Some people just don’t believe the truth, whether it’s in real life or in Borderlands 4. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the ability to cross the world, or even go into space and see the planet from above, Skeptical Sam just refuses to believe that Kairos isn’t flat.
Turns out the Vault Hunters, who know Kairos is indeed a sphere, don’t take kindly to Sam’s nonsense. It’s up to you to try and help Skeptical Sam see the error of his ways and prove to him that his conspiracy theory is as nonsensical as his insults towards people who believe otherwise.
How To Find Skeptical Sam’s Shrine
This side mission becomes available as soon as you reach the Terminus Mountains, and that region of Kairos is unlocked after you complete the main story mission, A Lot To Process, and unlock the missions against the Timekeeper’s subordinates.
Speak to Skeptical Sam next to his van on the western side of Cuspid’s Climb, and he’ll tell you all about his interesting worldview. Take the Flat Kairos Model from him, and then he’ll head to the top of his van.
Follow Skeptical Sam up, then double jump over to the model of Kairos, and use your Ground Slam to flatten it, as per his request. After that, follow him around the corner past a group of Kratch, and he’ll request that you climb the mountain to get to his shrine.
Grapple up to the plateau using the two grapple spots above, and the shrine will be at the edge of the cliff. Approach it to get a call from Skeptical Sam, then you’ll need to head north and down to the Wreck of the Big Carl Point of Interest along the shore.
Where To Find And Launch The Pieces Of Survey Equipment
When you arrive at the Wreck of the Big Carl, you’ll want to clear out the Rippers from the place so they aren’t annoying you while you find the Survey Equipment.
There will be the most basic three – Rippers, Psychos, and Breakers – and a chance for a Badass to spawn, but it’s fairly unlikely you’ll see one, even in harder difficulties.
Once they’re dead, you can search the area for the three pieces of Survey Equipment, which appear as small computers with a red screen, and they are highlighted when you get close enough.
- One is sitting on top of a length of broken hallway that’s beneath the second-largest piece of debris against the cliff.
- One is sitting on a crate against the bottom of the largest piece of debris, next to a lootable outhouse and two Ammo Crates.
- One is sitting between two Ammo Crates on top of the largest piece of debris, and it can be reached by grappling onto the second-largest piece of debris, then jumping across onto the top of the other.
Now that you’ve got them all, you’ll need to find a place to launch them from, and the location is going to be on top of a small mountain formation to the south. Leave the Wreck of the Big Carl heading east, go across the road, and follow the smaller path heading east around to a corrugated wall.
Climb up, jump up the rock to the right, then grapple up to the plateau above. There’s going to be a horde of Creeps as soon as you land, and you can either run past them or fight them to prevent the smaller Creeps from trying to follow you.
There’s a Red Chest on a ledge at the top of the rock formation, which can be unlocked by clearing out the Creeps from the area, and it gives you a good chance to obtain Rare or better Rarity Weapons.
Grapple across the broken bridge to reach the plateau across from you, take out the few Kratch that show up so they don’t follow you around, then climb up the corrugated wall to another plateau.
Jump onto the roof of the house with the yellow fabric, climb up the small bit of corrugated wall on the cliff above it, then clear out the Creeps that appear so you can place the Survey Equipment on the bones nearby. Hack each one to activate it, then you’ll get a call from Skeptical Sam before needing to retrieve them.
How To Find All Three Survey Balloons
Each Survey Balloon is in a different location, and they’ll mostly be spread out across the Terminus Mountains, with the first of them found on the northern edge of Cuspid Climb, in a patch of forest between The Shredded Summit Point of Interest and The Stonewarden Ancient Crawler.
The First Survey Balloon
You can reach it by following the main road through the Terminus Mountains toward the northeast, and upon arriving, you’ll need to clear out some more Creeps, or else they’ll attack you the entire time that you’re getting the balloon.
Approach the ledge near the pole to update the quest and make the balloon appear, then shoot down the balloon from where it’s gotten stuck, and hack into the equipment once it’s landed to get the data.
The Second And Third Survey Balloons
For the second balloon, you’ll find it in the middle of the road to the west, near the edge of the Terminus Mountains, but the Order’s going to shoot it down as soon as you arrive, and render it useless.
The third balloon will conveniently land on the roof of a small house nearby, so shoot it down, then use your Grapple to pull the antennae and cause the Survey Equipment to float down to you. Hack it to get the last piece of data, and bring it to Skeptical Sam in his new location just east of the Gilded Drop Point of Interest.
Follow the road back east from the third balloon, then go north when the road splits. Follow it to the northwest past the first turn, then take the second turn and continue going north.
Turn around and south when the road splits again, and follow it up around to the Gilded Drop Point of Interest, then go past it to the houses along the road. Look for the tallest one with the Flat Kairos poster hanging from the bottom, and grapple up to where Skeptical Sam is waiting for you.
Follow him around to the computer on the other side of the platform and hack it twice to upload the photos. Watch the scene unfold before you, and the Flat Kairoser Side Mission will be complete.
For dealing with Sam, you’ll be rewarded with some EXP, 2,500 Cash, eight Eridium, an Uncommon or Epic Pistol, and the Flat As A Fritter Style and Paint Job for both your Vault Hunter and ECHO-4.
