Good gear is harder to come by in Borderlands 4 compared to previous games, and for the hardcore collectors out there, simply getting one of every piece of unique loot in the game might not be enough. There are also Phosphene variants of legendary guns, and while they might not be as special as Pearlescent weapons from previous games, they're still quite valuable.
You can get Phosphene weapons all throughout Kairos in Borderlands 4, and if you're curious about what these are or how they work, here's what you need to know.
Borderlands 4: All Order Bunkers, Bosses, & Legendary Loot
Players can find out how to unlock all Order Bunkers in Borderlands 4, and the Legendary loot that awaits inside them, right here.
Borderlands 4 Phosphene Legendaries
Phosphene legendaries are essentially shiny versions of regular legendary weapons in Borderlands 4. They are exceedingly rare and offer no benefit to gameplay whatsoever, unlike the Pearlescent weapons from the previous Borderlands games. You'll know if a legendary drop is a Phosphene one if the weapon is shining on the ground.
Every legendary weapon in the game has a Phosphene variant, and Phosphene itself counts as a skin for the sake of weapon customization. Once you get a shiny variant of a legendary gun, you'll be able to turn every other copy of that gun into a Phosphene one. However, this cosmetic option is available on a per-weapon basis, which means you can only use the Phosphene skin on a gun that you received a Phosphene variant of.
Pay attention to the rainbow glow emitted by a Phosphene weapon, as it's the only thing that indicates its shiny status.
How to Get Shiny Weapons in Borderlands 4
Legendary weapons are already rare, and Phosphene versions are even rarer. Any legendary has a chance to drop as a shiny variant, but as of writing, the exact drop rates are still unknown. In one of our playthroughs, we've only gotten three Phosphene guns to drop after 120 hours of playtime.
The best way to get Phosphene weapons in Borderlands 4 is to farm Moxxi's Big Encore encounters. These work much like regular Encore fights, but with a few differences:
- Big Encore encounters are limited to one boss per week (they can be farmed repeatedly).
- You need to use Eridium to reset a Big Encore fight.
- Big Encore bosses have a higher chance of dropping rarer loot.
This method isn't the fastest, but if you want to collect all the Phosphene guns in Borderlands 4, this is the best way to do it. You'll naturally get shiny versions of the weapons in a boss' loot pool, and since the enhanced drop rate also affects the general legendary pool, you'll have a chance to get a Phosphene versions of any gun in the game as long as you're doing Big Encore fights.
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
- 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
- How Long To Beat
- 26 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 44.46 GB
