Borderlands 4 Patch Notes And What It Means For Players

This update is one of the most comprehensive since launch, touching on nearly every aspect of the game. One of the most talked-about changes is the nerf to the Jakobs crit knife, which now has its critical chance reduced to a flat 30%. This was a necessary adjustment to curb builds that were trivializing the game’s toughest content and to encourage greater build diversity, a stated goal of the development team.

Alongside this, the Groundbreaker specialization has been adjusted to prevent infinite damage loops by only storing Gun, Action Skill, and Ordnance damage. This is another step toward establishing a healthier baseline for build-crafting, particularly for melee-focused characters.

The patch also includes a wide array of buffs to underperforming gear and skills. Numerous Assault Rifles, including the Star Helix and Lucian’s Flank, have received damage or fire rate increases. Class Mods for all Vault Hunters have seen their Melee and Action Skill Damage values boosted, making these stats more desirable. These changes aim to make more builds viable in the endgame, giving players more reasons to experiment with different gear and specializations.

A major quality-of-life improvement comes in the form of cooldown resets. Interacting with Dr. Zed’s Meds, Guns, and Lost Loot vending machines will now reset all active cooldowns for Action Skills, Ordnance, and Repkits. This is a small but impactful change that will streamline farming runs and reduce downtime between encounters.

Full Patch Notes – October 30, 2025

This smaller update followed the major Day 30 patch, addressing a few specific items.

• The Gravitar Class Mod, Reactor, now drops from Inceptus as intended.
• The Order Legendary Grenade Skully has been adjusted to properly increase damage of projectiles at higher levels. Also addressed an audio issue with the fire effects that were causing it to not lower in volume with distance.
• Corrected the Knife Penetrator Augment, which was unintentionally setting all attacks to a 30% critical chance.
• Interacting with Dr. Zed’s Meds and Guns vending machines and Lost Loot machines will now reset any Action Skills, Ordnance, or Repkits currently on cooldown.
• Reduced the audio volume on the wings of world boss Spidananggal.

Full Patch Notes – October 23, 2025

This was the major “Day 30” update with widespread changes.

Horrors of Kairos!

• Added support for the Horrors of Kairos! This free mini-event will be live from October 23 to November 6.
• Added the “Murmur” Legendary Tediore Assault Rifle and “Skully” Legendary Order Grenade to the rewards for world bosses across Kairos!

Progression, Loot, & Rewards

• Reduced Specialization Respec Machine cost from 5000 Eridium to 1500.
• Lost Loot Machine logic updated to better prioritize higher-quality loot.
• Addressed multiple issues with achievements, challenges, and mission progression not tracking correctly.

Vault Hunter Changes

• Harlowe the Gravitar:
• • Neutron Capture now converts all Gun Damage into radiation and only applies to Gun Shots, not all instances of Gun Damage.
• Amon the Forgeknight:
• • There Is Only Red duration restored no longer increases per point and is now a flat 4 seconds.
  • Blackout Shock Damage scaling was fixed, but the bonus per point was reduced from 21% to 15% to compensate.
• Vex the Siren:
• • Bloodletter bleed effect no longer recursively triggers itself, preventing unintended damage loops.
  • Double Trouble Illusion Damage Multiplier increased to 75% (from 50%) and duration increased to 8 seconds (from 5 seconds).
• Rafa the Exo-Soldier:
• • APOPHIS Lance now penalizes Gun Accuracy instead of Gun Handling and benefits from cooldown reduction.

Gear

• Reduced critical chance on Jakobs crit knife to 30%.
• Groundbreaker Specialization: Now only stores Gun, Action Skill, and Ordnance damage to prevent infinite damage loops.
• Assault Rifles: Increased fire rate for Star Helix (+33%), base damage for Bonnie and Clyde (+40%), and base damage for Lucian’s Flank (+50%), among other buffs.
• Heavy Weapon Ordnance: Gamma Void base damage increased by 450%, but cooldown was also increased by 100%.
• Class Mods: Melee Damage and Action Skill Damage on level 50 class mods have been increased across the board.
• Other Gear (Rep Kits, Firmware, Shields): Effects related to Melee and Action Skill Damage have seen their effectiveness increased.

UI & UX & Text

• Numerous improvements, including persistent sorting settings in menus and splitscreen UI updates.

Stability & Performance

• General improvements to stability, matchmaking, and performance, with multiple crash and bug fixes addressed.

This comprehensive update shows a clear commitment from Gearbox to respond to community feedback while maintaining the long-term health of the game. Players can now dive back into Kairos to test out newly viable builds and take on the spooky challenges of the Horrors of Kairos event.