythid" (Playthrough 2), "Dune Scythid" (2.5).
    • Giant Scythid/Badass Fire Crawler: "Mammoth Scythid" (Playthrough 2), "Colossal Scythid" (2.5).
    • Scythid Crawler: In Playthrough 2, they're named "Scythid Slug". In 2.5, "Scythid Creep".
  • Underground Monkey:
    • Badass Fire Crawler: Bigger, tougher Bursting Scythids, slower, bombards from range with 6-10 fireballs, explodes with an incendiary nova when it dies.
    • Badass Poison Crawler: Green-tinted Giant Scythid, attacks with a spray of corrosive projectiles, explodes with a corrosive nova when it dies. It also launches Shock projectiles.
    • Badass Shock Crawler: Blue-tinted Giant Scythids, attacks with an arcing shock projectile, explode with an electrical nova when killed.
    • Bursting Scythid: Large, bloated, fragile, explode on contact.
    • Desert Scythid: Dark brown, quite fast, use a zig-zag pattern to distract their foe before attacking them, have a slashing attack, can fly for a while.
    • Giant Scythid: Big, blue-green tinted with a dull orange underbelly, tougher and harder hitting than regular Scythids, use slashing attacks and leap strikes.
    • Scythid Crawler: Your run-of-the-mill Scythid. Small, pale pink. Has a leap attack.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: They were never seen again after 1.

Slither

A powerful Scythid fought as part of the "Altar Ego" quest on the Rust Commons East area.
  • Boss in Mook Clothing: Billed as a boss, but fights like a Scythid Crawler.
  • Flunky Boss: After you defeat it for the mission, the next time you fight it it'll be accompanied by other Scythids.
  • Rare Random Drop: In Playthrough 2.5, it drops "The Dove"note , the quest reward for the associated mission. It can sometimes drop in the original/GOTY version of the game (as Remastered added an accessory restriction) as "BLR Hornet"note . It also rarely drops Eridian weapons.

Bleeder

A powerful Scythid found at the Trash Coast, and the target that must be taken down for the "House Hunting" mission. Behaves like a Desert Scythid, complete with the ability to fly.
  • Easy Level Trick: You can attack it from atop of the pipeline where the Claptrap repair kit is found. He won't attack you if you stay in that position.
  • Flunky Boss: It's surrounded by other Scythids during his fight.

    Spiderants 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bl1_spiderant_worker.jpg
A Spiderant Worker
Giant quadrupedal arthropods that form hives in certain areas of Pandora, such as the Dust.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: The Spiderants' thorax is the most vulnerable part of their bodies. However, their armor plating in the front and shifting makes this hard to capitalize on unless they're shooting their webbing at you.
    • The smaller Spiderants are so weak that this is negligible (in fact, targeting a hatchling's thorax in 1 is treated as if the rest of its body was hit), but their variants such as the King and Queen are very hard to bring down without going for the thorax.
  • Chess Motifs: In 3, with the exception of the Spiderling, all other available Spiderant variants are named after Chess pieces (King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight...).
  • Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: The Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC for 1 has Trap-ified varieties of all available Spiderants from the main game.
  • Elemental Powers:
    • Acid Attack: The Badass Spiderant Corrupter line in 1 and Poisonous Spiderant line in 2.
    • Bizarro Elements: The Slagged Spiderant line in 2, which is Slag-elemental.
    • Playing with Fire: The Badass Spiderant Burner line in 1 and Fire Spiderant line in 2.
    • Shock and Awe: The Badass Spiderant Zapper line in 1.
  • Ground Pound: The Burner and Corrupter Spiderants of 1 and Sentinel and Fire Spiderants of 2 have one for close-range enemies. Fire Spiderants' GP attack also unleashes a fire-elemental nova.
  • Hard Mode Mooks:
    • Badass Spiderant Burner (1): "BadMutha Incinerator" (Playthrough 2), "SuperBad Cremator" (Playthrough 2.5).
    • Badass Spiderant Corrupter (1): "BadMutha Infector" (Playthrough 2), "SuperBad Desecrator" (Playthrough 2.5).
    • Badass Spiderant Zapper (1): "BadMutha Shocker" (Playthrough 2), "SuperBad Fulminator" (Playthrough 2.5).
    • Chubby Spiderant (2): "Tubby Spiderant" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Fire Spiderant (2): "Sapper Spiderant" (True Vault Hunter Mode) and "Blazing Spiderant" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Poisonous Spiderant (2): "Leperous Spiderant" (True Vault Hunter Mode) and "Diseased Spiderant" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Royal Spiderling (3): "Royal Li'l Spiderling" (True Vault Hunter Mode and Mayhem Mode).
    • Spiderant (3): "Spiderant Drone" (True Vault Hunter Mode and Mayhem Mode).
    • Spiderant Bishop (3): "Spiderant Gatherer" (True Vault Hunter Mode and Mayhem Mode).
    • Spiderant Gyro (1): "Spiderant Beetle" (1's Playthrough 2), "Spiderant Vermin" (1's Playthrough 2.5).
    • Spiderant King (1, 2 and 3): "Spiderant Overlord" (1's Playthrough 2), "Spiderant Emperor" (1's Playthrough 2.5), "Emperor Spiderant" (2's True Vault Hunter Mode), "Monarch Spiderant" (2's Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode) and "Spiderant Emperor" (3's True Vault Hunter Mode and Mayhem Mode).
    • Spiderant Knight (2 and 3): "Centurion Spiderant" (2's True Vault Hunter Mode), "Gallant Spiderant" (2's Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode) and "Spiderant Warrior" (3's True Vault Hunter Mode and Mayhem Mode).
    • Spiderant Queen (1, 2 and 3): "Spiderant Matriarch" (1's Playthrough 2), "Queen Mother Spiderant" (1's Playthrough 2.5), "Matriarch Spiderant" (2's True Vault Hunter Mode), "Procreator Spiderant" (2's Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode) and "Spiderant Matriarch" (3's True Vault Hunter Mode and Mayhem Mode).
    • Spiderant Sentinel (2): "Spiderant Praetorian" (True Vault Hunter Mode) and "Spiderant Sentry" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Spiderant Soldier (1 and 2): "Spiderant Warrior" (1's Playthrough 2), "Spiderant Slayer" (1's Playthrough 2.5), "Spiderant Arbalest" (2's True Vault Hunter Mode) and "Spiderant Brawler" (2's Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Spiderant Warrior (2note ): "Spiderant Legionnaire" (True Vault Hunter Mode), "Spiderant Slugger" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Spiderant Worker (1 and 2): "Spiderant Toiler" (1's Playthrough 2), "Spiderant Slave" (1's Playthrough 2.5 and 2's Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode), "Spiderant Velite" (2's True Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Spiderantling (1, 2 and 3): "Skittish Spiderantling" (1's Playthrough 2), "Agitated Spiderantling" (1's Playthrough 2.5), "Li'l Spiderling" (3's Mayhem Mode and True Vault Hunter Mode).
  • Interface Screw: In 2 some of them gain a web attack that clutters the HUD should they connect.
  • Land Mine Goes "Click!": Fire Spiderants in 2 can burrow, leaving behind a fire pit that is, for all intents and purposes, an Incendiary Mine.
  • Like Cannot Cut Like:
    • Badass Spiderant Corrupters and Poisonous Spiderants are immune to Corrosive damage.
    • Badass Spiderant Burners and Fire Spiderants are immune to Incendiary damage.
    • Badass Spiderant Zappers are immune to Shock damage.
    • Slagged Spiderants are immune to Slag damage.
  • One-Steve Limit: "Spiderant Warriors" in 1, 2 and 3 have different properties. The Spiderant Warrior in 1 is a beefed up, Playthrough 2-only variation of the Spiderant Soldier. In 2 it's its own entity, having blade-shaped armor and light purple coloration. In 3, they're the True Vault Hunter Mode counterpart of the Spiderant Knight.
  • Mook Maker: Queen Spiderants, when their health is below half, will summon three Sentinels in 2.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: Hence their name, Spiderants form colonies much like ants with their Badass variants are named after classes such as worker, soldier, queen, king, etc. And like spiders they're capable of forming webs, and shoot them at their prey. Unlike either, however, they only have four legs.
  • Rare Random Drop: Chubby/Tubby Spiderants in 2 can drop any Legendary/Pearlescent item not called "Norfleet", "Ogre" or the "Magic*" grenades.
  • Rolling Attack: How some of them might attack.
  • Spiders Are Scary: Hence the name "Spiderant".
  • Underground Monkey:
    • Badass Spiderant Burner (1): Red-tinted Spiderants with gold-ish armor and incendiary needle attacks, a rapid-fire burst, a rolling attack and a Ground Pound melee attack.
      • Badass Spiderant-Trap Burner (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Badass Spiderant Corrupter (1): Green-tinted Spiderants with corrosive needle attacks (the needles having a blast delay) and a Ground Pound melee attack.
      • Badass Spiderant-Trap Corrupter (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Badass Spiderant Zapper (1): Blue-tinted Spiderants with electrical blast attacks and smaller abdomens.
      • Badass Spiderant-Trap Zapper (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Chubby Spiderant (2): Bolder, gold-colored Spiderants who drop high-quality loot when killed.
    • Fire Spiderant (2): .Larger Red-tinted Spiderant Worker who slashes with forelimbs, throws fireballs and have a Ground Pound with a fire nova. They can also burrow on the ground leaving a fire pit that explode upon contact with non-Spiderant creatures.
    • Poisonous Spiderant (2): Larger Green-tinted Spiderant Worker who slashes with forelimbs and launches corrosive webs and globs in bursts or a single blast-delayed glob. Immune to Corrosive damage.
    • Royal Spiderling (3): Larger Spiderling who hatches from eggs left by Spiderant Queens.
    • Slagged Spiderant (2): Larger Purple-tinted Spiderant who specialize in ranged attacks, launching slow-moving projectiles that slag their enemies upon impact. If the projectiles hit an inert surface, they explode and leave a cloud behind that slags anyone inside of it.
    • Spiderant (3): Run-of-the-mill Spiderant.
    • Spiderant Bishop (3): Medium-sized, blue-tinted spiderant.
    • Spiderant Gyro (1): Blue-tinted Spiderants, use a fast rolling attack.
      • Gyro Spiderant-Trap (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Spiderant King (1, 2 and 3): Larger Spiderants with well-protected abdomens and the attacks and patterns of the Workers. In 2 they also have the rolling attack of the Gyros.
      • Spiderant-Trap King (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Spiderant Knight (2 and 3): Spiderants who have their whole body encased in spikes as well as vapor slag cover. Their abdomens also have armor, making it difficult to strike critical hits.
    • Spiderant Queen (1, 2 and 3): Giant Spiderants, tougher than even the Spiderant King. Slashes at melee range with their talons, shoots volleys of large white projectiles at range with a blast delay. In 2, if their health is -50%, they can summon three Spiderant Sentinels, and if they die by critical hit on the weak point, three Spiderantlings are summoned.
      • Spiderant-Trap Queen (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Spiderant Rook (3): Ranged Spiderants who use their tail to fling balls of webs towards their opponents.
    • Spiderant Sentinel (2): Spiderants summoned by Queens. Agile, fast and with preference for melee attacks. Have a Ground Pound.
      • Dark Web Minion (Commander Lilith... DLC): Re-skinned version of the above.
    • Spiderant Soldier (1 and 2): Light Blue-tinted Spiderants, use ranged attacks (a volley of white sacs, and larger globes that bounce and explode) except when prey is at melee range. In 2, the sacs are replaced by web globs that interfere with the HUD.
      • Soldier Spiderant-Trap (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Spiderant Warrior (2): Blade-shaped armor, light-purple coloration, has a high-damage rolling attack, a leaping attack and slashes, as well as a rapid string of attacks at melee range.
    • Spiderant Worker (1 and 2): Basic Spiderant. Has a leap attack, strikes with claws at melee range, their attacks have knockback. In 2 they gain a web attack.
      • Worker Spiderant-Trap (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Spiderantling (1, 2 and 3): Pet-size Spiderant, doesn't suffer much damage from their weak point. Has a leaping strike and a melee swipe.
      • Spiderant-Trapling (Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC): Re-skineed version of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
  • You Are Already Dead: If the Burner/Corrupter Spiderants in 1 connect their needle attacks, they have a delay before they explode.

Helob

A powerful red-tinted Spiderant found as part of the mission "A Bug Problem" in the "Rust Commons East" area of 1 after defeating Krom. Located at the Fetid Cauldron, a coastline nearby Jaynistown/Taylortown and the entrance to Trash Coast.

Widowmaker

A powerful blue-tinted Spiderant found as part of the mission "A Bug Problem" in the "Rust Commons East" area of 1 after defeating Krom. Located at the Retching Seeps, a hill near the entrances to Old Haven and Salt Flats and the bridge that connects the area with the rest of the Rust Commons.

King Aracobb

The King of all Spiderant Kings, located at the "Trash Coast" area of 1. His death is required for the "Bait and Switch" mission. Spawns after Queen Tarantella's abdomen has been placed in an area nearby some bandit camps.

Queen Tarantella

The Queen of the Spiderants, located also on the "Trash Coast" area of 1, and whose death is required for the "Bait and Switch" mission.
  • Boss in Mook Clothing: A larger Spiderant Queen.
  • Easy Level Trick: She cannot reach the ledge around her arena, allowing Vault Hunters to snipe her to death. Roland players can also use the Scorpio Turret for distraction.
  • Lightning Bruiser: As she's large and takes damage like a sponge, she's also lightning-fast.
  • Rare Random Drop: Can drop the "Patton"note , the mission reward for completing "Bait and Switch", after said mission is turned in.

Scorch

A giant Fire Spiderant fought as the "False God" of the "Cult Following" sidequest chain in Frostburn Canyon.
  • The Bus Came Back: Is found at The Raid on Digistruct Peak from Overpower Level 2 onwards.
  • Flunky Boss: During the mission, Scorch is first found being worshipped by five Psychos. Afterwards it'll be surrounded by only Spiderants.
  • Playing with Fire: Her attacks are incendiary.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Hellfire"note 

The Black Queen

A large Spiderant Queen that spawns at random at the Bug Gulch area of The Dust in 2.
  • The Bus Came Back: Is found at The Raid on Digistruct Peak in the Butcher Base area, from Overpower Level 4 onwards.
  • Rare Random Drop: The main reason you're going to farm this boss is for a Nukemnote .

Dark Web

A re-skinned Black Queen found at the Veiny Shaft area of Dahl Abandon in the Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC, during the "Claptocurrency" mission.
  • Flunky Boss: In addition to her, you'll fight her minions (re-skinned Spiderant Sentinels).
  • Unique Enemy: You can't fight her again outside of her associated mission chain.

Spycho

A monstrosity created by Dr. Zed by mixing Psycho and Spiderant parts. Fought at Frostburn Canyon as part of "Monster Mash (Part 3)".
  • Backtracking: The mission it's tied into takes place right after Roland's death, roughly 75% into the game. For reference, Frostburn Canyon is the area where you first meet Lilith, roughly 30% into the game proper.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: Was born out of Zed mixing Psycho and Spiderant parts.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Neogenerator"note .

Sully the Blacksmith

A hellish Spiderant fought halfway through T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest DLC for 2 at the Hallowed Hollow Forge. The Hammer he carries is required in order to forge the Skeleton Key required to awaken and fight the Pumpkin Kingpin.
  • Rare Random Drop: Much like Scorch and Spycho, has a chance to drop the Hellfire SMG and the Neogenerator shield.

Antalope

An unique Spiderant Queen fought at the Dusty Acres as part of "Legendary Hunt (Devil's Razor)". As her name implies, she has Antelope-like horns sprouting all over her body.

Princess Tarantella II

Heir to the throne of Queen Tarantella and King Aracobb, fought on "The Splinterlands" area of 3 at an area nearby Big Donny's Chop Shop.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Hive"note , the "Roisen's Thorns"note  and the "Re-Router"note 

Queen Ant Wanette

A bigger Spiderant Queen fought as part of the "Just Desserts" mission in 3 in "The Splinterlands".
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance of dropping "The Transformer"note .

    Rakk Hive - UNMARKED SPOILERS WARNING 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tftb_rakk_hive.jpg
As seen in Tales from the Borderlands
Massive creatures with vertical mouths and several holes on their backs, which serves as homes for Rakk (hence the name). They have long hibernation periods, and are often seen sleeping underground with their backs exposed.

The original Rakk Hive is fought as the mission boss for "Another Piece of the Puzzle" in 1.


  • Damage-Sponge Boss: Rakk Hives have tons of health and immunity against elemental Damage Over Time. Even if you Go for the Eye for Critical Hits, their eyes are destroyed before their health is completely depleted.
  • Foreshadowing: Three of these are found at the very beginning of the game: one at the Arid Badlands, two at the Skag Gully, and three at Arid Hills. It's just that all of these are dormant and lay as such.
  • Kaiju: They're easily the size of a building.
  • Meaningful Name: They have a symbiotic relationship with Rakks, allowing them to use the holes on their bodies as nests.
  • Mighty Glacier: Rakk Hives are slow but they shrug off attacks with ease and pack one hell of a punch. To make up for their limited speed and mobility, they summon Rakks to for backup.
  • Non-Indicative Name: The name itself is actually descriptive on what they are for Rakks. It just doesn't indicate that they're actual living creatures for anyone who first hears the name.
  • Rare Random Drop: The original Rakk Hive has a chance to drop the Torgue Leviathannote .
  • The Unfought: The Hives at Arid Badlands, Arid Hills and Skag Gully are just decorations, and have no way of being properly engaged.

Rakk-Trap Hive

A Clapified Rakk Hive fought at the Scorched Snake Canyon area for "Old Spicy", the last of Marcus's missions, in Claptrap's New Robot Revolution.
  • The Bus Came Back: It's the Rakk Hive from Trash Coast being given new life as a Rakk-Trap Hive.

Roscoe

Captain Scarlett's pet who you meet at the climax of her DLC in 2 inside of the Leviathan.
  • The Bus Came Back: The first Rakk Hive battle after Claptrap's New Robot Revolution's Rakk-Trap Hive.

    Crab Worms 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crab_larvae.jpg
A Crab Worm larva preparing to fire acid.
Gargantuan worm-like arthropods native to Pandora. These one-eyed crustaceans are commonly seen in their larval stage, but that doesn't make them any less threatening.
  • Acid Attack: Larva Crab Worms' ranged attack has them spitting a corrosive glob.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: Their tiny purple eye. Crab Worms receive the most Critical Hit damage out of every enemy, with multipliers going as far as four or even five digits with normal attacks.
  • Big Creepy-Crawlies: Also paired with Sand Worm and Giant Enemy Crab, Crab Worms are giant crustaceans with worm-like tails that help them dig underground and attack from below.
  • Mix-and-Match Critter: As you can tell from their name, Crab Worms are part crab and part worm.
  • Mook-Themed Level: Craw Thumpers are quite common in the Wam Bam Island of Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax.
  • Out of Focus: The species were entirely replaced by Threshers in Borderlands 2, only appearing again in the final Headhunter pack.
  • Piñata Enemy: All crabworms drop a disproportionally massive amount of Experience Points. Combine the Crab Worm Larvae's large numbers with their easy-to-kill nature due to their weak point, and you can farm tons of EXP. Crawmerax's Elite Mooks drop even more EXP upon kills, with Armored Craw Worms boasting over 40,000 EXP per kill in Playthrough 2.5!
  • Underground Monkey:
    • Larva Crab Worm: Regular run-of-the-mill Crabworm.
      • Larva Crab Worm-Trap: A reskinning of the above with DLC-specific cosmetics.
    • Green Craw Worm: Green-tinted Larva Crab Worms with a leaping strike and resistance to every element except Incendiary.
    • Armored Craw Worm: Blue/purple-tinted large Larva Crab Worms with slow movement speed, purple globs, and resistance to every elemental damage except Corrosive (especially the Eridian Rolling Spatter Gun).
    • Craw Maggot: Red/orangeish Larva Crab Worms with resistance to every elemental damage except Shock (especially the S&S Orion, the Aries and the Eridian Thunder Storm). They hurl themselves at their prey.
    • Craw Thumper: Tall, unfanged, brownish-grey Craw Maggots with large tentacles.

Crawmerax the Invincible

See Borderlands Raid Bosses for tropes.

The Invincible Son of Crawmerax The Invincible

See Borderlands Raid Bosses for tropes.

    Bullymongs 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bullymong.jpg
Six-limbed ape-like creatures that most commonly inhabit the colder parts of Pandora.
  • Atrocious Alias: Hammerlock thinks so anyway, so he sends you out on a mission to gather more information and refuse on them (mostly by killing them) so that he can find new more suitable names for them for his almanac. Whatever he comes up with is either generic or worse than the name Bullymong.
  • Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Four-armed alien yetis, given their tendency to be found in snowy environments. They also take on the "sasquatch" role when they show up in the Eridian Blight with a different coat color.
  • Boulder Bludgeon:
    • Some of them have the habit of throwing rocks at you. Shooting a number of said rocks out of the air is a badass challenge.
    • They can also throw plenty of things in their environment, including cars and entire water towers uprooted from their support beams.
  • Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: Giant, multi-armed alien gorillas who live with their kin and have similar intelligence to earthly primates.
  • Ground Pound:
    • Demongs have one that produces an Incendiary nova.
    • Bullyrotts have one that produces a Corrosive nova.
  • Hard Mode Mooks:
    • Demongs and Bullyrotts appear only from True Vault Hunter Mode onwards.
  • Killer Gorilla: They're massive and aggressive 4-armed gorilla-like alien animals.
  • Like Cannot Cut Like:
    • The Incendiary Demongs are immune to Fire/Incendiary damage.
    • The Corrosive Bullyrotts are immune to Corrosive damage.
  • Make Them Rot: The aptly named Bullyrott, a type of Bullymong that uses corrosion.
  • Mook-Themed Level:
    • Regular Bullymongs are found in the early ice-themed levels (Windshear Waste, Southern Shelf, Southern Shelf - Bay and the icy areas of Three Horns - Divide). Outside of bandits and bandit factions, they're almost the only enemy found there, with some Rakk and Skag nests nearby. Bullyrotts appear alongside them.
    • Bedrock Bullymongs are late-game Bullymongs that appear in the lava-rock-eridium-filled Eridium Blight. Outside of bandits and bandit factions, they're the only enemy found there. Demongs appear alongside them.
    • Yetis are only found in Frost Bottom, the area of the DLC How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day.
  • Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Four arms, their primary method of movement and combat.
  • Top-Heavy Guy: They have four massive arms, but disproportionally small legs.
  • Underground Monkey:
    • Adult Bullymong: Bigger Bullymong that attacks with melee and ranged attacks (in the form of long distance projectile hurling). Has a leaping strike.
      • Bedrock Bullymong: Bigger Bullymong with rock-hard skin that reflects projectiles.
    • Badass Bedrock Bullymong: Bullymong that can pick up giant walls of rock. Has a charging forward attack.
    • Badass Bullymong: Bullymong whose upper arms are covered in animal bones; they cover their face on them before doing a charge attack.
    • Brat Bullymong: Smaller and weaker Bullymongs, stronger than Monglets.
      • Monglet: Smaller and weaker Bullymongs without fully developed limbs.
    • Bullymong Slinger: Bigger Bullymong that attacks at range by hurling projectiles.
    • Yeti: Reskinned Bullymongs with DLC-specific decorations.
    • Demong: Demon-themed Bullymong. Has Incendiary attacks, hurling fireballs towards their enemies, breathing fire and their Ground Pound attack produces nova blasts.
    • Bullyrott: Smelly-themed Bullymongs. Their Ground Pound attack produces Corrosive novas. Have a Charge attack.

Knuckle Dragger

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/knuckledragger.jpg
The Bullymong who terrorizes Pandora's tundra, Claptrap has his eye ripped out and stolen by it, forcing the Vault Hunters to chase after her.
  • All There in the Manual: The Borderlands 2 Guide reveals her gender to be female.
  • Boss in Mook Clothing: One of these for Bullymongs, and the first of the adult Bullymongs encountered (before this fight, all that were fought were juveniles).
  • Car Fu: She makes her introduction by lifting a wrecked car up, tossing it down to explode below it and landing in the smog to challenge the Vault Hunters.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Hornet"note .
    • Disc-One Nuke: With pistol ammo being pretty common and strong weapons being in short supply for the first few areas of the game, the Hornet will literally melt through the competition until it's outleveled or outdone by another Legendary down the line.
  • Warm-Up Boss: Knuckle Dragger serves as what is essentially the tutorial's boss battle before dumping the players into the fray. Its got easy tells to its attacks, a generous but manageable amount of HP, and is uncomplicated as far as boss battles go, being a straight battle of shooting it until it's dead while back pedaling. In Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, Knuckle Dragger is skipped entirely.

Midge-Mong

A midget-Bullymong duo fought as an optional boss in the Southern Shelf - Bay level. Sir Hammerlock sends you to investigate them, by which he means, engage them in a fight and kill them.
  • A Boy and His X: A Badass Midget and his Bullymong.
  • The Dividual: They're a duo and are billed as such.
  • Flunky Boss: Always flanked by two Badass Marauders.
  • Rare Random Drop: They can drop the "KerBlaster"note .
  • Skippable Boss: They're part of an optional sidequest.

King Mong

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_mong_1.jpg
A massive Bullymong that roams the Eridium Blight near the entrance to the Arid Nexus - Boneyard.
  • Kaiju: Not the biggest enemy in the game, but still massive enough to dwarf your vehicle a few times over and make it hard to search for loot after you kill it.
  • King Mook: It’s in his name after all, being the biggest and strongest out of them.
  • Mighty Glacier: Possibly owing to his size, King Mong slugs along at a slower pace than other Bullymongs. Definitely not the case whenever he lunges at you, however.
  • Optional Boss: He spawns rather sparingly in the Eridium Blight, and drops a valuable handful of loot when he’s killed. Such as the legendary rocket launcher Badaboom and rare skins for the Vault Hunters.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Badaboom"note  as well as rare skins for all classes.

Donkey Mong

Another massive Bullymong, this one roams around the entrance to Hero's Pass and Ore Chasm. Has a red tie.

Grendel

A massive Bullymong located at a cave inside Hayter's Folly in the Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty DLC.

The Bulwark

An armored Bullymong that appears as part of the sidequest "Palling Around".
  • Deflector Shields: Can hurl himself into a ball, preventing attacks from hurting him.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance of dropping the "Rough Rider"note .

Jackenstein

The end boss of Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, and the result of Professor Nakayama's experiments on immortalizing Handsome Jack. Fought at the H.S.S. Terminus as part of the main story mission "The Fall of Nakayama".
  • Attack Its Weak Point:
    • The Energy Capacitors on his back. They must be destroyed as he's otherwise Nigh-Invulnerable.
    • After both of them are destroyed, Jackenstein's attack pattern changes, and he gains a new weak point in its abdomen, which is exposed when he's charging for an energy ball barrage.
  • Deflector Shields: With his Energy Capacitors on, all attacks are reflected on his body.
  • Flunky Boss: Backed-up with Loaders which appear whenever one of his Capacitors is destroyed.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the "Yellow Jacket"note .
  • You Will Not Evade Me: Always chases and gets into melee range of his prey, as well as a leaping strike.

    Varkids 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/varkid_adult_1.jpg
Some adult Varkids
Giant insects that can be found hives in Tundra Express and Caustic Caverns. They can evolve in the middle of a fight into more powerful forms.

Stabber Jabbers are Varkid classes exclusive to the DLC The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler, while Tropical Varkids, their Elemental evolutions, and the Bloodhound Varkid are exclusive to Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax.


  • Big Creepy-Crawlies: Just like Spiderants, Varkids are big gnarly bugs, and Vermivorous takes this trope to Kaiju levels!
  • The Bus Came Back: Chubby Varkids can appear in The Raid on Digistruct Peak, dropping Class Mods and Pearlescent items.
  • Evolution Power-Up: Their main threat comes from the forms they can take when agitated, going through their livespans in a single fight if you give them enough time.
    • Larva are 'tiny', about half the size of a human and can be shot away rather quickly. They resemble a strange cross between scorpions with their short stingers and grasshoppers/crickets with their physique and hopping nature.
    • Adults are flying enemies who alternate between coughing up a burning spit to biting their prey. They resemble flying beetles with some traits of swarming insects like wasps.
    • Badass Varkids lost the ability to fly, but now have such heavy armor that they're now weak to corrosive damage instead of fire, and now prefer to run enemies over at high speeds. They resemble massive and slim stag beetles with the way their mandibles are shaped.
    • Super Badass Varkids shed some of their armor to the point they're weak to fire again and can take short flights, but in exchange they sport even higher amounts of HP and can burrow into the ground to attack prey. Their pudgy bodies and single large horn makes them resemble larvae cicadas crossed with rhinoceros beetles.
    • Ultimate Badass Varkids grow their wings out to massive sizes and slim their bodies out to enable complete flight, hovering in the air to shoot out caustic globs of spit. Their shape and wingspans bring mosquitos to mind, only gigantic and armored.
    • Vermivorous the Invincible is an incredibly rare step in the evolution, capable of running at high speeds to ram enemies and flying in the air to rain down globs of spit and explosive larvae interchangeably.
  • Hard Mode Mooks:
    • Chubby Varkid: "Tubby Varkid" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Varkid Burner: "Varkid Scorcher" (True Vault Hunter Mode) and "Varkid Incinerator" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Varkid Melter: "Varkid Dissolver" (True Vault Hunter Mode) and "Varkid Disintegrator" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
    • Varkid Shocker: "Varkid Zapper" (True Vault Hunter Mode) and "Varkid Electrocutioner" (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode).
  • Magikarp Power: They're individually weak enough that a melee attack will kill them instantly, and even in groups they're easy to mow down. Given enough time and if they're in a group, they'll borrow into the ground and form a cocoon from which they'll evolve into larger badass Varkids. Give them a truly large amount of time, and they can turn into Vermivorous the Invincible.
  • Metal Slime: Chubby Varkids are a rare variant that have a great chance of dropping certain Legendary items when killed.
  • Mook-Themed Level:
    • Stabber Jabbers can only be found in the outer portion of Gluttony Gulch, the area where The Ravenous Hunger of the Wattle Gobbler takes place.
    • Tropical Varkids only appear in Wam Bam Island, the level where Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax takes place.
  • Rare Random Drop:
    • Chubby Varkids have a chance to drop the "Bunny"note  or the "Whisky Tango Foxtrot"note .
    • Ultimate Badass Varkids can drop the "Quasar"note .
  • Underground Monkey:
    • Larval Varkid: Basic, small, weak Varkid. Attacks by leaping towards their enemy. Morphs into Adult Varkid.
      • Blood Varkid: Red recoloring of the above, with extra health and damage.
      • Tropical Varkid: Rainbow recolor of the Larval Varkids with DLC-specific decorations. Area-restricted. Can morph into Varkid Burners, Varkid Melters or Varkid Shockers.
    • Adult Varkid: Flying Varkid whose ranged attack has it spitting. When health is -50%, they land and trade their ranged attack for a melee one. Morphs into Badass Varkid.
      • Stabber Jabber: Gold recolor of the Adult Varkids with DLC-specific decorations. Area-restricted. Morphs into Badass Stabber Jabber.
      • Varkid Burner: Red-tinted Incendiary evolution of the Tropical Varkid. Airborne, has an incendiary spit as a ranged attack. Melee attack when damaged releases an Incendiary nova. DLC-exclusive.
      • Varkid Melter: Green-tinted Corrosive evolution of the Tropical Varkid. Fires volleys of 6-8 corrosive spits. Melee attack when damaged releases a Corrosive nova. DLC-exclusive.
      • Varkid Shocker: Blue-tinted Shock evolution of the Tropical Varkid. Mostly fights on ground and attack at close range, has a charge attack, can release a Shock nova, heavily armored but vulnerable to Corrosive weaponry. DLC-exclusive.
      • Bloodhound Varkid: Basic adult Varkid, friendly and drunk. When sober, it becomes hostile. Morphs into Badass Bloodhound Varkid. DLC-exclusive.
      • Chubby Varkid: Oversized Adult Varkid which yields Legendary loot when killed. Uses Corrosive attacks.
    • Badass Varkid: Sturdier version of the Adult Varkid. Attacks mostly on ground, have a charged attack, has armor (vulnerable to Corrosive damage). Evolves into Super Badass Varkid.
      • Voltaic Badass Varkid: Badass Varkid with a Ground Pound attack that releases a Shock nova.
      • Badass Stabber Varkid: Badass Varkid with DLC-specific decorations.
      • Badass Bloodhound Varkid: Badass Varkid with DLC-specific decorations.
    • Mutated Badass Varkid: Mission-only Badass Varkid that spawns from poison-injected pods. Increased damage and health and, while armored, they're immune to corrosive damage.
    • Super Badass Varkid: Unarmored evolution of the Badass Varkid. Fires volleys of 6-8 shots. Can burrow into the ground. Evolves into Ultimate Badass Varkid.
    • Ultimate Badass Varkid: Evolution of the Super Badass Varkid. Attacks via volley of 6-8 spits. Can release "Suicide Varkids". Can evolve into Supreme Badass Varkid or (from True Vault Hunter Mode onwards) into Vermivorous the Invincible.
  • Zerg Rush: The rather weak Larva Varkids attack this way.

Madame von Bartlesby

A miniboss Varkid found atop of a spire in Tundra Express. The mission "You Are Cordially Invited: Party Prep" has Tina sending you to retrieve Sir Reginald, whom she captured.

Vermivorous the Invincible

See Borderlands Raid Bosses for tropes.

Hemovorous the Invincible

See Borderlands Raid Bosses for tropes.

    Crystalisk 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crystalisk_temp.jpg
Giant tripodal creatures with crystal protrusions on their legs. They are commonly found in underground areas of Pandora, such as the Fridge and the Caustic Caverns.

Cave Crystalisks are reskins that only spawn in one area of Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty.


  • Attack Its Weak Point: The crystal portions on their legs. Notable for being some of the only enemies where targeting their weak point is all but required, as bullets deflect right off their stony bodies.
  • Decapitated Army: The moment the Warrior is killed, the Volcanic Crystalisks die with it too.
  • Gemstone Assault: Crystalisks have the ability to launch gemstones at their enemies; either small stones that act as arrow/bullets or large crystals that embed themselves into the ground and explode.
  • Gentle Giant: Believe or not, Crystalisks used to be the first Pandoran lifeforms that aren't thirsty for human blood. Then the Dahl executives exploited them so much that all Crystalisks turned against humankind.
  • Immune to Bullets: Other than their crystals (which are vulnerable only to Explosive damage), they're immune to all gunfire.
  • Money Spider: Defeated Crystalisks drop crystals that can be picked up for cash. The Dahl corporation realized the applications of this quite quickly when they landed on Pandora.
  • Mook-Themed Level:
    • Volcanic Crystalisks only spawn in the Vault of the Warrior.
    • Cave Crystalisks only spawn in the grotto-themed Hayter's Folly level of Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty.
  • Tragic Monster: Originally, they were peaceful creatures who greeted the newly arriving Dahl miners with curiosity and friendliness, which the miners responded to by quickly developing a mutual liking for them as well. When Dahl executives learned of their valuable crystals they demanded them to be mined and killed for profit. The ensuing poaching Dahl partook in and subsequent massacre for both sides enraged the remaining Crystalisk population to apparently deem most humans to be utter monsters, with almost no specimens currently existing who won't attack humans who get too close on sight.
  • Underground Monkey:
    • Volatile Crystalisk: The most common class of Crystalisk, attacks at melee range with a Ground Pound with its two frontal legs, or creating smaller shockwaves via another organ; and at range with a flurry of flechettes or a big volatile crystal that embeds into a surface and explodes afterwards.
      • Volcanic Crystalisk: Lava-themed, level-specific Crystalisk. Weaker than regular Crystalisks.
      • Cave Crystalisk: Rock-themed, level-specific Crystalisk.
    • Mini Crystalisk: Young crystalisk that hasn't fully developed yet. Can only do a Ground Pound or self.destruct.

Blue

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blue_8.jpg
Blue is a gigantic Crystalisk living in the Caustic Caverns, who was one of the first to encounter Dahl miners and befriended Elyse Booth when it was much smaller, who advocated for their preservation when her crew found them. Overseer Harchek, however, demanded they be poached for their valuable crystals, and the bloodbath between Dahl and the Crystalisks drove it hostile to humans. Fought as part of the mission "Safe and Sound".
  • Fluffy the Terrible: One of the largest Crystalisks to be encountered, it's fiercely territorial with a vendetta against humans, makes itself home on a shore of an acid lake, and its name is just "Blue".
  • Gentle Giant: Just like its peers, Blue used to be just as friendly as the other Crystalisks until the tragic death of its best friend, a Dahl miner named Elyse, done by the hands of her corrupt Overseer. Needless to say, Blue avenges the death of its best friend by going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and killing the Overseer. This anger is so deep-seated that Blue is just as hostile as the other Crystalisks.
  • Healing Factor: Unlike most Crystalisks, Blue's crystals grow back, regenerating a bit of its health when they do.
  • King Mook: Aside from being utterly huge and blue and having a Healing Factor, it's almost exactly the same as other Crystalisks.
  • Mighty Glacier: Blue moves like molasses, but it can soak up damage well, even if they're critical hits, and its attacks hit hard. Even its color and crystals give it a glacier-like appearance, making this massive Crystalisk an almost literal version of this trope.
  • Rare Random Drop: Blue has a chance to drop the "Fabled Tortoise"note .

Rouge

A stray Crystalisk inhabitating the Candlerakk's Crag area of Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt.
  • Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: You're travelling through Candlerakk's Crag when suddenly you're faced with a plain atop of a risc. Cue this creature emerging from below.
  • Mook Maker: Spawns Mini Crystalisks during the battle.
  • One Of These Is Not Like The Others: Has six crystals instead of the regular Crystalisks' three.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance of dropping the "Hydra"note .

    Stalkers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stalker_hi_res.jpg
Reptilian-like predators that each have a special organ that produces their own electrical field, giving them shields and invisibility.
  • Achilles' Heel: The thing that gives them invisibility is the same thing that gives them shields. Shock weapons will save you a a lot of time in killing them.
  • Invisible Monsters: Those "Invisibl Assholes" signs posted by bandits? They're referring to these guys.
  • Lightning Bruiser: As if the fact that they have shields isn't enough, they're incredibly fast to the point where they appear to teleport in conjunction with their invisibility. This is especially the case with Rabid Stalkers, who are incredibly tough even without their shields.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: They're very close to being reptiles, and are extremely vicious.
  • Spike Shooter: Needle Stalkers will keep their distance to pelt you with spines from long range. From TVHM onwards, they get replaced by stronger variants whose spines explode.
  • Spin Attack: The aptly-named Cyclone Stalkers, which attack by spinning rapidly toward their target. They also reflect bullets while spinning.

Voracidous the Invincible (and Chief Ngwatu)

See Borderlands Raid Bosses for tropes.

    Scalyions 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scalyion.png

  • Scary Scorpions: Aside from divergent traits, they're not too visual distant from regular scorpions.

    Boroks 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/borok01.png
Giant, horned quadrupedal creatures found in the continent of Aegrus.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: Their large throats.
  • Creepily Long Arms: Their front legs are larger than their hind legs.
  • Dash Attack: Their main method of attack; bumping into their Vault Hunters repeatedly in an attempt to skewer them with their horns.
  • Insectoid Aliens: Not completely, though they have double-jointed front limbs, multiple eyes and armor plating similar to a Rhinoceros beetle.

    Spores 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spore_bl2.jpg
Giant floating spores that hover over the continent of Aegrus.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: While they're normally quite resilient, shooting the opening on their underside will make quick work of them.
  • Planimal: It's in their name; despite being plant-like in nature, they possess enough intelligence to retaliate against attackers. Though they can also be compared to jellyfish.
  • Savage Setpiece: Spores are non-hostile by default, which is generally a good thing as they're surprisingly tough when aggravated (to the point they're considered Badasses by the game).

Elpis

    Threshers 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tresher.jpg
A Thresher on Elpis
Tentacled, cephalopod-like creatures that travel underground. They're usually found near shores and riverbed areas such as the Highlands. They're native to Elpis, but after landing on Pandora have become able to grow in much larger sizes than those on their homemoon.
  • Alien Kudzu: They’re originally from Elpis, Pandora’s moon, where they’re only large enough to get a few feet on a human, not like the tower-sized beasts seen previously. As for how they got on Pandora and became an invasive species, Sir Hammerlock wanted to acquire samples of the smaller Threshers for research, hiring Jack's Vault Hunter team to put them on a rocket to Pandora, only for the rocket to crash land where Hammerlock cant reach them, and the rest is history. For added insult to injury, one of them was named Terry and the other one was noted to like slapping things a lot, meaning these tiny Threshers became Terramorphous the Invincible and Old Slappy, two of the largest and most dangerous Threshers on Pandora.
  • Combat Tentacles: Their main method of trying to kill you. They either use their arms to hurl rocks at you from afar or sling them at you like whips.
  • Extra Eyes: They have two sets of eyes on the sides of their heads, and some on their tentacles.
  • Kaiju: Threshers can grow to massive sizes, with boss Threshers always being at least being the size of a several story building. Non-boss Threshers can still be utterly massive though, such as Turf Threshers and Badass Pyre Threshers.
  • Tentacled Terror: Threshers are very aggressive and hungry worms who mostly attack with their tentacles.
  • You Will Not Evade Me: The Wormhole Threshers will emit a powerful gravitational pull to pull their prey in, dealing damage over time when they come close.

Terramorphous the Invincible

See Borderlands Raid Bosses for tropes.

Old Slappy

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/old_slappy.png
The huge Thresher responsible for attacking and tearing off some of Sir Hammerlocks limbs years ago, Hammerlock opts to take revenge by hiring the Vault Hunters to lure and kill it, using the scent of his prosthetic arm as bait.
  • Animal Nemesis: The one for Hammerlock and the reason why he’s got artificial limbs, and probably why he’s got a mechanical eye too. The feeling seems to be mutual on Slappy's part, as Hammerlock uses his scent on his prosthetic arm to remind Slappy about their previous fight to lure it out the earth and 'finish the job'.
  • Rare Random Drop: Has a chance to drop the Jakobs Striker, a highly accurate shotgun with strong critical damage.

     Kraggons 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kraggons_bltps.jpg
Lizard-looking rock monsters that roam around the volcanic and icy parts of Elpis. They come with either lava or cryogenic attributes depending on their surroundings.
  • Asteroids Monster: Figuratively and literally. Killing off larger Kraggons will spawn two more weaker ones.
  • Breath Weapon: The larger Kraggons will hurl flaming boulders at you from a distance, or icy ones depending on the variant.
  • Rolling Attack: One method of attacking you. It's actually needed to bust into a caved-in store room for the side mission Torgue-O! Torgue-O!.
  • Silicon-Based Life: They may look like a reptilian quadraped, but their biology is not like normal biological animals

     Rathyd 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ezgif_2_7ff04e146b.png
A cyclopean insect-like creature native to Elpis.
  • The Goomba: The easiest creatures to kill on Elpis.
  • Underground Monkey: The moon-equivalent to Rathyds; they're small, fly a lot, come in swarms, and die easily.
  • Zerg Rush: Their go-to strategy to taking down prey is to swoop down as a flock to repeatedly dive-bomb enemies until they die, like the Rakks.

    Torks 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wiry_tork_1.jpg
An insect-like species native to Elpis.
  • Ceiling Cling: Mainly in closed areas, Torks will cling to the walls and ceilings to attack you from there.
  • Silicon-Based Life: While carrying similar traits to insects, Torks don't have an apparent animal counterpart and their shells appear made of a sort-of rock material similar to the moon.
  • Wall Crawl: Will tend to crawl to the nearest wall to lunge from or shoot acid at you.

    Shuggaraths 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shuggurath_plain.jpg
Large, floating Lovecraftian creatures that hover around Elpis, emerging from the glowing caves around Triton Flats.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: Either have bulbous protrusions going from their heads or huge sets of eyes.
  • Energy Weapon: Energized Shugguraths fire beams of electricity at their prey.
  • Shout-Out: The Shuggarath's eldritch appearance and name are references to the Outer-Goddess Shub Niggurath.
  • Starfish Alien: One of the most alien looking Borderlands creatures yet.

Other

    Ratch 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ratch_bl3.jpg
A species of large insectoid creatures found throughout the galaxy. They're an infestation found in a handful of locations, thought they're mainly on located on Athenas and Promethea.
  • Eyeless Face: In place of eyes, Ratch instead have large tooth-like protrusions coming from their faces.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: Right down to their name, they're a combination of roaches and rats. They have ears, tails and skin color similar to rats, while also possessing thoraxes, insectoid shells and jointed limbs. Certain types even grow wings.
  • Monstrous Cannibalism: In the event that one Ratch in a group dies, another will move to their corpse and devour it for extra health.
  • The Swarm: The aptly named Ratch Swarm; a swarm of flying Ratch around the size of insects.
  • Zerg Rush: Much like other pest-type enemies of the series, the common Ratch is weak on it's own and they usually come in numbers.

Juniper

Taco eater. Ratch Whisperee.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ntftb_juniper.jpg
Paco's favorite Ratch pet. Loves hiding in places.
  • Establishing Character Moment: The first quest Paco gives to Octavio is about finding her. Later on, she's introduced as Anu, Octavio and Fran's means to get into the Promethean Vault without being seen.

    Jabber 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jabber_bl3.png
A species of intelligent, simian creatures, typically found in the swamps of Eden-6.

    Saurians 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saurians_bl3.jpg
A species of carnivorous creatures similar to dinosaurs, namely Theropods, found on Eden-6. An introduced variant nicknamed "Devils" are also found on Gehenna.
  • Extra Eyes: Ravagers have 4 eyes.
  • Love Potion: According to Tannis, their sweat glands are used as an aphrodisiac called "Licking Tail" in many systems.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: They're giant alien dinosaurs for Pandora's sake!
  • Raptor Attack: The typical Saurian has about the same size, build and temperament as the typical Raptor of fiction.
  • Spikes of Doom: Saurians tend to have a umber of spikes protruding from their heads and limbs. Slingers in particular have them along their spines and tails.
  • Spike Shooter: Slinger use their tails to shoot spikes at prey.

Grog

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baby_toxic_grog.jpg
A baby Grog

  • Armless Biped: Separating them from other Saurians is their lack of forearms.
  • Breath Weapon: Amongst other attacks, Grogs are able to spit a form of flammable oil at their prey.
    • There are also Fire Grogs, who spit actual fire.

Tyrant

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tyrant.jpg
Massive, solitary Saurians and the species' equivalent to the Tyrannosaurus rex.
  • Breath Weapon: Some Tyrants breath either torrents of flame or corrosive acid.
  • Elite Mook: The strongest of the Saurians, uncommonly found and thankfully never in packs.
  • Giant Mook: They're even bigger than vehicles.
  • Lightning Bruiser: On top of being physically powerful enough to eat through vehicles in seconds and durable enough to take a bunch of blows, they're deceptively faster than they look.

    Nekrobugs 
A species of amphibian/insectoid creatures indigenous to Nekrotafeyo, that are hostile to anyone that invade their territories.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: They're known as bugs, with one variant (Korax) possessing wings, they're also share similarity to frogs. Namely their skin and ability to hopping movement.
  • Fusion Dance: Manta and Korax's possess the ability to fuse together, creating a Mantakore.

    Wolven 
Lupine creatures with skeletal protrusions native to Xylourgos
  • Savage Wolves: It's in their name. Quadrupedal, canine-like build and howls.
  • Skull for a Head: The top of their heads show off their skulls, which seem to be rippling from their skin.
  • Wolves Always Howl at the Moon: The Wolven Howler, while lacking in offensive ability, climb to the nearest ledge and belt out a howl. These grants their fellow Wolven shields until they're killed.


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