Ranking all of Borderlands' Raid Bosses

With the Borderlands 3: Director's Cut launching just a few weeks ago, I've once again fallen back into my vault hunting habits to explore all the new content the expansion has brought along. While the murder mystery storylines are daft and fun to play, myself, being a lunatic, was instantly drawn to the call of the new raid boss, Hemovorous the Invincible. This vicious Varkid once again made me realise that I was in fact not the biggest badass to wander the galaxy, and it made me think back to the countless times when I deluded myself into that very same false sense of security. Needless to say, a wave of memories flooded back over me, memories that cost me billions in digistructing fees, but it did give me the idea to rank each of the 15 raid bosses that have made an appearance in a Borderlands game to date, in my own personal opinion of course.

15. Pyro Pete the Invincible

Someone had to take the bottom slot, and for me, this is without a shadow of a doubt, Pyro Pete the Invincible. This boss is basically just an upgraded version of Pyro Pete and is super easy to take down, provided you don't get too close to him and can withstand his elemental damage. Sure, he makes for a great place to farm Badass Tokens and loot, but for a raid boss, he feels lacking compared to the competition.

14. The Invincible Son of Crawmerax the Invincible

For what it's worth, The Invincible Son of Crawmerax the Invincible has one of, if not the best names for a raid boss, and has one of the better arenas, but this jacked-up crabworm suffers from the same problems as Pete: he's just too easy to take down and isn't all that special. The Son of Crawmerax is essentially just a reskinned version of Crawmerax that can be taken down super quickly, and while it is great for getting some new loot, there's not really much else going for it.

13. The Invincible Sentinel / The Invincible Empyrean Sentinel

Considering The Invincible Sentinel is all that Borderlands: The Pre Sequel brought to the table in terms of raid bosses, it wasn't all that special. This ancient being is just a stronger version of a story boss, and despite having some pretty interesting mechanics, we don't ever really feel the call to jump back in to fight this one. The Invincible Sentinel does transform into the The Invincible Empyrean Sentinel when you whittle down enough of its health, elevating the challenge of the fight, but with some real titans coming up, this one just doesn't quite stack up.

12. Haderax the Invincible

Fighting one of those massive sandworms from Dune has always seemed pretty cool, but when you are a Vault Hunter equipped with massively powerful weapons, it turns out the fight isn't all that fair. Haderax the Invincible joined the Borderlands 2 party late, in the Commander Lilith & the fight for Sanctuary DLC, and whilst offering a new challenge, compared to the Seraph Guardians that came before, Haderax doesn't quite live up to the hype.

11. Vermivorous the Invincible

As far as challenge goes, Vermivorous the Invincible is perhaps the least threatening raid boss of them all. This ugly bug can be created by letting a Varkid reach the Supreme Badass stage on True and Ultimate Vault Hunter, and that's precisely the reason why it's ranked so high. The ability to be able to create one of the monsters anywhere Varkids can be found allows the fight to always be that little more unique, despite the fact that it won't pose as much of a threat as the other traditional bosses.

10. Wotan the Invincible

Marking the first raid boss to grace Borderlands 3, Wotan the Invincible made its first appearance as part of the Takedown at the Maliwan Blacksite DLC. This gigantic robot, whilst featuring a whole range of exciting new mechanics, only cracks the tenth spot due to its super annoying shields. Wotan spawns shield after shield after shield, all whilst reigning hellfire on you, which basically means you're going to need a shock elemental weapon if you want to stand a chance here.

9. Hyperius the Invincible

Hyperius the Invincible, whilst being a personal favourite of mine, gets knocked quite significantly due to how easy it is to insta-kill this boss with Zer0's Bore mechanic. Grab yourself a Sand Hawk SMG, line-up Hyperius' Loader-bot minions and fire a few rounds through and this boss will drop almost instantaneously, which is quite a shame since Hyperius is one of the few Seraph Guardians.

8. Terramorphous the Invincible

To this date, Terramorphous the Invincible remains my personal favourite raid boss in Borderlands, as it was the first that I ever encountered. Taking up the role of the first raid boss in Borderlands 2, Terramorphous is a huge Thresher that will whip and smack you right back to the digistruct spawn pylon. Whilst not being all that difficult to bring down, Terramorphous offers some great loot, and is situated in one of the best arenas there is.

7. Scourge the Invincible Martyr

Following on from Wotan, Scourge the Invincible Martyr is the second raid boss to grace Borderlands 3, and takes the form of a massive and incredibly deadly Eridian Guardian. This behemoth of a foe comes with some really unique mechanics that will see you teleported into different arenas in between different phases of the battle, and the only reason it is ranked in the seventh slot is because the chaps coming up are some of the most iconic and terrifying foes Borderlands has ever seen.

6. Hemovorous the Invincible

Sure, Hemovorous the Invincible is a newbie, but this giant Varkid lacks that extra oomph to crack the top five. Hemovorous is however, a challenge as technically there are two bosses you have to face in this one arena. With a monster amount of health, and plenty of supporting mobs that won't hesitate to annihilate you in seconds, this battle is a challenge through and through, even more so if you fancy taking on the encounter solo.

5. Master Gee the Invincible

The top five features the toughest and most challenging foes in all of Borderlands, and what better way to kick that off than Master Gee the Invincible. This fella is the boss that comes after Hyperius the Invincible and features one of the most brutal mechanics there is, pools of acid that will not despawn unless he walks through them. Wielding a custom Ahab rocket launcher and enough health to challenge even the most equipped team of Vault Hunters, Master Gee really is not for the faint-hearted.

4. Voracidous the Invincible

If we're talking strictly about difficulty, Voracidous the Invincible would probably claim the top spot, but it's taking the fourth slot due to a few unique features from the bosses ahead of it. Voracidous is a Stalker (an enemy type I loathe) that is much bigger than any other Stalker you will meet, and is accompanied by another chap called Chief Ngwatu who will even give Voracidous a shield if not eliminated quickly enough. With high agility, damage, and health on its side, Voracidous is a truly terrifying beast that probably still makes you shudder when you hear its name.

3. Dexiduous the Invincible

The second raid boss that came as part of the Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt expansion, Dexiduous the Invincible is a behemoth of a Drifter that can be spawned by spending heaps of Eridium at different parts of the Hunter's Grotto map. Dexiduous is incredibly hard to kill, mainly because it resists pretty much everything, has a health bar that makes other bosses look feeble, and can unleash massive amounts of damage at pretty long ranges thanks to its giant size. If the search for loot wasn't a primary driving force for a Vault Hunter, we'd probably just avoid this chap entirely.

2. Crawmerax the Invincible

The one that started it all, Crawmerax the Invincible gets bonus points for being the original raid boss in Borderlands. When Crawmerax first made its appearance, it showed every Vault Hunter across the galaxy that they weren't so tough, but also showed that if they could band together, loot unlike no other was waiting for them at the end of this immense challenge. Crawmerax might not be as threatening as Voracidous or as mechanically unique as Scourge, but this enormous crabworm paved the way for not only its own son, but countless other raid bosses too.

1. Ancient Dragons of Destruction

Taking the top spot on the list is the Ancient Dragons of Destruction, the only raid boss to break the traditional "the Invincible" naming convention. This encounter was part of the Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep Borderlands 2 expansion and pitted our Vault Hunter against not one, not two, not three, but four incredibly high damage, tanky, flying elemental dragons. Set in an arena surrounded by lava, these enemies are the epitome of what makes a raid boss so engaging to fight, as they are both brutally hard to beat, but offer some of the best loot Borderlands 2 has to offer.

And there we have it, what I believe to be the definitive ranking of all the raid bosses in the Borderlands franchise so far. If you have any thoughts on where I placed each boss, be sure to let me know in the comments below.