Bring elemental Borderlands 4 Weapons. Creeps and Vile enemies are weak to Borderlands 4 Boosting fire and corrosive types.

Use the cover smartly. The narrow hallways make grenade splash damage risky.

Grab every ECHO Log. They expand on the Order's backstory and Ted's fate.

Save your best ammo for the Vile Ted boss fight - it's the toughest part.

Below the Surface isn't just another side quest - it's a tragic story about survival, corruption, and redemption. With Ted's journey finally ending where it began, you leave the Hydrus Sublab knowing you've put one of Borderlands 4's darkest chapters to rest - and claimed some solid loot in the process.

Vile Ted and the Experiments is one of the most haunting and emotional encounters in Borderlands 4. Taking place near the end of the Below the Surface side mission in Dominion City, this boss battle puts players face-to-face with Ted - a victim of the Order's cruel experiments - as he transforms into something monstrous. In this walkthrough, we'll cover where to find the fight, how to defeat both the Vile Experiments and Vile Ted, and what Legendary loot you can expect for surviving the ordeal.

Location and Setup

You'll face Vile Ted and the Experiments in the Hydrus Sublab, an abandoned Order research facility beneath Dominion City. This is the same area explored during the Below the Surface mission. After fighting through waves of Creeps and reactivating the elevator, Ted will contact you, saying he's coming down to meet you in the RD lab. This marks the beginning of the final sequence.

Before Ted arrives, however, you'll need to survive a fight against the Vile Experiments, a group of heavily mutated Creeps that guard the lab's core. Make sure to restock at the nearby ammo vending machine and reload all your cheap Borderlands 4 Weapons before the encounter begins.

Phase One: Defeating the Vile Experiments

While waiting for Ted's arrival, three Vile Experiments will emerge from containment pods around the lab. These enemies are enhanced Creeps with Eridium-infused armor that completely negates health damage until shattered.

Combat Tips:

Target Weak Points:

Each Vile Experiment's Eridium plating has glowing nodes. Focus sustained fire or explosive weapons on these areas to break the armor faster.

Use Corrosive or Explosive Weapons:

Eridium armor is especially weak to corrosive damage, though explosive weaponry works well too. Shotguns with wide spreads or splash damage can break multiple nodes at once.

Isolate and Eliminate:

Try to kite one Creep away from the others to focus your fire. Each one's armor regeneration can make prolonged fights difficult, so burst damage is key.

Once all three Vile Experiments are destroyed, you'll have a brief window to regroup. Ted then approaches, expressing his need to "return to where it all began." The tone shifts dramatically as he steps into a nearby experimental chamber - triggering the transformation into Borderlands 4 Power Leveling Vile Ted.