The legendary Yellowcake is the best weapon by far from the Revenge of the Cartels event. Be sure to grab one while you can.
If Borderlands 3 has one consistent rule, it’s that there’s no such thing as overkill. In Revenge of the Cartels, Gearbox introduced a new weapon, the legendary Yellowcake rocket launcher, that is easily one of the most powerful weapons in the game.
If you don’t have it, you want it. If you have it, you want one with an Anointed perk. Here’s how to get them both.
How to Get An Anointed Yellowcake Rocket Launcher in Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3 is currently running a free seasonal event called Revenge of the Cartels, which will continue until June 4th, 2020.
There are a lot of rewards on the table for participating in this event, like other legendary weapons, character skins, and a cosmetic Trinket. The one everyone wants, though, is the Yellowcake.
It’s a legendary rocket launcher that deals Radiation damage. The Yellowcake’s projectile splits after firing, into two additional projectiles that also split shortly before they make contact with a target. Each projectile does obey gravity, but the split occurs quickly enough that you basically achieve accuracy by volume. A direct hit with the Yellowcake can inflict up to five times its listed standard damage.
That’s all baseline. Once you start talking about higher-level versions of it, let alone its unique Anointed perk, the Yellowcake goes from ridiculous to actively obscene. It’s a cheat code with a trigger.
Yeah, it’s going to get nerfed. It’s a wonder it hasn’t already. In the meantime, though, if you want an easy-mode answer to the toughest challenges in Borderlands 3, you’re going to want a Yellowcake of your own. (In fact, at time of writing, there are multiple listings on eBay where you can exchange real-world currency for increasingly ridiculously high-level Anointed Yellowcakes.)
The Yellowcake is a potential drop from one of three enemies in the Villa Ultraviolet: Fish Slap, Tyrone Smallums, and Joey Ultraviolet. While Fish Slap and Tyrone can appear in a few different places throughout the Villa, including the entrance, Joey is a full-fledged multi-stage boss fight.
The most efficient way to farm Yellowcake, in fact, is to pick up the mission Ultraviolet Nights from Maurice, which sends you to kill Joey. This mission is repeatable, and when Joey summons other bosses as backup, he may summon Fish and/or Tyrone. That gives you up to three chances for a Yellowcake drop for the price of one.
Fish and Tyrone may also appear if you kill Cartel members, in response to their distress beacon.
You’ll have a chance at better loot from the bosses if you turn on the post-game Mayhem 2.0 mode, which is available directly from your ECHO menu. The higher the Mayhem, the more powerful the loot drops get, including the Yellowcake.
At high Mayhem levels, the Yellowcake may drop with an Anointed bonus. The specific perk for an Anointed Yellowcake is to inflict 300% weapon damage against an enemy at 90% health or above, which makes it a truly lethal opening move against… well, pretty much anything in the game that can die.
Since the Yellowcake only has one source, as an enemy drop, your only shot at an Anointed Yellowcake is to keep killing Joey and friends at increasingly higher Mayhem levels.
This sets up a particularly destructive feedback loop: you can farm Fish, Tyrone, and Joey for a Yellowcake, then gradually turn up the Mayhem 2.0 level and use your first Yellowcake to farm for a second, more powerful version. Eventually, you will reach a point of ultimate shenanigans… or enough people will start doing this that Gearbox will nerf the Yellowcake directly into the ground. Get it while it’s hot.
When you’re not irradiating entire time zones with your new Yellowcake rocket launcher, there are other things you can do in Borderlands 3. Check out some of our other guides and articles on the game, such as:
- How to solve the mansion puzzle in Revenge of the Cartels
- How the Lost Loot Machine works
- What you need to know about Mayhem Mode 2.0
We can all agree at this point that the real “seasonal event” for Borderlands 3’s Revenge of the Cartels is this presumably-brief period of Yellowcake dominance. Pick it up now and use it to nuke your way to victory in the rest of the game. Count down the seconds with us on our official Twitter, @PrimaGames, until Gearbox finally admits what kind of monster it’s created.
Keyword: How to Get An Anointed Yellowcake Rocket Launcher in Borderlands 3