Borderlands 4: How to Free More FL4K Pets in The Chase

“Free more FL4K pets” is the middle chunk of The Chase, the Providence Island mission where you chase a skittish critter named Mr. Chew through a ruined estate and out into the jungle. The objective sounds vague, but it is entirely mechanical. Three pets are sitting in three locked cages, and each one opens the same way.

Quick answer: Follow Mr. Chew’s waypoint through The Upper Crust and the Vinechoked Canopy, and shoot the glowing yellow lock on each of the three cages you pass. The counter moves 1/3, 2/3, 3/3 and the objective completes on the third.

Before you start: ownership requirement for The Chase

The mission gates itself behind add-on ownership, and it says so on screen: “All players must own FL4K and The Lost Resort to progress this mission.” That matters most in co-op. If one person in the session does not have it, the group will not be able to push The Chase forward, so check that before you queue up with friends.

Everything after that is normal Borderlands combat. Expect enemy types like Desert Dervish, Cryogenic Trainee, and Incendiary Supervisor to interrupt you between cages, so clear the room before you start hunting for locks.

All three FL4K pet cage locations on Providence Island

The three cages sit along a single forward path, so there is no backtracking involved. Mr. Chew’s marker is the route — he stops near each cage before moving on.

Pet	Where it is	Getting there
1/3	Lower ruins of The Upper Crust	Fight through the ruins on Mr. Chew’s trail
2/3	Near FL4K’s Sanctum	Ride the vertical jump pad up from the ruins
3/3	Further along the Vinechoked Canopy path	Follow the outdoor route past the creatures

Every cage uses the same trigger. The lock is a small glowing yellow mechanism on the cage itself, and one shot pops it. You do not need a specific element, weapon type, or melee hit.

The Chase objective tracker reading Free more FL4K pets at 0/3 in The Upper Crust — The tracker starts at 0/3 as you push into The Upper Crust. Image: Gearbox Software

How to free all three FL4K pets

Push into The Upper Crust and clear the hostiles blocking the ruins. The objective counter will not move while you are in combat, and stray shots are easy to waste on cover instead of the lock.

Work down into the lower section of the ruins and look for the first cage along the marked route. Aim at the yellow lock and fire once — the door swings open and the counter reads 1/3.

Player aiming at an objective-marked door inside The Upper Crust ruins during The Chase — The first cage sits in the lower ruins of The Upper Crust, behind the objective marker. Image: Gearbox Software

Step onto the vertical jump pad nearby and ride it up. This drops you at FL4K’s Sanctum, and the area banner appears as you arrive.

The FL4K's Sanctum location discovery banner appearing on screen after using the lift — The lift deposits you at FL4K’s Sanctum, where the second cage is waiting. Image: Gearbox Software

Find the second cage in the Sanctum area and shoot its lock to reach 2/3. Mr. Chew will start moving toward the exit as soon as it opens.

Follow him outdoors into the Vinechoked Canopy. The objective text switches to “Follow Mr. Chew,” and hostile creatures will spawn along the path, so keep the marker in view while you fight.

Vinechoked Canopy gameplay with the HUD showing the Follow Mr. Chew objective and waypoint — Outside in the Vinechoked Canopy, the HUD switches to Follow Mr. Chew. Image: Gearbox Software

Continue along the canopy path until the third cage appears at the end of the trail. Shoot the lock to free the last pet and finish the objective at 3/3.

Shooting the lock on a FL4K pet enclosure in the Vinechoked Canopy to advance the objective counter — Each enclosure opens the same way — one shot on the glowing lock. Image: Gearbox Software

How to confirm the objective is complete

You get two confirmations. On the HUD, the counter next to “Free more FL4K pets” ticks up with each cage and stops at 3/3. Open the Mission Log after the third one and the objective shows as completed under The Chase, with the mission pointing you to the next step.

If the count is stuck below 3/3, the reason is almost always one of two things. Either you damaged the cage but never hit the glowing yellow lock, or you ran ahead of Mr. Chew and walked past a cage that sits slightly off the main line of travel. Backtrack to his last stopping point and check the enclosure again.

Note: the pets you free here are mission props tied to The Chase. They are not the same thing as a selectable combat companion, so nothing changes in your skill menu when the counter hits 3/3.

The whole sequence takes a couple of minutes once you stop treating it as a search. Keep Mr. Chew’s diamond marker on screen, clear each fight before you go looking for a cage, and put a single round through every yellow lock you pass.