Get Your Ride Early: How to Unlock Your First Vehicle in ‘Borderlands 4’

In the vast, sprawling new world of Kairos in Borderlands 4, running from point A to point B simply isn’t an option. The new planet is a massive open world, filled with canyons, canyons, and more canyons. Fortunately, you don’t have to wait long to get a vehicle. The game has introduced a new, convenient system for summoning a personal hoverbike called the “Digirunner” on demand, a stark departure from the old Catch-a-Ride stations. This guide will walk you through the exact steps to unlock your first vehicle and get to shredding across the landscape in no time.

The Digirunner is a single-occupant hoverbike that can be summoned almost anywhere on the map, making it a game-changing tool for traversal. It’s fast, nimble, and comes with a few tricks, including a boost, a jump ability, and built-in weapons. The ability to summon a vehicle on demand is a major quality-of-life improvement for the series, and it’s something you should prioritize getting as early as possible. The process of unlocking it is tied to a specific main story mission, so you won’t have to go on a long, convoluted side quest to get it.

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The ‘Down and Outbound’ Mission

You will unlock your first vehicle during the third main story mission, “Down and Outbound.” This mission becomes available right after you complete the first two introductory quests, so you will be able to get a vehicle within the first hour of gameplay if you focus on the main story. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how to get your Digirunner:

• Step 1: Complete “Recruitment Drive” and “A New Hope.”Your journey on Kairos begins with a few introductory missions. “Recruitment Drive” is the first, where you crash-land on the planet and meet the ever-charming Claptrap. “A New Hope” follows, introducing you to the initial conflict with the Order faction. Simply follow the main quest markers and complete these missions to progress.
• Step 2: Start “Down and Outbound.”After completing the first two missions, you will automatically be given the “Down and Outbound” quest. This mission takes you to the Fadefields region, where you will be tasked with helping the Outbounders, a group of rebels who are fighting back against the Timekeeper’s regime. The mission involves a series of skirmishes and objectives, but it is relatively straightforward and easy to complete early on.
• Step 3: Talk to Conway and Get Your Kit.As you progress through “Down and Outbound,” you will eventually meet a mechanic named Conway at the Outbounders’ base. He will point you toward his prototype Digirunner in his garage. Interact with the vehicle to unlock the kit—it’s as simple as that. There are no mini-games or extra steps required. Once you interact with the vehicle, the ability to summon your Digirunner is permanently unlocked.
• Step 4: Summon Your Ride.Once you have the vehicle kit, you can summon your Digirunner at almost any time and place on the map. On PC, press the “X” key; on controllers, press the Left D-Pad. Your Digirunner will be “digi-structed” right in front of you, ready for you to hop on and start exploring the open world of Kairos. While the base vehicle is not the most powerful, it’s a massive upgrade for traversal and a crucial tool for navigating the game’s giant world.

From this point on, you can also customize your Digirunner with new skins and performance-enhancing “Hover Drives” that you can find by exploring the world and completing in-game challenges. The ability to have a vehicle at your fingertips at all times is a true game-changer for the Borderlands franchise, and it makes traversing the new world a much more enjoyable experience. So, focus on “Down and Outbound,” get your Digirunner, and start your journey to becoming a legend on Kairos.