Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Gearbox Software's colorful fantasy spinoff of Borderlands brings its own brand of zany humor, majestic locales, and of course, plenty of distinctly cool weapons. While partly an extension of the fan-favorite DLC, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, the game is very much its own entity.
As such, even seasoned Borderlands vets may be overwhelmed with the range of new offensive options and customizations at their disposal, which includes melee weapons and spells. In typical Borderlands fashion, players are quickly showered with various weapons to play with; by way of loot, enemy drops, and vendors. But which are the best weapons to opt for in the early goings of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands? Are there any truly awesome weapons that can be found within, say, just a few hours?
Updated August 6, 2022, by Stephen LaGioia: Wonderlands continues to entice players with its zany-yet-enchanting premise, rewarding gameplay, and super fun weapons. Gearbox has also sweetened the pot of this already rich D&D style RPG, with new features like the intense Chaos Chamber and DLC packs.
But while many have hit that level 40 level cap and are delving into tougher terrain, the game is still drawing newcomers and those looking to start fresh with new classes. And so, it was appropriate to update this list with more guns and melee weapons that are helpful in fighting through the early goings.
12 Bread Slicer
This gimmicky gun might be a bit jarring at first, with the unique mechanics and trajectory of its sawblade-spitting. But newer players should be able to exploit the impressive spread of this legendary assault rife, as three rows of blades are propelled from the gun when fired.
Not only this, but the shots will ricochet off surfaces for a few extra seconds, ensuring some slicing and dicing even if one's accuracy is on the spotty side. Players can also opt for the grenade launching secondary mode; perfect for quick bail-outs and crowd control. The Bread Slicer can be found fairly early in the game and can come from any loot source.
11 Blue Cake
Borderlands 3 fans might recognize this electrified variant of the radiation-laced 'Yellow Cake' from that game.
Rocket Launchers can be dicey for newcomers, as they can be hazardous and unreliable. However, this one has the insurance policy of being laced with lightning and dealing ample lightning splash damage. The initial orb being fired even splits into two, adding to the dangerous spread of the launcher. While the Chaos Chamber is the best place to farm this weapon, it can technically be found at any loot source.
10 Pincushion (Melee)
It can be fun to wield massive hammers like a chaotic version of Thor when using melee in Wonderlands. Though this beast can be particularly useful, especially for those firing crossbolts (fairly easy to achieve). Crossbolts that find their mark will amp up the already great power of the Pincushion, as hammer strikes will trigger damage-stacking explosions. But even disregarding this perk, the Pincushion is solid enough, walloping targets at a relatively swift pace.
Players can get this melee weapon from any loot source, though it has a greater chance of dropping from LeChance in Wargtooth Shallows.
9 Sapsucker
This Dahlia assault rifle doesn't have many fancy bells and whistles or odd gimmicks, and that's really why it's a good beginner's weapon. It's just a sheer powerhouse, stressing military precision, versatility, and DPS (especially in full-automatic mode). The weapon can be used for crowd control at medium range, though its accuracy enables players to pick off targets from somewhat of a distance too.
This gun can be found randomly from any loot source.
8 Railspike
There are plenty of great pistols to be had later in the game, but the Railspike proves an underrated choice early on for its sharpshooting and rapid damage-per-second (DPS). In this respect, the weapon is reminiscent of Jakobs weapons in past Borderlands games, which allow players to pepper foes with shots as fast as they can pull the trigger. This makes sense given that its manufacturer, "Blackpowder," is essentially a rebranded version of that gun producer.
The small magazine size bogs this down a bit, but it more than makes up for this with its quick reload time and high damage output. Its (relative) accuracy, scoping ability, and quick-firing make the Railspike effective in picking off many smaller, weaker targets from a distance.
7 Kettledrum
With the abundance of weaker foes the game throws at players early on, it's important to wield weapons that fire and reload swiftly. For this, the Kettledrum really excels, especially given its close-range efficiency, which is great for crowd control.
Given how strong and snappy this boomstick can be, it can complement a number of builds effectively. It makes a good secondary weapon when the fight gets up-close and personal.
6 Twin Soul (Melee)
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands stands out from its ilk with its melee weapon focus. With this new emphasis in the Borderlands series, it can be tough even for veteran players to pinpoint the best melee weapons to opt for. Given the wide variety of mechanics, effects, and stats, this is somewhat contingent on one's class, build, and general preferences. But as a whole, one of the most effective options are these twin blades from the manufacturer appropriately called "Swift."
While raw damage output is fairly mild, The (Assassin) Twin Soul's rapid speed and critical chances easily compensate for this. Players can rush in and overwhelm targets simply by spamming their melee attacks, inflicting criticals, and slowdown. This is especially useful for those laced with the frost variant, which can be further exploited by the frost-focused Brr-Zerker. This assassin's blade can further enhance the stealthier, quicker Stabbomancer, but also help balance slow, clunkier classes and builds with a faster attack option.
This blade has a greater chance to drop from Knight Mare in Ossu-Gol Necropolis.
5 Thumbsbane
Though it will likely be replaced later in the journey, the Thumbsbane serves as a great option in the early part of the game. The opening areas will be wrought with weaker, fast-moving foes, which makes the Thumbsbane ideal thanks to its medium-range crowd control and high DPS. Just be sure to switch to the secondary fire, which produces 4-shot bursts, rather than the default 2-shot.
Thumbsbane weapons laced with elemental damage prove even more effective. This enhancement greatly complements the fast-firing pistol, which will swiftly whittle down enemy hordes.
4 Masterwork Handbow
Players can possibly score this great pistol fairly early, and can likely hang onto it several hours later. It's just that potent. This weapon is unique in that it rewards criticals with bonus damage as well as ricochet shots which further pile on the DPS. Particularly when shooting clusters of enemies, the Masterwork Handbow is a killing machine with its quasi-area-of-effect ability.
The weapon will remind some gamers of the Queen's Call from Borderlands 3, with its high damage output and critical bonuses that reward additional shots. Like the aforementioned classic, the Handbow allows for constant firing as long as the player continues notching criticals.
This unique weapon can be snagged as a rare drop from Captain Swallow in The Chaos Chamber.
3 Greatsword (Melee)
Though sluggish in terms of attack speed, the Greatsword, can be devastating for many enemies. It hits with such force that it will knock back some smaller targets, inflicting huge chunks of health in the process. Factor in the added elemental damage, critical bonuses, and Ward (magic shield) advantages, and this Greatsword is solid.
While there are plenty of better melee weapons, this one proves versatile and simple, while dealing plenty of damage. It's also a great last-ditch option when trying to earn Death Save in a pinch.
2 White Rider
In typical SMG fashion, the White Rider is quite effective when it comes to whittling down the health of several targets. The weapon is a legendary from Dahlia which can be obtained somewhat early on (typically when farming the Son of a Witch boss at Karnok's Wall).
Not only is the DPS sky-high, but this is amplified by the gun's unique ability to fire attaching beam shots, which chain to multiple targets. This allows players to move around in the heat of a battle and still effectively melt several foes at once. It's also very useful in going toe-to-toe with bosses and more potent Badass enemies. While it takes a while to obtain compared to many, it's nonetheless a top-tier SMG.
1 Nightshade
When it comes to early finds in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, some have concluded that the Nightshade (especially certain variants), is potent to the point of being overpowered. What's perhaps most impressive is that this useful SMG can be found quite early on, in the tutorial map's Castle Harrowfast.
While the Nightshade comes in several great forms, the frost variant is particularly strong, as it inflicts loads of DPS with the added damage and debuffs of this element. The gun will freeze several targets quickly and efficiently, setting the stage for easy melees and spell-casting. On top of this, the Nightshade has the potential to slow down foes as well as yield critical bonuses and melee boosts. It's really one of the best non-legendary weapons in Wonderlands as a whole.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is available now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.