Borderlands 4: Decoding the ‘Vend Of The Line’ Side Mission

The highly anticipated release of Borderlands 4 has ushered in a new era of looting and shooting, featuring an expansive open world on the planet Kairos and a suite of quality-of-life improvements. Amidst the chaos of the main campaign, the ‘Vend Of The Line’ side mission has become a notorious, yet highly rewarding, scavenger hunt. This quest is a crucial piece of endgame content for players focused on optimizing their builds, as its ultimate reward is a guaranteed Legendary weapon for a mere $1. However, the mission is famous—or infamous—for a crucial, game-ending mistake players often make at the final step.

This comprehensive walkthrough guides you through every coded vending machine puzzle, the location of the final, secret vault, and provides an essential PSA to ensure you secure your valuable Legendary loot. This is a one-time, non-repeatable quest, making flawless execution paramount for all Vault Hunters.

Mission Prep: What You Need Before You Start

Before you even speak to the quest giver, prepare your inventory. The puzzles require you to sacrifice—or temporarily sell—items of specific rarities. Always use spare, unequipped items for these steps, as you can buy them back immediately after receiving the code, which is highly recommended.

• Required Gear (Minimum Spares):
  • Uncommon (Green): 3-4 pieces
  • Rare (Blue): 2-3 pieces
  • Epic (Purple): 2-3 pieces
  • Legendary (Orange): 1 piece (Crucial for the final step)

Pro-Tip: If you don’t have a spare Legendary item, farm the nearest area boss or spend some cash on Mad Moxxi’s Tip Jar, which can drop a Legendary weapon after a certain investment.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough: Decrypting the Codes

The mission begins after restoring power to Carcadia City in the ‘Unpaid Tab’ mission. Find Penelope Streams interviewing a wannabe adventurer near a lone vending machine on the south side of the main street to begin the quest.

1. Vending Machine 1: Carcadia City Initiation

• Location: South side of the main street in Carcadia City.
• Clue: Symbols painted on the back of the machine (often crossed-out dollar signs).
• Solution: Sell items of the following rarities in this exact order:
  • Sell: Green (Uncommon)
  • Sell: Green (Uncommon)
  • Sell: Blue (Rare)
  • Sell: Blue (Rare)
• Result: The machine glitches and gives you the first code fragment, revealing the locations of the next three encoded vending machines on your map.

2. Vending Machine 2: Embracer’s Bluff

• Location: Embracer’s Bluff in the Lopside region (near the Makeshift Chalet).
• Clue: The symbols are on the back, blocked by wooden boards inside a nearby shack. Climb into the shack (often via a hole near the roof) and Smash the Boards to see the code.
• Solution: This machine requires a Buyback sequence. Sell the required items (doesn’t need to be in order) and then use the Buyback Menu to purchase them in the following sequence:
  • Buyback: Green (Uncommon)
  • Buyback: Purple (Epic)
  • Buyback: Blue (Rare)
  • Buyback: Purple (Epic)
• Result: You receive the second code fragment.

3. Vending Machine 3: Carcadia City Outskirts

• Location: A ruined section of Carcadia City, on a plateau to the south, near an old hotel and pool. This machine is often powered down.
• Fix: Look for a nearby Jukebox (it may be on the roof of a building across from the machine) and pull the lever to turn it off, which powers up the machine.
• Clue: Check the back of the machine (you may need to look through a slit in the wall).
• Solution: Sell items in this specific order:
  • Sell: Green (Uncommon)
  • Sell: Purple (Epic)
  • Sell: Blue (Rare)
  • Sell: Green (Uncommon)
• Result: The third code fragment is revealed.

4. Vending Machine 4: Crumblehall

• Location: Crumblehall, southwest of Carcadia City. You’ll find the machine overturned on top of a trapped Vault Gatherer.
• Clue: Examine the arrows painted on the back of the overturned machine. Since it’s tipped, the arrows point to the sequence you need to follow to find the next clue. Follow the Arrows by platforming up the nearby structures (climbing stairs, gliding, jumping) until you find a window to look through.
• Solution (The Twist): The code is revealed inside the window (often Purple, Purple, Orange, Orange). However, the Vault Gatherer pinned beneath the machine offers to complete this expensive step for you, as he has the exact items needed. Interact with the Vault Gatherer to skip the costly transaction.
• Result: You now have the final code fragment and the coordinates to the Legendary Vending Machine.

The Legendary Vending Machine: The Dusty Dangler

The coordinates lead you to a dive bar called The Dusty Dangler, on a hill east of Carcadia City. Be prepared for a significant firefight upon arrival with a horde of Rippers and Psychos.

Final Pylon Sequence and The Critical Warning

• Location: The vending machine is inside The Dusty Dangler bar, towards the back.
• Final Code Clue: Check the floor or a sign near the machine (once it’s in its final position) for the final transaction sequence, which is often: Green, Blue, Purple, Orange.
• Essential Final Steps:
  1. The Transaction: Access the vending machine menu and sell the items in the specific order of the final code (Green, Blue, Purple, then the Orange/Legendary).
  2. The Door: Once completed, a hidden door at the bottom of the cliff near the water’s edge will open, leading to the Legendary Vending Machine.

CRITICAL PSA – READ THIS!

The Legendary Vending Machine only allows ONE transaction before shutting down permanently. This includes selling your junk! Many players, out of habit, press the “Sell All Junk” button and inadvertently complete the quest without buying a weapon, thereby losing their Legendary reward.

• Your Final Action: DO NOT SELL ANYTHING! Quickly browse the machine’s stock of Legendary weapons (which will scale to your current level) and BUY ONE ITEM for $1.
• Co-op Warning: Only the player who makes the purchase will receive the reward, and the machine will shut down for all players. If playing co-op, ensure the host, or the player who needs the reward most, gets the final purchase.

Completing this mission rewards you with one of the most cost-effective Legendary loot acquisitions in Borderlands 4, making your effort well worth the time investment.