How to Complete Gear Evaluation in Borderlands 4

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The weapon system in Borderlands 4 has undergone significant changes compared to earlier games. While manufacturers still provide unique traits and rare legendary gear, BL4 introduces a new licensed parts system. This allows weapons to feature components from multiple manufacturers, resulting in some wildly extraordinary guns if you’re lucky enough to find one.

Fortunately, the core loot mechanics remain straightforward and work similarly to previous titles. This guide covers how weapon rarities are classified, offers a quick overview of manufacturer passives, and explains how the new licensed parts system functions.

Weapon Rarities

All items in Borderlands 4 come with an inherent rarity that indicates their quality and power — higher rarities mean better items. Rarity influences the parts used, possible traits, and the number of licensed parts that can be equipped on the weapon.

All items have a base rarity that gauges their overall strength. Higher rarities usually pack better parts, more traits, and increased chances of licensed parts. Legendary items, the top-tier gear, feature unique effects often left to discover, such as T.K.’s Wave, which causes projectile oscillation, aligning with its “Heirloom” effect.

Note: Pearlescent items are not available in Borderlands 4 at launch.

Licensed Parts

A new feature in Borderlands 4 is the licensed parts system. Starting at level 15, there’s a rare chance to find gear with components that are “borrowed” from other weapon manufacturers. These parts are displayed on the weapon info card when examining an item.

For example:

• A Vladof assault rifle might include a Torgue barrel, causing it to fire gyrojet projectiles.
• A Jakobs shotgun might have a Maliwan element switch.

Rarer guns have a higher chance to incorporate multiple licensed parts, with Epic-quality weapons capable of having up to four licensed components. This system allows for some truly strange and powerful combinations across all rarities, not just Legendary gear.

Weapon Manufacturers

Like in previous games, each weapon has a manufacturer, contributing unique intrinsic traits that are consistent across all rarities. For example:

• Jakobs weapons always ricochet bullets on critical hits.
• Tediore firearms are throwable and generally modify reloading mechanics.
• Torgue guns are explosive and slow-firing, with projectile-based rockets.
• Ripper weapons fire quickly but need charging.
• Daedalus focuses on accuracy and easy handling, replacing Dahl.

Some manufacturers from older titles, such as Atlas, Children of the Vault, and Hyperion, no longer exist in their original form but are represented through licensed parts. Not all manufacturers produce every type of weapon; for example, Jakobs doesn’t make SMGs, and Torgue doesn’t produce sniper rifles.

They’re also responsible for shields, ordnance, and reppers, with intrinsic traits tied to their manufacturer. The pool of available mods for these items depends on their maker.

Licensed Parts in Detail

Starting at level 15, there’s a small chance to encounter weapons with licensed parts. These are stolen components from another manufacturer’s weapon that are added to your gear, making for bizarre and powerful combinations. For instance:

• A Vladof assault rifle may be equipped with a Torgue gyrojet barrel, causing explosive-projectile firing.
• A Tediore weapon might include a Jakobs underbarrel attachment.

Multiple licensed parts can appear on a single weapon, especially at higher rarities — Epic weapons might have up to four. Gear that includes licensed parts can also be Legendary, sometimes inheriting traits from different legendary weapons, though such drops are extremely rare.

In the game, finding a legendary weapon with a licensed part from another legendary weapon is exceedingly uncommon — but if it happens, keep it!

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