Tales from the Borderlands Beginner Tips - Choices, QTEs, and Episodes

Tales from the Borderlands is an Adventure game developed by Telltale Games and published by 2K. It is a five-episode narrative adventure about Rhys and Fiona, where choices, dialogue, quick time events, and relationship tone matter more than shooter skill.

Content warning: ESRB rates Tales from the Borderlands M for Mature 17+ with Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, and Violence. This guide keeps descriptions non-graphic and focused on play.

This is a spoiler-light first-play guide. It is not a full walkthrough, all-choices route, best-ending route, ally recruitment checklist, achievement guide, or Borderlands lore primer.

Essential Tips

1. Treat It Like a Story You Are Steering

You are not solving every scene for one perfect answer.

Tales from the Borderlands is a choice-driven narrative adventure. Pick answers that fit the Rhys or Fiona you want to play, then let that tone carry forward instead of restarting every uncomfortable reaction.

2. Watch for Timed Decisions

Some choices wait, but not every choice waits forever.

The game often gives you space to choose, but some decisions must be made before time runs out. When the timer appears, decide whether you want to be charming, evasive, loyal, greedy, cautious, or silent before the moment passes.

3. Read the Prompt Before Pressing

Quick time events are about matching the screen, not guessing ahead.

Action scenes use displayed button prompts. Keep your eyes on the current icon, then press what the scene asks for. Do not assume the next prompt will be the same as the last one.

4. Role-Play Rhys and Fiona Differently

The two leads have different social tools.

Rhys comes from Hyperion corporate culture, while Fiona is a con artist used to talking her way through trouble. Let that contrast guide your dialogue style instead of forcing both characters into the same personality.

5. Pay Attention to Relationship Tone

Characters can remember what you say and do.

Choices and dialogue can influence later events or available allies. Before picking a joke, threat, lie, apology, or show of trust, notice who is in the scene and who might be affected by that tone.

6. Do Not Drift Through Timers

A missed timer can cost you the answer you wanted.

When a timed choice appears, make the selection you mean instead of watching the clock. If you are unsure, pick the response that best matches your current version of Rhys or Fiona.

7. Interact With Clear Prompts Before Moving On

Quiet scenes still use adventure-game habits.

When control returns, look for available interaction prompts before pushing the obvious next story beat. Dialogue, objects, and scene prompts are how the game gives you context between bigger choices.

8. Keep One First-Run Save

A consistent run is more useful than constant rewinding.

Because the game is built around carried tone and remembered choices, keep one save path for your first playthrough. Save alternate routes for a second run or a dedicated choice guide.

9. Do Not Overfocus on Achievements During the First Run

Chapter progression matters more than hidden challenge routing.

Achievements are tied closely to chapter completion. Enjoy the story first and clean up platform-specific achievement details later.

10. Remember That This Is Not a Borderlands Shooter

You are not farming loot or optimizing combat builds.

Even though it is set in the Borderlands universe, Tales is about dialogue, prompts, set pieces, and consequences. Bring a story-game mindset instead of expecting weapon stats, class builds, or co-op combat loops.

Choice and QTE Priorities

Situation	First Move	Why It Helps
Dialogue timer appears	Pick the stance you mean	Prevents the timer from deciding for you
Rhys or Fiona gets control	Play to that character’s role	Keeps the two protagonists distinct
A major trust choice appears	Think about later allies	Some choices can affect who is available later
QTE starts	Follow the active prompt	Inputs can change during action scenes
A scene quiets down	Check interaction prompts	Objects and conversations carry context
An episode ends	Continue from the same save	Keeps your first-run choices connected

Episode Habits

1. Start each episode by remembering your tone: If your Rhys has been ambitious, nervous, or loyal, and your Fiona has been generous, guarded, or ruthless, keep that in mind before the next big decision.
2. Let jokes serve your route: The game leans on humor, but the tone of a joke can still make your version of a character feel warmer, colder, or more chaotic.
3. Watch who is nearby: A choice can matter less as a puzzle solution and more as a relationship signal.
4. Follow prompts cleanly in action scenes: Read, press, and reset your eyes for the next icon.
5. Accept directed outcomes: Some broad story beats are part of the episode structure even when dialogue and relationships shift around them.
6. Replay after the full season: Alternate choices are easier to understand once you know the complete five-episode arc.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not let timers expire by accident - If you want a specific response, choose it before time runs out.

2. Do not mash through QTEs - Watch the displayed prompt and respond to the current input.

3. Do not play Rhys and Fiona as the same person - Use their different backgrounds to guide dialogue tone.

4. Do not ignore relationship signals - Trust, loyalty, insults, and selfish moves can matter beyond the current joke.

5. Do not skip interaction prompts in quieter scenes - Objects and conversations help set up the next decision.

6. Do not restart every awkward result - Consequences are part of what makes a first run feel personal.

7. Do not assume it plays like mainline Borderlands - This is a narrative adventure, not a loot-shooter build game.

8. Do not chase every alternate choice on your first run - Finish one coherent version of the story before testing branches.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Dialogue	Choose a clear role-playing stance
Timers	Pick the response you mean before time runs out
QTEs	Follow the prompt currently on screen
Relationships	Notice who hears each choice
Episodes	Continue from one first-run save
Replays	Test alternate choices after finishing the season