Borderlands 4 Easter Eggs
BEST Secret Locations & References
The Ultimate EASTER EGG GUIDE
As with every other game in the franchise, Borderlands 4 has a lot of easter eggs scattered throughout its wide open world. From very obvious pop culture references in item descriptions to NPCs that are a little too on the nose, there’s no shortage of them in the game.
In this guide, we’ll share some of the most popular easter eggs in Borderlands 4, including where to find them and what they reference.
Shrek’s Swamp
Location: Fadefields
Type: Secret area and unique enemies
What is the Shrek’s Swamp Easter Egg?
Near Wyclef’s Reprieve, you’ll find a swamp down below, and in one corner lies a lot of hanging corpses and various road signs telling you that there’s trouble up ahead. Naturally, you’ll want to go right in and check out whatever lies in there.
Well, enter through a broken pipe and you’ll find a large green enemy named Wreck and their animal companion, Burro. While it may seem like a random elite encounter, this is actually a very blatant reference to Shrek (and Donkey) from that iconic old Dreamworks animated film of the same name.
Both of them are fairly easy to kill, and they don’t actually drop anything valuable unless you get a massive stroke of good luck with the regular world drop loot table. It’s a silly little reference that’s a little out of the way, and the only thing really missing from this is Wreck screaming “Get out of my swamp!” or some other recognizable line.
How to Find the Shrek’s Swamp Easter Egg?
Finding Shrek’s (or Wreck’s, I suppose) Swamp is easy, as all you need to do is jump straight down from Wyclef’s Reprieve and head straight west. There, you’ll eventually find a broken section of a massive pipe.
As soon as you get past the pipe, you’ll be attacked by Wreck and Burro, who are just as tough as the average Badass enemy that you can run into anywhere else. Just bear in mind that Wreck himself can potentially spawn with some deadly modifiers, so keep your distance if you’re not fully geared up.
TIPS
- Wreck can occasionally spawn a shield that absorbs damage, so he’s tougher than he initially looks.
- Burro, on the other hand, is extremely squishy and will be a non-factor in the fight as long as you’re using an appropriately leveled weapon.
- One of the collectible ECHOs can be found in this area, so make sure to check the small area behind Wreck after you’ve killed him.
VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
Tannis on a Fish
Location: Fadefields
Type: Secret Interaction
What is the Tannis on a Fish Easter Egg?
Although Tannis regrettably does not show up in the base game of Borderlands 4, her iconic fish-related easter egg that has been present since the very first installment makes an appearance in this game as well.
In the Fadefields, you’ll find a shack in a desolate corner of the map, and you may notice some suspicious elemental barrels scattered all around the area with no enemies in sight. By shooting these barrels in the correct order, you will trigger a humorous secret cutscene involving some cardboard cutouts of familiar characters set to the tune of opera music.
Completing this easter egg will also get you a secret achievement called “Cut That Out”, which is very aptly named.
How to Find the Tannis on a Fish Easter Egg?
To find this easter egg, you must travel to the northwest corner of the Coastal Bonescape, then proceed just slightly to the north into The Howl. You can get there quickly from the Abandoned Post safehouse, which is the first fast travel area you unlock in the story.
Eventually, you’ll find an empty shack beside a turret at the coastline. Move close to the shack and look around. You’ll see barrels with varying elements all around it. Shoot the barrels in the following order:
- Corrosive (Green)
- Cryo (Light Blue)
- Incendiary (Orange)
- Electric (Blue)
- Radiation (Yellow)
If you did it in the right order, a giant cardboard cutout of Handsome Jack should appear in the sea right in front of the shack. This thing will dance around for a bit while a cutout of Tannis on a fish lurks in the background. Eventually, she’ll fly up into the sky and trigger an explosion above the cardboard Jack, and the show will end, granting you an achievement at the same time.
TIPS
- If you get followed by enemies along the way, make sure to clear them out before approaching the shack area as they might accidentally prematurely trigger some of the barrels, forcing you to restart.
- If you’re worried that something might bug out as you shoot the barrels, take your time and hit them one at a time. You can wait for each of them to detonate before moving on to the next one, as long as you follow the correct order.
VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
POKEMON
Location: Terminus Range
Type: Side Quest
What is the Pokemon Easter Egg?
In the Terminus Range zone, you’ll find a side quest called Wayward Gun, given by an NPC named Emile, who has an oddly high-pitched voice. The side quest basically has you running around and dealing with sentient guns, and you’ll immediately notice the Pokemon references as soon as the action starts.
When you start the quest, a horde of “Gatatats” will start swarming the area, and you’ll be tasked with enlisting the help of a guy named Bash, who reckons that we can just capture these guns instead of killing them. Eventually, you’ll also have to deal with the so-called “Bomb Squad” consisting of Josey and Jake, who will have a silly intro reminiscent of the Team Rocket motto in Pokemon.
How to Find the Pokemon Easter Egg?
The Wayward Gun quest can be started at Cuspid Climb part of the Terminus Range region. Emile is located directly to the west of the Heritage Opus safehouse, and the side quest itself should be conveniently marked on your map once it’s available.
The quest itself is very straightforward, as your objectives will be marked on the compass and are all found near the starting point. Be ready to fight a lot of sentient Tediore guns and a couple of named psychos along the way. At the end, you’ll be rewarded with a randomized weapon and some cosmetics.
TIPS
- At the gun catching part of the quest, grab a catch-tainer as soon as you start and throw it at the first Gatatat you fight once it’s out of HP to mitigate the damage they’ll be doing as a group. They don’t “die” at zero HP, so chasing them down first before grabbing a catch-tainer is pointless.
- Bring a corrosive weapon with you to speed things up a bit, as Gatatats have armor as their HP.
VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
Dunks Watson
Location: Carcadia Burn
Type: Side Quest
What is the Dunks Watson Easter Egg?
The And Welcome to the Jam side quest is a callback to a character from all the way back in the Pre-Sequel, and it technically has nothing to do with the blatant Space Jam reference in the quest’s name.
If you’ve played Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, then there’s a chance that you’ve encountered Dunks Watson, who stars in the Boomshakalaka side quest. His goal is to perform the “Ultimate Slam Dunk”, which he attempts by launching himself into space and screaming “BASKETBALL” at the top of his lungs as he disappears into the void.
We don’t actually know what happens to him after this… at least until Borderlands 3, several years later. You can see him in Borderlands 3 as a brief easter egg, in which a frozen figure with a basketball on one hand floats by outside your ship. Well, in Borderlands 4, he finally completes his “Ultimate Slam Dunk” at the end of And Welcome to the Jam. It’s a very straightforward side quest that (ignoring the name) pretends to be some sort of alien first contact sort of deal, until you reach the end and finally find closure for our hero, who gives one last “Boomshakalaka” before saying a few more parting words and disappears for good.
How to Find the Dunks Watson Easter Egg?
The And Welcome to the Jam quest can be found in Carcadia Burn, right between the Site Unseen silo and The Lowrise safehouse. Either of these will be a fine starting point if you’ve already unlocked them, so just fast travel there and run towards the quest marker in the map, which you can also pin to generate a clear path from your current location.
The quest itself is basically just a set of simple chores that will take a minute or two to complete. If you selected “Accept & Track”, you’ll have no trouble finishing the objectives with the help of your compass.
TIPS
- Dunks Watson will appear shortly after the “Power up antenna” task, so be ready to look up if you want to watch his glorious entrance.
- You can boost yourself up by mounting, jumping, then immediately dismounting your vehicle if you’re struggling to reach the signal loop part that you need for the antenna.