Borderlands 4 will provide a myriad of optional bosses to fight, some of which are in optional dungeons. One of these types of dungeons is Abandoned Auger Mines, of which there are only seven to be found in the game. They are essentially small platforming challenges, interspersed with a few enemies, with the boss encounter occurring at the end of the dungeon. While you can find the Auger Mines anytime while exploring, you won’t be able to access them until you’ve completed the Shadow of the Mountain main quest in Terminus Range. Completing an Auger Mine will reward you with 40 SDU Tokens, plus the potential for Legendary items to be dropped from the boss, all of which can be farmed via the Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine.
Auger Mines can always be distinguished by the shimmering wall that hides their entrances.
Abandoned Auger Mine Map Markers¶
This quick section will list all of the Auger Mines, along with the boss fought within, as well a provide a map marker for our Interactive Map.
| Auger Mine | Boss | Map Marker |
|---|---|---|
| Timid Kyle’s Neglected Opening | Voraxis | Map Marker |
| The Claim | The Backhive | Map Marker |
| Whistler’s Maw | Shadowpelt | Map Marker |
| Bittervein | Bramblesong | Map Marker |
| Trinket Crevass | Rocken Roller | Map Marker |
| Embossed Fault | Skull Orchid | Map Marker |
| The Toil of Spoiling Vis | Axemaul | Map Marker |
Timid Kyle’s Neglected Opening¶
This is probably the first Auger Mine you will find during the course of the game, since it’s in The Fadefields, in the Coastal Bonescape area, although you won’t be able to do anything here until you reach the second region in the main story. This one is found to the northeast of the Abandoned Post Safehouse, the first one you obtain as part of the main story. Take the upper, northern, exit out of the safehouse, then head more north than northeast, until you see a cave by the little pond there. Go in here and drop down to find a large room with a big pit in the middle. Off to the side, where you see the sparkly wall, is the entrance to the Auger Mine.
The mine, when you fight normal enemies, will be filled with Threshers, who can be a little annoying when they continually burrow under the ground. After the first room, look for some glowing red boards on the northeastern side to destroy and continue deeper. In the next room, just jump over to the only accessible area and continue through the cave system, following the only way to go. Keep going to the second combat room, where you’ll face more Threshers. There’s another glowing board to break to lead the way to the final room, with the vending machines and the boss of this place, Voraxis.
You will always face a specific set of normal enemies in each mine.
You’ll also want to be on the lookout for tougher variants of those enemies.
The Claim¶
The second mine, The Claim, is easily accessible from the Zadra’s Backup Plan fast travel point. Once there, take the western exit into the cave, then immediately head north to find the entrance to the mine itself. This one is pretty straightforward, as you want to steer clear of the liquid on the ground and use the various climbable walls to get through the place. You will fighting Kratches inside this little mini-dungeon, who can be a bit annoying due to them flying around a lot. At the end of the mine, you will face The Backhive, a Wildhorn-type enemy that can summon Kratches.
Whistler’s Maw¶
The Whistler’s Maw mine is located in Terminus Range, in the Cuspid Climb area. If you’ve found The Reliquary Order Silo, then fast travel to it and start going north. Should you have the icon for the Dead Bolt just across the water, then you’re in a good spot, as the entrance to the mine is at that elevation. If you look around the area with the Dead Bolt, you should see a cave near it. Go inside and the entrance will be right there, which is hard to miss.
This mine is fairly linear, with you fighting Manglers throughout it. The only tricky spot will be in the final room, where you grapple up to a ledge, then look for another spot to jump/glide to, where the vending machines will be located. The boss in this mine is Shadowpelt, a large Mangler. It will regularly cloak itself and after you deplete its shield, it will uncloak and you can damage its main health bar before it cloaks itself again.
Bittervein¶
The Bittervein Auger Mine is in the Stoneblood Forest area, pretty much at the northern tip. The Snowy Wells Safehouse is probably your safest bet for getting close enough, so go there and head north. The entrance is guarded by enemies of the Wildhorn variety, although you can ignore them. Inside the mine, you will face off against some Kratches, who shouldn’t be too much trouble, unless you get some with the crystals you have to break prior to dealing with their normal health first.
(1 of 3) Always keep an eye out for something suspicious that is the way forward in the mines.
At one point, there will be a massive pit during a section, with some cages/crates hanging up in the air. You will see grapple points on these, which are actually meant for you to pull the cage/crate in line, creating a path across to the other end. Not too long after that, you will reach the end and have to fight a large Kratch, named Bramblesong, as the boss of the mine.
Trinket Crevass¶
The Trinket Crevass Auger Mine is located in the Ruined Swamplands area of Carcadia Burn, more or less, at the northern tip. Go to the Moxxi’s Bottoms Up fast travel and head straight north. When you pass the Society for Amateur Seismology Enthusiasts location, you want to continue north and slightly east from it. Look for the cliff you can jump off of here, leading to a lower area, which is where the mine will pretty much be found. You will be fighting Pangolins in this mine, which are the lizard/armadillo type creatures.
For the most part, this mine is pretty linear and probably the easiest to get through, as the Pangolins aren’t the hardest creatures to fell. Once you reach the end, with the vending machines, you can slide down to the boss, Rocken Roller. This is one of the more annoying bosses, since it likes to roll into a ball and charge at you quite often. Also, this boss seems to be a Vile-variant, where you have to shoot the crystals off to expose its real health bar (don’t forget to shoot the orbs that appear when you break the crystals).
Embossed Fault¶
The Embossed Fault Auger Mine is found in the Grindstone of the Worthy region of Carcadia Burn. If you have the Rustical Hurl Order Silo, it will be pretty much south of there. It’s inside a cave, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to spot. For the most part, this place is fairly linear, with not much to distract or confuse you, unlike some of the other mines. You will be fighting Creepers in here, enemies that can be a little annoying, especially when you get the tougher variations that spawn little projectiles that come after you.
In order to complete any of the mines, you’ll have to defeat the boss at the end.
If you haven’t fully discovered the Carcadia Burn region, you will actually discover a Drill Site right near the end, by the vending machines. Ignore that and drop down the slide to enter the boss battle with the Skull Orchid, a large Creeper that spawns the little homing projectiles. Thankfully, the battle isn’t too challenging, since the smaller Creepers that appear are the normal variants that can be downed with a few shots.
The Toil of Spoiling Vis¶
The final Auger Mine on this list is located in the Dominion area of the map, which is accessible once you get far enough in the main story. There’s a doorway to the mine on the northwestern wall, west of The Lockaway Safehouse. Exit the safehouse, head north, and grapple onto the area above with a hole in the wall. Follow the path southwest until you reach the open area, and then head to the northwest corner, where the large eridium crystal is. The doorway is to the left of that. You’ll be fighting Manglers inside this mine, with Axemaul being the boss at the end.
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