Mayhem comes in Ultraviolet this Thursday, April 23! Revenge of the Cartels is a neon-soaked free seasonal event live in Borderlands 3 from April 23 to June 4. This limited-time event comes with an all-new area, fresh enemy types, Challenges, and new gear including Legendaries and new Anointments.
Our cross-cultural researcher Maurice is back, but he’s gotten himself mixed up with a rough crowd, and he’s now in debt to Eridium Cartel kingpin Joey Ultraviolet. It’s now up to you to take on Joey Ultraviolet and his gangs of underlings to save Maurice’s hide.
Getting Started
To kick off the action, log into the game during the Revenge of the Cartels event, and head to Sanctuary III to meet up with Maurice. There, he’ll give you a repeatable quest that must be completed in order to reach Joey’s lavish hideout, Villa Ultraviolet. During the event, you’ll find Cartel Operatives around the galaxy (including DLC areas). When you kill an Operative, Cartel Thugs will appear to avenge their fallen comrade–and they may have one of the Eridium Cartel’s Underbosses in tow. These Underbosses are Badass-level enemies that, when eliminated, will drop Hideout Coordinates. Collect enough Coordinates, and Maurice will open a portal leading you directly to Villa Ultraviolet.
Villa Ultraviolet and the Eridium Cartels
Once you make it to Villa Ultraviolet, you’ll run into Eridium Cartel members belonging to three distinct factions: The tech-obsessed CryptoSec cyborgs, the Purpatrators (Eridium dust pushers), and the Burnt Ends debt collectors–you can guess what happens to folks that don’t pay up.
Each of these gangs has their own Underboss, which you’ll need to take down in addition to Joey Ultraviolet himself–and each gang has their own Legendary loot pool, so multiple Villa visits are encouraged! As with other seasonal events, you can also toggle the event on or off at any time while it’s live via an option in the Main Menu. In multiplayer, the host’s choice determines whether the group sees Revenge of the Cartels content.
Revenge of the Cartels Seasonal Rewards
In addition to each gang’s Legendary loot and new Anointments to seek out, Revenge of the Cartels also brings new limited-time Challenges you can complete for themed cosmetic rewards. There are 18 Challenges in total, and they’re only available while Revenge of the Cartels is live (through June 4). You can track your progress through the event tab on your ECHO device menu. Here’s a breakdown of the rewards and how many Challenges you’ll need to complete to get them:
- 3 Challenges: ‘VECH-tor Graphics’ ECHO Device Skin
- 6 Challenges: ‘Retro Outrunner’ Weapon Trinket
- 10 Challenges: ‘Framed Firewall’ Room Decoration
- 14 Challenges: ‘Hotline Pandora’ Vault Hunter Head
- 18 Challenges: ‘Death by Filigrees’ Vault Hunter Skin
Revenge of the Cartels kicks off with Thursday’s patch and starts Thursday, April 23rd and is scheduled to run for six weeks through June 4.
