Borderlands 4 Releases New Update for January 2026

Borderlands 4 gets a smaller update, but one that aims to be impactful by buffing two of its Vault Hunters and providing an important adjustment to the drop rates for legendary weapons. Borderlands 4 has certainly seen its fair share of ups and downs since it’s September 12, 2025, launch. While the game has plenty of anticipation leading up to its release, it doesn’t seem to have had the massive impact that many expected, with parent company Take-Two calling the launch “softer than expected.” Either way, Gearbox continues to update the game both with improvements as well as content.

Recently, Borderlands 4 was under more scrutiny from players after the popular Seasons Lootings event came to an end. During the holiday season, Gearbox significantly increased the drop rates of legendary gear, providing players with the best opportunity to hunt and farm for loot. Following the January 8 update, the event officially came to an end, which also meant the increased drop rates were set back to normal. The change quickly frustrated fans who were upset that the studio would remove something that fans really enjoyed. The studio also indicated it was aware of the positive reception and was working on a longer-term increase, but didn’t have any details to share at the time.

Related

What to Expect From Pearlescent Guns & Gear in Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 could redefine Pearlescent gear in a variety of ways, but in terms of what’s actually coming up, some are much more likely than others.

Thankfully, it appears that players didn’t have to wait long for a resolution as the January 15 update includes a permanent increase to legendary drop rates. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide any further details, including whether this is on par with the Seasons Lootings rates or something maybe a little less than that. While Borderlands 4 players have already calculated the lower than expected drop rates previously, based on player findings, the rates appear to only be slightly increased, with Tertiary tier systems not changing at all. Even “shiny” rarity weapon drop rates, which were already extremely hard to come by, seemed to only rise by 0.2% as well. Keep in mind that these are not official numbers, so they could be off a little.

Outside of the drop rate changes, the other big piece to this update is with Harlowe and Amon as both received a number of buffs. In terms of Harlowe the Gravitar, some of her skills have had their damage boosted, with Freeze Frame gaining an additional 20% bonus Cryo damage and its maximum stacks set to 5. Endothermic Reaction has a 6% boost to Endothermic Aura bonus damage, while her Concurrence Action Skill now lasts 5% longer. Harlowe’s Control Group Kill Skill can have its cooldown restored slightly faster when killing entangled enemies.

As for the Forgeknight Amon, the Vault Hunter has seen substantial buffs. Specifically, the Forgeaxe and Forgehammer Detonation damage has been boosted by around 72%, while the Hour of the Hammer impact damage has also increased by about 59%. Blade Tempest had a cooldown duration bug fixed and now fires 5 swords per barrage. Get the Lead Out has raised Amon’s reload speed by 5% while Freezer Burn adds 9% more Cryo and Incendiary bonus damage. Finally, Armor of Contempt gives Amon a 5% boost to Overshield when doing any damage with an Action Skill.

Image via Gearbox

It should be noted that neither Vex nor Rafa are included in this update, as both remain as they were previously. It’s likely due to the fact that both Vault Hunters have been extremely popular, largely due to powerful builds that players have discovered for them. In fact, Vex’s Crit Knife Build was so powerful that it essentially allowed her to shred bosses through infinitely stacking bleed damage, trivializing many difficult bosses if the correct gear was being used. The build was eventually nerfed, but it hasn’t stopped players from continuing their rampage with both Vex and Rafa’s other powerful abilities and skills.

Borderlands 4 January 15, 2026, Update Patch Notes

Gameplay

• A permanent increase to Legendary drop rate chance has been added
• The Phosphene variant of Daedalus Legendary Assault Rifle Bloody Lumberjack has been added to the Foundry Freaks loot pool

Vault Hunters

Harlowe:

• Concurrence: Action Skill Duration increased to 5%
• Control Group: Killing an Entangled enemy now restores 6% of Harlowe’s Action Skill Cooldown and Action Skill Duration
• Freeze Frame: Bonus Cryo Damage increased to 20%, Max Stacks are now 5
• Endothermic Reaction: Harlowe’s Endothermic Aura bonus damage increased to 6%
• Heat Sink: Action Skill Cooldown Rate increased to 10%

Amon:

• Forgeaxe and Forgehammer Detonation damage increased by ~72%
• Get the Lead Out: Amon’s reload speed increased to 5%
• Hour of the Hammer: Increased Forgehammer Impact Damage by ~59%
• Freezer Burn: Increased Cryo and Incendiary bonus damage to 9%
• Armor of Contempt: Amon now gains 5% Overshield when doing Action Skill Damage
• Blade Tempest: Now fires 5 swords per barrage, and addressed a reported issue that could cause a change in cooldown duration

Released

September 12, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact