Double trouble hits Borderlands 4 this week as Raid Boss 2: Subjugator and Thol the Invincible drops on May 28, adding a new endgame challenge as part of Version 1.7 update, free for all Borderlands 4 players. While you're getting ready to throw down in this dual boss fight, check out the latest episode of the Gearbox DevCast above, as hosts Andrew Reiner and April Johnson chat with Lead Level Designer David Ruiz for an in-depth look at the encounter.
Subjugator and Thol the Invincible are languishing in their service to the Timekeeper. These nigh-unstoppable brothers have been isolated on an island off the coast of the Fadefields, desperately bored of the status quo. They see the Vault Hunters invading their sanctum as a welcome reprieve from restlessness, and they're willing to stake everything on this life-or-death battle just to feel something again.
Subjugator and Thol the Invincible boss fight
As a quick recap, you'll need to beat the main campaign before challenging Subjugator and Thol the Invincible. When you start this encounter, you'll have to battle Subjugator and Thol in a tag-team matchup. They’ll take turns clashing with you before joining up for a deadly dual attack.
Once you've slain one brother, the other will assume their ascended form and regroup in their preferred domain: "Heaven" for Subjugator, "Hell" for Thol. You can see in the new Gearbox DevCast gameplay footage that Heaven is a lot more spacious, as you'll need to glide through the air to avoid the attacks of the newly colossal Subjugator. Meanwhile, Hell is like a sumo ring enclosed by lava as you square off against the brutish Thol's unleashed strength up close.
While the first Raid Boss encounter against Bloomreaper the Invincible was focused on positioning and arena awareness, Raid Boss 2 is designed to test your endurance as you clash with Subjugator, Thol, both at once, and finally the ascended form of the surviving brother.
Fighting Bloomreaper means constantly moving so you don't get knocked away and fall to an instant death. By contrast, the battle against Subjugator and Thol focuses on mechanical execution as the duel intensifies with each phase, and there's a tactical element to identifying which ascended form your build has the best chance of defeating.
Subjugator and Thol the Invincible loot drops
In case you missed them in the Subjugator and Thol the Invincible reveal article, here's a list of the precious gear drops you can farm from Raid Boss 2:
- 1 new Pearlescent weapon:
- Jail-Broken Gatling (Ripper SMG): For each hit on an enemy, gain a buff that increases fire rate, damage, weapon recoil, and the chance to fire additional projectiles
- 4 new Legendary items:
- Lockjaw (Torgue Assault Rifle): Fires explosive projectiles that bounce between multiple targets
- Shammy Kablammy (Tediore Pistol): Douses enemies in hot Moonshine, then throws an explosive projectile when reloading that burns doused enemies with Incendiary damage, scaling with how many targets you lit ablaze
- Flak Cannon (Vladof Heavy Weapon Ordnance): Shred your enemies with a hail of bullets
- Collector (Order Shield): Weather any storm with this Energy Shield that has a huge capacity and a quick recharge rate, offset by a longer recharge delay
- 5 new Class Mods:
- Each Vault Hunter has a unique Class Mod in Subjugator and Thol the Invincible's loot table. When the sixth Vault Hunter joins Borderlands 4 as part of Story Pack 2* in Q3 2026, a Class Mod unique to them will also be added to this same pool of possible Subjugator and Thol the Invincible drops.
- New firmware:
- Active Fire: At Tier 3, unleashing a charge weapon's full-charge shot the moment it's available will deal bonus damage, providing increased lethality as a reward for your precision timing
As with the Bloomreaper fight, the best Subjugator and Thol the Invincible loot can only drop in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM), the amped-up difficulty setting you can learn about in our Borderlands 4 endgame explainer. Entering the Raid Boss 2 encounter in UVHM adds a timer to your run; you'll want to put these mighty brothers in the dirt as quickly as possible.
Should you manage to slay Subjugator and Thol, you'll be rewarded with a chest full of loot containing different tiers of potential bonus rewards. Depending on your completion time, the Silver, Gold, or Platinum-tier rewards you get will be increasingly powerful. You'll be able to clearly see how much time is left to hit a tier via your mission tracker.
All of Subjugator and Thol's Class Mod drops are only available when achieving the Silver tier or higher in UVHM. And if you absolutely smash Subjugator and Thol in record time to earn Platinum-tier rewards, you'll score a guaranteed Legendary drop, with an increased chance of getting a coveted Pearlescent weapon.
More Version 1.7 features
In addition to the Subjugator and Thol the Invincible boss fight, Version 1.7 coming on May 28 includes some new features we want to highlight:
- Pearlescent World Drops - As Ordonite corruption continues to spread across Kairos, the chance to find Pearlescent weapons as World Drops has also increased. Be sure to check the contents of those chests, lockers, and even grody toilets; you never know where one of the most precious weapons in the game might suddenly appear.
- UVHM Level 7 - Crank up that endgame difficulty even further and put your builds to the ultimate test. To unlock UVHM Level 7, you'll have to defeat Subjugator and Thol the Invincible on UVHM Level 6. Best of luck.
- Shared Character Progression toggle - As previously discussed, this toggle gives you the option to roll a new Vault Hunter with a completely clean slate if you so choose. If you've been wanting to rediscover Kairos with a new character as if you're experiencing the world for the first time, you'll be able to turn off Shared Character Progression when creating a new Vault Hunter once Version 1.7 goes live.
- While it won't be ready in time for Version 1.7, we're still hard at work on a Cross-Platform Saves feature that will let you seamlessly continue your Vault Hunters' adventures across different platforms.
Takedown and Bounty Pack 3** coming June 25
As mentioned during the Gearbox DevCast, the endgame raid Takedown at the Hadron Abyss (free for all Borderlands 4 players) and the paid DLC of Bounty Pack 3: A Zane to Kill For are both dropping on June 25 with Version 1.8! We'll have more details on all the new content coming your way soon.
Later this year, we'll introduce the paid content of Bounty Packs 4 and 5, as well as the paid Story Pack 2 that includes a new Vault Hunter, a new map zone, and much more. As a refresher, owning Borderlands 4 Super Deluxe Edition gets you all of the content from the Bounty Pack Bundle (Bounty Packs 2, 3, 4, and 5) and Vault Hunter Pack (Story Packs 1 and 2), while Borderlands 4 Deluxe Edition gets you the Bounty Pack Bundle. Bounty Packs and Story Packs will also be available for individual purchase.
*Story Packs 1 and 2 are paid post-launch DLC that are included with the Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter Pack, and included in Borderlands 4 Super Deluxe Edition. They will also be available for separate purchase (base game required). Exact release timings of each Story Pack to be announced at a later date and will be subject to change. Terms apply.
**Bounty Packs 2/3/4/5 are post-launch DLCs that are included with the Borderlands 4 Bounty Pack Bundle, and included with the Deluxe and Super Deluxe Editions of Borderlands 4. They are also available for separate purchase (base game required). Exact release timings of each Bounty Pack to be announced at a later date and will be subject to change. Terms apply.
