Sledge

Sledge is a "massive brute" and the leader of the bandits in the Arid Badlands. He is the primary antagonist for a series of missions that bar access to the Dahl Headlands and his death is one of the last tasks undertaken in the Arid Badlands.

Background
Something was discovered at Headstone Mine and the find was hastily covered up. Soon after the rumoured discovery, many of the workers in that area mutated radically, some becoming insane with an obsession for the Vault, some becoming stunted midgets, and others growing into gross monstrosities. Sledge emerged from these former convict workers to take charge and create his own little bandit empire.

Leader of a Barove Tribe, Sledge is blunt and uncreative - When he named his iconic weapon, he simply called it "Hammer". What he lacks in brainpower he makes up for with brute strength and a high tolerance for pain. His namesake sledgehammer sends painful shock waves that keep foes at a distance and can make hard work of melee assaults on Sledge.

Involvement
According to the Guardian Angel; "Sledge is a bad man, who has done terrible things to the people of Fyrestone." The Guardian Angel also claims that Sledge possesses something important that must be recovered from him. A series of missions will set the player on a path to penetrate Sledge's operation and ultimately kill Sledge himself.

According to Dr. Zed, Sledge murdered the entire family of Shep Sanders and used their skin to build a tent.

It is revealed in one of the missions in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx that some midgets later revive Sledge. The experiment proves to be only a partial success and Sledge goes berserk. He comes to be known as Motorhead.

Related Missions

 * Sledge: Meet Shep
 * Sledge: The Mine Key
 * Sledge: To The Safe House
 * Sledge: Battle For The Badlands

General Strategy

 * Sledge has two main attacks; Sledge's Shotgun and Sledge's Hammer. His shotgun has a very poor accuracy but a high damage and wide spread. The hammer has high direct damage and sends out a shock wave when hitting the ground. The shock wave is an area of effect attack that will damage and knock enemies back.
 * Sledge will try to move into melee range throughout the entire fight. It is recommended that players avoid close contact, instead moving and placing obstacles between the character and Sledge. In some cases it may be preferable to risk close contact briefly in order to escape, than allow a character to be backed into in a corner.
 * After the fight begins, bandits will spawn from both sides of the room. Some may be useful to leave alive as a means to gain a Second Wind.
 * Shock damage is especially useful in taking down Sledge's powerful shield.
 * Rapid-fire attacks from Combat Rifles or SMGs are useful in chipping away at Sledge's health, wearing down his life while preventing his shield from regenerating.
 * The design of the room is such that characters can loop around a large physical barrier on the right hand side after entering. This obstruction will allow some opportunity to recharge depleted shields before the attack is resumed.
 * Critical hits can aid the speed at which Sledge can be taken down, however Sledge's only critical hit location is the red glass on his welder's helmet or the back of his head, making this a more difficult proposition for this boss.

Isolated Tactics

 * Berserkers should avoid confronting Sledge with their Berserk melee attacks, although the skill is still quite useful for its healing properties. For characters with high health and shield power however, this can work as an effective finishing move. Two berserkers working together can also pummel him down in short order, without having to worry about much retaliation as he is constantly knocked around.
 * As with any tough enemy, being able to use skills that maintain the Daze effect on him (such as Brick's Bash or Lilith's Mind Games) significantly reduce the difficulty of the encounter.
 * Roland's Scorpio Turret can present a useful diversion, especially when empowered by a Shock Artifact. As the turret shoots Sledge, he will often pay more attention to the turret than the soldier.
 * One or two shock grenades will take down his shields right away.
 * It's possible to lure Sledge out of his arena through the doors but it is tricky. This can be done by luring Sledge right onto the door, while remaining close to draw his hammer attack. From there the tanking character can be allowed to die, and upon respawning Sledge will have exited the arena. Alternately backing slowly while still in Sledge's hammer's range causes Sledge to come through the door. Once he is out, attackers can sit safely at the other end of the hall (near the vending machines) and kill him from there.
 * It is possible to get Sledge's left arm to stick out the right hand door by opening the door and luring him towards it so he hammer-strikes as it closes. Once this is achieved, a high powered incendiary weapon can be used to attack his forearm, setting him on fire.
 * It is also possible to maintain the appropriate distance from Sledge that causes him to repeatedly pound the ground with his hammer (causing a damaging shockwave), but while standing behind a waist-high obstacle that completely blocks the shockwave. This allows the player(s) the chance to score a lot of free hits as he performs an ineffectual move over and over.
 * Transfusion grenades can be continuously thrown through the right door. The ammunition vendor is close enough to resupply the grenades frequently when they run out.
 * The entrance doors can be used to keep characters relatively safe by using them in a hit and run strategy on Sledge. This is done by opening the door, firing on Sledge and ducking away while the closed door blocks his ability to return fire.

Quotes

 * "You must be bounty hunter! Sledge will punish you!" (Upon seeing vault hunter)
 * "Stupid bounty hunter... killed Sledge" (Upon dying)
 * "Think you can beat Sledge? Nuh uh! Cuz Sledge is too smart for you!" (Upon seeing vault hunter)
 * "Sledge have a idea! Idea say destroy them all!"
 * "The Burning lets you know it's Working!" (When set on fire)
 * "Ahh! Someone, please! Water!" (When set on fire)
 * "I did not ask for this!" (When set on fire)
 * "Kill Sledge's men make Sledge angry! ARRRG!"
 * "Sledge will crush you like... crush you style!"
 * "Now, death come for you... from Sledge! Heheh"
 * "Sledge give little runt BIG Death!"
 * "Oh... that doesn't feel good" (Upon dying)
 * "Sledge`s men attack, please!"
 * "Sledge`s men, Uh... my men, attack!"
 * "Sledge destroy you! Destroy you right now!"
 * "No mercy for anyone who threaten Sledge!"
 * "No mercy for anyone who threaten Sledge, okay?"
 * "Sledge`s men gonna kill you!"
 * "Aww, where`d my shield go? Sledge gonna crush you!" (Upon having shield depleted)
 * "Sledge angry! Sledge destroy!!" (Upon having shield depleted)
 * "Sledge doesn`t need shield! Sledge gonna crush you to bloody stumpes!" (Upon having shield depleted)
 * "Ah, crap, shield down! No one does that to Sledge! Sledge kill!" (Upon having shield depleted)
 * "No one threatens Sledge!!" (Upon having shield depleted)