Borderlands 2 DLC Order: When to Play Each Expansion

What Order Should You Play the DLC?

The right Borderlands 2 DLC order protects the main story’s surprises while keeping your next adventure within reach of your character’s level. Finish the main campaign, then play Captain Scarlett, Mr. Torgue, Sir Hammerlock, Tiny Tina, the Headhunter packs, and Commander Lilith. If you want a detour before the credits, Scarlett and Torgue offer separate adventures starting around level 15.

For a first playthrough, follow this sequence:

Order	Campaign add-on	Fast Travel destination	When to play
1	Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty	Oasis	After the main story, or during it once you reach level 15
2	Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage	Badass Crater of Badassitude	After Scarlett, or as another level 15 detour
3	Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt	Hunter’s Grotto	After finishing the main story; starts around level 30
4	Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep	Unassuming Docks	After finishing the main story; starts around level 30
5	Headhunter packs	—	Between campaigns or after Dragon Keep
6	Commander Lilith and Fight for Sanctuary	Fight for Sanctuary	Last, after the other adventures; starts around level 30

Scarlett and Torgue are interchangeable. The important story boundaries are saving Hammerlock and Dragon Keep until after the base campaign, then leaving Commander Lilith until the end.

Official page: Borderlands 2 (store.steampowered.com)

Captain Scarlett and Mr. Torgue: Your Early Detours

Both of these expansions start at level 15 and tell largely self-contained stories. “A Dam Fine Rescue” provides a useful point in the main campaign to consider branching out, provided your character has reached that level.

Image: Steam / Gearbox Software

Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty

Travel to Oasis for a treasure hunt through a dried-out pirate landscape. You’ll search for compass pieces, meet a new cast, and drive a sandship through environments that feel distinct from the base campaign’s familiar routes.

The message-in-a-bottle side quests reward closer exploration. Look beyond the minimap: these treasure searches involve spotting environmental clues, finding marked locations, and sometimes reaching awkward spots through platforming.

Start here if you’re following the original campaign add-on sequence. Its separate treasure-hunting plot makes it an easy transition into the expansions.

Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage

Travel to the Badass Crater of Badassitude for an adventure built around loud personalities and frequent firefights.

This campaign also includes checkpoint races. During those challenges, focus on your route and the timer rather than stopping to fight every enemy that gives chase.

Expect more sustained combat than Scarlett’s exploration-heavy detours, including airborne enemies and a substantial final boss encounter.

Save Hammerlock and Tiny Tina for After the Main Story

Reaching the appropriate level does not make these two expansions safe to start early. Both take the ending of the base campaign into account.

Image: Steam / Gearbox Software

Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt

Enter through Hunter’s Grotto once you’ve finished the main story and reached roughly level 30.

Hammerlock’s adventure takes you into open hunting grounds filled with strange wildlife and a darker atmosphere. Its story reflects the aftermath of your actions in the base campaign.

The hunting theme also shapes the missions. Some objectives involve trapping creatures, following scents, or looking for visual cues at night. When an objective depends on darkness, return during the appropriate part of the day/night cycle instead of searching the same daylight area repeatedly.

Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep

Travel to Unassuming Docks after completing the base campaign, around level 30 or higher.

Dragon Keep’s story directly addresses a major event from the main campaign. Starting it early can spoil that event.

Leave this one until after Hammerlock if you’re following the original expansion sequence. Give it room as its own campaign rather than treating it as a quick side mission.

Where the Headhunter Packs Fit

The Headhunter packs are smaller adventures with their own environments, themed quests, and bosses. They work as shorter breaks between the larger campaigns.

Image: Steam / Gearbox Software

Their order is flexible. Pick a theme that interests you, finish that pack, and move to another whenever you want a change of pace.

For a first run focused on avoiding spoilers, place them after the main story. You do not need to finish every Headhunter pack before beginning another major expansion.

Play Commander Lilith Last

Commander Lilith and Fight for Sanctuary belongs at the end of your journey through the add-ons. Travel to Fight for Sanctuary when you’re ready to begin it.

This campaign sets up events leading into Borderlands 3 and includes connections to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Tales from the Borderlands. Play those games beforehand if you want the context behind those connections.

Its starting level is around 30; you do not need to wait until level 40 or 50 simply because it comes last in the story sequence. Later encounters can still be demanding, especially solo. Check your weapons and defensive gear before pushing deeper into the campaign.

Avoid Outleveling an Unfinished Expansion

Story order and level progression can pull in different directions. Finishing several expansions consecutively means your character keeps gaining levels, while earlier DLC content in a normal playthrough can remain below you.

Avoid entering every expansion just to look around. Starting a campaign, leaving it unfinished, and returning many levels later can turn its remaining fights into trivial cleanup. Begin the adventure you intend to play next and work through it before moving on.

For tougher encounters, Borderlands 2 offers several ways to play:

• Single-player: Complete the campaigns on your own and tackle encounters at your pace.
• Four-player co-op: Bring friends into the adventure through online or LAN play.

Check your current playthrough difficulty before starting another expansion. Moving into a New Game+ difficulty with unsuitable gear can make an otherwise familiar campaign much harder.