Corporal Brennan is a Dahl soldier piloting a mech unit in Borderlands 4's first story expansion, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned. He sits between your first meeting with Ellie and the DLC's final confrontation with Captain Willis, and his loot pool is worth farming more than once. Two legendaries, a manageable attack set, and a fast respawn route make him one of the better early farm targets in Story Pack 1.
Where is Corporal Brennan?
Corporal Brennan spawns in the Crooked Teeth area of the Whispering Glacier region, specifically at the Trans-Lunar Intactment location on the eastern side of the zone.
You'll run into him automatically during the main story quest, so there's no hunting required on your first visit. For repeat farming runs, you have two fast travel options:
- Head north from the Ellie's Garage fast travel station and follow the path toward the boss room.
- Enter the Speakeasy and take the south portal, which drops you directly outside the boss arena.
Once you've cleared him, head back and use the Encore Machine (also referenced as a Moxxi's Replay machine in some sources) to reset the encounter and run it again.
Crooked Teeth boss location
How to Beat Corporal Brennan
Corporal Brennan's mech has two distinct health bars, and knowing which element to use on each one is the difference between a clean kill and a drawn-out slog.
- First health bar (Shield, blue): Weak to Shock and Radiation. Bring a shock weapon and open with it.
- Second health bar (Armor, yellow): Weak to Corrosive and Cryo. Swap to a corrosive weapon once the shield drops.
Having both a shock weapon and a corrosive weapon equipped before entering the fight is the optimal setup.
What attacks does Corporal Brennan use?
Corporal Brennan has four main attacks:
- Electric orbs: Fired in a line or scattered around him. These are easy to sidestep.
- Ground slam: He jumps and crashes down, sending a shockwave forward. Move to the side rather than backward.
- Rockets: Occasional projectiles that are slow enough to dodge without much effort.
- Charge: His most dangerous move. The charge is fast, tracks your position, and hits hard. This is the one attack worth genuinely respecting.
warning
The charge attack is significantly harder to avoid than everything else in his kit. If you're farming quickly and stop paying attention, this is what will down you.
The arena contains enough minor enemies that if you do go down, a Second Wind is realistic. That said, staying mobile and keeping your distance after his shield drops will keep the fight clean.
What does Corporal Brennan drop?
Corporal Brennan has a dedicated loot pool of two legendary items.
Is the Laser-Cutter worth farming?
The Laser-Cutter is a Vladof assault rifle whose Bone Saw ability fires lasers in rapid bursts rather than standard bullets. Each trigger pull sends out a cluster of lasers capable of one-shotting smaller enemies. Tthe weapon's flavor text reads "Isaac's bestie", a direct reference to Isaac Clarke from Dead Space and his iconic Plasma Cutter. That connection makes it a collector's item on top of being a functional weapon.
Is the Bismuth-Tipped Dagger worth farming?
The Bismuth-Tipped Dagger functions as a throwing knife in the grenade ordnance slot. Its Bismuth ability causes the dagger to stick to whatever enemy you hit. While attached, that enemy takes 15% increased damage from the same element the dagger rolled with. If you're running an elemental build and stacking damage amplification, multiple daggers on a single target compound the bonus.
The element the dagger rolls with is random, so if you're building around a specific element (incendiary for fire builds, shock for shield-stripping), you may need multiple farm runs to get the right version.
Dagger attaches for 15% damage boost
Farming Corporal Brennan efficiently
Corporal Brennan is one of the more accessible farm targets in the Mad Ellie DLC. His attack set is limited, the Speakeasy portal cuts travel time to near zero, and the Encore Machine resets the encounter without reloading the full zone.
If you want to see how Corporal Brennan fits into the broader Mad Ellie DLC loot ecosystem alongside every other boss and legendary, browse more Borderlands 4 guides on GAMES.GG to plan your full farming rotation.