Drifter

Drifter
Drifter vs. Monster
Race	Drifter
Faction	Creature
Location	Road's End, Sunken Sea
Game	Borderlands
Appearances	The Secret Armory of General Knoxx

Drifters are creatures native to Pandora. They resemble a Spiderant with four long, spindly legs and two frontal pedipalps or mandibles. They are encountered in the Road's End and Sunken Sea areas of The Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC, and in Hunter's Grotto of the Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC.

Borderlands

Combat

• Drifters have a corrosive ranged attack that is devastating to vehicles. They will also jump towards pedestrian targets and will stomp on the ground to damage victims at close range. They can be killed by staying out of its range and shooting it, e.g. the homing missiles of the Monster, in order to avoid its corrosive projectiles. The raised highways provide a good vantage point to exploit this strategy.
• They have three glowing orbs around the base of their body. Shooting these will result in a critical hit causing massive damage, around 1/4 of the Drifter's health. Destroying these orbs will severely weaken it. The back side of the abdomen can also be shot for critical hit damage if it is visible.
• About five full rocket shots (all three rockets hit) from a Monster vehicle will kill a Drifter. They are weak against shock weapons. The Lancer's shock turret can be very effective against Drifters. However, the turret should be manually aimed at the main body of the Drifter. Locking on can cause the turret to fire through the Drifter's legs, doing no damage. Also, a Double Anarchy SMG or a rapid-fire shotgun is very effective to hit multiple critical areas.
• A fully upgraded Radiance skill is very effective for Lilith to use against them.
• It is extremely hard, if not impossible, to run one over.
• If characters plan on looting their corpses, it should be done in haste, as more Drifters will emerge out of the ground fairly quickly.
• Drifters make no sound when they burst from the ground near a character, resulting in devastating surprise attacks at close range.

Notes

• The side mission, Drifter Lifter, tasks Vault hunters with killing Skyscraper, an oversized Drifter boss.
• It is inadvisable to use a Racer against Drifters, due to its comparatively fragile and lightweight structure.
• Drifters count as Badass enemies, dropping bonus loot when they die.
• The ragdoll of a recently killed drifter seizes up when killed by an elemental attack. Phoenix often causes this to happen.
• To players who have joined a multi-player game the final shot delivered to a Drifter will sometimes launch the dead Drifter into the air, only for it to fall to the ground several seconds later. To the host dead Drifters always flop to the floor as per normal.

Gallery

Borderlands 2

Another species of Drifter makes an appearance in Borderlands 2 in Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. They are found only in Hunter's Grotto.

Types

Wetland Drifter

Wetland Drifters are considerably smaller and less dangerous overall than their desert counterparts, standing perhaps half as tall. They tend to spawn alone and behave exactly like the Drifters encountered in the original Borderlands, albeit they are far less aggressive.