The Arid Badlands is where the Vault Hunters first arrive at the beginning of the game. It is a vast area of rocky desert/savannah containing the nearly abandoned, shanty town settlement of Fyrestone. Much of the Badlands is controlled by bandit tribes, mainly Sledge and his followers. The rest of the badlands is populated by various species of skag and rakk.
Background
The Arid Badlands, at one point in time, was a very productive industrial park owned by Dahl. The main area of note now is the town of Fyrestone, a once booming community now experiencing a steep economic decline. The Badlands also contain an old Dahl gravel processing plant and a still-operational wind farm, supplying much of the electricity to the nearby settlements. It is also very close to Headstone Mine.
Inhabitants
Traveling to the Arid Badlands
Notable Allies
- Dr. Zed – Dr. Zed is the only human resident of Fyrestone. He eventually moves to New Haven once the path opens.
- T.K. Baha – A blind, one-legged man living in a shack south of Fyrestone. He sends players on various errands.
- CL4P-TP – One of many. Claptrap offers a number of missions and is encountered frequently later in the game.
- Rade Zayben – Runs the Circle of Death arena in Groaning Hollow.
- Shep Sanders – Located at Outpost Arid Hills. He gives the missions that eventually leads to an encounter with Sledge.
Common Enemies
Notable Enemies
Points of Interest
Fyrestone
- Main article: Fyrestone
Fyrestone Coliseum Entrance
- Main article: Fyrestone Coliseum
The entrance to Fyrestone Coliseum has relatively little of interest in itself, however a nearby red weapons chest becomes a convenient supply point for early characters looking to improve their equipment.
This area features in:
Groaning Hollow
Groaning Hollow is a subterranean arena operated by Rade Zayben. Located about half way along the main road between Fyrestone and the Dahl Headland gate, it is accessed by way of an underground bridge over a deep chasm, and is furnished with all three classes of Vending Machine near the arena entrance. A basic outpost New-U station, also just outside the arena, yields a quick re-spawn point for deceased gladiators. The arena itself is a roughly circular battleground surrounded by several skag cages, plus an observation deck on one side.
Groaning Hollow features in:
- Circle Of Death: Meat And Greet
- Circle Of Death: Round 1
- Circle Of Death: Round 2
- Circle Of Death: Final Round
Howling Defile
Howling Defile is an open area in the rock north of Titan's End. A wind turbine sits near a hibernating Rakk Hive and a path up around to the left of the defile offers a limited vantage point. Skags can be sniped from the top of the path with impunity, as they seem unable to reach anyone attacking from the top.
Howling Defile features in:
Piss Wash Gully
Piss Wash Gully is an open sewer with a jump ramp on the Eastern side. The ramp can be used as a fun alternative to following the road out of Fyrestone and also serves as the barrier separating the low level region of the Arid Badlands to the more challenging areas further West.
Piss Wash Gully features in:
Outpost Arid Hills
Outpost Arid Hills is located next to the Arid Hills transition point. This is where Shep Sanders is located. There is a Catch-A-Ride and a Med Vendor here.
T.K.'s Claim
A small cliff top homestead owned by T.K. Baha, T.K.'s Claim is a short distance south of Fyrestone. It has a vegetable patch out the front, complete with its own scarecrow. There is also a red chest concealed out the back of the dwelling, which becomes evident when the front door is unlocked. A steep rock formation nearby can be ascended in an Outrunner if the bottom of it is hit at high speed with the boosters on. Launching off the top usually drops the machine into T.K.'s vegetable garden, and is good for 3 seconds of air time towards the Hang Time challenge.
T.K's Claim features in:
Titan's End
- Main article: Titan's End
Titan's End is a Fast Travel outpost also equipped with a Catch-A-Ride station. Located in the west of the Arid Badlands on the main road, it serves as a convenient access point to many of the missions in this zone. It is near another hibernating Rakk Hive, and is also near two very large bandit outposts.
Zephyr Substation
Zephyr Substation is a wind farm in the South of the Arid Badlands. The wind turbines here provide power to Fyrestone and there are bandit dwellings at the lowest end of the area. A skag den is near the substation.
Zephyr Substation features in:
Claptrap's New Robot Revolution
The Arid Badlands appears again at the end of Claptrap's New Robot Revolution, for the final show down with the bosses, the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap (INAC) and the Mega Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap (MINAC). The only area available in this version of the Arid Badlands is the bus stop at the start of the game. However, due to the arrival of the MINAC, the motel has been destroyed/crushed, creating various amounts of cover from the boss.
Missions
- See Article: The Arid Badlands Missions
Weapon Crates
- Main article: Arid Badlands: Weapon Crate Locations
- Main article: Arid Badlands (DLC4): Weapon Crate Locations
Connections
Trivia
- On the cliff above the Fyrestone weapons shop, there is a hidden Claptrap in Gearbox colors.[1].
- Attempting to drive an Outrunner into the entrance to Skag Gully causes an invisible barrier to block the vehicle, even if it makes a boosted jump over the railings.
- After reaching level 20/completing a specific mission, Skag Whelps will spawn near the skag dens along with the usual Pups near Skag Gully. Other skag settlements in the area will have skags up to the badass variant.
Claptrap's New Robot Revolution
- The entrance to this area is on the bus exit to the right of the bus stop, and the exit to Tartarus Station is to the left of the bus stop. However, these exits are absent from the original Arid Badlands, even if one is to pass the walls.
- The top of the windshields on Marcus's bus carry labels that read "404 IN SERVICE". This is a reference to the computer error "404 file not found".
References
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