Kairos Weekly #11 (September 20-26, 2026): Dead ECHOs' penultimate episode, plus the Tough Love challenge
Episode 10 of Gearbox’s scripted podcast Borderlands: Dead ECHOs is out, and it’s the penultimate one: the series wraps up next time. This week’s Weekly Activities bring a tougher Sludgemaw as the Big Encore Boss, plus The Falling Wall Wildcard Mission, which guarantees a Legendary Plasma Coil Maliwan SMG. From September 24-28, the Tough Love Community Challenge asks players to hit 10 million combined kills as Loveless the Hacker for a Mint Chipset skin. We also logged a Legendary grenade and armor shield this week.
Official announcements
Dead ECHOs Episode 10: the penultimate chapter
- Episode 10 of Gearbox’s scripted podcast, Borderlands: Dead ECHOs, is out, and it’s the second-to-last episode before the series finale.
- Vivian Proctor, the rogue executive running DAHL’s corporate hit squad, is hunting Watts, a former DAHL ECHO Operator, and his associate Junie.
- Available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Apple, iHeartRadio, and Pandora.
Weekly Activities (September 24-October 1)
- The Big Encore Boss switched to a tougher variant of an existing boss: Sludgemaw.
- The Wildcard Mission is The Falling Wall (Cold Hearted, Elemental Eater, Armored), with a guaranteed Legendary Plasma Coil Maliwan SMG.
- Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine moved to a new spot again this week: the same location for everyone, though the stock differs per player.
Tough Love Community Challenge (September 24-28)
- Get a combined 10,000,000 kills across the whole player base while playing as Loveless the Hacker, and everyone earns the Mint Chipset Vault Hunter Skin.
- You need to own the Loveless the Hacker DLC (Super Deluxe Edition, the Vault Hunter Pack, or a standalone purchase) to take part.
- The Steam post gives September 24-28, while the version on 2K’s website says September 25-28. Neither lists an end time or time zone. Our measured action skill numbers for farming kills are in a separate article.
Logged this week: two Legendary rolls at level 32
Regular farming turned up two Legendaries worth recording in full.
| Item | Type / Manufacturer | Lv | Key stats | Unique effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concussive Jelly | Grenade (Ordnance) / Ripper | 32 | 4 charges, 1,364 damage | Self-Replication (fixed); Concussive augment - knockback power +83% |
| Barrage Sharpened Firewerks | Armor Shield / Torgue | 32 | 2,092 capacity | Bundle (fixed) - kills spawn a homing missile for 1,576 damage; Barrage augment - armor gauge break fires 3 missiles for 315 damage each; +15% resistance; Sharpened augment - +13% weapon damage for 5s at full armor gauge |
Both are level 32.
Sources
- Borderlands: Dead ECHOs Episode 10 - Part 1 (Steam)
- Borderlands 4: Weekly Update - September 24, 2026 (Official Support)
- Borderlands 4 Weekly Activities: September 24 - October 1 (Steam)
- Loveless Community Challenge: Tough Love (Steam)
Measured values come from our own in-game captures. Official information is sourced above.
FAQ
What are this week's (September 24-October 1) Weekly Activities?
The Big Encore Boss switched to a tougher variant of an existing boss, Sludgemaw. The Wildcard Mission is The Falling Wall (Cold Hearted, Elemental Eater, Armored), with a guaranteed Legendary Plasma Coil Maliwan SMG. Maurice's Black Market Vending Machine also moved to a new spot: the same location for everyone, though the stock differs per player.
What's Dead ECHOs Episode 10 about?
Episode 10 of Gearbox's scripted podcast Borderlands: Dead ECHOs is out, and it's the second-to-last episode before the series finale. Vivian Proctor, the rogue executive running DAHL's corporate hit squad, is hunting Watts, a former DAHL ECHO Operator, and his associate Junie. It's up on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Apple, iHeartRadio, and Pandora.
What is the Tough Love Community Challenge?
Running September 24-28 per the Steam post (2K's website version says it starts September 25), it asks the whole player base to rack up a combined 10,000,000 kills while playing as Loveless the Hacker. Hit the target and everyone gets the Mint Chipset Vault Hunter Skin for Loveless. You'll need to own the Loveless the Hacker DLC (via the Super Deluxe Edition, the Vault Hunter Pack, or a standalone purchase) to participate.
What data did you log this week?
A Legendary grenade, Concussive Jelly (Ripper), and a Legendary armor shield, Barrage Sharpened Firewerks (Torgue), both at level 32. Full rolls are in the table below.