Fans of Lord of the RIngs are going to enjoy this long-winded easter egg in Borderlands 3 that directly references the Mines of Moria
Borderlands 3 fans are no stranger to easter eggs. The team at Gearbox Software enjoy tying in fun, unique little culture nods throughout their games. Borderlands 3 is no different, with the inclusion of a Rick and Morty duo, and a One Punch Man shotgun, if you’re lucky. Another, easier easter egg to encounter is a Lord of the Rings one, notable about the Balrog and the Mines of Moria. Here’s where it is, how you do it, and what you get for finding it.
Lord of the Rings Easter Egg in Borderlands 3
You’re not going to get the chance to see this easter egg right off the bat. Instead, it’s much later in the game, because it’s connected to a level 44 quest called The Demon in the Dark. For Lord of the Rings fans, this already screams Balrog, as it is a creature made up of fire and shadow.
To find this side quest, you need to visit the location call Konrad’s Hold, and you’re going to find it on Pandora. The quest is going to take you through these abandoned mines in the game. It feels quite like the journey the Fellowship endured when they were forced off the beaten path by Saurman the White. The Gearbox Software team went all out with the quest. There’s quite a bit to the quest. Much of it got recreated in the game directly from the movie and the book. There’s no reason to detail the entire easter egg or what goes on. The quest is a huge nostalgia trip, and there’s no reason to describe it to hardcore fans who want to experience the journey for themselves.
At the end of the quest, you’re going to face off against Borderlands 3’s manifestation of a Balrog. The creature comes in at the end, and it’s a bunch of shooting and beating it down. The boss has the chance to drop legendaries. However, none of them is a direct reference to the Lord of the Rings story. Instead, you’re going to get that gun as a guaranteed reward at the end of the quest. It’s a shotgun called The Burning Chomper. When you fire it, it unleashes an array of lava-like whips, much like the Balrog used when he pulled Gandalf off of the side of the bridge.
YouTuber Arekkz Gaming has a full video of the Easter egg below that you can check out if you’re curious of checking the entire thing out from start to finish.
Borderlands 3 is out right now for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and the PC through the Epic Games Store.
