Dr. Zed Blanco lost his medical license for unknown reasons. Currently, he maintains the medical vendors around Pandora, more or less. He spends much of his time in the infirmary in Fyrestone (and later New Haven and later still, in Sanctuary), chopping up corpses for unknown purposes (perhaps related to his loss of medical license).
Involvement
Dr. Zed is the only human resident of Fyrestone met by the Vault hunters. After Marcus Kincaid, he is the second friendly human NPC met in the game. He gives out some of the initial missions. Additionally, he (more or less) keeps the Med Vendors running.
Between the events of Borderlands and Borderlands 2, Zed relocated back to Fyrestone, where he was approached by Hyperion's Vice President, Mr. Blake. Blake tried to evict Zed from the town several times and even showed him photos of New Haven's destruction as added encouragement, but Zed continued to refuse. When Roland later asked Zed to move to Sanctuary, Zed initially declined and insisted that he would die protecting Fyrestone, but quickly changed his mind when Hyperion attacked the town in the middle of the conversation.
Missions
Borderlands
- The Doctor Is In
- Skags At The Gate
- Fix'er Upper
- Blinding Nine-Toes
- Nine-Toes: Meet T.K. Baha
- Job Hunting
- Sledge: Meet Shep
- Leaving Fyrestone
Borderlands 2
- Do No Harm
- Medical Mystery
- Medical Mystery: X-Com-municate
- Monster Mash (Part 1)
- Monster Mash (Part 2)
- Monster Mash (Part 3)
Quotes
Story Quotes
- "Well shoot, I thought I was a goner that time! Damn bandits won't leave us alone. Had to lock the place up tight. I'll let ya in... Come on! Damn it. Blasted circuits are on the fritz again. Give it a go from the switch out there, would ya?" - after the Vault hunters clear Fyrestone of bandits at the start of the game
- "Thanks fer openin' her up again. Name's Zed. They don't let me cut on folks anymore since I lost my license, so now I keep the med vendors 'round here runnin'. From the vendors you can buy all the healin' you could ever want from a real doc... thankfully without a "Vault-is-a-myth,-you'll-get-yourself-killed" lecture. - after helping him reopen his clinic's door in Fyrestone
- "Looks like you got under Nine-Toes' skin. Don't worry, he'll get what's comin' to him!" - after the Fyrestone Claptrap is hit and the second bandit attack
- "That oughta do it! I'll see you in a few." - after completing Skags At The Gate
- "Thanks for the help. You oughta use the machine to sell some things you don't need or buy First Aid Kits to use on the field." - after completing Fix'er Upper
- "Sometimes I think you fortune hunters are all a bunch of idiots chasing rainbows. The Vault's nothing but a fairy tale." - said before completing Seek Out Tannis
- "I can't believe people are still coming here on that wild goose chase. There ain't no Vault." - said before completing Seek Out Tannis
- "Don't you think there are better ways to spend you (sic) time, than chasing that stupid Vault?" - said before completing Seek Out Tannis
- "I still don't believe it- we've been sitting on the Vault all this time?" - said after completing Seek Out Tannis
- "Now, if you find that Vault, you're gonna cut us all in on the profits, right?" - said after completing Seek Out Tannis
- "So the Vault is real? I wouldn't have believed this planet has anything valuable on it." - said after completing Seek Out Tannis
- "I don't know about that Dr. Tannis. Never trust a company man - and especially not a company woman." - said after completing The Next Piece
- "That scientist, Tannis, is as crazy as they come - why would you trust her?" - said after completing The Next Piece
- "That Tannis woman will be the death of you, mark my words." - said after completing The Next Piece
- "Never trust a man in uniform - especially when it has the Crimson Lance logo on it." - said after completing Smoke Signals: Shut Them Down
- "Just what we need - The Crimson Lance, another bunch of thugs who think they own the place.- said after completing Smoke Signals: Shut Them Down
- "Just who the hell are these Crimson Lance soldiers, anyway?" - said after completing Smoke Signals: Shut Them Down
Idle Quotes
- "I keep the medical equipment working - more or less."
- "Just tell me if you need anything."
- "Well I'm not much for compliments but--you did fine"
- "I think we're done here."
- "Well, that should cover it, kid."
- "You got what you need, now scram."
Med Vendor Quotes
Borderlands
- "I might not have a med-school degree, but when you get shot you'll be happy I'm here."
- "Who needs a real doctor when you got my machines and their scary needles?"
Borderlands 2
- Generic Quotes
- "If you ain't dead, I'll keep you that way."
- "If you've got the money, I'll save your gol-dern life!"
- "I'm legally obligated to tell you that I ain't a real doctor."
- "I'll patch you up whenever you need it!"
- "Who needs a medical license when you got style?"
- "Please insert any donated organs into the receptacle below."
- When leaving
- "Zed out!"
- "Try not to die!"
- "You're an organ donor, right?"
- "Next time you bleedin to death just think, Dr. Zed."
- "Stay alive out there!"
Notes
- Dr. Zed reappears in the third DLC, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, as a resident of T-Bone Junction.
Trivia
- Dr. Zed is introduced waving a "buzz axe". This same type of melee weapon is later encountered in the hands of Psychos.
- His name is strikingly similar to "Dr. Ned", a mad scientist that is the main antagonist of the official add-on content "Zombie Island of Dr. Ned". During the story, Dr. Ned calls himself Zed's brother. Humorously, in the intro, Marcus Kincaid says that Dr. Ned is "totally not Dr. Zed from the last story at all". Similarly, Ned himself will repeatedly deny being Dr. Zed in disguise.
- Dr. Zed has his own white and red Claptrap in New Haven. Ironically, he doesn't seem to even notice that the Claptrap is there, besides the fact that the Claptrap will try to communicate with him.
- Dr. Zed has an invisible barrier spreading a few feet in front of him which protects him from grenades, but bullets can pass through.
- Dr. Zed's design is based off of the initial concept art of Roland.
- Zeds are a common term for a zombie and ironically it is Dr Ned who raises a zombie army instead of Dr Zed.
- In Borderlands 2, it is revealed that he is actually born in Fyrestone.
- In Borderlands 2, when shopping from Dr. Zed in Sanctuary directly, it still plays audio clips from the vending machine. He also shares items with the vendor on the left of where you enter.
- In Bloody Harvest, Zombie T.K. mentions that Dr. Zed and Dr. Ned have a third brother named Ted, but they aren't allowed to talk about him for he is considered "The Forbidden Brother".[citation needed]