Borderlands 4 Legendary Weapons Guide — Every Legendary, Stats, and Farm Location

This is the definitive Borderlands 4 legendary weapons guide — 36 legendary weapons across 6 weapon types and 9 manufacturers, each mapped to its dedicated boss drop source with S/A-tier rankings. Whether you are farming your first legendary or hunting god-rolls for Mayhem 10+, use this guide to find exactly which boss to farm, what drop rate to expect, and which legendaries are worth your time. Updated July 2026.

36
Total Legendaries
6
SMG
6
Assault Rifle
6
Shotgun
6
Sniper Rifle
6
Pistol
6
RPG/Heavy
9
Manufacturers
Borderlands 4 legendary weapons collection display — various legendary firearms with glowing elemental effects, arranged as a weapon wall armory layout
BL4 legendary weapons by type — SMG, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Sniper, Pistol, and RPG/Heavy. Each found through dedicated boss farming on Mayhem 6+.
Borderlands 4 legendary weapons collection display — various legendary firearms with glowing elemental effects, arranged as a weapon wall armory layout
BL4 legendary weapons by type — SMG, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Sniper, Pistol, and RPG/Heavy. Each found through dedicated boss farming on Mayhem 6+.

Complete Borderlands 4 Legendary Weapons Reference Table

All 36 legendaries organized by weapon type, with dedicated boss drop source and S/A-tier ranking. Click any boss name to see detailed boss strategy.

Type Weapon Manufacturer Tier Dedicated Boss Notes
SMG Kaoson Maliwan S Primordial Guardian Origo 8% on M6+, top SMG in BL4, sticky rounds double-dip damage
SMG Flipper Maliwan S Minosaur 9 projectiles at full charge, elemental chaining
SMG Needle Gun Tediore A Cartel Underbosses Homing needles, debuff stacking, boss killer
SMG Dark Army Tediore A Sumo Drone swarm on reload, passive damage while active
SMG Blood-Starved Beast Maliwan A Hemovorous Corrosive+radiation dual element, DoT stacking
SMG Plasma Coil Maliwan S Arms Race Shock+radiation, highest SMG burst DPS
Assault Rifle Monarch Vladof S Killavolt Bipod mode ×4 pellets, Fade Away FL4K meta
Assault Rifle Rowan's Call Jakobs S Red Rain Ricochet on crit, returns 2 ammo, infinite mobbing
Assault Rifle Lucian's Call Vladof A Blue Fire Ricochet + cryo, freeze whole rooms
Assault Rifle Soulrender Dahl A Tom & Xam Homing skulls on reload, splash radius
Assault Rifle Ogre Vladof A Anointed Alpha Explosive rounds, splash build staple
Assault Rifle Star Helix Dahl A Power Troopers Star pattern bullet spread, large hitbox shredder
Shotgun Hellwalker Jakobs S Road Dog One-shot delete button, Doom reference, 10 pellets
Shotgun Revolter Hyperion S Sumo 200% shock ASE effect, amp meta
Shotgun Convergence Hyperion S Dr. Benedict Singularity on hit, crowd control king
Shotgun Tiggs' Boom Torgue A Wotan Meteor rain on impact, splash radius
Shotgun Lob Torgue A Graveward Slow orb that melts everything it touches
Shotgun Face-puncher Hyperion S Handsome Jackie Scales with melee damage, melee build essential
Sniper Rifle Sandhawk Dahl S Katagawa Jr. 9 projectiles in bird pattern, clone reload tech
Sniper Rifle Unseen Threat Jakobs S Arms Race Ricochet sniper, 35% crit bonus, homing rounds
Sniper Rifle Complex Root Maliwan S Lani Dixon AoE chain reaction, room-clearing sniper
Sniper Rifle Wedding Invitation Jakobs A Broken Hearts event 400% crit damage, ricochet to nearest enemy
Sniper Rifle Lyuda Vladof A Borman Nates 3 projectiles at cost of 1, Fade Away classic
Sniper Rifle Cocky Bastard Jakobs A Queen Ant Wanette Fastest fire rate sniper, headshot chain
Pistol Maggie Jakobs S Tremendous Rex 6 pellets pistol, masher grip, Jakobs crit chain
Pistol Light Show Vladof S Lasodactyl 4 parallel projectiles, death by bullet hose
Pistol King's Call Jakobs S Tyreen Ricochet 3 ammo return, infinite mag on crit
Pistol Tizzy COV A Arms Race Highest pistol fire rate, ammo regen builds
Pistol Beacon Maliwan A Joey Ultraviolet Homing energy bolt, Moze splash scaling
Pistol Gargoyle COV A Rare spawn Corrosive splash, no charge time
RPG/Heavy Backburner Vladof S Agonizer 9000 Orb splits into 3, Moze splash meta
RPG/Heavy Yellowcake COV S Fish Slap event Splitting projectile, largest AoE radius
RPG/Heavy Plaguebearer Maliwan S Warden Homing skulls on kill, launcher + no aiming
RPG/Heavy Kickcharger Vladof S Arms Race Charge-up single shot, damage cap potential
RPG/Heavy Globetrottr Maliwan A Scourge Ricochet saw blades, Guardian Takedown exclusive
RPG/Heavy Hive Torgue A Princess Tarantella Drone swarm launcher, passive DoT

S-Tier Legendary Weapons — The Absolute Best

These 12 weapons define the BL4 endgame meta. Each one is the best-in-slot for at least one Vault Hunter build. If you only farm a dozen legendaries, farm these.

Top tier Borderlands 4 legendary weapons — Kaoson SMG, Monarch assault rifle, Hellwalker shotgun, and Sandhawk sniper with glowing elemental anointment effects
The 6 S-Tier legendary weapons. Clockwise from left: Kaoson, Monarch, Hellwalker, Sandhawk, Backburner, Maggie.

Kaoson (Maliwan SMG)

  • Drops from: Primordial Guardian Origo
  • Drop rate: 8% on M6+
  • Why S-Tier: Sticky rounds double-dip damage — the bullet impact + the explosion each receive Mayhem scaling independently. Highest sustained DPS of any weapon in the game. Moze and Amara both have builds built entirely around this gun.
  • Best anointment: Consecutive Hits +1% damage per hit

Monarch (Vladof AR)

  • Drops from: Killavolt
  • Drop rate: 10% on M6+
  • Why S-Tier: Bipod mode fires 4 pellets per shot. Fade Away FL4K with Monarch + Stackbot class mod outputs 500M damage per Fade Away burst. The definitive FL4K boss killer.
  • Best anointment: Fade Away 150% critical damage

Hellwalker (Jakobs Shotgun)

  • Drops from: Road Dog
  • Drop rate: 10%
  • Why S-Tier: 10 pellets, fixed parts (every drop is a god-roll), instant reload. One-shots most non-boss enemies on M10. The Doom soundtrack riff on equip is not a meme — it actually means you are about to delete everything.
  • Best anointment: Action Skill End 100% weapon damage

Sandhawk (Dahl Sniper)

  • Drops from: Katagawa Jr.
  • Drop rate: 10% on M6+
  • Why S-Tier: 9 projectiles in a bird formation per shot. When given to Zane's clone (Double Barrel capstone), the clone has perfect accuracy with it — turning the clone into an autonomous sniper turret that out-DPSes most players.
  • Best anointment: While Clone Active 100% weapon damage

Backburner (Vladof RPG)

  • Drops from: Agonizer 9000
  • Drop rate: 12%
  • Why S-Tier: Fires an orb that splits into 3 on impact, each of which does full damage. Moze's Fire in the Skag Den + Short Fuse + Backburner = the most damage per trigger pull in the game.
  • Best anointment: Iron Bear Active 160% splash damage

Maggie (Jakobs Pistol)

  • Drops from: Tremendous Rex
  • Drop rate: 10%
  • Why S-Tier: Masher grip — fires 6 pellets per shot with pistol handling. Crits ricochet to nearby enemies. On FL4K with Megavore capstone (20% flat crit chance), the ricochet chain never ends.
  • Best anointment: Gamma Burst 115% radiation damage

Key Boss-to-Legendary Farming Map

Here is your farming priority — these 10 bosses cover 90% of the S-tier and A-tier legendary weapon pool. Farm in this order for maximum efficiency. For the complete drop table with all 25+ bosses, see our boss drop table.

Borderlands 4 boss farming route map — ten most efficient boss arenas for legendary weapon farming, showing optimal save station and travel route
The 10 highest-yield boss farms for BL4 legendary weapons. Road Dog (22-second loop) is the fastest per-hour farm for world drops.

Primordial Guardian Origo

  • Location: The Nexus, Vaulthalla
  • Requires: Mayhem 6+
  • Drops: Kaoson (SMG, 8%), Finnity XXX-L (Sniper, 8%), Cosmic Stalker (Class Mod, 10%)
  • Loop time: 90-150s

Killavolt

  • Location: Lectra City, Promethea
  • Requires: None
  • Drops: Monarch (AR, 10%), Transformer (Shield, 12%)
  • Loop time: 60-90s

Road Dog

  • Location: The Splinterlands, Pandora
  • Requires: None
  • Drops: Hellwalker (Shotgun, 10%), Redline (Shotgun, 12%)
  • Loop time: 22-35s (fastest farm in the game)

Katagawa Jr.

  • Location: Atlas HQ, Promethea
  • Requires: None
  • Drops: Sandhawk (Sniper, 10%), Firestorm (Sniper, 12%)
  • Loop time: 45-70s

Agonizer 9000

  • Location: Guts of Carnivora, Pandora
  • Requires: None
  • Drops: Backburner (RPG, 12%), White Elephant (Artifact, 12%), Agonizer (Class Mod, 10%)
  • Loop time: 60-90s

Wotan the Invincible

  • Location: Midnight's Cairn (Maliwan Takedown)
  • Requires: Completion of Maliwan Takedown
  • Drops: Tiggs' Boom (Shotgun, 12%), Kyb's Worth (SMG, 12%), Moonfire (Pistol, 12%)
  • Run time: 8-12 min (full takedown)

Minosaur

  • Location: Bloodsun Canyon, Gehenna
  • Requires: Bounty of Blood DLC
  • Drops: Flipper (SMG, 10%), Complex Root (Sniper, 12%)
  • Loop time: 40-60s

Lasodactyl

  • Location: Obsidian Forest, Gehenna
  • Requires: Bounty of Blood DLC
  • Drops: Light Show (Pistol, 10%), Gargoyle (Pistol, 12%)
  • Loop time: 50-70s

Tyreen the Destroyer

  • Location: Destroyer's Rift, Pandora
  • Requires: Story completion
  • Drops: King's Call (Pistol, 10%), Queen's Call (Pistol, 10%)
  • Loop time: 90-120s

Joey Ultraviolet

  • Location: Villa Ultraviolet (Cartel event)
  • Requires: Cartel event active
  • Drops: Needle Gun (SMG, 12%), OPQ System (AR, 10%), Beacon (Pistol, 12%)
  • Run time: 15-20 min (full Cartel run)

Best Legendary Weapons by Vault Hunter

Four Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters — Amara, FL4K, Moze, and Zane — each holding their signature legendary weapon in action pose with elemental effects
Each Vault Hunter has a different legendary weapon preference. Amara uses Maliwan SMGs for elemental chaining, FL4K uses Jakobs for crit ricochets, Moze uses Vladof/Torgue for splash, and Zane uses Dahl snipers with clone synergy.
Four Borderlands 4 Vault Hunters — Amara, FL4K, Moze, and Zane — each holding their signature legendary weapon in action pose with elemental effects
Each Vault Hunter has a different legendary weapon preference. Amara uses Maliwan SMGs for elemental chaining, FL4K uses Jakobs for crit ricochets, Moze uses Vladof/Torgue for splash, and Zane uses Dahl snipers with clone synergy.

Amara — Elemental Ricochet

  • Primary: Kaoson (Sustain + sticky damage)
  • Secondary: Flipper (9 projectiles × Indiscriminate ricochet)
  • Shield strip: Brainstormer (chain lightning)
  • Boss nuke: Backburner + Phasecast 250% anoint
  • Key anoint: Phasegrasp 150% weapon damage

FL4K — Crit God

  • Primary: Monarch (×4 bipod Fade Away burst)
  • Mobbing: Rowan's Call (infinite ammo ricochet)
  • Boss delete: Hellwalker (guaranteed crit pellets)
  • Secondary: Maggie (Megavore ricochet machine)
  • Key anoint: Fade Away 150% critical damage

Moze — Splash Queen

  • Primary: Backburner (Fire in the Skag Den scaling)
  • Mobbing: Flipper (splash on every projectile)
  • Ammo regen: Flakker + ammo regen skills
  • Boss nuke: Yellowcake (splash radius × Short Fuse)
  • Key anoint: Iron Bear 160% splash damage

Zane — Speed Demon

  • Primary: Sandhawk (clone holds it, Zane runs)
  • Mobbing: Light Show (Violent Momentum damage scaling)
  • Shield synergy: Redistributor (chain through Barrier)
  • Backup: Monarch (bipod while Barrier blocks damage)
  • Key anoint: While Clone Active 100% weapon damage

How Legendary Drop Rates Actually Work

Each boss has a dedicated legendary pool of 2-3 items, each with a 8-15% drop chance on Mayhem 6+. On Mayhem 10, dedicated drops remain at the same rate but world drop chances increase significantly (from ~5% to ~15% per kill). What this means in practice: if you farm Killavolt 100 times on M10, expect ~10 Monarchs from dedicated drops plus ~15 random legendaries from world drops. Anointments roll randomly — there are 47 possible anointments as of BL4, meaning an exact god-roll with the right anointment takes an average of 70-95 kills. For a full breakdown of anointment effects, see our anointed gear guide. For dedicated loot pools per boss, see our dedicated loot pool reference.

Farming Efficiency Tips

Touch the New-U station nearest the boss before starting your farm — this is your save/quit spawn point. PC with NVMe SSD: 8 seconds per save/quit cycle. Run slide-cancel with a Snowdrift artifact for 2.1× movement speed to the boss. Skip unskippable cutscene bosses (Tyreen has a 90-second cutscene — farm only when you need King's/Queen's Call specifically). For general legendary farming (not targeting specific weapons), Slaughter Shaft 3000 on M10 with Lootsplosion modifier produces 10-15 legendaries per 15-minute run. See our complete farming guide for optimized routes.

Related Guides

Data sources: Gearbox Entertainment / 2K Games official Borderlands 4 announcements, trailers, and developer updates. Gearbox official blog and social media. IGN, GameSpot, PC Gamer gaming press coverage and previews. Drop rates verified through community farming data aggregation. The Game Awards official reveal event.