Varkids

Varkids are twittering little insects that gather in enormous swarms, around dens almost too nasty to think about: the above-ground varkid dens are actually the above-ground protrusions of a female varkid reproducing. The actual organism is mostly underground.

Above ground, varkids begin as larva. Given enough time and the right inclination, a Larval Varkid may wrap itself into a pod. Given more time, the varkid will emerge from the pod born anew—a full-health, more-evolved varkid. And so a Larval Varkid pods up and becomes an Adult Varkid. It might even be beautiful, except that it’s varkids.

But being an Adult Varkid is not the end. The adults can pod up, too, becoming Badass Varkids. The Badasses can, in turn, become Super Badasses, and so on. Any given varkid specimen may be more or less motivated to progress down the evolutionary tree; some will do so on their own, willingly and quickly, podding up through several stages of development without unnatural stimulus. Others pod up only under duress, whether when merely under attack, or as a last ditch effort to avoid death. Some varkid specimens won’t pod up, ever, and some will only progress a stage or two, then stop. It’s actually not known where varkid evolution leaves off, so few adventurers, mercenaries, and researchers have lived to tell the tale beyond a certain point…

Larval Varkid

The lowliest of the varkids, these babies can skitter quickly across the ground and even fly a little bit to get over and around obstacles. Up close, they leap and scratch to attack. They’re extremely vulnerable to any kind of damage, and their own dumb habits put them right into melee swatting range. But you might try letting them pod up—either you can get easy bonus XP breaking the pod, or you can fight a stronger varkid, for potentially more XP and better rewards.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
0.5	—	0.5	Chump	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, Caustic Caverns

Adult Varkid

After one stage of podding up, a varkid becomes an Adult Varkid. This is about a four-fold increase in size, and even more than that in resilience. Adults can spit acid from far away, slash up close, and move and fly to any location. Adult Varkids that weave themselves into pods aim for Badass status.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
3	—	1.25	Normal+	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, Caustic Caverns

Blood Varkid

(TVHM ONLY)

These diminutive variations on Larval Varkids only show up during True Vault Hunter Mode. They’re much stronger individually than mere larva.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
2	—	2	Normal	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, Caustic Caverns

Chubby Varkid

Yes, this is essentially a fat baby roach. Packing on so much mass without podding up and evolving means this fat larva is a dozen times stronger than other larva. So, don’t go near it! Take it out from far away, as it trudges toward you.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
6	—	6	Super Badass	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, Caustic Caverns

Mutated Badass Varkid

The Hammerlock curiosity is piqued by all species, even vile insects. During a mission to find out more about varkid evolution, an agent must be introduced into a growing pod to produce this abnormal specimen. This Corroding varkid is a Badass varkid, indeed, and should be taken seriously—don’t get overconfident and stick multiple budding pods at once.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
18	—	4	Super Badass	Tail	/

Location: Tundra Express, mission: “Mighty Morphin’”

Madame Von Bartlesby

This stately, bizarre varkid is one you must fight during a mission series for Tiny Tina, out in Tundra Express. As a named, unique enemy, this Madame has a small but decent chance of dropping something very cool.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
15	—	4	Super Badass	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, mission: “You are Cordially Invited: Party Prep”

Badass Varkid

A Larval Varkid becomes an Adult, and an Adult Varkid becomes a Badass Varkid. As varkids move up their chain of evolution and naturally start to come with increased bulk and heavier, more plate-and-armor-like components, their emphasis on flying decreases, the wings becoming something vestigial.

Badass Varkids begin to attack very aggressively with a charge on the ground that is almost impossible to avoid, except by sprinting away and using terrain to your advantage. Crowd control and distraction abilities are vital to managing higher varkid forms.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
10	—	4	Badass	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, Caustic Caverns

Super Badass Varkid

If a Badass Varkid spools up, you can catch a breather—the higher the stage, the bigger the pod required, so the longer the development period—but you also have a much tougher adversary gestating. During Normal Mode, this is the nastiest varkid you can find. That’s another story during True Vault Hunter Mode.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
25	—	4	Super Badass	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, Caustic Caverns

Ultimate Badass Varkid

(TVHM ONLY)

Only during True Vault Hunter Mode, and only then even rarely, will a Super Badass Varkid decide to commit to becoming an Ultimate Badass Varkid. As with previous Badass transformations, this takes a long time. If you can bust the pod before the varkid can hatch, you’ll hit the mother lode on bonus XP. But allow a Super Badass Varkid to become an Ultimate Badass only at your peril. At the level of Ultimate Badass, the varkid has left behind flight entirely and has mastered speedy movement both above ground and right through it. Advanced varkids can burrow into the earth and reappear elsewhere just like threshers and spiderants.

There are rumors that Ultimate Badass Varkids have been seen prepping themselves to spin up pods, but no reliable source has ever been foolhardy enough to pursue varkid evolution that far.

Health Multiplier	Shield Level	DMG. Multiplier	XP Value	Crit. Areas	Weak./Res.
50	—	3	Ultimate Badass	Tail	/ —

Location: Tundra Express, Caustic Caverns