There arenine distinct main gun manufacturersinBorderlands 3.Each of these manufacturers crafts their guns to have unique mechanics and perks that are usually amusing in their own way, and can often make an impact on the chaotic battlefield. While there is a degree of subjectivity to the mechanics and traits of each brand, some manufacturers overall are better than others inBorderlands 3, as is the case in its predecessors.
Further heightening the confusion amongst the endless slew of weapons, Gearbox has boosted and deboosted aspects of some manufacturers featured in past games, making it tricky to pin down the best brands to opt for. This list will set the record straight, while also highlighting some of the great legendary weapons tied to each manufacturer.
Updated July 27, 2025 by Stephen LaGioia:Even after the release of the fantasy satire spinoffTiny Tina’s Wonderlands, BL3 has remained a popular ARPG. This can be attributed to its huge lineup of awesome weapons and extensive content, not to mention various DLC. More recently, the release of the zany (but not terribly well-received) film adaptation and significant discounts have also spurred a BL3 resurgence.
Then there’s the recentteaser of Borderlands 4, which has fans talking aboutthe possibility of some new ideas manufacturerideas, or the return of a few old ones. With this in mind, and the fact that we’ve since felt it necessary to mention a few more minor manufacturers — the non-gun variety — we thought we’d refresh and reload this list.
9COV
Children Of The Vault (COV) weapons are new to theBorderlandsfranchise with their inclusion inBL3. For one, these weapons, cobbled together by bandits, ironically boast some of the coolest designs, as they take on a distinctly gritty cyberpunk theme with a hodgepodge of elements. The main perk is that theydon’t have to be reloaded, butthey will oftenoverheatif holding down the trigger too long. As such, they aren’t the most ammo efficient compared to the rest of the manufacturers, as well as having low accuracy.
They are fun to look at, but not the most resourceful — as most feel cheap, erratic, and unreliable. While their accuracy and ammo consumption can be frustrating, players will want to use some for theirhigh-damage output.COV weapons are typically used forclose-quarterscombat. It’s always best to have one equipped for Fight For Your Life, as players can swiftly unload on a nearby target in Fight For Your Life without worrying about wasting time reloading.
One of the best COV legendary weapons is thePestilence, especially with aGamma Burst FL4K buildor an elemental Amara. TheSawbarmakes a return fromBorderlands 2as a COV weapon, and it’s just as great. Then there’s thePsycho Stabber,which isn’t too potent on its own, but its bladed end yields120 percent melee damage,meaning Amara can be especially deadly with it if focusing on melee.
8Tediore
Even withBL3’sexpanded lineup of weapons, Tediore weapons are still typically considered the most unique in the game. InBL2, Tediore guns get tossed by the Vault Hunter automatically in place of reloading,which will cause an explosion.The more bullets left in the magazine, the more powerful the explosion is.Borderlands 3builds on this concept by having Tediore weapons perform other actions besides just exploding while airborne.
Some of these bizarre weapons can be thrown as amineor can bounce around, for instance. Of course, Tediore is best known in the game for introducing guns with legs. Instead of exploding, the gun can now become a temporary ally as astanding or running turret.
Among the best Tediore legendary weapons are thePolybius, the Baby Maker, and the Ten Gallon.Oddly enough, a purple rarity Tediore shotgun does the most damage out of all. If players can find one with Shock damage and equip a Transformer shield, they can obliteratethe tricky boss WOTAN’s shield.
7ATLAS
Fans were stoked to see ATLAS weapons make a return from the firstBorderlands. After the events ofTales From The Borderlands, Rhys became the new CEO of ATLAS. ATLAS hashoming bulletsattached to their guns, which are shot after the player uses a tracking bullet on an enemy. This will cause all bullets to now target that specific enemy — which can be useful given how many enemies scurry and shift around.
ATLAS weapons typically have high-damage output — even some non-legendaries. This is great since the homing bullets generally don’t pull off critical hits (aside from FL4K). If luck strikes, players can also find ATLAS weapons that havehoming grenades,whose effectiveness speaks for itself. Ironically, the best legendary ATLAS weapons are itslaunchers: Ruby’s Wrath and The Freeman.
Both of these launchers are excellent for Fight For Your Life since players don’t need to do much aiming. ATLAS does it on its own. Still, outside of the tracking, there isn’t much that Atlas offers here that Hyperion doesn’t. There are few truly great weapons under this brand, and most lack elemental damage.
6Maliwan
Maliwan guns have always been known for theirelemental damageand that hasn’t changed in this game. The added bonus? Players can nowswitch between different elements, though this perk is somewhat balanced by the often-disrupting charge times of these weapons.
If playing an elemental Amara, it’s a good idea to keep a Maliwan weapon handy, as they not only deal ample elemental damage, but their status effect chance is increased immensely. At launch, Maliwan weapons weren’t as great as they could have been — but currently, they bring some of the better weapons in the game, save perhaps for the shotgun category.
The two best weapons touse in the Maliwan Takedownare actually Maliwan weapons; theRecursion and Cutsman.The Recursion shotgun is honestly broken with how ridiculously powerful it is. The same can be said for theCutsman, which seems to do among the most elemental damage in the game.
5Hyperion
Hyperion weapons sinceBorderlands 2have always been known for their accuracy and solid feel. This benefit does make a return inBorderlands 3but with an added perk of holding up a shield while aiming down the sights. In the first playthrough, this is quite helpful — though the same can’t be said for the more grueling Mayhem Mode. In Mayhem, players will frequently be hit from all directions, making the shield perk rather useless.
The equipped shield is the true source of defense in the endgame. The only exception to the shield perk is the one thatabsorbs bullets as ammo,which is mostly useful — unless players happen to be Moze. There are only a few truly great Hyperion legendary weapons that are worth using in Mayhem Mode such asThe Butcher, The Face Puncher, and The Crossroads.Other than that, Hyperion is hit-and-miss as the game gets tougher.
It should be noted, however, that this is one of the best brands to opt for when it comes to shotguns.
4DAHL
DAHL weapons received a massive upgrade fromBorderlands 2. While they weren’t terrible, they were pretty basic and didn’t offer much to work with. In the third game, DAHL is widely considered an upper-tier manufacturer in the game. This is due to itshigh-damage output paired with very low recoil.DAHL weapons are typically sharp, smooth, and accurate. They just feel plain good to use.
One new game feature is thealternate firing modes,which DAHL takes the most advantage of. Players usually get two of these three firing modes: fully automatic, semi-automatic, or burst fire. This allows players to settle on weaponsbased on their play style. DAHL makes some fantastic legendarySMGs and assault rifles.These include theBarrage, Night Hawkins, Breath Of The Dying, and the Venomous Hornet.
As a side note: the Malak’s Bane received a major buff and is now considered just as solid as the Lyuda.
3Vladof
Aside from a few powerful guns, Vladof weapons can be a mixed bag. The main draw for Vladof guns is that they typically have thehighest fire rateof any other manufacturer, though they eat through ammo quite a bit. ForFL4Kplayers, Vladofs can be insanely powerful withFade Away.With the quasi-shotgun blasts many have, they can be very strong and versatile close-up and mid-range.
The problem is that the high fire rate usually comes at thecost of lower damage.Certain weapons likeThe Ogre and Shredifierrapidly spray bullets but don’t deal enough damage to warrant use. One’s best bet is theLyuda, which was thebest sniper rifle in the gameat launch. TheLucian’s Callis also a fantastic assault rifle that’s very ammo-efficient. Still, with an abundance of unique perk-laden weapons, high DPS, as well as elemental and splash damage, some of these guns can steamroll crowds of foes.
2Torgue
Torgue weapons need little explanation. To put it simply, they’re all aboutpowerful explosions.Though already potent, Torgue weapons became evenbetteras compared toBorderlands 2. In that game, guns only fired explosive projectiles, but their range and fire rate were lackluster.
InBorderlands 3, they’ve introducedsticky bulletsin Torgue guns, which all explode after reloading. This allows players to completelymelt some potent bossesand enemies more reliably, especially with aTorgue assault rifle.Demolition Moze is the obvious choice for exploiting Torgue weapons. As it’s become apparent inBorderlands, the best solution for victory is often just to blow stuff up.
1Jakobs
If one sought to look a bit old-fashioned, they could opt for a Jakobs weapon. Jakobs weapons essentially giveBorderlandsits Old Western feel. What they lack in fire rate, they make up for in damage, especially critical hit damage. Now, if players nail a critical with a Jakobs weapon, that bullet will ricochet.
This perk makes it quite ammo efficient and one can get some lucky kills without really attempting it. One effective method is to pair a Jakobs shotgun (which fires multiple pellets) with FL4K’s Fade Away. If one has a mob of enemies to deal with — just shooting one enemy will have all of those bullets ricochet toward everyone else, clearing out numerous targets with just one shot.
There are so many fantastic Jakobs weapons inBorderlands 3. There’s theUnforgiven, Maggie, King’s Call, Queen’s Call, as well as the Wedding Invitationlegendary sniper rifle, added during the Broken Hearts Day event. Aside from the lack of elemental perks, there’s little holding back this strong, satisfying brand of guns.
Special Mention: Pangolin And Anshin
While these more obscure manufacturers date back to the originalBorderlandsin some fashion, they’ve remained very much in the background. This is because they don’t actually produce the bread and butter ofBorderlands— guns. However, they have released a handful of class and grenade mods as well as shields. The few pieces of gear that do exist are a mixed bag, though there are a few hidden gems to be had in this category.
Pangolinis known for their distinct shields which boast particularly high capacity, but at the expense of recharge delay. Shields such as theMana Wellprovide tens of thousands in capacity at its highest level. However, one of its more notable shields, appropriately tagged theM.E.A.T. Shield,yields zero capacity, though grants loads of added health and a small bump to movement speed when depleted.
When it comes to the Japanese-craftedAnshin,the traits and strengths are largely flipped. Their rare shields are low (or absent) in capacity but sky-high in recharge delay. ThecovetedRough Rideris a staple item of this manufacturer. It mitigates incoming damage and boosts health, but offers no actual capacity.
Special Mention: Eridian Fabricator
This alien weapon is something of a paradox wrapped in a gun-ception — as it’s a gun that doesn’t actually do damage, but rather, firesguns themselves.Only in theBorderlandsseries could players churn out dozens of weapons running the gamut in terms of gun types and rarities.
As one might expect, this sophisticated gun machine, crafted by the Eridians, serves as more of an asterisk rather than a true manufacturer. Though it is a terrific tool in powering up players with an endless bounty of potentially awesome guns.
The Fabricator is also a useful and resourceful way to spend Eridium. Ten guns ofgreen to purple raritywill spit out of its large barrel for the cost often Eridium,while its alternate firing mode yieldsone to four legendary or mission-unique weaponsat the cost of a whopping250 Eridium. Spend it wisely!
