Borderlands 3 Legendary weapons (2020) - All 138 Legendaries explained
These Legendary weapons are pure gold (literally)
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The 138 Borderlands 3 Legendary weapons on offer are, quite literally, spectacular. They're a spectacle. Spectacle-ular. While every other weapon in Borderlands 3 is procedurally generated and extremely variable, the uber-rare gold Legendary weapons have been carefully crafted to offer a completely new (and often very bizarre) experience with each one.
But how do you get your hands on them, and which of them could be called the best weapons in the Borderlands? Our Borderlands 3 Legendary weapons guide will answer these and any other questions you may have on Legendaries in this chaotic looter-shooter - including the best locations to go Legendary farming!
Borderlands 3 Legendary weapons & best weapons
Now, I'm not going to assume everyone reading this knows all about Borderlands 3 Legendary weapons already - but at the same time I know most of you just want to get to the lists. So I've condensed down the need-to-know basics as much as possible below:
- Legendary weapons in Borderlands 3 are unique and rarely dropped weapons with special traits and attributes that you won't find on any other gun in the game.
- You'll know Legendary weapons from their Gold colour and the Red Text in their description. This Red Text is usually a bit of flavour text that can give you an insight into the gun's name, origin, or unique effects.
- If you have the Minimap Legendaries setting enabled in the options (under Gameplay) then Legendary weapons will be highlighted by a star on your minimap, making them even easier to spot.
- Legendary weapons are more crafted than the procedurally generated weapons in the lower rarity tiers, but they still have varying stats based on their prefix and your player level.
- Certain Legendary weapons drop from specific bosses or Legendary Hunt challenges, but others have a random chance of dropping from any cache of loot or dead body.
Now that you have a full understanding of what these fabled Legendaries are and why we're all so interested in them, let's explore them in more detail. First we'll go over some prime locations and methods for farming Legendaries; and then we'll go over the full list of each Legendary weapon on offer in Borderlands 3. Click any of the links below to skip ahead.
- Borderlands 3 Legendary Farming - best Legendary locations
- Borderlands 3 Legendary Assault Rifles
- Borderlands 3 Legendary SMGs
- Borderlands 3 Legendary Shotguns
- Borderlands 3 Legendary Snipers
- Borderlands 3 Legendary Pistols
- Borderlands 3 Legendary Heavy Weapons
Borderlands 3 Legendary Farming - best Legendary locations
It didn't take long at all for Borderlands 3 players to figure out several methods for consistent Legendary Farming - that is, how to obtain Legendaries and other high-value loot as quickly and efficiently as possible. After the patch from Gearbox nerfing several of the most prominent Legendary Farms across the Borderlands, certain tactics are now more viable than others:
- The Porcelain Pipe Bomb is a powerful tool for farming Legendaries - a grenade that, in the post-campaign Mayhem Mode, can one-shot most bosses, most notably the Graveward boss on Eden-6 which was (and still is, to a lesser extent) a very strong source of high-value loot. Check the video above for more information on the Porcelain Pipe Bomb and this method of Legendary Farming.
- Another useful boss for Legendary Farming is Captain Traunt on Athenas - as well as having a higher-than-average chance to drop Legendaries on death (especially in Mayhem Mode), once dead a room opens nearby containing three large chests, each with another chance to grant a Legendary item.
- Aside from bosses, Loot Tinks are another core ingredient for Legendary Farming, but (thanks to the latest patch) now only effective in Offline Mode. To play in Offline mode, simply close Borderlands 3, disconnect your Ethernet Cable or turn off WiFi, then relaunch the game).
Borderlands 3 Legendary weapons list
Now let's go over each of the Legendary weapons and gear that we know about in Borderlands 3. We've split the list up by weapon type, so have a scroll until you find the class of weapon you're after.
And do make use of the search bar at the top of each table to filter it down to find a certain weapon, or show only weapons from a certain manufacturer, or whatever else you might want to view.
Note: click on each Legendary weapon's name to be brought to a YouTube video spotlighting each one. These videos (and the screenshots in this guide) are mostly taken from the "WoW Quests" channel, but some are from other sources. Thanks also to the Borderlands Wiki and to this spreadsheet of Legendary weapons by Reddit user "Tonydml".
Borderlands 3 Legendary Assault Rifles
| Name | Unique Effects | Drop Type |
|---|---|---|
| Rebel Yell (Atlas) | Fires tracking darts that your bullets home in on | World Drop |
| Carrier (Atlas) | Bullets ricochet; can fire tracker grenade, bullets home on all enemies within radius | World Drop |
| Embrace the Pain (CoV) | Prolonged firing sets user on fire but increases fire rate and stops consuming ammo | World Drop |
| Pain is Power (CoV) | Deals fire damage to user instead of breaking when overheated | World Drop |
| Sawbar (CoV) | After firing continuously, bullets split into 3 explosive projectiles | World Drop |
| Zheitsev's Eruption (CoV) | On overheating, fires tracking missiles that freeze enemies | Mayhem 4: Wotan |
| Barrage (DAHL) | Burst-fire; alt-fire toggles zoom magnification | World Drop |
| Breath of the Dying (DAHL) | Killed enemies explode releasing corrosive balls in all directions | World Drop |
| Good Juju (DAHL) | 4-shot burst; refills magazine on kill | Mayhem 4: The Rampager |
| Kaos (DAHL) | Enemies explode on death, dealing element damage | World Drop |
| Star Helix (DAHL) | Full-auto, shoots 3 bullets at once in a helix pattern | World Drop |
| Warlord (DAHL) | 30% chance to not use ammo per shot | World Drop |
| Bekah (Jakobs) | Shots split in mid-air into 3 projectiles | Hammerlock Challenges: 100% Reward |
| Gatlin' Gatling Gun (Jakobs) | Fire rate increases the longer you shoot | World Drop |
| Hand of Glory (Jakobs) | Fires a trio of 2-shot bursts in quick succession | Quest Reward: The Guns of Reliance |
| Lead Sprinkler (Jakobs) | Bodyshots spawn 1 ricocheting explosive pellet; Headshots spawn 3 | Billy, The Anointed (Eden-6: Jakobs Estate) |
| Rowan's Call (Jakobs) | Crit-hits ricochet 2 bullets and return 2 bullets to your magazine | World Drop |
| Alchemist (Torgue) | Semi-Auto. Sticks as shock, explodes as fire. Damages user | World Drop |
| Bearcat (Torgue) | Fires rows of bouncing fire grenades that explode on enemy impact | World Drop |
| Juliet's Dazzle (Torgue) | Piercing ricochet shots | Mayhem 4: Aurelia Hammerlock |
| Laser-Sploder (Torgue) | Laser deals constant elemental damage & spawns explosive projectiles | World Drop |
| Try-Bolt (Torgue) | Fires bursts of slow-moving explosive projectiles | World Drop |
| Damned (Vladof) | Weapon-shield | World Drop |
| Faisor (Vladof) | Powerful shotgun alt-firing mode | World Drop |
| Lucian's Call (Vladof) | Crit-hits ricochet 2 bullets and return 2 bullets to your magazine | World Drop |
| Ogre (Vladof) | Explosive shots. High mag size | World Drop |
| The Dictator (Vladof) | Fires 3 shots at once in horizontal row; with bipod, fires 7 shots | World Drop |
| Shredifier (Vladof) | Fast-firing, high mag size | World Drop |
| Sickle (Vladof) | Fires shotgun blasts in the shape of a sickle | World Drop |
Borderlands 3 Legendary SMGs
| Name | Unique Effects | Drop Type |
|---|---|---|
| 9-Volt (DAHL) | Burst-fire; shoots triangle of Shock projectiles | Killavolt (Promethea: Lectra City) |
| Crader's EM-P5 (DAHL) | Fast-firing; increased move speed; increased accuracy while jumping | Mayhem 4: Agonizer 9000 |
| Night Hawkin (DAHL) | Switches between Fire/Cryo based on time of day | World Drop |
| Hellfire (DAHL) | High elemental damage & fire rate; variable zoom level | Jabbermogwai (Crew Challenge) |
| Ripper (DAHL) | Melee'd enemies take extra damage from bullets | World Drop |
| Sleeping Giant (DAHL) | Chance on reloading to grant random weapon bonuses | World Drop |
| Vanquisher (DAHL) | 20% slide speed increase; Fire Rate doubled while sliding | World Drop |
| Bankrolled Predatory Lending (Hyperion) | Uses money instead of ammo; $1-3 per shot | Lavender Crawley (Crew Challenge) |
| Bitch (Hyperion) | High Fire Rate & Accuracy | World Drop |
| Crossroad (Hyperion) | 6-shot burst; 2 ammo per shot | World Drop |
| Handsome Jackhammer (Hyperion) | Throw gun instead of reloading; bounces, shooting continuously and creating Novas where it bounces | World Drop |
| Hyperfocus XZ41 (Hyperion) | Front shield reflects bullets back at attackers | World Drop |
| Redistributor (Hyperion) | Shock; Every 7th shot chains to nearby enemies | Wotan (Midnight's Cairn) |
| Cloud Kill (Maliwan) | High Fire Rate; creates Corrosive cloud on impact that deals continuous damage | Quest Reward: Beneath the Meridian |
| Cutsman (Maliwan) | Projectiles stretch horizontally as they travel forward | World Drop |
| Destructo Spinner (Maliwan) | Fires two projectiles per shot, each with a different element type | World Drop |
| Devoted (Maliwan) | Fire Rate increases the longer you fire | World Drop |
| Kyb's Worth (Maliwan) | Killed enemies spawn healing auras | Wotan (Midnight's Cairn) |
| Tsunami (Maliwan) | Randomly fires additional Shock/Corrosive shots; bullets ricochet once | Katigawa Ball (Promethea: Skywell-27) |
| Vault Hero (Maliwan) | VIP Legendary; switch between Shock/Corrosive at will | VIP Insider Reward |
| Westergun (Maliwan) | High splash damage with each hit | Private Beans (Invasion of Privacy) |
| Long Musket ++ (Tediore) | Flamethrower. Reloading throws the gun, which then becomes a remote turret with legs that can climb walls | World Drop |
| Smart Gun XXL (Tediore) | Throwing weapon on reload spawns a Gigamind spider turret | Gigamind (Promethea: Meridian) |
| Ten Gallon (Tediore) | When thrown on reload, the gun follows you as a drone and fires at enemies on its own | World Drop |
Borderlands 3 Legendary Shotguns
| Name | Unique Effects | Drop Type |
|---|---|---|
| Brainstormer (Hyperion) | Vertical row spread; shocks nearby enemies | World Drop |
| Conference Call (Hyperion) | Spawns more projectiles | World Drop |
| Deep Dive Face-Puncher (Hyperion) | Damage is based on your melee damage | World Drop |
| Fearmonger (Hyperion) | 4 weaving shots that stick and explode; high damage | Bloody Harvest (The Heck Hole) |
| Phebert (Hyperion) | Hitscan; increased damage; 2 ammo per shot | Wick and Warty (Lectra City) |
| The Butcher (Hyperion) | Full-auto; high Fire Rate & Accuracy | World Drop |
| Hellwalker (Jakobs) | Incendiary; increases status effect damage/chance after Action Skill ends | World Drop |
| Nimble Jack (Jakobs) | Tight spread; 1 shot before reloading | Handsome Jackie (Skywell-27) |
| One Pump Chump (Jakobs) | 50% chance not to consume ammo on shot | One Punch (Lectra City) |
| Sledge's Shotgun (Jakobs) | 2-shot burst | World Drop |
| T.K's Wave (Jakobs) | Projectiles are bouncy and travel in a wave | World Drop |
| The Garcia (Jakobs) | High magazine size | Chonk Stomp (Crew Challenge) |
| The Tidal Wave (Jakobs) | Projectiles are bouncy and travel in a wave | World Drop |
| Kill-o'-the-Wisp (Maliwan) | Fires large Shocking spheres with slow travel time that explode after certain distance | World Drop |
| Mind-Killer (Maliwan) | Near-instant charge time; ADS tightens spread into a "+" shape | Mouthpiece (Cult Following) |
| Recursion (Maliwan) | Shoots a disk that bounces off surfaces | World Drop |
| Trevonator (Maliwan) | Full-auto; shoots 6 elemenal orbs in a burst | World Drop |
| Vosk's Deathgrip (Maliwan) | Switch between singularity shot and 6-shot connecting beams | Mayhem 4: Troy Calypso |
| Creeping Death (Tediore) | Throw gun at enemy and your previous shots will home towards that enemy | Mother of Grogans (The Anvil) |
| The Horizon (Tediore) | When thrown, weapon can be fired to create a singularity that then explodes | Maxitrillion (Rare Hunt Quest) |
| Polybius (Tediore) | Shoots in 4x4 grid pattern; when thrown, will spawn Tediore Land Crab that explodes on targets | World Drop |
| Flakker (Torgue) | Shoots a triangular wall of explosions with extra splash radius | World Drop |
| Redline (Torgue) | Faster Fire Rate in sticky mode; weapon charge up increases Fire Rate | Road Dog (Kill Road Dog) |
| The Boring Gun (Tediore) | Shoots 3 explosive sawblades that travel along the ground | Lavender Crawley (Crew Challenge) |
| The Lob (Torgue) | Fires a large, slow-moving elemental orb that passes through enemies | World Drop |
| Tiggs' Boom (Torgue) | Piercing explosive shots; Meteors fall from sky on kill | Wotan (Midnight's Cairn) |
Borderlands 3 Legendary Snipers
| Name | Unique Effects | Drop Type |
|---|---|---|
| Stalker (DAHL) | 3-round burst; toggle between vertical/horizontal | Bloody Harvest: The Heck Hole |
| Malak's Bane (DAHL) | Semi-auto; swaps between Sniper and Shotgun | World Drop |
| Crossbow (Hyperion) | One shot mag size; shoots powerful explosive bolt | Urist McEnforcer (Lectra City) |
| Tankman's Shield (Hyperion) | Kills increase damage for next magazine | Mayhem 4: Captain Traunt |
| Woodblocker (Hyperion) | Shoots in 4-round bursts | World Drop |
| Headsplosion (Jakobs) | Shots explode on impact dealing bonus damage | Manvark (Crew Challenge) |
| Monocle (Jakobs) | Extreme weapon zoom; high Accuracy, Handling, and ~500% crit damage but reduced normal damage | World Drop |
| ASMD (Maliwan) | Shoots slow-moving Shock ball on hip-fire; fast-moving Shock bolt while ADSing | World Drop |
| Firestorm (Maliwan) | Shots spawn 3 fireballs with high splash radius | World Drop |
| Krakatoa (Maliwan) | Full-auto; turns killed enemies into volcanoes | World Drop |
| Storm (Maliwan) | On impact, spawns Shock orbs that float and zap enemies over time | World Drop |
| Lyuda (Vladof) | Splits into three projectiles in mid-air after a certain distance | World Drop |
Borderlands 3 Legendary Pistols
| Name | Unique Effects | Drop Type |
|---|---|---|
| Linc (Atlas) | Fast Fire Rate & projectile speed | Anointed Alpha (Malevolent Practice) |
| SkekSil (CoV) | Occasionally sends out 2 additional rockets | Skrakk (Crew Challenge) |
| MOARR Linoge (CoV) | Hail of slow ricocheting bullets | World Drop |
| Pestilence (CoV) | High Fire Rate | Heckle/Hyde (Crew Challenge) |
| Psycho Stabber (CoV) | +125% melee damage | Borman Nates (Meridian Outskirts) |
| AAA (DAHL) | Burst-fire; projectiles form "A" pattern; high elemental chance | World Drop |
| Nemesis (DAHL) | Semi-auto; deals high Shock damage | World Drop |
| Night Flyer (FAHL) | High DPS, but will only damage enemies until they are at 1HP | Rakk Man (Carnivora) |
| Hornet (DAHL) | 6-shot burst; high elemental/splash damage | World Drop |
| Amazing Grace (Jakobs) | High damage; crits return bullet to magazine | Quest Reward: Life of the Party |
| King's / Queen's Call (Jakobs) | Crit ricochets 3 bullets | Tyreen the Destroyer (Divine Retribution) |
| Maggie (Jakobs) | 6 pellets per shot | World Drop |
| The Companion (Jakobs) | Crit ignites enemy; very high elemental damage | World Drop |
| The Duc (Jakobs) | Sticky explosive rounds; crits ricochet 2 bullets | World Drop |
| The Flood (Jakobs) | Full-auto; extreme Fire Rate | World Drop |
| Unforgiven (Jakobs) | Extreme crit damage; unique reload animation | World Drop |
| Wagon Wheel (Jakobs) | Ricochets 6 bullets off enemy | World Drop |
| Hellshock (Maliwan) | Full-auto; switch between Fire & Shock | World Drop |
| Hyper-Hydrator (Maliwan) | Water gun/Taser | Pre-Order/Deluxe Edition |
| Sellout (Maliwan) | Quick laser that explodes as an orb; damages user | Suicide Option (Sellout) |
| Superball (Maliwan) | Shoots small fire orbs that bounce along the ground | World Drop |
| Thunderball Fists (Maliwan) | On impact; projectiles form an orb which rises up before falling and Shocking anything nearby | World Drop |
| Baby Maker++ (Tediore) | Reload explodes on impact and becomes 4 flying pistols | World Drop & Clap-Trap Crew Challenge |
| Bangarang XL (Tediore) | When reloaded, spins horizontally and sprays bullets | World Drop |
| Gunerang XL (Tediore) | Reload throw returns to the character and explodes | World Drop |
| S3RV-8OS-Execute+ (Tediore) | Enemies hit by empty thrown gun take increased damage; effect stacks | Mayhem 4: General Traunt |
| Scorpio XL (Tediore) | Thrown weapon creates Roland's turret | Unobtainable, requires cheats |
| Breeder (Torgue) | Shoots sticky that spawns small MIRV grenades | World Drop |
| Devastator (Torgue) | 2-round burst; high Splash radius | World Drop |
| Devil's Foursum (Torgue) | Shoots 3 explosive projectiles | World Drop |
| Girth Blaster Elite (Torgue) | Toy gun that shoots foam darts | Pre-Order/Deluxe Edition |
| Moonfire (Torgue) | 3rd shot fires double-damage beam | Wotan (Midnight's Cairn) |
| Occultist (Torgue) | Fires single projectile with many additional projectiles swirling around it; all are explosive and Incendiary | Troy Calypso (The Great Vault) |
| Roisen's Thorns (Torgue) | Always Corrosive; impact firing mode fires 2 additional Fire projectiles | World Drop |
| Echo (Torgue) | Sticky shot for delayed explosion; 2 ammo per shot | World Drop |
| Infinity (Vladof) | Does not consume ammunition; fixed mag size of 1 | World Drop |
| Magnificient (Vladof) | Low Accuracy but high Fire Rate | World Drop |
Borderlands 3 Legendary Heavy Weapons
| Name | Unique Effects | Drop Type |
|---|---|---|
| Freeman (Atlas) | Laser guide your missiles | World Drop |
| Ruby's Wrath (Atlas) | 7 rockets that can be homed in on targets using a Vortex Grenade | World Drop |
| Hive (Torgue) | Fires large slow-moving projectile that will begin to fire small homing rockets at enemies before exploding | Princess Tarantella II (The Splinterlands) |
| R.Y.N.A.H. (Torgue) | Fires two large explosive balls that chain damage to nearby enemies | Unobtainable, requires cheats |
| Scourge (Torgue) | Shoots 1 large projectile with three smaller rockets swirling around it; all explode after certain distance | World Drop |
| Stuffed Quadomizer (Torgue) | Fires a row of 4 rockets; cycles between Radiation, Corrosive, and Incendiary | The Rampager (Beneath the Meridian) |
| Tunguska (Torgue) | Upon impact, rocket redirects upwards before exploding | World Drop |
| Jericho (Vladof) | Radiation damage; Shots fired rise into the air before detonating, releasing smaller rockets that rain down before exploding | World Drop |
| Mongol (Vladof) | Fires one large rocket that spawns multiple smaller rockets | Unobtainable, requires cheats |
Alright, I think that's pretty much every Legendary weapon that we know to exist in Borderlands 3, so let's call it there. Hopefully you've found what you're looking for; and if not, keep checking back, because we'll be continuing to update this list with everything new we find!