After two weeks of diving into the chaotic world of Borderlands 4, players are generally getting the hang of Gearbox’s latest looter-shooter. However, one specific quest has consistently stumped fans, leading to widespread frustration—and it’s often through no fault of their own.
Warning! Major spoilers for Borderlands 4 ahead:
The quest causing all the headaches is known as “Vend of the Line.” In a nutshell, it culminates in a special vending machine offering a massive selection of Legendary-tier weapons, each for a mere $1. The catch? You can only choose *one* weapon, and once you make your selection, the machine becomes permanently inoperable.
Here’s the kicker: many players are accidentally locking themselves out of this incredible legendary prize. Out of sheer habit, they instinctively hit the “sell all junk” button when interacting with the vending machine at the quest’s conclusion. The game, for some perplexing reason, registers this as their one and only “transaction,” promptly shutting down the machine and leaving dedicated Vault Hunters completely empty-handed.
Reports of this frustrating scenario began surfacing about a week ago across various gaming forums and social media. One Redditor, iwasagummybear, lamentably described it as “Possibly the dumbest move ever.” They recounted: “So, I just finished the legendary vending machine quest for anybody who knows that one, and at the end you get one shot to buy something from it, yes? So what do I do? We’ll, I immediately sell all the junk in my inventory, and since it considers that a transaction the machine shuts down and I get absolutely nothing for my efforts. Please have a good laugh at my expense.”
Sadly, countless other unsuspecting Borderlands 4 players have fallen victim to the exact same mishap.
I just fucked up the Vend of the line quest! #Borderlands4 pic.twitter.com/PNG6wjHRd9
— Ellis 😀 (@EllisDaly_) September 17, 2025
For anyone playing Borderlands 4….. Don’t ABSOLUTELY DONT accidently sell your junk to the vending machine at the end of Vend of the Line…… Thank me later….
— Smii_ 🔜 Twitchcon San Diego (@Smii_lol) September 17, 2025
@GearboxOfficial BL4, Vend of the line.. Zane says you can only buy one item before the legendary vending machine shuts down forever…. however, it also shuts down forever if you sell an item!! Fix it Gearbox, give me the vending machine back 😭😭🤮
— Adam Lines (@LinesAdam) September 19, 2025
Another player issued a public service announcement: “PSA: Don’t press the ‘sell loot’ button on the legendary vending machine at the end of the Vend of the Line quest. Doing so counts as your one use, and the machine will shut down, ending the quest. I definitely didn’t do that on instinct, and I absolutely did it for the sake of testing so that nobody will make a stupid mistake like that……..”
To add insult to injury, Borderlands 4 doesn’t allow save rollbacks. So, if you make this blunder, there’s no turning back. Even more frustrating, “Vend of the Line” is a one-time mission. If you complete it in co-op, only *one* player can claim the legendary item, permanently locking the other player out of the reward. Talk about a bummer!
Honestly, the “vend of the line” quest in @Borderlands #borderlands4 pissed me off so much, I had to take a break. Playing in coop, other person sells to vending machine, it closes for both of us. Can’t get a lego. Quest says you can only BUY once. All that work to get boned. Thx
— MissingPluto (@missingplutotoo) September 22, 2025
@GearboxOfficial at least put a fucking warning pop up for players playing vend of the line in a coop session that the mission needs to be completed solo fucking insane that this needs to be said
— Закари (@WookieeSoup) September 21, 2025
The big question now is whether this is an intentional design choice by Gearbox or an unfortunate bug. If it’s the latter, players are hopeful for a quick fix. Gearbox has stated they are actively monitoring player feedback, suggesting they are likely aware of the unique frustrations surrounding this quest, and patches are indeed in the pipeline.
In fact, Borderlands 4 seems rife with “unintended interactions.” Players have already unearthed incredibly overpowered builds that can inflict catastrophic damage, even on the game’s most formidable bosses at the highest difficulty settings. The notorious “knife” build is a prime example, which Gearbox has acknowledged but isn’t rushing to nerf. There’s even another interaction that deals so much damage so rapidly, it literally triggers a “Total Existence Failure” for bosses.
For those brave enough to venture deeper into Borderlands 4, make sure you’re equipped with an up-to-date SHiFT codes list. We also recommend checking out an interactive map and a powerful planner tool to optimize your gameplay. And if you’re still deciding on your main, our expert players have offered their diverse opinions on which character to choose.