What can you do as a free member?

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and unlock all our premium features and tools to enhance your gaming experience.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save articles to your watchlist and get notified when they're updated with new information.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save your favorite games for quick access later, synced across all your devices.

Member benefits illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you'll receive instant notifications when someone replies to your posts.

Comment rating feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can make use of convenient features in the comments section, such as rating and sorting comments.

Premium archive feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can access Premium articles that are exclusively available to members.

Site Interface

Guest
Free Member
Article Watchlist
Game Bookmarks
Cross-device Sync
Light/Dark Theme Toggle
User Profiles
Direct Feedback
Comment Rating

Game Tools

Guest
Free Member
Interactive Map Access
Interactive Map Pins
Interactive Map Comments
Interactive Map Pins Cross-Device
Check List
Event Choice Checker
Deck Builder Cross-Device
Message Board Notification
Message Board Cross-Device
Build Planner
Stat Calculator
Diagnostic Tool
Weapon/Armor Wishlist

Want more information?Learn more

Borderlands 4

Weapons Levels Explained

Add to Watchlist

☆ How Rush Saved Mercenary Day (Bounty Pack 1)
★ 12 active SHiFT Codes as of December 4, 2025
☆ Black Market Location
★ Elemental Weakness Chart
☆ Legendary Weapons
★ Builds: Vex | Amon | Rafa | Harlowe

Borderlands 4 - Weapon Levels Explained

Weapons levels are scaled to player levels at the time of their drop in Borderlands 4. Learn how weapon levels scale throughout a playthrough, and how higher-level weapons become more valuable than lower level ones as you play.

List of Contents

Weapon Levels Explained

CheckmarkWeapon Drops Match Your Character Level
CheckmarkLower Level Weapons are Weaker Over Time
CheckmarkElemental Damage Becomes Stronger
CheckmarkBoss Farming Weapon Rewards Scale

Weapon Drops Match Your Character Level

Weapon Chest.png

Loot from enemies, chests, bosses, and quests always scales to your Vault Hunter’s level. Strong weapons eventually become weaker against enemies as you outlevel them.

This ensures constant upgrades and smooth progression throughout the playthrough.

How to Get Stronger Weapons

Lower Level Weapons are Weaker Over Time

Weapon Level

A common or uncommon weapon that drops at a higher level can outdamage a lower leveled Legendary gun because of the stat scaling in the game. Rarity adds perks and unique traits, but level scaling guarantees stronger weapons.

Weapon Rarity vs Level

Elemental Damage Becomes Stronger With Level

Elemental DoT and Chance

Elemental affinities scale with the level of the weapon. A high level elemental weapon will inflict much more status effect damage compared to a low level weapon. This makes farming bosses at higher levels more rewarding, since you’re more likely to get elemental weapons that stay effective against tougher enemies.

Boss Farming Weapon Rewards Scale With Your Level

Splashzone World View

Weapons dropped from repeatable bosses scale to your current level, so farming them later in the game gives you stronger rewards.

How to Farm Bosses

Weapons Have Level Requirements

Borderlands 4 - Level Requirement.png

Some weapons can only be used once you reach a certain level. If you don't meet the level requirements, the weapon will be marked with a red requirement prompt as you hover over the weapon.

When dropping or trading weapons or gear, make sure your teammates meet the weapon’s level requirement.

Borderlands 4 Related Guides

TIPS & TRICKS

Beginner's Guide to Borderlands 4: Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks Guides

Progression Guides
What to Do First Level Cap: What is the Max Level?
How to Farm Bosses How to Level Up Fast
How to Farm and Use Eridium How to Get More SDU Tokens
How to Crush Jamming Device When Do You Get a Vehicle?
How to Unlock More Weapon Slots How to Increase Inventory Capacity
How to Get Stronger Weapons Can You Upgrade Weapons?
Red Chest Farm Location Should You Do Side Quests?
What is Ultimate Vault Hunter? How to Increase UVH Level
Legendary Enhancements Farm How to Unlock UVH 2
How to Get Into Dominion -
General Guides
How to Sell Items How to Respec Skill Tree
Golden Keys Guide All Bank Locations
How to Store and Transfer Items How to Drop Items
How to Claim Deluxe Edition Items How to Fast Travel
Can You Duel? Pearlescent Rarity
Level Scaling Explained How to Summon Vehicle
How to Link 2K Account Weapon Rarity vs Level
Lost Loot Machine Explained Weapons Levels Explained
Weapon Rarity Explained Fishing Guide
What to Spend Money On Movement Guide
Moxxi's Tip Jar Guide: Location and Rewards Should You Save on Golden Keys?
Legendary Vending Machine Locations Should You Wait on Opening Vaults?
Throwing Knife Farm All Secrets, Easter Eggs, and References
How to Farm Firmware How to Transfer Firmware
Settings Guides
List of All Controls Matchmaking Guide
Difficulty Differences and How to Change Can You Change Character?
Best and Recommended Settings Can You Change FOV?
Can You Change POV? Compiling Shaders Fix
How to Save and Recover Lost Saves Is There a Minimap?
How to Clear Shader Cache -
Combat Guides
Death Penalty: What Happens When You Die? Elemental Weaknesses Guide
Incendiary Damage Guide Shock Damage Guide
Cryo Damage Guide Radiation Damage Guide
Corrosive Damage Guide One Shot Exploit

Comment

Post (0 Comments)

Author

Borderlands 4 Walkthrough Team
This article was created by Game8's elite team of writers and gamers.
    Leave feedback(Login required)
    Please participate in our site
    improvement survey
    12/2025
    Would you assist in
    improving Game8's site?
    ×
    This survey will take about 1 minute.
    Your answers will help us to improve our website.
    We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.
    The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.
    Begin Survey
    Not Now
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Advertisements.
    Amount of Ads
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Placement of Ads
    Timing of Ad Display
    Ad Loading Speed
    Safeness of Ads
    Content of Ads
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Quality of Articles.
    Amount of information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Frequency of updates
    Speed of new information
    Accuracy of articles
    Understandibility of articles
    Readability of sentences
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Usability of the Site.
    Ease of finding information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Loading Speed
    Use of Color
    Font Size
    Visibility of Images
    Easy to Understand Layout
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Message Boards, Comments.
    Ease of Writing
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Readability
    Ease in Finding Information
    Comment Quality
    Comment Quantity
    Admin Response
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Site's new design.
    Please rate our site's new design
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Do you think that the website's design change makes the site easier to use?
    Has the new design made it easier for you to find information on the site?
    Has the new design improved the overall visual appeal of the site?
    How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the new design of the site?
    ×
    How likely are you to recommend Game8 to someone you know?
    Very Unlikely
    0
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    Very Likely
    If you have other opinions regarding potential improvement to the website, please share them with us. We would appreciate your honest opinion.
    Note: This is a free response section, so you can proceed without entering anything.
    Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
    ×
    Thank You
    ×
    Thank you for participating in our survey! Your answers will help us to improve the quality of our website and services.
    We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
    Close
    For other opinions or comments, go here.

    Rankings

    Popular Articles
    Message Board
    • We could not find the message board you were looking for.

    Gaming News

    Tides of Annihilation Gameplay Trailer Deep Dive: Dual Frontline System & More Analyzed

    Tides of Annihilation Gameplay Trailer Deep Dive: Dual Fr...

    Popular Games

    Recommended Games

    All rights reserved

    ©2025 Gearbox Software. Published by 2K Games. Developed by Gearbox. Gearbox, Borderlands, and related logos are all trademarks of Gearbox Software, LLC. 2K and the 2K logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All other marks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

    The copyrights of videos of games used in our content and other intellectual property rights belong to the provider of the game.
    The contents we provide on this site were created personally by members of the Game8 editorial department.
    We refuse the right to reuse or repost content taken without our permission such as data or images to other sites.

    Borderlands 4 Walkthrough & Guides Wiki

    Quick Access
    Guide Index

    Recommended Guides

    Main Missions

    Side Missions

    Builds

    Tips and Tricks

    Bosses

    Customizations

    Weapons

    Shields and Repkits

    Ordnances

    Skills

    Specializations

    Safehouses

    Auger Mines

    Vehicles

    Characters

    Maps

    Class Mods

    News and Game Info