Borderlands 4 brings a lot of changes, like introducing a full-scale open-world, vehicles, and, most importantly, loot. One of the biggest highlights is the completely customizable weapon system, which will give players new ways to experience the game and make it unique.
Furthermore, it will also make looting and raiding more fun, because the possibilities are limitless. If you’re curious about the upcoming changes, we’ve crafted this piece for you.
1. Forget the Old Weapon System, It’s Been Completely Revamped
In previous Borderlands games, we’ve seen multiple weapon manufacturers like Tediore, Torgue, Waliwan, and more. Be it hand cannons or precision rifles from Jacobs, all their unique perks made them special. In Borderlands 4, we’re getting full support for part switching. Let’s say you get a weapon from the Vladof Sniper Rifle; you can now add a Jacob-supported part to it.
Not just that, you can also add Licensed Parts from multiple manufacturers into one single weapon, making it unique. So even though you find an Altus-made weapon, chances are the constituent parts will belong to a different manufacturer. Thus, making every loot unique doesn’t feel mundane.
You can also switch the damage types. For instance, if you find a weapon that has Cyro damage, you can tweak it to make it do incendiary damage. With four weapons slots to pick from, you can make a loadout with familiar weapons but have different effects and switch up anytime you need.
2. The RNG System Is Tweaked, So Plan Your Farming Strategy Accordingly
The RNG mechanics are changing with the upcoming game as well, so if you’re into farming, it will take some time to adjust to. Since every weapon drop is now unique and has varied parts, it’s harder to get items that you really want.
Let’s say you want a Maliwan weapon, but to make a true Maliwan weapon, you’ll need to grind more and find more parts that belong to Maliwan. Furthermore, the amount of customization you’re doing to a weapon depends on the rarity of the weapon.
If you have a common weapon, you can only swap one part of the weapon with a Licensed Part. On the other hand, Epic weapons will give you four slots that you’re free to customize. So if you want to build a weapon full of parts from various manufacturers, you’ll have to grind more to get such weapons. Here’s how the maximum Licensed Part allowance will work in Borderlands 4.
| Rarity of weapon | Max Licensed Parts Allowed |
|---|---|
| Common | 1 |
| Uncommon | 2 |
| Rare | 3 |
| Epic | 4 |
| Legendary | 3 + 1 Unique Legendary Perk |
Do note that you can only swap three parts on a Legendary weapon, just like Rare ones, because the former gets an additional bonus. If you want to build a weapon from scratch that is unique to you, then you should grind for Epic weapons, as it has four customizable slots.
As a form of early strategy, plan on which bosses you’re going to kill, so that you can stack up on Licensed Parts from different manufacturers. Also, since you have four slots, don’t be afraid to try out different loadouts to understand what would be the best on your looting journey.
3. There’s a New Firmware Mechanic That Gives Extra Bonuses to Non-Weapon Gears During the Endgame
Borderlands 4 is adding a new mechanic called Firmware, which dictates what type of bonuses you get from your gear. You can apply extra bonuses to five non-weapon gears, like adding shields, class mods, and enhancements. These will follow a tiered system to deliver the ultimate bonus.
If you have three matching pieces of the same Firmware, they unlock minor and major bonuses in a tiered format. These bonuses range from a full missile barrage to lifesteal. These bonuses will be unique to each Firmware set and displayed in the game.
For instance, tier one of one Firmware gives you a splash radius boost by 20%, which later increases damage by 20% further. By the time you reach Tier 3 of the same Firmware set, you’ll get a Missile Strike on nearby enemies after each kill.
You can also interchange the firmware between gears, but the original firmware will be erased. So make sure you plan your swaps, because you won’t be able to get them back in any way possible. One way to approach would be grinding for these gears and fixating on what bonus you’re aiming for. In that way, you can keep track of what bonuses you get from Firmware sets.
Do note that you can only swap the Firmware from one gear to the other after finishing the main campaign. But again, this system isn’t exclusive to the endgame only; you can find gears with Firmware around Level 25.
So by the time you reach the endgame, you’ll get a lot of gears to choose from and strengthen your builds. To get more Firmware sets, dive into the Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, and create the perfect loadout you wish for.
4. Epic Weapons Can End Up Being Better Than Legendaries
While Legendary weapons will always be a set target for any Vault Hunter, don’t look down on Epic ones just yet. As mentioned before, Epic weapons will have slots for four Licensed Parts, which means you can get four different loots in one go.
The base weapon you get from Raids can have parts specific to one type of playstyle. If you get a Daedalus weapon, chances are you’ll get parts that are focused towards different ammo types, while Order will have ones specific to Charge and blast.
So, if you get an Epic Weapon from Maliwan, you can get weapons with various elemental damage. You can swap Licensed Parts from Daedalus to get a different ammo type. So if you had a dream to build a sticky explosive damage weapon that deals a lot of shock damage, it’s entirely possible.
In short, if you’re looking for Licensed Parts, it’s better to aim for Epic rarity weapons, as you have higher chances of getting more parts. While with Legendary, you’ll get only three unique parts, which is equivalent to a Rare loot. So, don’t look down on Epic weapons, as they are a lot better than before.
Those were all the weapons and gear systems arriving in Borderlands 4 on release. Are you excited for the game release? Do you prefer the old weapon system or the newer one? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
