After counting down to Borderlands 4’s launch day for months, the game is finally here, and I’ve already sunk 30 hours into it in the short time since its debut. As someone who has earned the Platinum Trophy for every single Borderlands game thus far — some of which I've gotten multiple times — I couldn’t wait to play the new title until I reached 100% completion. This is very much still my goal, as though part of me misses the individual areas that preceded Borderlands 4’s jump to open-world, I’m truly loving the game. There are countless elements to praise, from the balanced tone and improved writing to new features like ordnance and Firmware, but that doesn’t mean I have nothing to criticize. For example, one of my biggest complaints has to do with the game’s loot system.
To be clear, Borderlands 4 has made some much-needed strides when it comes to its loot game. Legendaries no longer drop from practically every single enemy like they did in Borderlands 3, lower rarity weaponry has a real purpose in the endgame, and farming loot from specific bosses is easier than ever thanks to the addition of Moxxi’s Big Encore machine. With shiny variants of Legendaries to chase and Pearlescent weapons planned as a post-launch addition, there is a lot that makes the process of earning loot feel great and plenty to look forward to. Unfortunately, there was seemingly a devastating trade-off to bring all these improvements: the loss of red text Rare and Epic guns.
Borderlands 4’s Lack of Red Text Uniques Makes Side Quests Less Rewarding
While it can certainly be argued that Borderlands 4’s side quests are worth playing purely for their dialogue and storytelling, as some are truly hilarious or emotionally impactful, it’s still unfortunate that they lack exclusive weaponry. Sure, certain quests will provide special cosmetic skins and styles, but as someone who has always made a habit of using red text “basic” weapons in the lead-up to being kitted out with Legendaries, it’s a shame to see special effects and red text references restrained to only orange-colored drops. Classic red text Rare and Epic weapons include:
- The Bane SMG (Borderlands 2) — Acquired from a side quest sharing the same name. Screams when shot and greatly hinders movement speed, but deals high damage and builds accuracy over time.
- Shotgun 1340 (Borderlands 2) — Obtained from a side quest called "Out of Body Experience." Speaks to the player in the voice of the entertaining NPC Loader #1340 when fired.
- Grog Nozzle (Borderlands 2) — Powerful mission-exclusive weapon from the Assault on Dragon Keep DLC’s "The Beard Makes the Man" quest, which dishes out extreme slag coverage.
- Sand Hawk (Borderlands 2) — Earned from the "Whoops" side quest in the Captain Scarlett DLC. 3-round burst, but fires 8 rounds per shot that make the pattern of a bird.
- Moxxi’s Good Touch/Bad Touch (Borderlands 2) — both variants of this weapon drop from the slot machines in Sanctuary, and are extremely powerful SMGs with Moxxi’s picture placed on the circular magazine.
- Null Pointer (Borderlands 3) — A reward from former playable Vault Hunter Zer0 during the quest "Hostile Takeover."
- Crit (Borderlands 3) — A returning unique from Borderlands 2, awarded from tipping Moxxi aboard Sanctuary 3. Has a chance of being dropped when reloaded, but is worth the risk due to its super high damage.
- Hail (Borderlands 3) — Also acquired from tipping Mad Moxxi. Bullets fire in an arc pattern, but deal high critical damage if players can master the bullet drop.
- Gettleburger (Borderlands 3) — A launcher that literally fires burgers, this weapon is a reward for Borderlands 3’s "Dynasty Diner" side quest.
- The Clipper (Borderlands 1) — Drops from the first main boss in the game, Nine Toes, and is the only weapon with a melee accessory and elemental effect.
With even a white-color red text item attainable (the ECHO-2 grenade from Borderlands 3), it’s genuinely shocking that there are no uniques outside Legendaries in Borderlands 3. Uniques made certain side quests must-plays on repeat playthroughs, as players would desire max-level versions of the strong guns tied to the side content. Now, if players were to replay a quest in Borderlands 4, they’d just get another mystery crate full of random loot. While these crates are undoubtedly a convenient way to dish out rewards, as they often eliminate unnecessary walk-backs to turn in quests, their contents never contain unique guns, shields, ordnance, and class mods, which makes them far less exciting to open than they should be. Keeping the randomized rewards for bounty crates, and filling the crates from side quests and story quests with some pre-set unique loot, would have been a perfect middle ground.
Borderlands 4’s Loot System is Still Great, But It’s Missing That Extra Something Without Non-Legendary Uniques
There’s no denying that Borderlands 4’s parts system has made every basic purple, blue, green, and white drop more deserving of a proper look, and it’s something that could keep the game fun for years to come. Still, the random chance of getting a Jakobs gun that fires Torgue rockets just isn’t the same as getting a guaranteed blue or purple weapon with a special firing pattern or gimmick, distinct look, and a red text joke. Quest or activity-themed unique weapons were a perfect way to let players carry around a nod to a quest they loved at all times, and Borderlands 4 is full of opportunities for such gear that Gearbox passed up on. From flat-Kairos throwing knives to a permanent Catch-tainer, with almost every side quest I completed, I saw a chance for the unfortunate trend of no uniques to be broken, only to yet again be let down.
Since Borderlands 4 is a live-service game, I’d love to see Gearbox change course on red text, introducing some blue and purple unique world drops alongside unique side quests rewards for BL4’s expansions. Until this happens, the previous games in the series will have an edge for me when it comes to optional content, which wouldn’t be the case if they provided some special loot to cap off the fun.
Borderlands 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
