(Image Credit: Official Borderlands website // borderlands.2k.com)
Gearbox Software has rolled out the Day 30 update for Borderlands 4, delivering one of the biggest post-launch patches yet. The update introduces broad stability and multiplayer improvements, fresh accessibility and UI refinements, and a hefty round of weapon and balance adjustments aimed at improving late-game flow and build diversity.
Balancing the “Crit Knife” and Fixing Unintended Builds
One of the headline changes in this patch is the long-awaited adjustment to the infamous Jakobs crit knife — a weapon that became notorious for allowing players to one-shot bosses even on the hardest difficulties. Gearbox has reduced its critical chance to 30%, effectively toning down the extreme builds that revolved around it.
The studio explained that these changes are part of its ongoing effort to maintain gameplay balance while keeping multiple builds viable. “We’ll be watching the community closely for feedback,” Gearbox said, emphasizing that their approach is to “deliver a consistent and fair experience across all playstyles.”
Horrors of Kairos Mini-Event
The update also launches alongside a limited-time event titled Horrors of Kairos, available from October 23 to November 6. During this spooky seasonal event, world boss fights are drenched in a “blood rain,” and players have a chance to earn exclusive loot — including the legendary Murmur Tediore Assault Rifle and Skully Order Grenade. These items will be available only while the event is active and will be delivered through the in-game Reward Center.
Key Quality-of-Life and Progression Updates
The patch addresses dozens of gameplay issues and fine-tunes progression systems. Some highlights include:
- Reduced Specialization Respec Machine cost from 5,000 to 1,500 Eridium.
- Improved Lost Loot Machine logic to prioritize higher-quality gear.
- Fixed missing cosmetic rewards for certain players.
- Adjusted multiple achievement triggers to unlock correctly.
- Enhanced multiplayer loot sharing and session synchronization.
In addition, various mission objectives and fast travel points have been fixed to ensure smoother campaign progression, and stability across both single-player and co-op sessions has been improved.
Character and Combat Adjustments
Several Vault Hunters have received tweaks to improve balance and performance.
- Harlowe the Gravitar now performs better in multiplayer, and her passive damage bonuses apply correctly.
- Amon the Forgeknight and Rafa the Exo-Soldier received updates to skill behavior and cooldown interactions.
- Vex the Siren saw fixes to ability scaling and improved clone behavior in co-op.
Multiple class mods and weapon passives were also rebalanced, with Gearbox stating that the goal is to make underused builds more appealing without breaking overall gameplay balance.
Gear and Weapon Overhauls
A massive portion of the update focuses on gear tuning. Highlights include:
- Jakobs crit knife critical chance reduced to 30%.
- Assault Rifles such as Star Helix, Bonnie and Clyde, and Lucian’s Flank now deal significantly more damage.
- Heavy weapons like Gamma Void received major damage boosts, though with longer cooldowns.
- Melee and Action Skill-based class mods were buffed to make hybrid builds more rewarding.
Gearbox noted that these changes aim to “bring underperforming weapons and builds closer to the top tier,” ensuring greater flexibility for creative loadouts.
Visual, Audio, and Accessibility Improvements
The patch brings enhanced visuals, smoother animations, and several audio fixes. Subtitles now sync more accurately with dialogue, battle voice lines repeat less frequently, and new sound cues make high-value loot easier to detect. The update also adds interface improvements such as persistent menu sorting, clearer combat radar indicators, and refined controller behavior for accessibility settings.
Stability and Multiplayer Enhancements
Gearbox reports ongoing work to improve overall stability, matchmaking, and session reliability. The update addresses numerous crash sources, UI bugs, and performance hiccups — particularly in co-op sessions with large numbers of projectiles or special effects.
On consoles, the patch also fixes SHiFT account linking and improves splitscreen interface scaling on PlayStation 5 and Xbox.
Final Thoughts
The Borderlands 4 Day 30 patch represents Gearbox’s strongest effort yet to fine-tune the game after launch. Between the balance adjustments, event content, and performance fixes, the update lays a stronger foundation for both casual and high-level Vault Hunters.
The Horrors of Kairos mini-event is now live until November 6, giving players a limited window to earn exclusive weapons and dive back into Pandora’s chaos with a fresh coat of polish.
