Max Level Shenanigans in Borderlands 3

I finished the main story in Borderlands 3 last week and then waffled on what to do next--should I start up a different vault hunter for a new experience?  Should I find something else to play (I'm leaning toward trying to get Assassin's Creed:  Syndicate to run on my new PC)?  Should I invest in another new game?  The answer to all of these questions turned out to be a resounding none of the above.  I decided to stick it out with Amara and see what else Borderlands 3 had to offer.

My post-main story options were to A.) start over in True Vault Hunter Mode (the new game plus mode) or B.) finish up any remaining side missions and hunt down any missed challenges/Eridian writings.  I opted for B and discovered the addition of a cool, new feature in Borderlands 3--Mayhem mode!  Mayhem mode reminds me a lot of the different Torment difficulties in Diablo III--basically, you can choose to crank up the difficulty (tougher enemies, even some character debuffs) and get better drops--a higher drop rate for rare loot and increased cash and Eridium crystal drops.  This option is great for any missed content--the enemies you face are maximum level and you can have the added challenge and better drops.  Even better, there are three Mayhem modes that increase in difficulty and reward (I've only played it on the first level) for all the uber-gamers out there.

After you complete the main story (and possibly discover and translate Eridian writings) a series of trials unlock.  Each trial is a timed challenge where you face various enemies--wild critters like spider ants and skags, Maliwan soldiers, Children of the Vault, or basically any combination of baddies.  It features a gated map where you can only advance by killing all the enemies in one area.  At the end of the challenge you face a boss type of enemy.  The challenge includes bonus objectives like killing a special Eridian creature called a Fallen Guardian which appears and then will warp out if not killed quickly.  There are also bonuses for completing the trials quickly (within 10 minutes--which is a bit insane) and not dying.  The trials offer a bit of challenge and are fun (I completed a couple of them on Mayhem mode, but the ones that are higher level are rough).

I also had a Slaughterfest mission left to complete and decided that I would try to do that one in Mayhem mode (I'm probably going to regret it).  Slaughterfest 3000 is a match-up against Maliwan soldiers (bring a shock weapon).  It's going to be tougher than the Children of the Vault one.

This anointed assault rifle provides a nice buff for my siren.

As I've reached the "end game" I've noticed that there are some different options for weapons--certain weapons are "anointed" and feature general or class-specific bonuses.  I've managed to grab a couple of guns that offer siren specific bonuses like increasing weapon damage and accuracy after phasegrasping an enemy.  The real reward is to find anointed legendary weapons--so far, I've only managed to land one (I'm guessing that chance would increased with additional Mayhem modes, but I don't want to die).

I think I will mess around with Borderlands 3 a bit more.  It's proving to have quite a bit to offer.

UPDATE:  I only had Slaughterstar 3000 left (and I kind of hate the slaughterdome-like missions) and I gave up after several failures.  I think it's time for a Borderlands 3 break for now.