All gear rarities in Borderlands 4

Borderlands 4 is a new era of looter-shooter mayhem, with new enemies to fight and new loot to collect. That said, the gear rarity system is intact as a core foundation of the game's loot progression system. It is also something players will want to familiarize themselves with, especially if they are a newcomer to the franchise.

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Borderlands 4 gear rarity explained

At the basic level, the gear rarity remains unchanged since the original Borderlands entry from 2009. There are five distinct gear rarities to take note of, each indicated by a specific color:

• Common (White)
• Uncommon (Green)
• Rare (Blue)
• Epic (Purple)
• Legendary (Orange)

When any loot drops, their rarity can be gleaned at a glance, even from a distance, as they will glow according to their gear rarity. In traditional Borderlands titles, getting white and green rarity loot during the early game is expected, with Purple loot more common near the mid-end game.

Orange is in a league of its own as it is home to legendary gear, which boasts unique named loot that has special effects and often only drops from specific sources like bosses. For the moment, it is unclear if additional rarity tiers like Pearlescents from Borderlands 2 are in the new game or if they will arrive post-launch so that means Legendary is the highest rarity tier.

With fan complaints that Legendaries dropped too frequently in Borderlands 3, developer Gearbox Software is addressing these complaints for the upcoming sequel by making them truly rare enough to make them worth farming for. Note that gear rarity will also play a role in the makeup of loot, as greater rarities offer additional bonuses and Enhancements on an item.

Borderlands 4 launches on September 12, 2025, for PC, PS,5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is also arriving later in 2025.