{"id":1327061,"date":"2025-09-17T09:24:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T09:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/FFVw9VcTM694jy58Q9Uzk7"},"modified":"2025-09-17T09:24:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T09:24:59","slug":"dont-get-stuck-grinding-in-borderlands-4s-version-of-the-hinterlands-in-fact-youre-screwing-yourself-out-of-exp-if-you-try-to-do-every-sidequest-before-beating-the-main-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/dont-get-stuck-grinding-in-borderlands-4s-version-of-the-hinterlands-in-fact-youre-screwing-yourself-out-of-exp-if-you-try-to-do-every-sidequest-before-beating-the-main-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Don&#8217;t get stuck grinding in Borderlands 4&#8217;s version of the Hinterlands\u2014in fact, you&#8217;re screwing yourself out of EXP if you try to do every sidequest before beating the main campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/borderlands-4\/\">Borderlands 4<\/a> is great, but it doesn&#8217;t quite make the best first impression. There&#8217;s nothing necessarily wrong with its first zone, The Fadefields, but it&#8217;s definitely the most droll place to quest in Kairos. You could be Mad Max-ing it with Zane and Moxxie in the Burn, after all.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with the Fadefields is it&#8217;s big, fairly visually nondescript, drenched in sidequests, and\u2014oh god, it&#8217;s the Hinterlands. We&#8217;ve done a Hinterlands again.<\/p>\n<p>In case you&#8217;re unfamiliar, the Hinterlands is an infamous zone in Dragon Age: Inquisition, known for being both stonking massive and, pardon the pun, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/dragon-age-inquisition-why-you-need-to-get-out-of-the-hinterlands\/\">taking a dragon&#8217;s age to get through<\/a>. It&#8217;s a major drop-off point for the RPG, and I get the feeling that the Fadefields is the same.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve had to blitz through the campaign after doing a few sidequests for the review, and I can say with certainty that doing so is the correct on-ramp to Borderlands 4. Not just for the vibes (variety is the spice of life), but there&#8217;s also a mechanical reason you might want to bank most of those sidequests for later, too.<\/p>\n<p>Borderlands 4&#8217;s postgame progression system, specialisation points, don&#8217;t unlock until you&#8217;ve beaten the campaign\u2014no matter your current level. Beat the campaign at level 30? You get specialisation points. Beat it at 40, like I did? Specialisation points.<\/p>\n<p>Think of this system as an additional, Vault Hunter-agnostic skill tree layered on top of your usual ones, providing powerful extra bonuses to your character.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inlinegallery carousel-layout\">\n<div class=\"inlinegallery-wrap\" style=\"display:flex; flex-flow:row nowrap;\">\n<div class=\"inlinegallery-item\" style=\"flex: 0 0 auto;\"><span class=\"slidecount\">Image 1 of 2<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure \" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:1920px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"MbvGtzjagBRy9qCuHBden6\" name=\"BL4 specialisation trees\" alt=\"Borderlands 4's specialisation trees, unlocked after beating the campaign.\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/dont-get-stuck-grinding-in-borderlands-4s-version-of-the-hinterlands-in-fact-youre-screwing-yourself-out-of-exp-if-you-try-to-do-every-sidequest-before-beating-the-main-campaign.jpg\" mos=\"\" link=\"\" align=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\"\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Gearbox Software)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inlinegallery-item\" style=\"flex: 0 0 auto;\"><span class=\"slidecount\">Image 2 of 2<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure \" data-bordeaux-image-check >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:1920px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"NXPEZxH9z8dEPcTv5zjdn6\" name=\"BL4 specialisation trees\" alt=\"Borderlands 4's specialisation trees, unlocked after beating the campaign.\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/dont-get-stuck-grinding-in-borderlands-4s-version-of-the-hinterlands-in-fact-youre-screwing-yourself-out-of-exp-if-you-try-to-do-every-sidequest-before-beating-the-main-campaign-1.jpg\" mos=\"\" link=\"\" align=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\"\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Gearbox Software)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The kicker is that specialisation points take EXP alongside your regular levels, meaning if you spend 80-100 hours doing every single sidequest and map activity before you finish the campaign, you&#8217;re screwing yourself out of a lot of EXP you could&#8217;ve earned by doing the exact same thing in a slightly different order.<\/p>\n<p>You can replay missions for the EXP instead, mind\u2014but that&#8217;s adding even more of a grind to an already grindy game, and if you&#8217;re spending 100 hours getting a 100% completion in BL4, you might as well spend those first 30 hours doing the Campaign, and the next 70 getting specialisation EXP.<\/p>\n<p>So squash those inner exploration demons. By all means, do a sidequest or two if the mood takes you, but otherwise? Make a beeline for the straight and narrow main mission, then start mopping up your side-gigs later. You&#8217;ll be better for it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product\"><a data-dimension112=\"915d5e76-b689-4f0f-b22b-5dd5bfada2d1\" data-action=\"Deal Block\" data-label=\"Borderlands 4\" data-dimension48=\"Borderlands 4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure \" >\n<div class='image-full-width-wrapper'>\n<div class='image-widthsetter' style=\"max-width:841px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"Di7aagQAgXgEx92v4Cq4gn\" name=\"borderlands-4\" caption=\"\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/dont-get-stuck-grinding-in-borderlands-4s-version-of-the-hinterlands-in-fact-youre-screwing-yourself-out-of-exp-if-you-try-to-do-every-sidequest-before-beating-the-main-campaign-2.jpg\" mos=\"\" align=\"middle\" fullscreen=\"\" width=\"841\" height=\"841\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" credit=\"\" class=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-release-date-trailers\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-dimension112=\"915d5e76-b689-4f0f-b22b-5dd5bfada2d1\" data-action=\"Deal Block\" data-label=\"Borderlands 4\" data-dimension48=\"Borderlands 4\" data-dimension25=\"\"><strong>Borderlands 4<\/strong><\/a>: Everything you need to know.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-shift-codes\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Borderlands 4 Shift codes<\/strong><\/a>: The new key connection.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-maurice-black-market-location\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Borderlands 4 Black Market location<\/strong><\/a>: New legendaries, no grind.<br \/><strong><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-characters-best-vault-hunters\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Borderlands 4 characters<\/strong><\/a>: Meet your new Vault Hunters and find out who&#8217;s strongest.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-harlowe-build\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Borderlands 4 Harlowe builds<\/strong><\/a>: The amped-up Gravitar.<br \/><strong><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-rafa-build\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Borderlands 4 Rafa builds<\/strong><\/a>: The speed-demon Exo-Soldier.<br \/><strong><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-vex-build\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Borderlands 4 Vex builds<\/strong><\/a>: The spooky Siren.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/fps\/borderlands-4-amon-build\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Borderlands 4 Amon builds<\/strong><\/a>: The fierce Forgeknight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcgamer.com\/games\/rpg\/dont-get-stuck-grinding-in-borderlands-4s-version-of-the-hinterlands-in-fact-youre-screwing-yourself-out-of-exp-if-you-try-to-do-every-sidequest-before-beating-the-main-campaign\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Borderlands 4 is great, but it doesn&#8217;t quite make the best first impression. There&#8217;s nothing necessarily wrong with its first zone, The Fadefields, but it&#8217;s definitely the most droll place to quest in Kairos. You could be Mad Max-ing it with Zane and Moxxie in the Burn, after all. The problem with the Fadefields is it&#8217;s big, fairly visually nondescript, drenched in sidequests, and\u2014oh god, it&#8217;s the Hinterlands. We&#8217;ve done a Hinterlands again. In case you&#8217;re unfamiliar, the Hinterlands is an infamous zone in Dragon Age: Inquisition, known for being both stonking massive and, pardon the pun, taking a dragon&#8217;s age to get through. It&#8217;s a major drop-off point for the RPG, and I get the feeling that the Fadefields is the same. I&#8217;ve had&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/dont-get-stuck-grinding-in-borderlands-4s-version-of-the-hinterlands-in-fact-youre-screwing-yourself-out-of-exp-if-you-try-to-do-every-sidequest-before-beating-the-main-campaign\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1327062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[748,34],"class_list":["post-1327061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pc-gamer","tag-games","tag-rpg"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Don&#039;t get stuck grinding in Borderlands 4&#039;s version of the Hinterlands\u2014in fact, you&#039;re screwing yourself out of EXP if you try to do every sidequest before beating the main campaign | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Borderlands 4 is great, but it doesn&#039;t quite make the best first impression. 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