Find and defeat Primordial Guardian Inceptus in Borderlands 4 to earn Legendary loot and unlock Ultimate Vault Hunter 5.

One of the three Primordial Guardians in Borderlands 4, Inceptus is an agile boss that manipulates the arena, forcing players to use their mobility tools to an acrobatic extent. Being one of the toughest bosses in the game, Inceptus yields powerful rewards and Legendary loot when defeated. Furthermore, beating Inceptus is required to unlock Ultimate Vault Hunter 5 and the rare Beyond the Veil Vault Hunter skin.
Borderlands 4: Primordial Guardian Inceptus Location

You can find Primordial Guardian Inceptus within the Arch of Inceptus, located in the Dissected Plateau, Fadefields. Starting from the Zadra’s Backup Plan fast travel station, climb the hill southwest to find the Arch of Inceptus at its peak.
However, before you can enter the Arch of Inceptus, you require three Vault Key Fragments located within the Fadefields region. Each fragment’s search area is revealed when you complete the three Order Silos in Fadefields. The Vault Key Fragments are located in:
- Coastal Bonescape: Southwest corner, on a crate beneath the tower.
- The Howl: In a cave northeast of the Launchpad.
- Idolator’s Noose: Rosemary’s Reserve
How To Beat Primordial Guardian Inceptus Boss in Borderlands 4
- Inceptus possesses two health bars: Shield and Flesh. Shock or Radiation damage is effective against the former, while the latter is vulnerable to Incendiary damage.
- Use the grappling hook on Inceptus’ armor to expose green blisters, which you can shoot at to score critical hits.
- Inceptus will intermittently attach to the ceiling and cocoon itself midair. The ground is covered in poisonous gas, and you have to use the grappling hook on the lamps around the arena and glide to stay airborne. After each grapple, turn toward the cocooned boss and shoot its bulbous top. This is an excellent time to use throwables on the stationary boss.
- When the cocoon bursts, Inceptus falls to the ground, providing you with a brief opportunity to dish out as much damage as possible.
Attack | Description | Counter |
---|---|---|
Leaping Sweep | Inceptus jumps toward you and pivots as it lands, sweeping a large area with its tails. | Double jump and glide when Inceptus jumps towards you. |
Tail Slam | Inceptus jumps into the air using its tail and flips to slam it down. | Dash or sprint to either side. |
Acid Spit | Inceptus latches itself to the ceiling and spews acid that bounces into damaging pools. | Sprint or dash back when it spews acid and avoid the pools of acid on the ground. |
Spore Swarm | The boss releases several bulbous green spores that it launches toward you. | Shoot the spores with an automatic weapon to destroy them. |
Tail Stab | The guardian swings its tail, then stabs and ensnares the player to perform a second swipe. | Dash sideways as soon as Inceptus lashes out with its tail. |
Primordial Guardian Inceptus Legendary Drops and Rewards

After defeating Primordial Guardian Inceptus, you have a chance to receive the following Legendary loot. Interact with the altar at the end of the Vault to obtain the Glide Pack stamina upgrade.
Legendary | Type | Effect |
---|---|---|
Extra Medium | Energy Shield | Nucleosynthesis – When Energy Shield breaks or fills, it triggers a Nova that deals significant damage. |
Ravenfire | Heavy Weapon Ordnance | 621 – Explosions radiate outward from the point of impact. |
Husky Friend | Shotgun | Husky Auto Turret |
Filantropo | Exo-Soldier Class Mod | Whenever Rafa retriggers his Action Skill, he spawns a free Grenade. If he has a Grenade equipped, he spawns one based on that. This Skill has a 4-second cooldown. |
Elementalist | Forgeknight Class Mod | Whenever an Affinity Skill gains a Stack, all unlocked Affinity Skills also gain a Stack. For each Stack of Affinity from all Affinity Skills, Amon gains increased Movement Speed. |
Avatar | Siren Class Mod | Vex and her Minions gain increased Damage Dealt for each active Attunement Skill. Each active Attunement Skill also grants Vex and her Minions Damage Reduction against its matching Elemental Type. |
Reactor | Gravitar Class Mod | Whenever Harlowe Entangles an enemy, she gains a Reactor Stack. For every Stack, she gains +2% Movement Speed. When she gains 10 Stacks, she also gains +20% Gun Damage, +20% Fire Rate, +20% Reload Speed, and +20% Status Effect Damage for 12 seconds, and loses all Stacks once the Duration ends. |

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