Borderlandsmay be recognizable for its cel shaded art style, sense of humor, and iconic figures like Handsome Jack, but its weaponry is what makes it work from a gameplay perspective. Alooter shooterwould not be much fun if the loot was lacking, but through the use of various weapon manufacturers with different styles for their respective arsenals, the series’ gear is satisfying to collect and always provides a good bit of variety.
However, while a range of manufacturers is necessary to ensure that theBorderlandsseries has a lot of diversity in its weapon pool, they also play key roles in the stories of various games and DLC. Due to this, Gearbox has been able to clearly reflect each company’s values in its weaponry, ensuring that most gamers are aware of what makes each manufacturer different. For those unfamiliar with the individual companies’ beliefs and styles, a look at their weapons can quickly make things clear.
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Borderlands’ Weapons Have Lots of Thought Put Into Them
One of the clearest examples of weapons reflecting their brands is seen with Jakobs, the “one shot one kill” company. All the guns have an old timey cowboy theme, which suits the Jakobs family given its southern mannerisms, and the guns keep things simple instead of focusing on elements or gimmicks. If users can land critical hits with aJakobsweapon, they are likely to pick up a kill. After spending time with a member of the Jakobs family inBorderlands 3, it is even clearer that the guns match the personality of their creator.
Tediore is another good example of this trend, as the company initially had a reputation of being the everyman’s weapon. If players needed cheap weapons to protect their loved ones, they bought a Tediore gun - or multiple Tediore guns, to be specific. With the company’s guns being so cheap, users could throw them away once their magazines were empty, something that became a fungimmick with the Tediore gunsthat featured inBorderlands 3.
Maliwan is a company associated with prestige and elegance, so its high-tech elemental weaponry is on-brand. AlongsideDahl’s problematic mining efforts, it has a strong military presence, explaining its highly accurate and camo-covered guns. Vladof’s Russian theming is not only present in its name and logo, but in its AK-47 and RPK-like machine gun designs. Torgue is the most obvious example of all, as the company’s creator has made his love for explosions very clear over the years.
Going off of this logic, it is easy to imagine Atlas’ new style of tracking grenades and smart-bullets being the result of its CEO Rhys wanting a gun that even he could use. Similarly, withmany players believing Athena now owns Hyperion, the shield attachment on its guns inBorderlands 3make sense, as she is often shown wielding a shield in combat. While the shield companies Anshin and Pangolin have yet to play a meaningful role in the story and have little lore to speak of, the functionality of their products could reflect some of what they believe in. The same logic could be applied to S&S Munitions, which has disappeared from the story since the firstBorderlandsgame.
With the thrown together nature of COV guns matching the lunacy of the Bandits that wield them, andEridianweaponry being distinctly alien, Gearbox has done a good job of making eachBorderlandscompany’s weapons align with the philosophies of the brands themselves. When someone new takes ownership of Tediore and Maliwan, perhaps a new type of weaponry will become the standard for the companies, matching a change in beliefs and target audience.
