Today we finally got the patch that we’ve all been waiting for. Honestly, this is probably the biggest patch we’ve seen for Borderlands 4 to date. It’s packed with a ton of changes—everything from quality of life updates to balance tuning, gameplay improvements, and even the new Horrors of Kyros event. In this post, I’ll break down everything you need to know about this patch, go over the weekly updates, and then share my own thoughts on how these changes impact the game.
Patch Overview
First off, a huge shoutout to the developers. The patch notes start by saying: “Hello, Vault Hunters. Can you believe we’ve already shared more than a month of mayhem together in Borderlands 4?” To celebrate, the update brings a slew of improvements.
We’re talking stability enhancements, multiplayer fixes, UI polish, and a bunch of quality-of-life upgrades for visuals, audio, and accessibility. The update also addresses many reported issues, including major balance tuning, improvements to the loot system, gear, achievements, and the overall flow of late-game missions.
The devs emphasized that their goal with these balance adjustments is to provide more viable builds for all players. So, if you’ve been stuck with only a few effective setups, this patch should open up a lot of new possibilities.
One quick technical note: if you’re on PC, make sure your drivers are updated. NVIDIA addressed some GPU crashes, and you’ll need to restart your game for the patch to fully apply.
Horrors of Kyros Event
The patch introduces a free mini-event, the Horrors of Kyros, running from October 23rd to November 6th. This event features new rewards, including the Murmur Legendary Teor Assault Rifle and the Skully Legendary Order Grenade.
A key point to note: these items won’t drop directly from bosses. Instead, defeating world bosses will send the loot to your Reward Center, and you’ll need to claim it from there. This means you need to actively check the Reward Center for the new gear.
If you’re farming for these items, you’ll want to drive around the world and look for pop-ups of the world bosses, as these are the triggers for the event rewards.
Progression, Loot, and Rewards
One of the biggest quality-of-life changes involves specialization respecs. The cost to respec has been reduced from 5,000 Eridium to 1,500, which is huge. This means you can experiment with builds more freely and without grinding excessively.
The patch also addresses some boss loot inconsistencies. For instance, R.J. now drops the AC May, the Fisheye, and the Guardian Angel, giving players a dedicated source for these previously world-drop-only items.
Other loot-related fixes include improvements to equipment handling while driving, lost loot machine logic, multiplayer slot expansions, and adjustments to reward center claims. Players can now expect higher cash drops from enemies and more reliable bobblehead collectible tracking.
They also fixed various mission bugs, including fast-travel issues, vault key animations, echolog pickups, and waypoint accuracy. Multiplayer interactions, like Maurice Black Market vending machine and Vend of the Lion Legendary machine, now function more reliably. Overall, the loot and mission systems feel smoother and more predictable.
Vault Hunter Changes
The patch also brings specific adjustments for Vault Hunters. For example, Harlo’s Gravitar builds that caused performance slowdowns have been fixed. Gravitar class mods now respect skill caps, and entanglement interactions function correctly.
One of the most discussed changes is the Neutron Capture adjustment. This skill now converts all gun damage into radiation and applies only to direct gunshots—not secondary effects like grenade conversions. Essentially, this limits the “creative” ways players were exploiting Neutron Capture, but it still remains a strong scaling option for gun-focused builds.
Other Vault Hunter improvements include better shield clarity, Forge skill cooldown fixes, Onslaught/Calamity camera stabilization, and consistency in attack frequencies across multiplayer sessions.
Balance Adjustments
The devs also made significant skill and ability tweaks. For example, Aman’s Seeing Red skill duration has been standardized to 4 seconds at all ranks, meaning it’s harder to maintain Berserk continuously. Blackout shock damage now scales properly, making Ordinance Aman an even stronger damage option.
Other key changes include buffs to Vex’s illusion damage, duration, and apex beast damage. Ralph the Exo Soldier sees his grenades and cooldowns functioning correctly.
Additionally, the Crit Knife got a necessary nerf, dropping from 100% crit to 30%. This opens up more viable options for Ordinance builds without breaking balance.
Gear Changes
This patch also addresses gear inconsistencies. Skills that boost gun handling now correctly affect projectile speed, and some weapons like the Jacob’s shotgun and ricochet effects have been fixed to prevent infinite damage exploits.
Legendary gear received multiple tweaks. For example, the Gamma Void has its damage increased by 450%, singularity duration decreased, and cooldown adjusted. Assault rifles like Bonnie and Clyde, Bug Bear, Rowan’s Charge, Lucien’s Flank, and Aegon’s Dream all got significant buffs.
Class mods also received boosts, especially in melee and action skill damage. These incremental buffs aim to make certain builds more viable while maintaining overall balance.
Specialization and Melee Changes
Specialization updates focus on damage caps and infinite loop prevention. The Groundbreaker skill no longer allows infinite scaling, providing a baseline to measure melee viability. The devs plan to monitor these changes and adjust melee builds in future updates, ensuring balance without breaking the system.
UI and Quality-of-Life Improvements
The patch improves several UI elements. Sorting settings now persist when navigating menus, toggle junk behavior works correctly, and the Combat Raider now features a legendary loot indicator, making high-value drops easier to spot.
Other updates include proper press-and-hold input functionality, restoration of full-screen resolution controls, and visibility improvements for grappling points. Accessibility features have been enhanced, including air dash usability on controllers.
Weekly Updates & Maurice Location
The patch also introduces weekly updates for activities. The wild card mission is Dark Subject, with the weapon reward being the Kickballer, and the Battle Wagon mission drops the Infinity XXL and Bug Bear.
Maurice’s Black Market vending machine has moved to a challenging location on the moon. Players need to navigate the Elpus Orbital Shatterfield to find it. The items available in Maurice’s vending machine are now randomized, and this system works in multiplayer too.
My Thoughts on the Patch
Overall, this patch brings a lot of positive changes. Respec costs are lower, loot handling is better, and multiplayer is more reliable. Many of the Vault Hunter adjustments, like Neutron Capture, Seeing Red, and Blackout, are smart and necessary tweaks to maintain balance.
I have mixed feelings about some of the skill adjustments, particularly Neutron Capture. While the changes make builds more consistent, it reduces weapon variety for this skill. Some buffs, like those for Trouble, may not be enough, but they’re a step in the right direction.
The Halloween mini-event, while fun, feels a bit underwhelming compared to previous Borderlands events. The rewards are limited, and the overall scope is smaller than what we’ve seen before. Still, it’s a nice way to add a seasonal touch.
Overall, this patch represents a major step forward for Borderlands 4. It fixes long-standing bugs, improves gameplay and UI, and offers exciting new loot and events. Players now have more freedom to experiment with builds, and the game feels smoother and more polished.
I’m personally excited to dive in, test the new builds, and see how these changes shake up the meta. For those who’ve been waiting, this patch is definitely worth exploring. Borderlands 4 has never felt more alive, and the future looks bright for Vault Hunters everywhere.
Borderlands 4 continues to evolve, and this patch is a strong reminder of the developers’ commitment to balance, fun, and player experience. Whether you’re a veteran Vault Hunter or a newcomer, there’s plenty to explore, experiment with, and enjoy. So grab your favorite weapons, hop into the game, and see what the new patch has in store for you.
Stay tuned for more updates, and until next time, happy hunting!
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