Revenge of the Cartels, the second-ever Borderlands 3 seasonal event, will finally be launching tomorrow as part of a major update. Launching alongside Mayhem Mode 2.0 and Loot the Universe, Revenge of the Cartels is a major six-week-long event featuring new enemies, new loot, and even a brand-new area; the stylish ‘Villa Ultraviolet’.
The Borderlands 3 Revenge of the Cartels Seasonal Event
Like its predecessor, the Bloody Harvest Halloween event, Revenge of the Cartels is much bigger than most of Borderlands 3’s in-game events. After its launch tomorrow, on the 23rd of April, it will be live until the 4th of June. During that time, players will be able to fight new enemies, gain event-specific loot, and travel to Villa Ultraviolet. Like Bloody Harvest, your point of contact for the Revenge of the Cartels missions is Maurice; the Saurian crew member aboard Sanctuary III. As it turns out, Maurice has gotten himself indebted to Joey Ultraviolet; the kingpin of the so-called ‘Eridium Cartel,’ and the main boss of the event.
During Revenge of the Cartels, you’ll get a repeatable quest from Maurice which you’ll need to complete in order to get to Villa Ultraviolet. Just like in Bloody Harvest, you’ll find that there are new Cartel Operative enemies skulking around the many worlds of Borderlands 3 (including the DLC areas). When you kill an Operative, a signal will be sent to their allies, prompting Cartel Thugs to arrive seeking revenge. When this happens, the Thugs might be led by a Cartel Underboss; Badass-level enemies who belong to one of the three Cartel gangs; CryptoSec, The Burnt Ends, or The Purpatrators.
When you kill the Thugs, you’ll get a set of Hideout Coordinates. Collect enough of these and Maurice will be able to send you directly to Villa Ultraviolet. Here, you’ll face waves of Cartel enemies belonging to one of the three gangs, before facing Joey himself. Each gang features its own Underbosses and loot pool, meaning that each trip to the Villa should be different. In fact, you’ll never face the same gang twice in a row when you return to the Villa.
Revenge of the Cartels Challenges & Rewards
In addition to all this new content, Revenge of the Cartels also features 18 new limited-time Challenges. Completing these challenges will earn you cosmetic rewards. Complete 3 to unlock the ‘VECH-tor Graphics’ ECHO Device Skin. Complete 6 to unlock the ‘Retro Outrunner’ Weapon Trinket. Completing 10 will net you the ‘Framed Firewall’ Room Decoration, while completing 14 will get you the ‘Hotline Pandora’ Vault Hunter Head. Finally, completing all 18 challenges will unlock the ‘Death by Filigrees’ Vault Hunter skin.