Guide to the Borderlands — Mechanics: Gun types

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shotguns

Shotguns come in two varieties: Combat and Assault. Combat shotguns fire a single shell at a slow fire rate, whereas assault shotguns shoot a steady stream of bullets.

Legendary titles:

MANUFACTURER

LEGENDARY
TITLE

UNIQUE
COMPONENT

EFFECT

Tediore Defender Body Free ammo
Dahl Bulldog Magazine More ammo, faster reload
Torgue Friendly Fire Accessory Smile pattern, incendiary tech
Jakobs Striker Barrel Higher accuracy, critical hit bonus
Atlas Hydra Accessory Fan pattern
Vladof Hammer Accessory Hammer pattern, explosive
Maliwan Plague Accessory High corrosive tech
S&S Munitions Crux Accessory Cross pattern
Hyperion Butcher Barrel 5-shot burst, 50% chance of free shot

 

 

Submachine Guns

If you’re looking for quick reload speed and low recoil, look no further than submachine guns. They have varied accuracy and firing speed but generally meet your needs of spray and slay.

Legendary titles:

MANUFACTURER

LEGENDARY
TITLE

UNIQUE
COMPONENT

EFFECT

Tediore Savior Body Free ammo
Dahl Wildcat Magazine Huge clip, low accuracy
Maliwan HellFire Accessory Every shot incendiary
Torgue Gasher Barrel High damage
Hyperion Bitch Barrel Critical hit bonus

 

 

Repeaters

Small and lightweight, repeaters offer handgun burst fire with machine pistols and automatic fire with regular repeaters. The smaller the gun in Borderlands, the louder the noise it tends to make in a crowd.

Legendary titles:

MANUFACTURER

LEGENDARY
TITLE

UNIQUE COMPONENT

EFFECT

Tediore Protector Body Free ammo
Dahl Hornet Accessory 2-shot burst with corrosive damage
Vladof Rebel Magazine Big clip, fast reload
S&S Munitions Gemini Accessory Split shot
Maliwan Firehawk Accessory Bonus fire tech
Torgue Violator Barrel 3 projectile, 3-shot burst
Hyperion Invader Scope 12-shot burst while zoomed
Atlas Troll Accessory Regenerates health
Vladof Vengeance Barrel Bullets penetrate shields
S&S Munitions Vanatos Magazine Big magazine, low kick
Hyperion Reaper Accessory Huge melee damage, health steal

 

 

Pistols

Revolvers are the lightweight solution when you want to do a lot of concentrated damage with high accuracy. Some of the best guns in the game are revolvers, though they have a slow rate of fire.

Legendary titles:

MANUFACTURER

LEGENDARY
TITLE

UNIQUE
COMPONENT

EFFECT

Tediore Equalizer Body Free ammo
Dahl Anaconda Barrel Accurate, good damage
Maliwan Defiler Accessory Corrosive damage
Jakobs Unforgiven Barrel Super accurate, critical hit bonus, slow recovery
Atlas Chimera Accessory Random damage types

 

 

Sniper Rifles

Sniper rifles are some of the most powerful guns in the game. Packing a punch in single bullets with the regular version and a high fire rate in the semi-automatic versions, sniper rifles are your best friend when you need to patiently take someone or something out with precision.

Legendary titles:

MANUFACTURER

LEGENDARY
TITLE

UNIQUE
COMPONENT

EFFECT

Maliwan Volcano Accessory Incendiary tech, spawns secondary explosions
Jakobs Skullmasher Barrel Critical hit bonus, knockback
Atlas Cyclops Scope More zoom, critical hit bonus, faster projectiles
Dahl Penetrator Barrel Fully automatic firing
S&S Munitions Orion Accessory Ricochet shock tech
Torgue Cobra Accessory Big explosions
Hyperion Executioner Magazine 5-shot burst while zoomed, 10-shot clip

 

 

Rocket Launchers

Big loud explosions are always fun in Borderlands, and rocket launchers are the main source. If you want a lot of damage all at once, use rocket launchers on the first playthrough where they are most effective.

Legendary titles:

MANUFACTURER

LEGENDARY
TITLE

UNIQUE
COMPONENT

EFFECT

Vladof Mongol Barrel Rapid fire
Maliwan Rhino Barrel Spawns explosions in flight
Torgue Redemption Barrel Super big rocket, slow
Hyperion Nidhogg Barrel Ranged auto explode: 60 yards

 

 

Combat Rifles

Short bursts of fire with high accuracy and speed are the hallmarks of combat rifles. With fast reload, they’re worthwhile to take a gander at when you want power.

Legendary titles:

MANUFACTURER

LEGENDARY
TITLE

UNIQUE
COMPONENT

EFFECT

Tediore Guardian Body Free ammo
Dahl Raven Barrel 5-Shot burst
Hyperion Destroyer Barrel Ricochet bullets

 

 

Eridian

The ultra mysterious Eridian technology is consistent in providing high damage. No matter which guns you may find, they will all have unlimited ammo and pack a punch when you need it to.

Legendary titles:

SMG BLASTERS

TITLE

EFFECT

Eridian Blaster Plasma gun
Mercurial Blaster High rate of fire plasma gun
Wave Blaster Wave form plasma gun, shock damage
Ball Blaster Plasma gun, homing projectiles
SHOTGUN

TITLE

EFFECT

Thunder Storm Lightning shotgun
CANNON

TITLE

EFFECT

Cannon Energy-based launcher