Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Weapons Guide

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, delivering two excellent adventures from the franchise – Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. No matter which one you choose, you’ll find hours’ worth of shooting goodness, as well as plenty of loot to pick up, whether on your own or with friends.

In addition, you’ll find a huge variety of guns spread across different categories. You have revolvers, assault rifles, rocket launchers, shotguns and so much more. With that, we have tips to finding the best weapons for the job. 

Assault Rifles and SMGs

When it comes to assault rifles (or secondary-firing SMGs), there are two things you’ll want to keep in mind. First, guns with bigger ammo clips may not pack the biggest punch, but they’ll give you the necessary firepower you’ll need to chip away at enemies. You’ll find these guns the most, although their effects vary depending on clip size. Be sure to experiment with different assault rifles and sell the ones you don’t need.

Second, choose weapons that utilize some sort of secondary effect because they do more damage. These include fire-based machine guns that light your adversaries aflame (great against bosses) and shock machine guns that carry electrical charges. Using both of these is vital against higher-ranged enemies and those with shields, as they can chip away at them more effectively than using traditional weapons.

Repeater Pistols and Revolvers

The revolver is a good back-up weapon to have when your primary guns are low. These are small but effective, especially if they have the fire and shock effects. There are also types with explosive and corrosive capabilities, which deal additional damage.

Try to keep at least one good pistol or revolver in your collection, as you’ll want to switch to it quickly once you run out of ammo with your main weapons. Find something with a higher damage count so you can plow through enemies much quicker.

Clip size doesn’t matter much with revolvers and pistols since you need to load them about the same way. That said, make sure you keep enough ammo on your virtual person.

Rocket Launchers

Rocket launchers are probably the slowest loading weapons, but that’s also because they’re the most powerful. The shots you fire from these things can affect more than one enemy, and the effect can multiply even further if you’re using something with incendiary fire, shock support or corrosive ability. Try to save your shots for when they count, though, because these have the lowest ammunition available.

When going up against bosses, a good rocket launcher is the best thing to have on hand, as you can take out their shields with a few well-timed shots, and then deliver damage with another weapon in your arsenal.

Shotguns

When it comes to close-range situations, you’ll want to have a shotgun on hand because they can plow through most enemies with a single blast, especially weaker ones like the Psychos. The thing that counts is making sure the enemies are within range, and you can simply lock and load when they get close enough. If you’re looking to clear out a compound in a hurry and have some form of shield that can absorb damage, this is the weapon to have.

Not all shotguns load equally. One of the early ones you’ll pick up in the game is a single-loader, where you have to reload each time you go. However, more become available over the course of each game, including those with fire, shock, corrosive and explosive effects. Experiment, and be sure to save your special ammo for the enemies that require the biggest damage.

Sniper Rifles

Finally, if you want to take the logical approach to attacking a stronghold or eliminating a tougher foe from a distance, the sniper rifle is definitely the way to go. The ammunition can be somewhat limited, especially with added effects. However, these weapons can be the most accurate, as you can zoom in and nail a bad guy with a head shot, or chip away at someone before they even realize where you are, which will take at least a second or two.

You should be able to pick up at least one sniper rifle in the early going, but don’t be afraid to upgrade. More powerful ones are available, with better bullet capacity and certain effects – especially fire, which is awesome – so be sure to shop around and improve your collection.

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is available now for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.