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Borderlands 4 DLC 'Mad Ellie and the Cursed Vault' In-depth Review: Did it really live up to the hype?Borderlands 4's new DLC 'Mad Ellie and the Cursed Vault' has been released. This DLC introduced an interesting story and new enemy types, but left much to be desired due to repetitive side quests, a disappointing final boss fight, and various bugs. Overall, it was decent content, but several critical flaws hindered the game experience.
1. 📖 'Mad Ellie and the Cursed Vault' DLC Story Analysis
· The DLC story begins with arriving at Whispering Glacier to help Moxxi and find Ellie.
· You meet Pickle from The Pre-Sequel and learn that an alien stone called Megalith makes people go mad and see visions of those they miss. Pickle soon dies.
· Ellie finds a stone necklace, part of Megalith, and starts hearing her dad's voice. This necklace must be returned to Megalith to stop the nightmares, but Crazy Earl eats a part of it.
· While searching for Earl, you meet Daphne, who has become half-plant, half-human to stop Megalith's nightmares. Earl is hiding in Daphne's greenhouse.
· To drive Earl out of the greenhouse, Daphne has you gather ingredients to make a large amount of tincture. However, instead of escaping, Earl transforms into a Thresher and fights the player. Earl dies, but is revived, as he has died and returned many times in the past.
· Meanwhile, the player experiences nightmarish visions of a crashing stone ship, Captain Willis, and his son Robbie. Captain Willis obstructs the retrieval of the stone, hoping to reunite with Robbie in Megalith.
· At the climax of the story, the player arrives at the ship wreckage, and Moxxi, instead of Ellie, holds the stone necklace, attempting to offer a blood sacrifice to Megalith.
· Moxxi is then sucked into Megalith, and the player pursues her. It is then revealed that the twist is not Captain Willis seeing his son in Megalith, but rather his son Robbie seeing his dad Captain Willis.
· The DLC concludes with defeating the ghostly Captain Willis and returning the stone necklace to Megalith, freeing Robbie from the nightmare.
· The overall story was good, but the ending was very unsatisfactory and made the entire story feel mediocre.
· You meet Pickle from The Pre-Sequel and learn that an alien stone called Megalith makes people go mad and see visions of those they miss. Pickle soon dies.
· Ellie finds a stone necklace, part of Megalith, and starts hearing her dad's voice. This necklace must be returned to Megalith to stop the nightmares, but Crazy Earl eats a part of it.
· While searching for Earl, you meet Daphne, who has become half-plant, half-human to stop Megalith's nightmares. Earl is hiding in Daphne's greenhouse.
· To drive Earl out of the greenhouse, Daphne has you gather ingredients to make a large amount of tincture. However, instead of escaping, Earl transforms into a Thresher and fights the player. Earl dies, but is revived, as he has died and returned many times in the past.
· Meanwhile, the player experiences nightmarish visions of a crashing stone ship, Captain Willis, and his son Robbie. Captain Willis obstructs the retrieval of the stone, hoping to reunite with Robbie in Megalith.
· At the climax of the story, the player arrives at the ship wreckage, and Moxxi, instead of Ellie, holds the stone necklace, attempting to offer a blood sacrifice to Megalith.
· Moxxi is then sucked into Megalith, and the player pursues her. It is then revealed that the twist is not Captain Willis seeing his son in Megalith, but rather his son Robbie seeing his dad Captain Willis.
· The DLC concludes with defeating the ghostly Captain Willis and returning the stone necklace to Megalith, freeing Robbie from the nightmare.
· The overall story was good, but the ending was very unsatisfactory and made the entire story feel mediocre.
00:15 - 03:14
1. 📖 'Mad Ellie and the Cursed Vault' DLC Story Analysis
· The DLC story begins with arriving at Whispering Glacier to help Moxxi and find Ellie.
· You meet Pickle from The Pre-Sequel and learn that an alien stone called Megalith makes people go mad and see visions of those they miss. Pickle soon dies.
· Ellie finds a stone necklace, part of Megalith, and starts hearing her dad's voice. This necklace must be returned to Megalith to stop the nightmares, but Crazy Earl eats a part of it.
· While searching for Earl, you meet Daphne, who has become half-plant, half-human to stop Megalith's nightmares. Earl is hiding in Daphne's greenhouse.
· To drive Earl out of the greenhouse, Daphne has you gather ingredients to make a large amount of tincture. However, instead of escaping, Earl transforms into a Thresher and fights the player. Earl dies, but is revived, as he has died and returned many times in the past.
· Meanwhile, the player experiences nightmarish visions of a crashing stone ship, Captain Willis, and his son Robbie. Captain Willis obstructs the retrieval of the stone, hoping to reunite with Robbie in Megalith.
· At the climax of the story, the player arrives at the ship wreckage, and Moxxi, instead of Ellie, holds the stone necklace, attempting to offer a blood sacrifice to Megalith.
· Moxxi is then sucked into Megalith, and the player pursues her. It is then revealed that the twist is not Captain Willis seeing his son in Megalith, but rather his son Robbie seeing his dad Captain Willis.
· The DLC concludes with defeating the ghostly Captain Willis and returning the stone necklace to Megalith, freeing Robbie from the nightmare.
· The overall story was good, but the ending was very unsatisfactory and made the entire story feel mediocre.
· You meet Pickle from The Pre-Sequel and learn that an alien stone called Megalith makes people go mad and see visions of those they miss. Pickle soon dies.
· Ellie finds a stone necklace, part of Megalith, and starts hearing her dad's voice. This necklace must be returned to Megalith to stop the nightmares, but Crazy Earl eats a part of it.
· While searching for Earl, you meet Daphne, who has become half-plant, half-human to stop Megalith's nightmares. Earl is hiding in Daphne's greenhouse.
· To drive Earl out of the greenhouse, Daphne has you gather ingredients to make a large amount of tincture. However, instead of escaping, Earl transforms into a Thresher and fights the player. Earl dies, but is revived, as he has died and returned many times in the past.
· Meanwhile, the player experiences nightmarish visions of a crashing stone ship, Captain Willis, and his son Robbie. Captain Willis obstructs the retrieval of the stone, hoping to reunite with Robbie in Megalith.
· At the climax of the story, the player arrives at the ship wreckage, and Moxxi, instead of Ellie, holds the stone necklace, attempting to offer a blood sacrifice to Megalith.
· Moxxi is then sucked into Megalith, and the player pursues her. It is then revealed that the twist is not Captain Willis seeing his son in Megalith, but rather his son Robbie seeing his dad Captain Willis.
· The DLC concludes with defeating the ghostly Captain Willis and returning the stone necklace to Megalith, freeing Robbie from the nightmare.
· The overall story was good, but the ending was very unsatisfactory and made the entire story feel mediocre.
03:15 - 06:15
2. ⚔️ Enemies and Boss Fights: A Mix of Freshness and Disappointment
· Most of the enemies in this DLC were existing foes like Scavs, Kratch, Kryps, and Threshers. The return of Kens was welcome, and the Stone Soldiers were fun to fight.
· Stone Soldiers had a unique mechanism where they would transform into different enemy forms when damaged while enchanted by Megalith, making combat interesting.
· The return of Mechs was also good, but it's a shame that Stone Soldiers didn't appear more frequently throughout the DLC. Many parts felt too similar to existing enemies, making it feel no different from the base game.
· Mini-bosses were mostly enlarged versions of other Stone Soldiers and nothing special. The flying mech torso, 'Penitent Steel,' was somewhat noticeable, but still nothing special.
· The main bosses are 'Mad Earl' and 'Captain Willis.'
· The fight against Mad Earl was very enjoyable, with new attack patterns and engaging phase combat. It could be rated 8-9 out of 10 among Borderlands boss fights.
· In contrast, the fight against Captain Willis was incredibly boring. He was merely an enlarged mech model with almost no new attack patterns, and ridiculously easy.
· The Captain Willis boss fight was so disappointing that it completely ruined the climax of the story. It's hard to understand why an Eldritch Horror-themed DLC story would conclude with the most boring and disappointing boss fight.
· Even after the final battle, an actual Eldritch Horror tentacle monster appeared, but the door closed and nothing happened, leaving even more to be desired.
· Stone Soldiers had a unique mechanism where they would transform into different enemy forms when damaged while enchanted by Megalith, making combat interesting.
· The return of Mechs was also good, but it's a shame that Stone Soldiers didn't appear more frequently throughout the DLC. Many parts felt too similar to existing enemies, making it feel no different from the base game.
· Mini-bosses were mostly enlarged versions of other Stone Soldiers and nothing special. The flying mech torso, 'Penitent Steel,' was somewhat noticeable, but still nothing special.
· The main bosses are 'Mad Earl' and 'Captain Willis.'
· The fight against Mad Earl was very enjoyable, with new attack patterns and engaging phase combat. It could be rated 8-9 out of 10 among Borderlands boss fights.
· In contrast, the fight against Captain Willis was incredibly boring. He was merely an enlarged mech model with almost no new attack patterns, and ridiculously easy.
· The Captain Willis boss fight was so disappointing that it completely ruined the climax of the story. It's hard to understand why an Eldritch Horror-themed DLC story would conclude with the most boring and disappointing boss fight.
· Even after the final battle, an actual Eldritch Horror tentacle monster appeared, but the door closed and nothing happened, leaving even more to be desired.
06:16 - 07:39
3. 🗺️ Side Quests: Repetitive Structure and Disappointing Rewards
· The side quests in this DLC were very lacking and not fun.
· Most quests followed a repetitive structure: talk to an NPC, go to a specific location, defeat enemies, collect items, then talk to the NPC again.
· Notable side quests include 'Symbiotic Security Part 1, 2.' You help Daphne clone Dragons and Threshers to protect her farm, and they combine to create a Fusion Monster.
· However, this Fusion Monster cannot be fought or farmed again after the quest is completed. This DLC has a problem where many mini-bosses or named enemies that appear in quests do not respawn or drop anything.
· In another quest, 'Ice Fishing,' you find Marina's grandfather and defeat the infamous Thresher 'Old Thrash,' but this enemy also cannot be encountered again after the quest is completed.
· The stories of the side quests were decent, but they all felt like copy-pasted content. The only quest that felt replayable was 'I Hear Voices.'
· As with the base game, there's too much time spent standing around waiting for dialogue during side quests.
· Most quests followed a repetitive structure: talk to an NPC, go to a specific location, defeat enemies, collect items, then talk to the NPC again.
· Notable side quests include 'Symbiotic Security Part 1, 2.' You help Daphne clone Dragons and Threshers to protect her farm, and they combine to create a Fusion Monster.
· However, this Fusion Monster cannot be fought or farmed again after the quest is completed. This DLC has a problem where many mini-bosses or named enemies that appear in quests do not respawn or drop anything.
· In another quest, 'Ice Fishing,' you find Marina's grandfather and defeat the infamous Thresher 'Old Thrash,' but this enemy also cannot be encountered again after the quest is completed.
· The stories of the side quests were decent, but they all felt like copy-pasted content. The only quest that felt replayable was 'I Hear Voices.'
· As with the base game, there's too much time spent standing around waiting for dialogue during side quests.
07:40 - 09:05
4. 💎 New Loot: Pearlescent Weapons and Legendary Item Review
· The loot in this DLC is a mixed bag, with clear highs and lows. Please note that I haven't obtained all items yet, nor any Pearlescent items.
· Pearlescent items were generally disappointing. While I don't expect overpowered one-shot machines, only the new shotgun had useful effects.
· The 'Crow's Source' assault rifle fires random projectiles, which is more of a playful gimmick than a useful effect.
· The 'Soul Survivor' gun increases damage based on the number of downed allies, making it virtually useless for solo players. While it's primarily a co-op game, many players play solo.
· Fortunately, most of the legendary items are quite good. I liked the new 'Laser Cutter' and 'Piercestalker,' and the 'Bismuth-Tipped Dagger' also seems to have great potential.
· The only issue among legendary items is the 'Hemorrhage Sniper.' Its damage increases with distance from the target, but it has a range limit, which is very illogical.
· It's very disappointing that 6 legendary items are locked behind the random world event 'Nightmare Rifts.' It's a shame this issue hasn't been addressed since Wonderlands.
· Pearlescent items were generally disappointing. While I don't expect overpowered one-shot machines, only the new shotgun had useful effects.
· The 'Crow's Source' assault rifle fires random projectiles, which is more of a playful gimmick than a useful effect.
· The 'Soul Survivor' gun increases damage based on the number of downed allies, making it virtually useless for solo players. While it's primarily a co-op game, many players play solo.
· Fortunately, most of the legendary items are quite good. I liked the new 'Laser Cutter' and 'Piercestalker,' and the 'Bismuth-Tipped Dagger' also seems to have great potential.
· The only issue among legendary items is the 'Hemorrhage Sniper.' Its damage increases with distance from the target, but it has a range limit, which is very illogical.
· It's very disappointing that 6 legendary items are locked behind the random world event 'Nightmare Rifts.' It's a shame this issue hasn't been addressed since Wonderlands.
09:06 - 10:42
5. 🛠️ Game Polish and Bugs: Disappointing Playtesting
· The overall polish of this DLC is not good. This seems to be a recurring issue with Gearbox games.
· The DLC has many small problems, such as Echol logs having no sound, or a 10-15 second delay before dialogue begins.
· The grapple range for the Sugarass shortcut is too short, making it unstable to use.
· After completing the 'I Hear Voices' mission, there's no way to return to the Sugarass factory, meaning if you missed any Echol log collectibles during the mission, you have to replay it.
· Nightmare Rifts are too rare. It took 12 hours to 100% complete the DLC, and I found a total of 4 rifts, 3 of which appeared consecutively, which seems like a bug. So, effectively, I only found about 2.
· All DLC class mods are locked behind random Nightmare Rifts, but the rift spawn rate is so low that it kills any interest in new class mods.
· There was also a bug where the Sugarass egg dispenser wouldn't work when trying to remove blood clots from the doll storage in Bloodstained Hollow. It started working after hitting the corner next to the refrigerator.
· It makes me wonder if Gearbox properly playtests their games. Many bugs occurred even during the main quest, which should have been hard to miss.
· The DLC has many small problems, such as Echol logs having no sound, or a 10-15 second delay before dialogue begins.
· The grapple range for the Sugarass shortcut is too short, making it unstable to use.
· After completing the 'I Hear Voices' mission, there's no way to return to the Sugarass factory, meaning if you missed any Echol log collectibles during the mission, you have to replay it.
· Nightmare Rifts are too rare. It took 12 hours to 100% complete the DLC, and I found a total of 4 rifts, 3 of which appeared consecutively, which seems like a bug. So, effectively, I only found about 2.
· All DLC class mods are locked behind random Nightmare Rifts, but the rift spawn rate is so low that it kills any interest in new class mods.
· There was also a bug where the Sugarass egg dispenser wouldn't work when trying to remove blood clots from the doll storage in Bloodstained Hollow. It started working after hitting the corner next to the refrigerator.
· It makes me wonder if Gearbox properly playtests their games. Many bugs occurred even during the main quest, which should have been hard to miss.
10:43 - 11:45
6. ⭐ Overall Review: A Disappointing DLC with a Score of 65-70
· The 'Mad Ellie and the Cursed Vault' DLC was generally decent.
· The main story was good, and the new enemies were fun to fight but could have been utilized more.
· Side quests were mediocre and repetitive, and boss fights were very hit-or-miss.
· New Pearlescent items were average, and legendary items were good, but some were very difficult to farm.
· Polish needs improvement due to many bugs and issues.
· This DLC feels about $10 too expensive, and bundling the Cash and Mad Ellie DLCs was a very foolish decision.
· Overall, I give the 'Mad Ellie and the Cursed Vault' DLC a score of 65-70 out of 100.
· I haven't played much with the Cash character yet, but so far, it's been very fun.
· The main story was good, and the new enemies were fun to fight but could have been utilized more.
· Side quests were mediocre and repetitive, and boss fights were very hit-or-miss.
· New Pearlescent items were average, and legendary items were good, but some were very difficult to farm.
· Polish needs improvement due to many bugs and issues.
· This DLC feels about $10 too expensive, and bundling the Cash and Mad Ellie DLCs was a very foolish decision.
· Overall, I give the 'Mad Ellie and the Cursed Vault' DLC a score of 65-70 out of 100.
· I haven't played much with the Cash character yet, but so far, it's been very fun.