Gearbox Readies Borderlands 4 Weapon Rebalance: Legendary Pistols Buffed, Assault Rifles Improved, Hellwalker Turned Up to 11

Borderlands 4 has been out long enough for the honeymoon to end and the tuning to begin. Gearbox is lining up balance changes, and if you love legendary pistols, assault rifles, or the Hellwalker, this next stretch looks promising.

What the devs are changing (and when)

Associate creative director Grant Kao says he and creative director Graeme Timmins have a plan for the next couple of weeks. A bigger patch is on the way that tackles a very dev-notes kind of issue: certain passive skills are acting recursively and juicing some builds in ways they probably should not. That fix is meant to shake up a few popular setups.

On the more immediate, shooty side of things: content creator Moxsy called out the Star Helix for feeling like it is 'shooting pebbles.' Kao replied that pistol tuning is incoming this week, and the Hellwalker is getting the damage bump it missed when the team converted it to fire damage.

'This week we are going to tune some pistols and put in a damage increase for the Hellwalker that we did not get in time when we converted it to fire. ARs will come next!'

Hellwalker fans, you are being seen

The Hellwalker was a crowd-pleaser in Borderlands 3, and for good reason: it is a very blatant nod to Doom's Super Shotgun, which is basically gaming royalty. It came back for Borderlands 4, but it has not hit quite as hard this time. The planned buff aims to restore that glorious, face-melting snap.

The broader plan

Kao also laid out the bigger picture: the team wants more build variety across classes and gear for both the current game and upcoming challenges. Short term, that means increasing the value of select legendary pistols. After that, expect a push to let assault rifles actually shine.

• This week: pistol tuning and a Hellwalker damage increase (post-fire conversion correction)
• Next: assault rifle buffs
• Soon: a larger patch to fix recursive passive behaviors affecting certain builds

Translation: if your bullets currently feel like pebbles, relief is on the way. And if you have been holding onto a Hellwalker out of sheer loyalty, your patience might finally pay off.