Borderlands 3

It is the fifth game in the series and it takes place after Borderlands 1, 2, Pre-sequel, and Tales from the Borderlands. In June of 2019, 3 months before release of Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2 put out a DLC that bridged the gap between 2 and 3 and helped setup the story for 3. The DLC took place after Pre-sequel and Tales from the Borderlands as well.

Responding to a call from the Crimson Raiders, a team of Vault Hunters—Amara, Moze, Zane, and FL4K—arrive on Pandora. They meet Lilith, the leader of the Crimson Raiders, who tasks them with recovering a stolen Vault map. The map has recently fallen into the hands of the Children of the Vault (COV). The Vault Hunters manage to retrieve the map, which points them toward Promethea, a city-planet known as the site of the first discovered Vault and the headquarters of the Atlas corporation. However, before they can leave Pandora, the Calypso Twins, Tyreen and Troy, ambush them. The twins reveal that they are both Sirens, having been conjoined at birth, and that Troy relies on Tyreen’s powers to survive. Tyreen uses her life-draining abilities to steal Lilith’s powers and takes the map, departing for Promethea with Troy.

The Vault Hunters and Crimson Raiders pursue them to Promethea aboard the Sanctuary III ship. Upon arrival, they find the planet under attack by the Maliwan corporation, which has joined forces with the Calypso Twins in an attempt to take over Atlas, now led by Rhys. After helping Rhys fend off the attack, he directs the Vault Hunters to Athenas, where the Promethean Vault Key is located. On Athenas, the Vault Hunters team up with Maya and her apprentice Ava to recover the Key, discovering it to be only a third of the full artifact. Maya and Ava then join the Crimson Raiders. Back on Promethea, the Vault Hunters disable Maliwan’s orbital laser cannon, powered by the second part of the Key, and eliminate Katagawa Jr. Rhys provides them with the final piece of the Key and reveals the Vault’s location. Inside the Vault, the team defeats the Rampager, an alien beast contained within. The Calypso Twins arrive, and Tyreen absorbs the Rampager’s power, revealing their intention to drain the power of the Vault monsters as they progress toward the Great Vault. Ava attempts to fight them but is overpowered. Maya intervenes to protect her, but Troy kills Maya by draining her life force and powers.

The Vault Hunters and Crimson Raiders then set their sights on the next Vault, located on the swamp planet of Eden-6, owned by the Jakobs family, which is also under attack by the COV. Wainwright Jakobs, heir to the Jakobs corporation, agrees to help the Vault Hunters obtain the Eden Vault Key if they rescue his partner, Alastair Hammerlock. The Vault Hunters find Hammerlock, who reveals that his sister, Aurelia, betrayed him by siding with the Calypso Twins in exchange for control of the Jakobs corporation and the Vault Key. The Vault Hunters gather the three pieces of the Eden-6 Vault Key and eliminate Aurelia. They open the Vault and defeat the monster within, the Graveward. Patricia Tannis then drains the Graveward’s energy before Tyreen can claim it. Furious, the Calypsos kidnap Tannis and bring her back to Pandora for a public execution.

The Vault Hunters and Crimson Raiders return to Pandora to save Tannis. During the rescue, Tannis reveals that she possesses Siren powers inherited from Angel after her death, a secret she and Lilith had kept hidden. Tannis warns that the Calypso Twins are preparing to open the Great Vault to drain the energy of the monster inside. The Vault Hunters launch an assault on the COV’s main base but are too late to stop Troy from activating the Vault’s Key, which is actually the entire moon of Elpis. The Vault Hunters defeat and kill Troy, leading to Ava inheriting the Siren powers he had stolen from Maya. However, the Great Vault begins to open, and Tyreen absorbs Troy’s energy before fleeing. The Vault Hunters are then contacted by Typhon DeLeon, the first Vault Hunter, who warns them that the Great Vault contains an interdimensional monster known as the Destroyer, capable of devouring the entire universe. He summons the Vault Hunters to the lost Eridian homeworld, Nekrotafeyo.

On Nekrotafeyo, Typhon explains that the Great Vault isn’t just located on Pandora—it is Pandora itself. The Eridians created the Vault as a prison, sacrificing their entire civilization to imprison the Destroyer, but left behind a device to contain it if necessary. As the Vault Hunters gather the four Vault Keys needed to power the device, Tyreen reveals that Typhon is her and Troy’s father. Typhon admits that he tried to keep the twins with him on Nekrotafeyo to protect them, but they saw it as a prison and became bitter and power-hungry. Tyreen disables the device before it can be used and mortally wounds Typhon before fleeing to Pandora.

The Vault Hunters confront Tyreen just as she merges with the Destroyer. They defeat her, and Lilith regains her Siren powers. However, Elpis continues to open the Great Vault, threatening to destroy Pandora. Lilith sacrifices herself to stop Elpis, leaving a flaming Firehawk symbol on the moon. In the aftermath, the Vault Hunters, Crimson Raiders, and their allies honor and memorialize Lilith, gazing at the Firehawk sigil on Elpis.