"Good luck, recruit! Have fun getting drained of blood and / or robot fluid! And don’t worry, I’ll be safely miles away!"
- Claptrap
Borderlands (full title Borderlands: Vault Hunter Pinball) is one of the three tables included in the Gearbox Pinball pack, released alongside the official launch of the Pinball FX reboot. Taking influence from early 90s Williams tables, the primary goal of the table is to start Boss Fight Multiball four times, scoring a super jackpot during each boss fight to complete them, for a chance at lucrative scoring during the fight against Tyreen Calypso.
Boss Fight Multiball[]
Located above the flippers are inserts corresponding to five bosses fought throughout the Borderlands series. To take on a boss, the player must start Multiball by locking at least 3 (up to 8) balls at the right ramp. There are various ways to light the right ramp for lock:
- Shoot both ramps to summon the Psycho, then hit him with the ball to defeat him for 100k x the length of the ramp combo preceding it. The player can continue to shoot the ramps to increase the value and change the position of the Psycho.
- Shoot the right orbit twice within 15 seconds to light the right ramp for a fast lock. The fast lock is disabled if the player shoots the left ramp or 15 seconds expire while the fast lock is lit.
- Looting the small chest on the right awards +5 loot and a free ball lock during single-ball play.
Once the player has locked 3 balls, they can choose whether they want to continue locking balls or start the Multiball right away with the flipper buttons. If 8 balls have been locked, Multiball will immediately begin.
The goal of each Boss Fight Multiball is to knock down the center drop targets to gain access to the chests, where jackpots can be scored. These jackpots are then added into the super jackpot, which can be collected by shooting either the bonus X targets or bumpers on the upper playfield. Jackpot values vary depending on the size of the chest – 1M for the left chest, 3M for the center, and 5M for the right. The jackpots can be multiplied by spinning the Outrunner platform before collecting them. Once a super jackpot has been scored, the value will reset, and another super jackpot can be built up. The center drop targets will respawn either 15 seconds after they have all been knocked down, or after a super jackpot has been scored.
If the player exits any Boss Fight Multiball without scoring a super jackpot, they will be given a “last chance” to revive the Multiball by resurrecting an ally. Knock down any of the center drop targets to magnetize the ball in place for 100k x level, then knock the magnetized ball away within 15 seconds for 1M x level. Even if the player fails to collect the super jackpot again after reviving it, no further “last chance” attempts are given after one is used during the same Multiball.
Tyreen Calypso[]
The fifth Boss Fight Multiball is also the table’s wizard mode. It is started the same way as the preceding four Multiball modes but requires all 8 balls to be locked at the right ramp.
During the final Multiball, the wizard jackpot is available based on the highest super jackpot the player scored during the previous four Multiball modes. Various shots on the playfield score the wizard jackpot – the left chest at base value, the bonus X targets at 2x value, the center chest at 3x value, and the right chest at 5x value. The jackpot at the bonus X targets can be multiplied by spinning the Outrunner platform and is constantly multiplied until the Multiball ends. Only one chest is lit for the wizard jackpot at a time, though the center drop targets will never respawn during this Multiball until the mode ends.
Side modes[]
- Sniper Spree: Collecting 10 pieces of loot by shooting the chests will allow the player to choose a legendary weapon with the flippers and launch button (this choice is solely cosmetic). 1 piece of loot is awarded for the left chest, 3 for the center chest, and 5 for the right chest. Shots made to the center drop targets with the legendary weapon active knock them down in one hit – knocking down all four targets using the legendary weapon before any of them raise back up adds +10 ammo to the weapon and starts Sniper Spree. One drop target is raised at a time for 100k x the current level, multiplied by +1x for each subsequent shot. Once only four drop target hits remain, all four will raise. Completing the mode by making 10 drop targets (+2 per completion) scores the total points collected during the mode again, and lights the Skag shot for extra ball. If the player wants to save Sniper Spree for later, they can deactivate the legendary weapon by pressing the launch button if it is currently equipped.
- Catch-a-Ride: Scoring 10 bumper hits on the upper playfield will start Catch-a-Ride hurry-up. For 40 seconds, the four major shots (ramps and orbits) are lit to score big points – 1M x the multiplier that was built up prior to the mode with shots to the spinning Outrunner platform. The lit shots can be moved one shot to the right by pressing both flippers if at least one shot has been collected. Making the final shot scores 10x the hurry-up value, lights the Skag shot for extra ball, and increases the base value for the next Catch-a-Ride hurry-up by 1M, resetting the multiplier in the process.
- Proving Grounds: Make a 4-way combo by shooting the four major shots (ramps and orbits) once each within 15 seconds, to light the Skag shot for proving grounds. When lit, the player will be able to choose between five trials. Each completed trial scores 10M, lights the Skag shot for extra ball if available, and can be repeated as many times as the player wants. The Skag shot can be relit to start a different trial by making another 4-way combo. The selectable trials are:
- Make a 5-way ramp combo
- Start Multiball with 8 balls locked
- Increase the Catch-a-Ride multiplier to at least 20x
- Score 4 critical hits in a row at the drop targets
- Make the Skag shot three times in under 2 minutes
Other scoring / perks[]
- Skill Shot: At the start of each ball and after locking a ball, the player can choose one of four characters using the flippers, then plunge the ball while the corresponding light is over the character to score 100k + 100k per skill shot made on the current ball. An opportunity for a super skill shot at the character’s corresponding lane is then available for 10x the skill shot value and a lit extra ball.
- Second Wind: Completing (2nd) Wind at the return lanes, which cycle with the flippers, enables a ball save minigame once the ball drains. The player will be given 15 seconds to knock down any of the four center drop targets to score 1M + (100k x level) and save the ball in play.
- Magna-Save: The outlanes light for an automatic magna-save for 20 seconds with each shot to the far-left standup target. Shooting the target while magna-save is lit adds 20 seconds to the timer.
- Level Ups: Shots to the spinner in front of the left orbit collect XP and level up the player. The player’s level determines the values of the center drop targets and the Sniper Spree side mode. More and more spinner hits are required to advance subsequent levels. Reaching level 12 lights extra ball at the Skag shot.
- Center drop targets: During normal play, each center drop target hit scores 1k x level, with a bonus of 1M x level being awarded for knocking all four drop targets down before any of them reset. The drop targets reset 30 seconds after one of the chests has been opened.
- Bonus X: Shots to the center targets on the upper playfield add +1x to the bonus multiplier. The bonus multiplier can be held by making three Skag shots; if the bonus X is already held, then making three Skag shots will add +3x to the bonus multiplier. Skag shots also score 100k x the number of Skag shots made during the game.
- Extra Balls: Up to 5 extra balls can be collected per game. The Skag shot lights for extra ball after:
- Scoring a super skill shot
- Completing Sniper Spree
- Completing Catch-a-Ride
- Completing any of the proving grounds’ trials
- Advancing to level 12
- End-of-ball bonus: 20k per skill shot made during the past ball + 20k per Skag shot made during the past ball, multiplied by the bonus X.
Tips[]
- Catch-a-Ride can be very lucrative; even if played with a small multiplier, you'll still be increasing the base value for the next time you start the mode. Master the side ramp shot on the upper playfield and keep the Outrunner platform spinning whenever you can.
- Tyreen Calypso wizard mode can be insanely valuable, as long as you remember how to increase the jackpot value. Shoot the right ramp and try to make shots on the upper playfield while controlling the balls on the lower playfield.
- Spinner level-ups are generally worth ignoring - there are far easier ways to light extra ball then reaching level 12 and the left orbit has a nasty tendency to result in SDTM drains if the player tries to live catch the ball out of the return feed.
- Try saving your legendary weapons for multiball - this allows you to get rid of the drop targets while the ball saver is still active, giving you a higher chance of scoring jackpots during the initial ball save period and practically guaranteeing a shot or two at the required super jackpot shots.