Legendary items offer some of the best (and often craziest) effects among weapons in Borderlands 4, making them highly sought after by the majority of the playerbase. These items are very powerful, and some of them are especially useful in during the earlier parts of the game.
The following guide contains a list of the best legendary items players can get either during the campaign or during the early parts of Ultimate Vault Hunter mode in Borderlands 4. There will definitely be better guns out there, but the ones here will give you an easier time when you start farming for the rest.
Borderlands 4 - Interactive Map (Kairos)
Our interactive map for Kairos in Borderlands 4. All the vending machines, Echo Logs, Vaults, and more found in the game.
Firewerks Shield
Explosions!
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Source |
Splashzone (Coastal Bonescape - Fadefields) |
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Legendary Effect |
Spawns homing missiles when an armor segment breaks or when an enemy is killed by the player. |
A strong offense makes for a good defense, and if you want to blow things up while blowing things up, then the Firewerks shield is for you. This thing causes missiles to launch from the enemies you kill, and if one of its armor segments gets broken, it'll launch another salvo of missiles that will deal respectable damage to enemies.
Firewerks is one of the dedicated legendary items that can drop from Splashzone, one of the very first minibosses players will get to fight on Kairos.
Watts 4 Dinner Shield
Run and Gun to Stay Alive
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Source |
Origo (Terminus Range Vault) |
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Legendary Effect |
Gain increased Shock damage when Overshields are active. When you have Energy Shields, enemies have a 12% chance to drop Overshield Boosters when hit. |
Finding all the Vault Key Fragments in Borderlands 4 can be a bit of a hassle, but it's worth it. Origo, the Vault boss in Terminus Range, has a chance to drop Watts 4 Dinner, a legendary shield that leans more heavily toward defense. This shield makes enemies drop Overshield Boosters when you hit them, and when you pick those packs up, you'll get an Overshield. Grab a Vladof gun or anything else that fires quickly, then just shoot things until the whole area is filled with shield packs.
Watts 4 Dinner is especially useful with one of Rafa's APOPHIS Lance builds. With it, you won't have to worry about shields as long as you can pick the boosters up.
Timekeeper's New Shield
No Guts, No Glory
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Source |
The Timekeeper |
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Legendary Effect |
Gain bonus Max Health, Health Regeneration, and Damage Reduction at the cost of having no shields. |
If you're a fan of the Rough Rider from Borderlands 2, Timekeeper's New Shield is basically that. Ironically, this shield does not have any actual shields. Instead, it gives you a massive boost to your health as well as a passive HP regen effect. More importantly, it gives you passive damage reduction.
Timekeeper's New Shield is excellent for Lifesteal-based builds. However, since it drops from the Timekeeper, you likely won't be able to farm this until after the Borderlands 4 campaign.
AF1000 Repkit
Again!
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Source |
Rocken Roller (Trinket Crevass Auger Mine - Carcadia Burn) |
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Legendary Effect |
Very long healing duration, very short cooldown |
This Repkit is simple but effective: it constantly heals you for a long duration, and it has a very short cooldown. Rolls might differ from players, but in our case, we got one that heals over 20 seconds, has a cooldown of 6 seconds, and it comes with the Accelerator effect, which gives you 100% Action Skill Cooldown Rate while the Repkit is active.
However, the AF1000 does not give any burst healing like other Repkits. Once you inject yourself with this, you'll need to wait a few seconds before you get any significant amount of health back.
Pacemaker Repkit
Slow and Steady
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Source |
Horace (The Howl - Fadefields) |
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Legendary Effect |
Provides passive Health Regeneration that gets stronger the lower your health is. |
If healing is the only thing you're concerned about, then the Pacemaker's got your back. You'll get a passive healing effect just by having this Repkit equipped, and the healing effect becomes stronger the lower your health gets. Of course, you can still use it like a regular Repkit for a burst of health and healing over time.
Every Pacemaker drop is different, and you may end up getting one that has a perk that's perfect for your build. Your best bet at getting more Pacemakers is to farm Horace, the boss in Horace's Oversight near The Launchpad in the Fadefields.
Aegon's Dream
Finish the Song!
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Source |
Horace (The Howl - Fadefields) |
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Legendary Effect |
Fires Cryo and Incendiary rounds. |
Aegon's Dream is a solid assault rifle for builds that rely on either elemental damage or full-auto fire. This gun can deal both Cryo and Incendiary damage at the same time, making it perfect for someone like Amon or Vex. However, as a Vladof gun, it will chew through your ammo rapidly. Make sure you upgrade your SDUs so you don't run out of bullets too quickly.
You can get Aegon's Dream from Horace, much like the Pacemaker. It's one of the boss' dedicated drops, so you should be able to get this gun from him more easily compared to other bosses.
Hellfire SMG
Set the World on Fire
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Source |
Skyspanner Kratch (Cuspid Climb - Terminus Range) |
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Legendary Effect |
Deals very high Incendiary DoT. |
The Hellfire SMG is back, and it's much spicier than before. This gun has one job, and that is to light things on fire. What makes it better in Borderlands 4 is that it can now drop with underbarrel attachments that can deal mega damage against anything soft and fleshy. A Hellfire with a Shrapnel Cannon is especially devastating.
This weapon drops from the Skyspanner Kratch in Terminus Range. You'll get to fight this thing as part of the Shadow of the Mountain quest, and you can farm it using Moxxi's Encore machine after you beat it once.
Complex Root Sniper Rifle
The Titan Slayer
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Source |
Mimicron (Tipping Point Order Bunker) |
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Legendary Effect |
Fires projectiles that branch out into more projectiles. |
If you need to kill something that's really big (like a Vault monster), then you'll want a gun that can hit big hitboxes multiple times. The Complex Root feels a little similar to the Lyuda from previous games, and it is one of the best giant slayers in Borderlands 4. Even a level 28 Complex Root can demolish a level 40+ Vault boss in just a few magazines.
You can get this from Mimicron, the boss hiding inside the Tipping Point Order Bunker in the Fadefields.
This weapon can also drop from the Ripper bosses in the Drill Site west-southwest of Fortress Indomita.
Convergence Shotgun
An Old Friend
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Source |
Bramblesong (Bittervein Auger Mine - Stoneblood Forest, Terminus Range) |
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Legendary Effect |
Projectiles converge and hit their primary target again. |
Convergence is like Complex Root but for smaller targets. Every pellet from this returning legendary shotgun circles back to their main target to hit it a second time, resulting in very high single-target DPS.
This shotgun drops from Bramblesong, yet another giant Kratch in Terminus Range. You'll need to kill this boss in order to climb the UVH ranks.
Transmitter Grenade
It Just Works
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Source |
World Drop |
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Legendary Effect |
Grenade continuously fires projectiles at nearby enemies. |
The Transmitter is one of the best grenades for mobbing thanks to its legendary perk. Once you throw one of these, they basically become turrets that shoot at everything in their range, making this legendary grenade type excellent against pretty much everything. Occassioanlly, the Transmitter will instantly melt big bosses like Battle Wagon in three seconds flat. We're still not sure why that happens.
Unfortunately, we haven't found the dedicated boss that drops this grenade yet. However, it's bound to drop from any boss or red chest, so just keep trying and you'll eventually get one.
Swarm Grenade
Not the Bees!
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Source |
Sidney Pointylegs (The Prospects Drill Site - Hungering Plain, Fadefields) |
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Legendary Effect |
Projectile splits into smaller, target-seeking projectiles that continuously attack enemies. |
Much like the Transmitter, the Swarm grenade is an excellent, general-use Ordnance in Borderlands 4. When thrown, it will seek nearby enemies and explode into smaller seekers that sting targets like bees. Swarm grenades can drop with many different part combinations, including ones that grant you lifesteal.
You can farm for Swarm grenades by fighting Sidney Pointylegs in The Prospects, one of the Ripper Drill Sites in the Hungering Plain.
Borderlands 4
- Released
- September 12, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - all platforms
- Prequel(s)
- Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2, Borderlands
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- PC Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 3, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Local Co-Op Support
- Yes
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
