Look everyone loves a legendary weapon tier list but here's the real truth about Borderlands 4 endgame: purple and even some blue rarity weapons can absolutely carry you through Mayhem 11 if you know what to look for, I have spent way too many hours farming Graveward and the Eridian Forge testing every gun type across all four Vault Hunters to bring you a tier list that covers everything from legendaries down to blue rarity weapons that are worth picking up, because honestly when you're first hitting max level you are not going to have a full set of god-roll legendaries and knowing which purple guns to keep can make the difference between struggling and cruising through endgame content
Tier List Explained
The tiers are based on general endgame performance at Mayhem 10/11 across all Vault Hunters, S-tier guns are best-in-slot that every character should have in their loadout, A-tier are excellent guns that can handle any content, B-tier are solid options that work well with specific builds, C-tier are situationally useful or decent while leveling, and D-tier is vendor trash that should be sold immediately
S-Tier — The Absolute Best Guns in BL4
Free Radical (Maliwan Pistol)
This legendary pistol is genuinely overpowered in a way that makes me wonder if Gearbox even tested it at Mayhem 11, it fires bouncing elemental projectiles that chain between enemies and the damage scaling is just broken, every single Vault Hunter build wants this gun and it's not particularly close, farm it from Arms Race reward chests or from Tom and Xam on the Desolation's Edge — get one with 50/50 Cryo/Corrosive or Shock/Incendiary for maximum coverage
Plasma Coil (Maliwan SMG)
Returns from BL3 with the same insane damage profile, the charge-up mechanic is annoying but the payoff is the highest DPS of any SMG in the game by a wide margin, if you hold the trigger until the third charge stage you get a massive damage bonus and the projectiles are fast enough to actually hit moving targets, fits on any build but is absolutely disgusting on Amara with elemental damage bonuses
Monarch (Vladof Assault Rifle)
The Monarch is back and it still shreds, this bipod-mode assault rifle trades your movement for a ludicrous fire rate increase that stacks with your character's fire rate bonuses, on Moze with Bottomless Mags you can literally fire until you run out of ammo reserves and then some, on FL4K every single bullet is a potential crit which makes the Monarch a boss melter
Hellwalker (Jakobs Shotgun)
It's a shotgun that plays a sick guitar riff when you reload it and deals incendiary damage with perfect accuracy while pellet spread is tighter than most snipers in other games, of course it's S-tier, the Hellwalker has been a community favorite since BL3 and it's even better in BL4 with the new overkill damage mechanics, farm Road Dog for this one
A-Tier — Excellent Guns for Any Build
Flipper (Maliwan SMG)
Not quite Plasma Coil level but honestly easier to use because you don't need to manage charge stages, the Flipper projectiles curve and track enemies making it fantastic for mobbing where things are moving erratically, the higher pellet count makes it great for FL4K crit builds and Moze splash damage builds
Sand Hawk (Dahl SMG)
The burst-fire pattern takes some getting used to but the damage per burst is among the highest in the game, try to get one with a vertical grip for a tighter burst pattern and it becomes a laser that deletes health bars, farm Katagawa Jr. for a chance at this — though admittedly that fight is annoying enough to make you question your life choices
Lucian's Call (Dahl Assault Rifle)
Crits ricochet bullets to nearby enemies and refund ammo to the magazine, which means on FL4K or any crit-fishing build this gun literally never runs out of ammo and clears entire rooms as long as you're hitting headshots, the ricochets also inherit the bullet's elements so if you're running a Cryo Lucian's Call you freeze everything in sight
Garcia (Jakobs Shotgun)
The purple-tier Jakobs shotgun that punches way above its weight class, it's not legendary so it drops frequently enough to farm but the damage per shot on a x25 variant is legitimately competitive with many legendaries, keep an eye out for one with a high pellet count and the "While SNTNL is active gain 100% cryo efficiency" anointment if you're on Zane
B-Tier — Solid Weapons That Work With Specific Builds
Night Hawkin (Dahl SMG)
Changes element based on time of day which is a cool gimmick but the damage is just okay at Mayhem 11 unless you specifically build around its alternating elemental procs, runs fire/cryo during the day session and corrosive/shock at night, good for Amara builds that want to proc multiple elements simultaneously
Rowan's Call (Dahl Assault Rifle)
Similar to Lucian's Call but with incendiary damage by default, slightly less ammo-efficient but the fire damage pairs well with Moze's fire damage bonuses from the Bottomless Mags tree, farm it from the Rampager if you need a solid fire AR
Breath of the Dying (Dahl Assault Rifle)
Creates corrosive novas on kill which is great for mobbing but the single-target damage is lacking compared to S and A tier options, the novas scale with your Mayhem level so it stays relevant in M11 if you're clearing dense packs of mobs
Stonethrower (Torgue Shotgun)
The sticky mode on this thing can stack ridiculous damage on a single target but you need to be patient and land all your sticky shots before reloading to detonate, satisfying when it works but inconsistent in chaotic fights where you can't stand still and aim
C-Tier — Decent While Leveling or Very Situational
Iceburger (Tediore Shotgun)
The Tediore reload where you throw the gun as a cryo bomb is funny but the damage is mediocre and the reload mechanic makes it awkward to use in tight fights, decent for cryo-centric builds but there are better options even among purples
One Pump Chump (Jakobs Sniper)
Fires one massive shot then has an 8-second reload, the damage per shot is astronomical but missing means you're useless for almost 10 seconds, only usable on FL4K with Fade Away guaranteeing crits and honestly even then there are better options
Best Purple and Blue Weapons Worth Keeping
Here is the thing that most tier lists won't tell you: a perfectly-rolled purple weapon with the right parts and anointments can outperform a base-roll legendary any day of the week, always check the parts on purple weapons before selling them, here are the specific purple and blue weapons worth holding onto:
For assault rifles look for Dahl assault rifles with a Dahl grip and stock the bipod barrel and a good anointment, a purple Dahl AR with the right parts is basically a budget Lucian's Call and will serve you well until you get the legendary version. For SMGs seek out Maliwan purple SMGs with the alien barrel accessory which gives them a unique elemental projectile that behaves like a mini legendary, these are honestly slept on by most of the community but they shred. For shotguns Torgue purple shotguns in sticky mode with high pellet counts are incredible for bosses because the stacked sticky damage formula is mathematically broken even on purple guns. For pistols Jakobs purple Mashers with high damage rolls are mini-snipers that fire fast and hit hard, a x3 Masher with a good anointment is a legitimate endgame weapon.
Honestly the most important takeaway from this tier list is to not sleep on purple weapons just because they aren't orange, a well-rolled purple with the right anointment will carry you through all Mayhem 11 content and you'll probably find a dozen good purples for every decent legendary you farm, check out our full legendary tier list and our weapon manufacturer guide for more detailed breakdowns of every gun type in the game