Borderlands 3 is packed with unique enemy types for players to battle against, and one of the standouts is the NOG. A Maliwan soldier that believes it is playing a video game due to its bulky VR helmet, the small Borderlands 3 enemies are plenty of fun to fight against whenever they do appear.
While the NOG enemy type is not extremely rare, Borderlands 3 players can only find them on certain planets. As such, anyone attempting to farm the tiny soldiers for a Vault Card challenge or loot drops will have to be mindful of where exactly they are searching. Fortunately, the NOGs’ allegiance to Maliwan makes the process of tracking the foes down a fair bit easier.
RELATED: Borderlands 3: Maurice's Black Market Location (Week of April 15)
Maliwan is crucial to the first act of Borderlands 3’s storyline, though they are seen a few times on later occasions as well. Players can find them on the Skywell-27 asteroid, the futuristic planet of Promethea, and in a few specific spots on Nekrotafeyo. However, one of the best spots to battle Maliwan is on Athenas, the homeworld of Maya and the Sirens. The small planet is packed with the faction, and in turn, full of NOGs. As such, every time players clear out the map, they should have eliminated a few NOGs as well.
However, for players looking to run a mission while farming NOGs, there are two great options available. For those with a solid build, running the Takedown at the Maliwan Blacksite mission will allow for a few NOG kills, as they are guaranteed to spawn due to their gatekeeper roles. For something a bit less difficult, players can take on the Circle of Slaughter called Slaughterstar 3000. Not only are all enemies Maliwan-related, but they can all be killed quickly on lower difficulties. NOGs are guaranteed to spawn as well.
Both the Maliwan Blacksite Takedown and Slaughterstar 3000 can be repeated as many times as players wish, giving them great ways to battle against NOGs. The “Technical NOGout” side mission is another great option, as the Promethea quest is completely focused on NOGs. Unfortunately, it is not repeatable, so those looking to farm the enemies this way will need to start a new playthrough.
While Borderlands 3 players may automatically assume that the NOGs’ massive heads are their weak point, like Chonk Stomp and other tyrants, headshots are actually useless on the NOGs. Providing no extra damage due to how strong the protective gear is, players will instead want to focus on their power generator to deal critical damage. This is found on the back of the enemies. With NOGs able to buff their fellow soldiers’ shields, killing them first is recommended.
Players will also benefit from having corrosive, shock, and incendiary elemental weapons when going up against NOGs. Regular NOGs have shields, making them susceptible to electric damage. Incendiary weapons should be used once the shields are gone.
For Hardened NOGs, a corrosive weapon is recommended so that their armor can be easily melted. When weak, NOGs will throw a shield in front of themselves. Breaking this shield will stun the NOG in a manner that is reminiscent of the Spiderant enemy type, allowing players to get behind them and deal critical damage. Once stunned, racking up NOG kills should be a breeze.
Borderlands 3 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.