On my first run through Borderlands 4’s endgame, I kept rushing main missions and wondering why traversal still felt sluggish. The breakthrough came when I finally treated the vaults and their key fragments as a proper objective instead of side distractions. Once I unlocked all three primordial vaults, the mobility buffs completely changed how I moved, fought, and farmed.
This is a practical Borderlands 4 all vault locations – hidden vaults and secret areas guide built from that experience, covering:
If you follow this route, you can reasonably knock out all three vaults in an evening, unlock both glide pack upgrades, and clean up a good chunk of exploration progress along the way.
Borderlands 4 drops the old single endgame vault formula. Instead, there are three primordial vaults, one in each major region:
Each vault needs three vault key fragments, for a total of nine. Fragments are tucked into caves, shipwrecks, silos, and garrisons, and some demand decent platforming or good control of your grappling hook and glide pack.
The key reason these are worth prioritizing is the rewards:
Combined, these two buffs let you chain glides constantly, open up shortcuts the level designers clearly expect you to use, and give you much more vertical freedom during fights. That is why I now always target vault fragments early in a new playthrough.
I recommend starting with the Fadefields vault. The fragments teach you most of the core traversal skills you will need later, and the glide pack regen reward makes the other two regions feel smoother.
Doing them in this order keeps fast travel hops short and ramps difficulty nicely from simple cave fight to grappling-oriented platforming.
This was the first fragment I found by accident and later realized it is actually the ideal starting point.
Push through the cave system, clearing out the enemies as you go. There is no boss; it is just a straightforward interior fight. The fragment rests on a pedestal or raised surface deeper inside the cave.
Difficulty: Moderate. Solid warm-up combat with no tricky jumps.
Personal tip: Do not waste heavy ammo here. Save your big guns for later fragments; standard weapons are more than enough.
This fragment is simple once you know which safehouse to use. I initially approached from the wrong side of the map and wasted time fighting through extra packs.
From Abandoned Post, move into Stillshore and clear out the ripper enemies. Head behind one of the buildings toward the back of the village and look for a crate with the fragment sitting on top.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate. Short, open fights and a very obvious fragment once you reach the right building.
Time saver: Grab any visible vault symbols while you sweep the village. Several collectibles tend to cluster around coastal areas like this, so it is efficient to scan rooftops and walls before leaving.
This is where my run slowed down at first. The game expects you to use the grappling hook in a specific way, and I kept missing the hatch.
Enter the tunnel. On the left side, near a red light, there is a hatch in the floor. Use your grappling hook to yank it open, then drop down into the hidden cave below. The fragment waits on its pedestal inside.
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging, depending on how comfortable you are with grappling under pressure.
Common mistake: I originally tried to melee or shoot the hatch. It only responds to the grappling hook, so swap to it immediately when you see the red light.
With all three Fadefields fragments, the Arch of Inceptus vault marker appears on your map on an eastern cliff.
Reward: Faster glide pack regeneration. This cuts downtime between glides and is noticeable immediately in open zones.
Estimated time: About 10–15 minutes from the cliff base through to completion, depending on how quickly you clear enemies.
Carcadia Burn’s fragments are more spread out but individually not too bad. The trick is using the right safehouses so you are not driving in circles like I did at first.
This is one of the fastest fragments in the whole game and a great way to ease into Carcadia Burn.
Difficulty: Easy. Minimal or no combat and very obvious geometry for climbing.
Estimated time: Around 2–3 minutes from the safehouse if you head straight there.
Here I wasted time circling the swamp until I learned the visual cue that actually matters: the gold spheres.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate. The openness means enemy patrols can flank you, so clear the area before looting.
Tip: If you see the gold spheres, you are in the right place. Use them as your primary landmark instead of relying only on the minimap.
This one tripped me up because the platforming path is not obvious from ground level. Take it slow.
Difficulty: Moderate. Falling means repeating sections, but enemies are manageable.
Estimated time: About 5–10 minutes from the base, depending on how often you miss jumps.
Once you collect all three Carcadia Burn fragments, the region also grants access to its own primordial vault. The exact in-world name and precise landmarking are less clearly telegraphed than the other two, and details can vary with patches.
What consistently happens is that a vault marker appears on your map in Carcadia Burn after collecting the third fragment. Follow that marker; it typically sits in a more central or elevated part of the region. At this point, rely on the in-game waypoint rather than vague map descriptions.
Practical advice: As soon as the third fragment is in your inventory, open the map and immediately set a custom waypoint on the new vault icon so you do not accidentally get sidetracked.
Terminus Range is where your improved mobility pays off. The region leans harder on glide pack use and vertical level design, especially around silos and garrisons.
Covered Charge sits roughly in the middle of Terminus Range and plays like a mini traversal test.
Difficulty: Moderate. Expect light platforming plus scattered enemies.
This fragment forced me to respect my glide pack angle and momentum. It is easy to overshoot or undershoot if you rush.
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging. Your success depends on precise glide control and timing.
Tip: Wait for your glide pack to be fully off cooldown before each attempt. I lost time repeatedly going for a “good enough” charge.
Vestal Garrison is more about navigation than movement tech, but it is easy to get turned around inside.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate. Enemies guard the building, but the path is short and direct once you know it.
Estimated time: Around 5–8 minutes from The Nightcap, counting the interior fight.
With all three Terminus fragments collected, your final big vault is the Arch of Origo, sitting on the border between The Low Leys and Cuspid Climb.
Reward: 50% glide pack cost reduction, which effectively lets you treat gliding as a constant movement option rather than a limited resource.
Estimated time: Roughly 12–18 minutes from Heritage Opus through the full vault sequence, depending on your build and enemy resistance.
Alongside the nine fragments, Borderlands 4 scatters 46 vault symbol collectibles across its world. Many sit in the same sub-regions you pass through during fragment hunting, especially around places like Coastal Bonescape, Lopside, and the various silos and garrisons.
To stay efficient, always check your region progress before you leave an area:
Square on PS5, X on Xbox, or F on PC to see collectible progressD-Pad Right (console) or B (PC) to show specific icon typesMy rule now is simple: if I am already in a fragment area and the region is missing only one or two symbols, I take a few extra minutes to scan rooftops, cave walls, and tucked-away corners. That habit saves a lot of late-game backtracking.
Once I started planning my vault route instead of winging it, the whole process became far less frustrating. A few things that made the biggest difference:
Once all three primordial vaults are complete and your glide pack is fully upgraded, the entire game world opens up in a new way. Jumps that felt risky become routine, high ledges turn into shortcuts, and revisiting older regions for cleanup takes a fraction of the time.
If you work through the fragments in the order above-Fadefields, then Carcadia Burn, then Terminus Range-you will feel a steady difficulty curve instead of a brick wall. More importantly, you will get the most impactful mobility upgrades early, which makes everything afterward smoother, from farming to chasing down the last few hidden symbols.
If this path turned a frustrating treasure hunt into a satisfying evening of vault runs for me, it can do the same for you. Unlock the vaults, lean into the new movement tech, and the rest of Borderlands 4’s secrets become much easier to claim.
Get access to exclusive strategies, hidden tips, and pro-level insights that we don't share publicly.
Ultimate Guide Strategy Guide + Weekly Pro Tips