• Guide

How to enable Mayhem Mode in Borderlands 3

Learn how to turn on Mayhem Mode and increase the amount of experience and loot drop rate in Borderlands 3.

Josh Hawkins

September 19, 2019 8:50 AM

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If you’re planning on farming for loads of guns in Borderlands 3, then you’re going to want to know all about Mayhem Mode. When activated, Mayhem Mode allows users to take on more powerful enemies, however, the amount of experience you earn, as well as the loot drop rate is significantly increased. In this article we’ll discuss how to enable Mayhem Mode, as well as talk about the differences between the three levels.

How to enable Mayhem Mode

To enable Mayhem Mode, you’re going to need to complete the main story campaign. After returning to Sanctuary III, Tannis will walk you through how to activate Mayhem Mode. Essentially, all you need to do is place a relic in one of three different slots on a pedestal that is located on the ship.

To find the Mayhem Mode activation area, head up to the top level of Sanctuary III and look out for the skull icon on your minimap. Here you can choose to activate Mayhem I, Mayhem II, or Mayhem III. Each mode will make enemies more difficult and will buff how much experience and loot you can earn when you kill enemies.

The biggest difference between the three modes is also determined by how much more difficult enemies become. For example, in Mayhem I, enemies become more resilient against elemental attacks, while Mayhem II sees them gaining more shields and more resilience. Finally, Mayhem III means you’ll be taking on some of the toughest Badass enemies you’ve ever encountered, and all enemies’ accuracy and damage soak up are buffed quite a bit. This means it will take more to kill these enemies, as they have much greater amounts of health than normal.

If you’re planning on making use of the Borderlands 3 loot cave, or just planning to grind experience from boss fights, then Mayhem Mode III is where you’ll want to be. So long as you’re at least level 38 or so, you should be able to survive for the most part, as long as you stay on the move and don’t soak up too much direct damage.

Now that you know how to enable Mayhem Mode, head back over to our Borderlands 3 guide and FAQ for more helpful information.

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.