If you're playing Borderlands 3 then no doubt you'll be looking for the very best gear the game has to offer. We're talking about the best of the best Leggo's, Artifacts, and Class Mods.
A lot of the most fantastical items are World Drops, but not all of them. There are actually some surefire ways to get fantastic weapons or at least methods you can use to drastically increase the odds of success. Here are our 10 best tips for getting great gear.
10 Get Used To Mayhem Level 3
Mayhem mode is really important to Borderlands 3. Yes, it makes the game harder, that much is obvious, but remember, there are three levels so you don't have to stick to the highest.
Mayhem 2 seems to be the best blend of difficulty and benefit. However, the loot drop rate is increased by 500% in Mayhem 3 so if you can get through it then the rewards are huge.
Without a doubt, it's always better to be in any one of the Mayhem Modes for most, if not all situations. Just be aware that this causes a frequent amount of Anointed to spawn per battle and Rocket Launcher Zealots will be a constant annoyance.
9 You Can Depend On The Loaded Dice Artifact
Among the legendary artifacts, the Loaded Dice variant is insanely useful for players who want a bit more challenge with their mayhem.
The reason difficulty comes into play is that Loaded Dice gives the Vault Hunter tons more luck, but takes away 75% of their max health in exchange. For example, on our Amara build with roughly 7,000 health, this artifact knocks it down to about 1,800. That's pretty low for Mayhem Mode, so be ready to fight for your life relatively often.
Still, the tradeoff is worth it, because we've been getting legendaries dropping frequently, even after the nerf the drop rates got in the first big patch.
8 Pay Attention To Your Luck Stat
As we saw in the Loaded Dice artifact, the luck stat exists in Borderlands 3, albeit mostly hidden. It's a fantastic resource, so get as much luck as you can.
Guardian Ranks are a great way to innately increase it, and there are a number of Artifacts outside the Loaded Dice ones that increase it as well. It may not be visibly apparent the changes it makes but since increasing ours, we have seen more slot wins and legendary drops.
7 Make Sure To Farm Optimally
Borderlands 3 is a game people can play without relying too much on outside resources. The combat is simple enough, tutorials explain most things well, and it's hard to get stuck from progressing, outside of some bugs. But, if players in the late game are looking to find the exact type of gear that will turn up their build to the next level, a bit of research is necessary.
A lot of bosses have a much better chance to drop legendaries, but these are usually world drops that can spawn anywhere. Some of the best stuff does only spawn from specific enemies or bosses. So, players need to know which ones to farm. Our tip? Figure out what you want, do the research to see who is most likely to drop it, and get to grinding.
6 Tons Of Juicy Gear In The Legendary Hunts, Assassination Targets, And Rare Spawns
It's not just about farming the perfect bosses either, there are tons of legendaries that only drop from side content, specific enemies, and challenges.
For example, the Pipe Bomb that was so absurdly broken until recently was a guaranteed reward for a side quest in Promethea. The Lyuda, Bekah, Baby Maker, and more are 100% guaranteed rewards from finishing certain challenges. And, a number of the Assassination Opportunities and Legendary Hunts drop some of the best guns in the game.
So, it's more clear now than ever before that the game rewards the players that clean out all the side content. So for those bee-lining through the main story, that's totally fine, but you'll probably be missing out on some of the more unique gear in the game.
5 There's No Shame In Rinsing and Repeating
A lot of people just don't like grinding, and we totally get that but, this is honestly a core part of the Borderlands franchise.
Ask any fan, and I'm sure they'll have a story or two about farming Crawmerax or Hunter Hellquist for the most broken gear like the Bee Shield from Borderlands 2. So, if you really do want the absolute best gear in Borderlands 3, it's time to get used to grinding, at least a bit.
4 Open Everything, And We Mean Everything
If fans have been following forum posts on the BL3 Reddit, we're sure they've seen the multitude of images where people are in absolute disarray from finding a legendary item in an ammo box, portapotty, or something similar. And we get it, that's not something that happened in Borderlands 2 or 1. But, this time around, especially in higher Mayhem modes, any interactable can spawn these things. We've ever seen great items spawn from breaking the ash statues that the Calypso's leave behind.
So for those playing on TVHM or on Mayhem difficulties, open everything. Pop open every locker, ammo crate, bathroom stall, and mailbox you can because you never know what god-tier item might be hiding inside.
3 It's Time To Speedrun The Proving Grounds
One of the end-game features is the Proving Grounds. Once unlocked, these can be done through either the Matchmaking Service, a co-op session, or even solo at any time. They're essentially the same as the Circle of Slaughter, but the goal is to marathon them as quickly as possible. There's a number of optional objectives per run that are mostly time-dependant. And, if the player manages to complete them all, the chest at the end will have a much higher chance to contain Legendary gear.
These trials are fantastic for farming challenges, Eridium, levels, Guardian ranks, and weapons so our tip is to master them as quickly as possible and find out which one works best for your specific build. Personally, our Amara destroys the Spider-Ant one.
2 Keep An Eye Out For Events
So, Gearbox clearly intends Borderlands 3 to be a title that's supported by the devs for a long time. They've already announced their first story-based event during October.
This is set to be one of those games that rewards players who are constantly up-to-date. So that's our tip, keep an eye on the Gearbox Twitter and our own gaming news and overall just stay current with news and updates.
It's the 10 year anniversary for the franchise and the devs are celebrating with week-long specific events. For example, they've already had two events that increased the drop rates of certain items from different bosses and rarely spawning enemies, so it's a madhouse of grinding right now.
1 Always Play In Cooperative
Why? Well really its why not. Cooperation Mode in the game is just better for players trying to maximize their money, Eridium, and overall loot.
Eridium pickups are shared between players in Cooperative and so is money. Plus, Guns spawn per person, so no one's going around stealing all the good stuff off the floor. But, what's key for great loot here, is players have different Legendaries spawn in their own games. So if a boss drops a tasty orange gun in Cooperation, it's different for each player, and they can always trade them or hand them over at any point.