There are nine different gun manufacturers in Borderlands 3. Each of these manufacturers creates their guns to have unique mechanics and perks that can prove effective on the battlefield. Just like previous entries in the series, some manufacturers are better than others.
That being said, certain manufacturers have changed up their perks from past games. Certain types that were considered disappointing in the past are now some of the better options in the game. This list will also highlight some of the great legendary weapons tied to the manufacturers. Here is a ranking of all the Borderlands 3 gun manufacturers.
Updated on June 4, 2023, by Stephen LaGioia: Even after the release of the zany spinoff Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Borderlands 3 has remained a popular ARPG. This can be attributed to its massive lineup of awesome weapons and extensive content, not to mention a slew of DLC.
The aforementioned spinoff has got some talking about the possibility of some new ideas of manufacturers, or at least the return of a few old ones. In the meantime, we thought we'd revisit this list and fill in some details regarding the best manufacturers; as it's a complicated topic with no definitive answer, especially given Gearbox's manufacturer buffs through updates.
9 COV
- Best Weapons: Psycho Stabber, Gargoyle, Tizzy, Major Kong, Pestilence, Sawbar
Children Of The Vault (COV) weapons are new to the Borderlands franchise. For one thing, they have the coolest designs as they look like random weapons thrown together. The main perk is that they don’t have to be reloaded but they can still overheat if holding down the trigger too long. As such, they aren’t the most ammo efficient compared to the rest of the manufacturers, as well as having low accuracy.
They are fun to look at, but not particularly fun to use, as most feel sloppy and tepid. While their accuracy and ammo consumption can be frustrating, players will want to use some for their high-damage output. COV weapons are typically used for close-quarters combat. It’s always best to have one equipped for Fight For Your Life, as players can unload on an enemy right next to the Vault Hunter and not have to worry about reloading.
One of the best COV legendary weapons is the Pestilence, especially with a Gamma Burst FL4K build or an elemental Amara. The Sawbar makes a return from Borderlands 2 as a COV weapon and it's just as great. Then there is the Psycho Stabber, which isn’t that great of a gun itself but its bladed end offers 120 percent melee damage, meaning Amara can be especially deadly with it if focusing on melee.
8 Tediore
- Best Weapons: Bangarang, Baby Maker, Poybius, Ten Gallon, Anarchy
Tediore weapons are probably the most unique in the game. In BL2, Tediore weapons are reloaded by throwing the gun, which will cause an explosion. The more bullets left in the magazine, the more powerful the explosion is. Borderlands 3 builds on this concept by having Tediore weapons perform other actions besides blow up.
Some Tediore weapons can be thrown as a mine or can bounce around, for instance. Of course, Tediore is best known in the game for introducing guns with legs. Instead of exploding, the gun can now become a temporary ally as a standing or running turret. Among the best Tediore legendary weapons are the Polybius, the Baby Maker, and the Ten Gallon. Oddly enough, a purple rarity Tediore shotgun actually does the most damage out of all. If players can find one with Shock damage and equip a Transformer shield, they can obliterate the tricky boss WOTAN’s shield.
7 Maliwan
- Best Weapons: Beacon, Plasma Coil, Flipper, Free Radical, Hellshock, Recursion, Cutsman
Maliwan guns have always been known for their elemental damage and that hasn’t changed in this game. The added bonus is players can now switch between different elements. For Amara players, Maliwan weapons are a no-brainer. If playing an elemental Amara, always keep a Maliwan weapon handy since they not only do great elemental damage but their status effect chance is increased immensely.
At launch, Maliwan weapons weren’t as great as they could have been — but currently, they bring some of the better weapons in the game. The two best weapons to use in the Maliwan Takedown are actually Maliwan weapons; the Recursion and Cutsman. The Recursion shotgun is honestly broken with how ridiculously powerful it is. The same can be said for the Cutsman, which seems to do among the most elemental damage of any gun in the game.
6 ATLAS
- Best Weapons: OPQ System, Ruby's Wrath, The Freeman, Atlas Replay
Fans were stoked to see ATLAS weapons make a return from the first Borderlands. After the events of Tales From The Borderlands, Rhys became the new CEO of ATLAS. ATLAS has homing bullets attached to their guns, which are shot after the player uses a tracking bullet on an enemy. This will cause all bullets to now target that specific enemy.
ATLAS weapons typically have fairly high-damage output, even Purple rarity, which is great since the homing bullets generally don’t pull off critical hits (aside from FL4K). If luck strikes, players can also find ATLAS weapons that have homing grenades, whose effectiveness speaks for itself. Ironically, the best legendary ATLAS weapons are its launchers: Ruby’s Wrath and The Freeman. Both of these launchers are excellent for Fight For Your Life since players don’t need to do much aiming. ATLAS does it on its own.
5 Vladof
- Best Weapons: Lyuda, Lucian's Call, The Dictator, Faisor
Aside from a couple of powerful guns, Vladof weapons aren’t as good as they can be yet. The main draw for Vladof guns is that they typically have the highest fire rate of any other manufacturer, though they eat through ammo quite a bit. For FL4K players, Vladofs can be insanely powerful with Fade Away. With the quasi-shotgun blasts many have, they can be very strong and versatile close-up and mid-range.
The problem is that the high fire rate usually comes at the cost of lower damage. Certain weapons like The Ogre and Shredifier rapidly spray bullets but don’t deal enough damage to warrant use. One's best bet is the Lyuda, which was the best sniper rifle in the game at launch. The Lucian’s Call is also a fantastic assault rifle that’s very ammo efficient.
4 Hyperion
- Best Weapons: The Face Puncher, The Crossroads, Brainstormer, The Butcher, Redistributor
Hyperion weapons since Borderlands 2 have always been known for their accuracy. This benefit does make a return in Borderlands 3 but with an added perk of holding up a shield while aiming down the sights. In the first playthrough, this is very helpful but the same can’t be said for Mayhem Mode. In Mayhem Mode, players will be getting shot from all different directions, making the shield perk pretty much useless.
The equipped shield is the true source of defense in the endgame. The only exception for the shield perk is the one that absorbs bullets as ammo, which is always useful...unless players happen to be Moze. There are only a few truly great Hyperion legendary weapons that are worth using in Mayhem Mode such as The Butcher, The Face Puncher, and The Crossroads. Other than that, Hyperion isn't too useful as the game gets more difficult; though it's fairly effective early on.
3 DAHL
- Best Weapons: The Hornet, Star Helix, Barrage, Night Hawkins, Breath of the Dying
DAHL weapons received a massive upgrade from Borderlands 2. While they weren’t terrible, they were pretty basic and didn’t offer much. In the third game, DAHL is among the best manufacturers in the game. This is due to its high-damage output paired with very low recoil. Also, DAHL weapons just feel so good to use.
One new game feature is the alternate firing modes, which DAHL takes the most advantage of. Players usually get two of these three firing modes: fully automatic, semi-automatic, or burst fire. This allows players to change up the gun based on their play style. DAHL makes some fantastic legendary SMGs and assault rifles. These include the Barrage, Night Hawkins, Breath Of The Dying, and the Venomous Hornet. the Malak’s Bane received a major buff and is now considered just as good as the Lyuda.
2 Jakobs
- Best Weapons: Unforgiven, Maggie, King's / Queen's Call, Stagecoach, Lucky 7, Hellwalker, Bekah, Skullmasher
If one sought to look a bit old-fashioned, they could opt for a Jakobs weapon. Jakobs weapons essentially give Borderlands its Old Western feel. What they lack in fire rate, they make up for in damage, especially critical hit damage. Now, if players hit a critical hit with a Jakobs weapon, that bullet will ricochet.
This perk makes it quite ammo efficient and one can get some lucky kills without really attempting it. One effective method is to pair a Jakobs shotgun (which fires multiple pellets) with FL4K’s Fade Away. If one has a mob of enemies to deal with — just shooting one enemy will have all of those bullets ricochet toward everyone else, clearing out numerous targets with just one shot.
There are so many fantastic Jakobs weapons in Borderlands 3. There's the Unforgiven, Maggie, King’s Call, Queen’s Call, as well as the Wedding Invitation legendary sniper rifle, added during the Broken Hearts Day event.
1 Torque
- Best Weapons:
Torque weapons need little explanation. To put it simply, they're all about powerful explosions. Though already potent, Torque weapons became even better as compared to Borderlands 2. In that game, guns only fired explosive projectiles but their range and fire rate were lackluster.
In Borderlands 3, they’ve introduced sticky bullets in Torque guns, which will all explode after reloading. This allows players to completely melt some potent bosses and enemies, especially with a Torque assault rifle. Demolition Moze is the obvious choice for exploiting Torque weapons. The best Torque weapons in the game include the Flakker, Devil's Foursum, and the Lob. As it's become apparent in Borderlands, the best solution for victory is to just blow stuff up.
Borderlands 3 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.