Borderlands 4 Guide: How to Complete Star-Crossed Side Mission

The Star-Crossed side mission is one of the more memorable quests in Borderlands 4's first DLC, Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned. The premise is equal parts absurd and genuinely touching: Dr. Stein wants to resurrect his lover Julien, who has been scattered across the Whispering Glacier in pieces. Your job is to collect those pieces, fight through waves of Dahl soldiers and threshers, and get this man put back together. It's a multi-stage fetch quest with combat encounters at every stop, and a few small choices along the way.

How to start Star-Crossed

Head to Kairos > The Whispering Glacier > Crooked Teeth and speak to Dr. Stein to pick up the mission. The quest description leans hard into the Romeo and Juliet angle, which tells you exactly what tone to expect from the reunion at the end.

Step 1: Find Julien's legs

Follow the quest marker into the Windswept Wastes to reach the first enemy camp. A group of Dahl soldiers is holding the area, and you need to clear all of them out before you can grab the legs. Standard engagement rules apply here: take cover, watch flanks, and burn through them quickly.

Once the camp is clear, you get a choice: pick up Julien's original legs or a set of beefy replacement legs. According to the IGN walkthrough, Julien himself actually wants the beefy legs, while Dr. Stein prefers the originals. The choice makes no mechanical difference to mission completion, so go with whatever feels right.

Dr. Stein quest location

Step 2: Find the torso (and the keycard)

The torso is located just east of the legs. When you arrive, you will find Julien's torso locked inside a mech suit sitting in a crater beneath a large rock. You cannot open the mech without a keycard.

The keycard is on an icy ridge. According to the PowerPyx walkthrough, from the torso location you turn right, jump across a gap, turn right again, and the keycard is right there. The IGN guide also notes there is a grapple point you can use to reach the ridge, but warns about a Kratch enemy in the area. Pick up the keycard, head back to the mech, unlock it, and retrieve the torso.

Step 3: Find Julien's arms (the hardest part)

This is the combat-heavy section. The arms are at the northern tip of the Windswept Wastes, and the area is packed with Threshers and Kratch. The specific Thresher that actually swallowed Julien's arms only shows up at the end of the fight, so you have to survive two full waves before you get to the payoff.

The PowerPyx walkthrough confirms the tentacle collection objective automatically fails, so do not stress about it. Focus on staying alive through both waves.

After the fight, you again get a choice between Julien's original arms and beefy arms. Same deal as the legs: pick whichever you prefer, the outcome is identical.

Step 4: Return to Dr. Stein and rebuild Julien

Head back to Dr. Stein's lab in Crooked Teeth and place all the body parts into the machine. Then comes the power sequence, which requires three interactions in a specific order:

1. Pull the lever on the roof (use the ledges on the side of the building to climb up)
2. Turn the wheel on top of the roof
3. Pull the lever on the ground near the lab entrance

Once all three are done, head inside and activate the machine.

Power up the lab machine

What happens at the end of Star-Crossed?

A cutscene plays showing the reunion between Dr. Stein and Julien. The IGN guide describes it as "beautiful but not quite going to plan," which is accurate. Talk to Julien after the cutscene to complete the mission.

Star-Crossed rewards

The ECHO-4 Skin cosmetic is the standout reward here. Everything else scales to your level, but the skin is a flat unlock regardless of when you complete the mission.

For more Borderlands 4 DLC content and side mission guides, browse more guides on GAMES.GG.