In the midst of much discussion about the issue of rate cuts in Borderlands 4creative director Graeme Timmins has finally confirmed that the game's loot drops are fixed, regardless of difficulty. When Border streamer Ki11er Six posted on X and asked Timmins and Associate Creative Director Grant Kao to confirm, Timmins replied, “Dedicated drops are fixed/not affected by difficulty/UVH.”
As Borderlands 4With the most dedicated players continuing to farm bosses for their favorite legendary weapons and gear, this confirmation naturally only adds fuel to the fire of the ongoing speed drop controversy. After a recent player test, he revealed the legendary dedicated drop rate Borderlands 4 to be around 5%, those previously unaware that difficulty had no effect on drop rate may now feel even more discouraged about their efforts.
Borderlands 4's drop rate is the same on all difficulties
While older games like Borderlands 2 and 3 also technically used static loot tables, their Mayhem and Ultimate Vault Hunter modes effectively tied higher difficulty with better drop quality or quantity, giving players a tangible reward for playing on harder settings. But with Borderlands 4 with a fixed drop rate that isn't affected by difficulty, most incentives to farm specialized drops from bosses on higher difficulties – such as Ultimate Vault Hunter 5 – naturally fall away for some players.
He doesn't downplay that Borderlands 4Ultimate Vault Hunter mode though, because there are still plenty of other reasons to use it. While the base drop chance may be unchanged regardless of difficulty, the quality, number of perks, rarity levels, or stat ranges on these drops are said to have improved on harder modes. In other words, players still get better loot on higher difficulties Borderlands 4though the legend drop rate remains the same.
To be fair, as Timmins explained in his post on X, the purpose behind all of this was to make sure players weren't “forced” into higher difficulties just to have a better chance of getting the dedicated drops they farmed. That's something games like Fate 2who Borderlands 4 mimics in many ways have drawn criticism in the past, despite their live service, the MMO model somewhat justified it.
However, it is understandably frustrating, especially for those players whose first game in the series is this Borderlands 4. Border veterans are familiar with speed drop mechanics like this, but with Borderlands 4 since it's treated as an entry point for new players, they may have been looking for a more rewarding experience on the other side of the difficulty.
- Released
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September 12, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Crude Language, In-Game Purchases, User Interaction
