Two very different “cash” stories are driving Borderlands 4 right now. One is practical: how to fund your build without grinding yourself numb. The other is incoming: C4SH, a new Vault Hunter built entirely around chance, rolling in with the first story DLC in early 2026. Here’s what to do with your money today, and what to expect from the game’s dice‑obsessed fifth playable character.

Make money fast (no exploits): the reliable loops

Borderlands 4 doesn’t drown you in money sinks, but you’ll still want a healthy balance for vending machines, respecs, and late‑game shopping. The safest, most consistent methods all compound each other—set them up once, and the cash flow takes care of itself.

Method How it works Why it’s good Key notes
Moxxi’s Big Encore boss farms Pay the Encore station at cleared boss arenas to respawn the fight and re‑loot. Endless repeats; fast drops; vending machines are usually nearby. Tag pickups as Junk to auto‑sell; repeat short, low‑immunity bosses.
Drill Site encounters Clear compact platforming arenas with mini‑bosses and unique loot pools. Quick clears, reliable cash, and targetable Legendaries to keep or sell. Farm sites whose drop tables include gear you’ll actually use.
Events and Reaper Arenas Trigger repeatable skirmishes and wave fights across the open world. Steady income plus chances at rare items between story beats. Great for variety alongside Encore loops.
Vendor everything you won’t equip Dump spare Epics and Legendaries at vending machines after each run. High sale values at higher levels turn bags of loot into millions. Keep a single copy of standout Legendaries; mark the rest as Junk.
Bounty Boards (Vile Bounties) Pick up purple/orange contracts at Strongholds after the campaign. Decent cash with excellent XP—level‑scaled rewards. Always carry a handful to finish passively while you farm.
Challenges Complete kill, loot, elemental, and weapon‑maker challenges. Passive cash and Eridium; some cosmetic unlocks. Tiered payouts grow over time; claim rewards promptly.
Tip: Before starting a loop, activate 4–5 Contracts at a Safe House or Faction Town. Many finish themselves while you’re already doing boss rotations, effectively paying you twice for the same time spent.

The Encore loop that prints money

The simplest route looks like this: choose a boss whose arena has a Big Encore station and nearby vendors. Clear the fight, loot everything, mark unneeded items as Junk, sell, then pay the station to respawn the encounter and do it again. You’ll often cover the Encore fee with a single purple sale; everything else is pure profit. Drill Site bosses are ideal because they’re short, have fewer immunity phases, and spawn lots of adds for quick Second Winds.

Keep a few targets on rotation so you don’t burn out. If a site offers a Legendary you want for your build, farm it and sell the duplicates. If not, prioritize the shortest clear times and easiest resets.

Organize your inventory so the game sells for you

  • Tag items as Junk the moment they drop. The red trash‑can tag lets vending machines auto‑sell everything in one go.
  • Favor purple rarity for cash‑per‑slot. Legendaries sell high, but keep one good roll for later experiments.
  • Don’t forget class mods and shields—purple variants fetch strong prices.
Note: mission and challenge rewards aren’t always applied instantly. Open the Rewards Center in your inventory after sessions and claim everything you’ve banked.

Side content that pays while you play

Reaper Arenas and dynamic world events can be triggered repeatedly, and they’re a solid change of pace when you need a break from boss arenas. Bounties at Strongholds—especially the rarer Vile Bounties—deliver respectable cash bonuses and some of the best solo XP in the game. Carry a stack of these into any farming route so you’re cashing out contracts every time you head back to town.

Challenges: passive stipends and freebies

Challenges cover almost everything you do—critical hits, airborne kills, elemental damage types, weapon manufacturers, and more. They pay out primarily in Cash and Eridium, and some award cosmetics or attachments. Early‑tier payouts are small but add up as you clear hundreds of incidental objectives.

  • Tier 1 examples: 5,000 Cash and 10 Eridium.
  • Tier 2 examples: 7,500 Cash and 15 Eridium.
  • Tier 3 examples: 10,000 Cash and 20 Eridium.

It’s not a main source of income, but it’s effectively an interest rate on everything else you’re doing.

About those “unlimited money” glitches

Some launch‑window exploits—like endlessly opening a red chest in Stillshore or duplicating items—circulated for a while. They’re typically patched, and using them online risks a ban. If you want your account intact, stick to Encore loops, Drill Sites, events, and bounties. They’re fast enough without the headache.

C4SH is coming in early 2026 with a dice‑roll kit

Gearbox’s next Vault Hunter is C4SH, an ex‑casino dealer bot turned treasure seeker, arriving with the first story pack, “Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned,” in early 2026. The teaser leans into a Wild West aesthetic and shows dice, playing cards, and a lantern‑like gadget—visual anchors for a kit built around odds manipulation.

The headline is risk versus reward. C4SH’s action skills hinge on chance and probability to skew outcomes in your favor—or not. Depending on the luck of the cards or the roll of the dice, you can spike damage, buff allies, drain enemies, or stumble into a dud. The studio has framed it as high risk, high reward: under the right rolls, C4SH can feel like the strongest option in the room; under the wrong ones, the weakest. That variability draws a clear line to Claptrap’s VaultHunter.exe from The Pre‑Sequel, where a single activation could yield any one of many wildly different effects.

Expect a gambler‑gunslinger identity rather than a rerun of past “numbered” assassins; surface‑level name similarities aside, there’s no sign this character mirrors FL4K or Zer0 in playstyle. The western vibe in the teaser sparked speculation about a return to sand‑blasted locales, but for now the setting details are secondary to the kit: everything points to a build that asks you to embrace volatility and make the most of the good rolls.

How to prep your wallet for C4SH

If you plan to roll the dice on day one, treat the next few weeks as a stockpiling phase. Encore farm a handful of bosses that drop gear you’d reasonably slot into a luck‑swing kit, keep a buffer of millions for quick respecs and vendor pulls, and continue carrying Vile Bounties to stay level‑appropriate. The goal isn’t just money—it’s options when a chance‑based kit suddenly clicks and you want to pivot into a new loadout.

Borderlands has always been a game about streaks—damage spikes, loot hot hands, the perfect run. The money loops above smooth out the dry spells, and C4SH looks set to lean into the chaos when the first story pack lands. Get your funds in order now so you can gamble later without worrying about the bill.