How to make money fast in Borderlands 3

Money is one of the most important things you'll be collecting in Borderlands 3, as you'll need plenty of it to buy ammunition and health pickups, and it's also useful for purchasing any good weapons or grenade mods you find in vending machines, too. In addition, you can use money to play the slot machines in Mad Moxxi's bar, and if you're lucky, this can net you rare items, including legendaries. If you're short on cash and need to roll in some dough to obtain that shotgun you're eyeing, or simply need to feed your virtual gambling addiction, we've got you covered with some tips on how to get rich quick in Borderlands 3.

Open ALL the boxes!

The most common place you'll find stacks of money in Borderlands 3 is within the various boxes, crates, safes, and chests that litter the world of Pandora and beyond. It may seem tedious to have to open every container you come across, but it's worth doing in the long run, as it only takes a couple of seconds to do and you can potentially walk away several hundred (or thousand, at later levels) dollars richer. Even if you don't come across much money, you'll likely either get ammunition or weapon drops instead. The former will be useful for extending how long you can go before you need to visit an ammo vending machine, while the latter can be sold at vending machines for money. No matter what, opening containers is profitable!

Kill everything in sight

Aside from containers, money also frequently spawns as a drop from fallen enemies. Therefore, another great way to make money as fast as possible is to simply kill as many foes as you can. As with containers, you won't always get cash off their corpse, but ammunition and weapon drops are useful too for the aforementioned reasons. However, it is worth noting that trying to kill an enemy that has a much higher level than you just for the chance at a money drop isn't worth the risk. Even if you do win that fight and they drop money, it will only be the same amount that a regular foe drops ⁠— and if they kill you, you'll have to fork over a portion of the cash you have to Hyperion's New-U respawn system.

Prioritize loot-focused enemies

While you'll want to be killing pretty much every bad guy you come across, there are some enemies in Borderlands 3 that are guaranteed to drop a hefty sum of cash upon death, and also have a good chance to drop rare items, too. These foes are typically labeled with a "loot" prefix and are more skittish than their comrades, preferring to flee from you and get away with the loot instead of standing their ground. If you spot one of these foes, immediately focus on putting them down, as it would be a shame to let them escape. Once they're dead, a few dozen piles of money will shoot out of their body, which will give you a big surplus of cash. If they happen to drop some nice gear that you aren't going to use, too, you can sell it at a vending machine for even more of a profit.

Do every quest

One of the most reliable ways to get plenty of cash in Borderlands 3 is to do every quest you come across, both main quests and side quests. Large sums of money are often part of the reward you get for completing them, so if you dedicate yourself to getting through your mission backlog, you'll be surprised at how much money you can get from it. As a bonus, you can sometimes get rare gear as part of your quest rewards, too, and (assuming you're not going to use them) you can hand them over at vending machines for some extra money. If a quest has an optional objective, make sure you complete it, as this will net you more cash and loot at the end of the quest than you'd normally get just by doing the mission's minimum requirements.

Your thoughts

What do you think about how money-gathering works in Borderlands 3? Have you devised any effective strategies to rack up the cash? Let me know.

Borderlands 3 is available now for $60 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.