Best Minion Ever is a story mission in Borderlands 2 given by Sir Hammerlock. The mission is performed in Southern Shelf.
Background[]
- "After Handsome Jack left you for dead in Windshear Waste, you escaped the cold and met a CL4P-TP general purpose robot – the last of his kind on Pandora. He has enlisted you as his minion. You are to help him kill Jack, destroy the warrior, and save Pandora. Now that his minion is well-armed and raring for a fight, Claptrap feels it's time for you and him to head to Sanctuary, the last free town in Pandora. To do that, you'll need to steal Claptrap's boat back from the nefarious Captain Flynt. One obstacle stands between you and Flynt, however: Flynt's henchman, an explosives expert named Boom Bewm."
Walkthrough[]
Objectives[]
- Grab Claptrap
- Escort Claptrap to his ship
- Open gate
- Defend Claptrap
- Murder Boom Bewm
- Proceed to Captain Flynt
- Use cannon to destroy gate
- Catch up to Claptrap
- Find Flynt
- Hoist Claptrap
- Murder Flynt
- Board Claptrap's ship
Strategy[]
This mission primarily involves following Claptrap through bandit territory to reach a boat. Initially this means moving through territory occupied by bandits, and is broken by two significant boss encounters.
The first major fight is with Boom and Bewm, which consist of two small, armored targets. This often makes the fight difficult on the first playthrough, as Vault Hunters lack reliable corrosive or slag weapons to optimize damage (save for the Hornet that might drop from Knuckle Dragger). It is possible to start the fight without entering the arena, by edging up to the drop into the arena Vault Hunters can trigger the fight, then withdraw to the surrounding buildings and snipe. Boom starts the battle atop a giant cannon called Big Bertha. This cannon will rotate slowly, so its fire can be outrun or avoided by keeping to cover as much as possible. Damage inflicted on this cannon will eventually reduce its structure to around 10% health, whereupon Boom will leap down and personally enter the fray. It is also possible to kill Boom before destroying the cannon. Boom's brother Bewm is equipped with a jet pack and will present an awkward target as he jets through the air and attacks from a high vantage. Both of them will attack with grenades, providing even more incentive to stay on the run. These flights are short lived however, and he spends much of his time attacking on foot. Killing either Boom or Bewm will cause two psychos at a time to spawn until the other boss is killed. These psychos can provide second winds. The character may be safer standing their ground against the psychos if Big Bertha is still operational as running from them will expose themselves to its fire.
After Boom and Bewm are defeated and Big Bertha is used to blow up the gate, a large number of bandits will enter. They can be fought on foot, but using Big Bertha to kill them is far easier as the Vault Hunter who operates Big Bertha, and the cannon itself, are both invincible.
Claptrap will be missing as soon as the gate is destroyed. Vault Hunters must follow the way point to find Claptrap being beaten by three bandits. A short while later, Claptrap's progress is halted by stairs and he must be hoisted aloft from a mechanism above. This entails fighting through more bandits to reach the switch. Once up, Claptrap will then open the way to the final boss encounter against Captain Flynt.
The fight against Flynt and his cronies takes place on top of the freighter deck. Flynt will remain on his perch and watch his lackeys throw themselves into the fray before descending to the deck himself after Vault Hunters either get close enough or hit him once. He attacks with a flamethrower that will quickly deplete shields. His critical hit location is his exposed head behind his mask, requiring attackers to flank him to exploit his weakness. He also has an ability to slam his anchor in the ground and knock characters back multiple times. Like other nomads, he also has a powerful charging attack.
While there are many walls and obstacles to provide cover from the Captain's grenades and flames, Vault Hunters should be careful not to stand on the exposed grilles that will erupt with fire partway through the battle. When Flynt is engulfed in flames from the grilles on deck, he gains massive damage resistance and can reflect projectiles, making it preferable to seek cover until the flames die out.
It is possible to retreat to the lower area (or simply die) and return to the last checkpoint, where there is more cover, while Flynt and his minions must stand, exposed, on the metal beams jutting from the ship. Additionally, it is possible to shoot him from the walkway leading up to his ship while he stands on his perch.
After Flynt's defeat, Claptrap will lead the way through the freighter to find his actual "ship" (a boat), behind it and must board to complete the mission.
Completion[]
- "By killing Captain Flynt, you have increased the average literacy of the entire area by a factor of ten. Now nothing stands between you and a frigid, fifteen-hour boat ride with Claptrap. 'Grats!"
Turn In: Claptrap
Transcript[]
- Main article: Best Minion Ever/Transcript
Notes[]
- If allowed to reach an unattended Big Bertha after the gate has been destroyed enemies may climb into Big Bertha and assume control of it, using it to attack Vault Hunters. They will not gain any additional health, however, unlike Boom. As the Big Bertha turns slowly, Vault Hunters can easily circle strafe and either kill the operator or destroy it.
- The Big Bertha cannot be destroyed until the Vault Hunters use it to destroy the gate. After that, it can be destroyed as long as not being controlled by a Vault Hunter.
- Due to a bug, sometimes Boom may be stuck on Big Bertha even after the latter's durability has been depleted.
- In Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, enemies can easily sustain multiple shots from Big Bertha due to their vastly increased health. However, this effectively changes nothing as using the Big Bertha still denies them from taking it.
- After traveling to Three Horns - Divide, Claptrap's Boat will warp to a much lower point in Southern Shelf and continue to act as an exit between the two maps.