Horrors of Kairos
Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 pushed back its biggest patch to date after it was supposed to launch last week, and instead, it has arrived today alongside its “Horrors of Kairos” limited time Halloween event, the first of its kind for BL4.
There have been a few buffs here and there before this, which Gearbox said they wanted to do before any nerfs. But there have been nerfs, and some “unintended interactions” have been patched which created some wild, boss-killing builds that will now have to be reworked. But this is Borderlands, one-shot boss builds are only a few hours of farming away. That said, this is offset by plenty of buffs, and there are some oh-so-welcome quality of life changes and fixes that the game has needed since launch. So, here we go, the highlights, and you can read the full ones here if you want.
Gameplay/EconomyReduced Specialization Respec Machine cost from 5000 Eridium to 1500Lost Loot Machine logic updated to better prioritize higher-quality loot in overflow situations Lost Loot Machine SDU upgrades now properly expand slots in multiplayer sessionsVarious Fast Travel stations have been adjusted to unlock when they’re intended to, including concerns seen in Ultimate Vault Hunter ModeImproved Echo Location guidance across several missionsSorting settings in menus now persist when switching tabs or leaving the menu“Toggle Junk” behavior has been corrected to target the desired item in Bank menus and BackpackCombat Radar now features a dedicated Legendary Loot Indicator, making high-value drops easier to spot in the heat of combatNerfs:Harlowe – Neutron Capture now converts all Gun Damage into radiation, and now only applies to Gun Shots, and not all instances of Gun Damage.Amon – Seeing Red Duration restored no longer increases per point invested, and is now 4 seconds for all ranks.Amon – Blackout is now 15% per point, down from 21% per pointVex – Bleed from Bloodletter has been updated so it no longer recursively triggers itself, preventing unintended damage loopsGroundbreaker now only stores Gun, Action Skill, and Ordnance damage.Buffs:Amon – Shield visuals adjusted for improved clarity in combat situationsAmon – Blackout Shock Damage now properly scales with points investedAmon – Raging Inferno Incendiary Damage now properly scales with points investedAmon – Blacksmith’s Forgedrone Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%Amon Class Mod – Blacksmith’s Legendary Effect now also increases all Forgedrone Damage by 20% per active ForgedroneAmon Class Mod – Viking’s Detonation Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%Amon Class Mod – Forge Master’s Forgeskill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%Amon Class Mod – Elementalist’s Legendary Effect now also increases all Damage Dealt by Amon by 2% per active AffinityVex – Double Trouble Illusion Damage Multiplier is now 75%, up from 50%, duration up to 8 seconds from 5 secondsVex – Apex Beast Damage Dealt increase increased to 15% from 10% per stack of UnsealedVex Class Mod- Avatar’s Attunement Skill Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%Vex Class Mod – Kindread Spirits’ Command Skill Cooldown rate on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%Harlowe Class Mod – Bio-Robot’s Hazard Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%Harlowe Class Mod – Skeptic’s Stasis Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%Rafa – Free Grenade from Filantropo class mod now deals appropriate damage even when no grenade is equippedRafa – APOPHIS Lance changed to penalize Gun Accuracy instead of Gun Handling, resulting in projectile speed being unaffected, it now benefits from cooldown reduction effectsMelee Damage Action Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%Firmware – Hard Hitter now grants 50% Melee Damage Dealt, up from 40%Firmware – Reel Big Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1 and 2, up from 15%/25%Firmware – Action Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1, up from 15%Firmware – Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage at rank 2, up from 30%Firmware – Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage on Melee Kill, up from 25%Shields – Boxer Armor Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 15%/25%/40%Shields- Berserker Energy Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 20%/27.5%/35%Weapon BuffsAll Guns – Skills that boost Gun Handling now properly increase Projectile Speed Grenades – Grenades with Spring Augment and Divider Payload now have the intended three additional bounces when paired
Assault Rifle Buffs
Star Helix fire rate increased by 33% Bonnie and Clyde base damage increased by 40%; Pair of Thieves: Bonus damage granted increased to 150% from 100% Bugbear base damage increased by 40%; Rotary Gun: Max Damage increased to 200% from 100% Rowan’s Charge base fire rate increased by 100%, Rowan’s Charge recoil reduced slightlyLucian’s Flank base damage increased by 50%, Lucian’s Flank recoil reduced slightlyAegon’s Dream base damage increased by 35%Heavy Ordnance BuffsGamma Void base damage increased by 450%; Singularity Duration decreased to 6s from 10s, Radiation damage amp increased to 50% from 40%, Gamma Void Cooldown increased by 100%Ravenfire base damage increased by 25%Weapon NerfsJakobs Crit Knife – Reduced critical chance on Jakobs crit knife to 30%Jakobs – Jakobs weapon parts updated so ricochet effects only trigger from intended damage sourcesJakobs/Torgue – Using a Jakobs Shotgun with Torgue sticky projectiles and the Knife Launcher underbarrel no longer deals knife damage after switching fire modesVladof – Vladof Flamethrower underbarrel no longer deals infinite damage or bypasses Bio Armor
It’s a lot, and it is going to take days if not weeks to find the new “meta” for classes with old favorites nerfed and a bunch of new things brought up. Plus, now we can all farm the Halloween event while it’s active and there are at least some new things to earn, however useful or not they may prove to be. See you out there.
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