Borderlands 4 Meat is Murder side quest walkthrough

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How to start Meat is Murder
Walkthrough
Rewards

The Borderlands 4 Meat is Murder mission is a great side quest that you'll likely pick up very early on, but it sends you across the game's starting region and can be a little awkward to follow for beginner Vault Hunters. You'll have to kill a lot of enemies to help Byron uncover what's going on in this murder mystery, so it's also a good way to get some XP early on. If you're a bit stuck, I've got a full Meat is Murder mission walkthrough here, as well as reward details so you can see if it's worth your time.

While this is a side mission (and there are 98 of those) I've also got a full Borderlands 4 mission list for the main quest line if you want to see how far long you are.

How to start Meat is Murder in Borderlands 4

Now that you've completed the Borderlands 4 Recruitment Drive mission, you'll be free to get going on side quests, and 'Meat is Murder' is one that gets off to an odd start. To even properly begin the quest, you need to clear Harper’s Hideaway (an area in the Coastal Bonefield region) of bloodthristy Ripper enemies - you can only accept Byron's call for help once you've done so.

With the Rippers dead, head inside the barn and you’ll find some debris blocking the door which Byron is behind to the right of the entrance - you can shoot it to destroy it. If you’re struggling to find Byron, you can activate your Echo location which will display an exclamation point above his head to make him easier to locate. You can then speak to him and obtain the Meat is Murder mission.

Borderlands 4 Meat is Murder walkthrough

Byron will explain that he’s lost sight of his partner Harper and needs your help. First of all the mission will require you to find four clues in the barn. These will glow green to make them easy to spot.

When you find the final clue - Harper’s cut off limbs - there will be a radio next to it which you can examine. The Grin Reaper will begin to throw riddles your way.

Byron then realises that Harper’s corpse has been hung above the grinder, with another radio attached to it which you’ll need to grab later.

You’ll be prompted to go upstairs and use the lever to turn off the grinder. This wont work and Byron will then suggest freezing the fuel to ensure the grinder switches off.

Exit the barn via the back exit to the right of the grinder. You’ll find more Rippers in the area who you need to rid of.

Then head over to the fuel station where you’ll find circular doors with large handles. You have to grapple the doors to open them and you’ll find the coolant regulators inside which need to be destroyed - shoot them to damage them.

This will disable the grinder so you can now head back to the barn and shoot down Harper’s corpse and examine the radio as well as the axe that drops down.

The Grin Reaper will throw more riddles your way prompting you to head to Plungeford, an area to the East. As you exit the barn to head that way, you’ll be ambushed by Rippers - eliminate them all.

You’ll find a town at the base of a hill on your way to Plungeford, where Otis the shop owner resides. You’ll find him standing next to a vending machine and you can chat to him.

He’ll send you on your merry way to find a cave beyond a waterfall, where he believes his missing tools are.

Head north until you get to some cliffs where a base is located, this will include some swimming. You’ll find Rippers in the base - eliminate them all before proceeding through the base.

The back of the base contains some waterfalls and you’ll find a boarded up cave entrance to the left. Destroy the boards by shooting them and then head inside.

You’ll find Zeke, a follower of the Grin Reaper. He’ll deliver his speech and then turn hostile which is when you’ll need to take him out.

There’ll be a radio on the table which you can listen to. You’ll be met with more riddles from the Grin Reaper which will then result in a report being sent back to Byron that the trail has gone cold and you can no longer proceed.

This is then the end of the mission. You’ll be granted your rewards.

Borderlands 4 Meat is Murder rewards

You’ll initially receive the standard rewards. You’ll also find two additional reward chests which you can open that then contain a weapon and the Tropic of Cairn Vault Hunter customization skin. Overall here’s everything you gain from the Meat is Murder mission:

XP
Cash
Eridium
Weapon (Uncommon or Epic)
Tropic of Cairn Vault Hunter Customization

Meat is Murder comes very early in the game, and we can help if you want to know how long it takes to beat Borderlands 4. If you’re on the lookout for better guns using Golden Keys from Borderlands 4 Shift Codes is one of your options.