11 Best Borderlands 3 Legendary Weapons from the Base Game (No DLC) (2024)

Borderlands 3 Best Legendary Weapons No DLC

Borderlands 3 has a lot of awesome legendary weapons and with each content update, Gearbox Software adds new badass items. It’s always exciting to have new toys to play with but the game’s meta always seems to revolve around this month’s new flavor. While some content is added through free updates some of it is added through paid DLC. You might not have access to the season pass or maybe you just want a solid weapon that has your back.

In this Borderlands 3 weapon guide, I’m going over the best legendary weapons from the base game. It’s not exactly the vanilla game as this guide will include items that have been added with the Takedowns and Mayhem Mode.

Borderlands 3 Legendary Weapon with No DLC

These are the Best Legendary Weapons that don’t require any of the paid DLC.

11. Maggie

The Maggie is the hardest-hitting Jakobs Pistol that deals pure damage. The Maggie fires 6 projectiles per shot and has a fast reload speed. This Masher-style pistol will outperform most revolvers if you compare the damage output, however, it will do so at the cost of its accuracy.

The Maggie is great for close to mid-range combat. It can be obtained from any loot source but has a high chance of dropping from Tremendous Rex which is located in the Cistern of Slaughter.

10. Hellshock

The Hellshock always comes with the incendiary and shock element. You can switch elements by using the alternative fire option. The legendary special effect lets projectiles ricochet off surfaces and swap the projectile’s element. So if you are shooting fire projectiles, the missed shots will ricochet and deal shock damage and vice versa.

The Hellshock is a great weapon for late-game mobbing as most enemies will have both a shield and a health gauge. By setting the Hellshock on incendiary, you can shoot at the ground just before your enemies and the projectiles will ricochet and strip the shield. Once the shield is gone, you can shoot directly at your opponent to finish the job.

The Hellshock can be obtained from any loot source but has a high chance of dropping from Gigamind which is located in the Meridian Metroplex on Promethea.

9. Sand Hawk

The Sand Hawk has a unique projectile pattern as the Sand Hawk fires a line of 7 bullets that move to mimic the way that a hawk flaps its wings. It’s basically an SMG Sniper as it shoots really fast and deals a lot of damage like snipers should.

The Sand Hawk isMayhem Mode 6 or higher Legendary. You can get it from Katagawa Jr. who is located in the Atlas HQ on Promethea.

8. Face Puncher

The Face Puncher was always a unique weapon as its projectiles deal Melee damage instead of regular bullet damage. With the Melee now scaling properly with Mayhem Mode you can do some crazy things again. Combining this with a ‘Unleash the Dragon‘ or my favorite ‘White Elephant‘ artifact you can really deliver a punch to the enemy’s face.

The Face-puncher can be obtained from any farmable loot source but has a high chance of dropping from Handsome Jackie who is located in Skywell-27 on Promethea.

7. Reflux

The Reflux is the better Brainstormer while it deals Corrosive instead of Shock damage its damage output is far higher than its shock counterpart. Both weapons will spark an elemental beam between enemies draining their life bars.

If you don’t play on Mayhem Level 6 or higher go farm a Brainstormer from Katagawa Ball which is located in Skywell-27 on Promethea. But if you are playing on M6+ you can get the Reflux from GenIVIV which is located in Voracious Canopy on Eden-6.

6. Hyperfocus

The Hyperfocus is theConference Call of SMGs because every time you hit an enemy 2 projectiles will shoot out perpendicular to the target. These additional projectiles can ricochet off surfaces making the Hyperfocus XZ41 a good weapon for mobbing.

The Hyperfocus XZ41 can be obtained from any loot source but has a high chance of dropping from Power Troopers which is located at the Atlas HQ on Promethea.

5. Kaoson

The Kaoson shoots stickies like a Torgue weapon. After the initial impact damage, the stickies will explode after a few seconds, dealing the second chunk of damage.

The Kaoson isMayhem Mode 6 or higher Legendary. You can get it from Captain Traunt who is located at the end of Athenas on Athenas.

4. Krakatoa

The Krakatoa acts like a slow firing automatic assault rifle after its initial charge up. The Krakatoa always has a fire element. When you kill an enemy with this weapon, a lava puddle will spawn in the enemy’s location. This lava puddle will occasionally spit out fireballs.

With the March 5, 2020 update, this weapon received a massive buff. Pushing the weapon damage over 9000 and capable of putting out serious damage.

The Krakatoa can be obtained from any loot source but it has an increased chance to drop from The Rampager which is located at the Forgotten Basilica on Promethea.

3.The Lob

The Lob shoots slow-moving elemental orbs that can pass through enemies. These orbs will damage nearby enemies and slowly tick away their life gauge. For the first 6-months of the game’s life cycle, this weapon was pretty poorly received. However, with the February 27, 2020, hotfix Gearbox Software buffed the Lob. Since then the Lob has been outperforming the Cutsman, the previous “Go-To Weapon“.

The Lob can be randomly obtained from any loot source but it has a 10% chance of dropping fromGravewardwho you can farm in The Floating Tomb located on Eden-6. However, if you are feeling badass, you can also farm theSkag of Survivalon True Trials Mode for a 50% drop chance.

2. Plaguebearer

The Plaguebearer shoots a large slow-moving orb that will spawn additional orbs that home into enemies just like theScourge. The main projectile creates a singularity effect on impact.

The Plaguebearer isMayhem Mode 6 or higher Legendary. You can get it from Warden who is located in The Anvil on Eden-6. If you are not ready for M6+ go and farm the Scourge from Brood Mother who is located at The Pyre of Stars on Nekrotafeyo or Alicritous Vanda who is a named enemy in the Cistern of Slaughter.

1. The Monarch

The Monarch is a Vladof Assault Rifle that kinda shoots like a shotgun. It has a high magazine capacity and fire rate. With the Bipod Mode, it kinda functions like the Dictator as the pellet spread increases.

The Monarch isMayhem Mode 6 or higher Legendary. You can get it from Killavolt who is located in Lectra City on Promethea. If you are not ready for M6+ go farm a Dictator from Agonizer 9000 or Terror who are located in the Guts of Carnivora on Pandora.

Honorable Mentions

• Recursion – A very powerful weapon, especially in the hands of Amara, when stacking anointments that add different elemental damages to your weapon.
• Redistributor – A very powerful weapon in the hands of Zane as he can constantly trigger the weapon’s special legendary effect by equipping the Barrier.
• (Boom) Sickle – You need to get this weapon with the ‘Boom’ prefix. That’s when it’s true power begins to shine and with Moze‘s skill trees you can deal some real serious splash damage.
• King’s Call / Queen’s Call – Scoring critical hits not only increases your damage but also returns ammo to your magazine. Something that’s very easy for FL4K to trigger because of their skill tree.

More Legendary Loot

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• Best Borderlands 3 Legendary Weapons