5 best Legendary SMGs in Borderlands 4, ranked

Borderlands 4 continues the series' iconic gun fantasy with a myriad of interesting and powerful weapons. Keeping up with that theme, Gearbox Studios has introduced new and returning Legendary SMGs, allowing for fresh, fun build combinations. Be it with a gun that can consume Shields to blast Raiders, or one that can create explosions at every point, Borderlands 4's roster of Legendary SMGs can fill every roll, and we're about to narrow it down to the best five.

Given that we're talking about Legendary weapons in Borderlands 4, players will have to spend a lot of time either travelling to specific points on the map or farming a particular boss. Furthermore, Legendaries are rarer than your average drops, and bosses have multiple Legendaries on their drop tables, so you should be ready for a lengthy farm session. With all that out of the way, let's take a look at the top five Legendary SMGs in Borderlands 4.

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Best Legendary SMGs to get in Borderlands 4

5) Hellfire

Yes, you can kill it with fire. A lot of fire, actually (Image via 2K || YouTube//@Joltzdude139)

• Flavour text: All hell can't stop us now
• Effect: Burning Desire

Much like our Borderlands 4 Legendary Shotgun suggestions, we're starting off our list with a weapon that is named after the fiery depths of hell. Hellfire is a returning SMG from the original Borderlands and is here in all of its fiery glory, as indicated by its flavour text.

The weapon boasts exceptionally high Fire damage and a high status chance, making it a workhorse against flesh-based targets. In the hands of a status-oriented character like Harlowe or a Fire-oriented character like Vex, Hellfire becomes even better.

To farm this weapon effectively, you must first access Cuspid Climb, located within the Terminus Range, and complete any associated story missions to unlock The Lambent Mines. Once you progress through the Shadow of the Mountain story quest and defeat Skyspanner Kratch, you're set to farm the boss indefinitely. It's a good farm, as you can easily get the Hellfire or the Linebacker.

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4) Birt's Bees

Float like a Siren, sting like a bee (Image via 2K || YouTube/@100Guides)

• Flavour text: Fill your life with laughter and bees.
• Effect: Hivemind

If you are looking for a general workhorse weapon for your builds, then Birt's Bees is a solid option until you can lock down a preferred build. One of the better Vladof weapons in-game, Birt's Bees fires projectiles that track enemies and then home in after a while.

The weapon has 50 bullets per magazine and fires extremely slowly; therefore, it's better to pair it with any form of passive ammo generation, particularly the Super Soldier Shield. However, it is a little tricky to farm, as you can only unlock the required boss after completing the campaign. Simply go to the Idolator's Noose and kill Sludgemaw during the course of the All Charged Up mission, and you can use Moxxi's Encore Machine to farm the weapon indefinitely.

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3) Ohm I Got

Name a better duo than Maliwan and Energy weapons. Probably Torgue and explosions (Image via 2k || YouTube/@100Guides)

• Flavour text: Back off, man. I'm a scientist.
• Effect: Energy Transfer

It's not a Borderlands game until there's a Maliwan energy weapon that can creatively melt enemies. Ohm I Got is for those Vault Hunters who like to live a little dangerously, as this weapon consumes your Shield to supercharge its damage output by 50%. If you have Overshield, then this weapon becomes a virtual bullet spewer, as the ammo state cannot change at all. And just like Hellfire, combining this with status-based builds can get you the most juice out of it.

This weapon is a bit tricky to farm, as it is obtained at a location from a mission deep into the campaign. You will need to progress until you reach the Elpis Orbital Shatterfield and unlock the Another Day, Another Universe mission. You can either hope for the weapon to drop after defeating the Second Ripper Queen (a.k.a Moon-maddened Callis) for the first time, or keep farming it using the Encore system.

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2) Kaoson

Art is an explosion! (Image via 2k || YouTube/@Khrazegaming)

• Flavour text: Twice the power!
• Effect: Granted

Do you like explosions? The answer is always yes, and Kaoson, like every other Torgue weapon, can help you achieve your goals of drowning your enemies in grenades. The Legendary perk allows the gun to fire sticky grenades that explode to deal damage, and it also gives you a stacking damage bonus, which quickly ramps up for even bigger numbers on enemies. Coupled with a relatively high rate of fire, this is a solid bossing weapon.

This SMG can be farmed from the Arch of Origo vault in Terminus Range, which can be unlocked by collecting three vault fragments. Given Origo's Shield-based defenses, it's better to pick a Shock weapon to bring the monster down.

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1) Plasma Coil

Try getting a Phospine tint for this one without ripping out your hair (Image via 2k || YouTube/@Khrazegaming)

• Flavour text: Harness the fourth state of matter
• Effect: Superheated

Plasma Coil makes a return from Borderlands 3, and it's arguably the strongest SMG in the current meta. This gun is all about spreading as much damage as possible with two innate elements and a high status chance. With a high rate of fire and a relatively solid magazine size, this is a solid contender for the best-in-slot weapon regardless of the build, and it works exceptionally well with Rafa's Apophis Lance tree.

While relatively easy to farm, this SMG can be ridiculously hard to get, given the lengthy boss fight. Simply put, you have to farm The Timekeeper until it drops Plasma Coil. The boss fight has multiple phases featuring multiple health bars, so be prepared for a chunky time investment. Thankfully, you do get two loot drops and extra chests every time for your troubles.

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Check out our other Borderlands 4 news and articles here:

• Borderlands 4: Beginner tips and tricks
• 4 economy tips to make money fast in Borderlands 4
• All Weapon Manufacturers in Borderlands 4
• What are the Enhancements in Borderlands 4?
• Does Borderlands 4 have co-op and crossplay?