Borderlands 4 New Vault Hunter C4SH and Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned DLC release date and time, how to access, and what it includes

Borderlands 4’s first Story Pack, “Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned,” along with the new Vault Hunter, C4SH, are the biggest content additions to the game since its global launch, whose release is right around the corner.

While the game has gotten a ton of new content in the form of two new Bounty Packs, a Raid Boss, Pearlescent gear, and a few things here and there, Story Pack 1 is different.

It not only introduces new Legendary and Pearlescent gear, but it will also add a brand new major zone to the game while expanding the game’s storyline, along with main and side bosses, quests, activities, collectibles and much more.

Along with that, it will also introduce the fifth Vault Hunter, C4SH, to the game, along with some major and much-requested QoL features like shared progression among your Vault Hunters and such things.

The DLC also serves as the return point for many players who were done with the game after launch, and a few who got tired of it, as there was simply not much of an endgame to spend their time on.

So with that said, here’s everything you need to know about the new Vault Hunter C4SH and Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned DLC’s release date, time, contents and how to access them.

Borderlands 4 C4SH and Mad Ellie DLC release date and time

Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned DLC, along with C4SH, will release on March 26, 2026.

As for the release time goes, the DLC will go live globally at 1:00 PM PT / 3:00 PM CT / 4:00 PM ET.

Here’s a countdown timer for it:

What does the Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned DLC include?

Here are some of the major things the DLC will include:

• New Vault Hunter, C4SH
  • A former casino dealer bot turned drifter who chases the probability-breaking highs of cursed eldritch artifacts.
  • Similar to others, he has three unique Action Skills to choose from, along with the Augments and Capstones.
• Max Level Cap Increase by +10 for all players (DLC not required.)
• New Main Story Missions
• New Activity: The Nightmare Rift
• Underwater Exploration
• Two major boss fights and 16 minibosses
• Returning enemies: DAHL Legion, Kraggons and Scavs
• New Map Zone: Whispering Glacier
• New Side Missions
• Three new Pearlescent weapons
• 10 new Legendary weapons
• 11 new Legendary gear
  • 2 Grenades, 2 Heavy Weapons, 2 Shields, and 5 Class Mods

• New Cosmetics
  • Two Vault Hunter Heads usable by all Vault Hunters
  • Four Vault Hunter Skins usable by all Vault Hunters
  • Eight Vault Hunter Heads usable by C4SH
  • One alternate Vault Hunter body usable by C4SH
  • Four Weapon Skins
  • Four Vehicle Skins
  • Three ECHO-4 Drone Skins & Attachments
  • One ECHO-4 Frame

Apart from that, the DLC will align with a major update, which will introduce new QoL features, balance changes and much more, along with the weekly reset, including Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine’s location.

The biggest QoL change arriving with Story Pack 1 includes:

• Shared progression across characters, so new characters on the same account will gain access to map progression, SDU tokens, Hover Drives, cosmetic rewards, and activity progression.
  • Note: In new playthroughs, some fast-travel locations are locked behind campaign progression.

Here’s an official description of the upcoming content:

Uncover the Mysteries of the Whispering Glacier

As a malicious cosmic entity threatens Kairos, and madness lingers on the frigid wind, players will join forces with the plucky, take-no-mess Ellie — mechanic extraordinaire and daughter of Moxxi — on a quest to destroy an alien monolith and enter the accursed Vault of the Damned. Guided by the returning peculiar proprietor Mancubus Bloodtooth, players will brave the icy wastes of The Whispering Glacier, a frozen expanse littered with the husks of derelict ships and dark secrets.

Borderlands fans will recognize returning faces in Story Pack 1 and reunite with oddballs like Mancubus, Pickle, and Crazy Earl. But this self-contained story doesn’t require prior knowledge to be enjoyed, so Vault Hunters of any tenure can feel comfortable jumping right in.

In addition to an aggressively arctic climate and gruesome sights, The Whispering Glacier is also packed with new story missions, side missions, activities, and collectibles. Later in mission progression, players will be able to destroy gargantuan growths of pulsating flesh to unlock new areas, loot, and puzzles. An all-new World Boss mechanic warps players who commune with eldritch trees to a nightmarish dimension where a random boss lies in wait.

Play as the New Vault Hunter: C4SH the Rogue

Players can set off across the icy wastes as the first of two new Vault Hunters coming to Borderlands 4, C4SH the Rogue, a CasinoBot with a new lease on life. After winning a high-stakes card game, he gained a magical deck that imbues him with eldritch boons. This would be a cursed trophy for most people, but for a robot who has been able to game the solar system’s casinos and battlefields with statistical knowledge, he finally knows what unpredictability feels like. For the first time, he feels human. This drives him to play nothing safe, always bet on himself, and take as many risks as possible.

C4SH is all about going for broke as a devil-may-care gambler, bending luck in your favor to make quick work of enemies. For example, one of C4SH’s unique Action Skills, Sleight of Hand, allows C4SH to draw cards from his randomized deck and he throws them to unleash powerful spells. Similar to the other Vault Hunters in Borderlands 4, C4SH has three unique Action Skills to choose from, and can enhance his abilities via three branching skill trees full of powerful Passives and Augments. Stay tuned for C4SH’s full gameplay reveal and cinematic character short next week, ahead of the release of Story Pack 1.

Conquer Deadly Threats and Earn Tantalizing Loot

Story Pack 1 introduces a host of new challenges across The Whispering Glacier, including two major boss fights and 16 minibosses. To reach them, players will need to carve their path through plenty of tough enemies like the grizzled soldiers of the DAHL Legion, who abandoned their posts on Elpis to wreak havoc on Kairos, and fierce Kraggons and Scavs.

Players can look forward to plenty of suitable rewards for their troubles. Story Pack 1 features three new Pearlescent weapons and 11 new pieces of Legendary gear, including two Grenades, two Heavy Weapons, two Shields, and five Class Mods, allowing for the creation of even more novel and powerful Vault Hunter Builds.

How to access the DLC and the new zone in Borderlands 4

To access the DLC, the new Whispering Glacier region and the new Vault Hunter in Borderlands 4, you must either own the Super Deluxe Edition of the game, the Vault Hunter Pack or purchase the DLC separately as a standalone purchase.

Assuming you have the DLC, make sure it is downloaded.

Last time, with Bounty Pack 2, console players in particular, despite owning the editions which included the pack, weren’t able to access it as they were getting a “Buy” option instead of download or play.

Players had to manually check and download the DLC files to access it.

And that is why, if you are facing a similar issue with the Story Pack 1, you must check whether the DLC is downloaded or not.

On that note, if you are on Steam and have the DLC downloaded and yet are unable to access it, do a “Verify Files Integration.”

That said, to unlock DLC content, make sure you have completed the main mission, “A Lot to Process” in the Fadefields and are Level 13 or higher.

Additionally, you can also start a new Vault Hunter that skips directly to the Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned content at level 13.