Weapons


 * "You won't last long here, not without help, not without guns... a hell of a lot of guns." —Borderlands trailer

According to Gearbox, there will be as many as 16 million different variations of weapons, as of PAX 09. The game uses a procedural process to generate its various guns in certain classes, such as handguns, shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and more, but with many variations of firing speed, reload speed, damage type and more.

Thankfully, there is an easy way to determine the basics of a weapon without having to pick it up and open an inventory screen. When you approach a weapon on the ground, a small holographic window appears above it that displays information such as weapon type (shotgun, assault rifle, sniper rifle, etc.), damage type (static, incendiary, caustic, etc.), monetary value, as well as the weapon's rarity using a color coding system.

Rarity
The rarity of each gun is indicated by color as stated below.

== White &lt; Green &lt; Blue &lt; Purple &lt; Orange

Appearance
As far as we know, there are a lot of variables that determine the final weapon that you see. First certain manufacturers have specific materials they like to make weapons out of; composite, metal, plastic; as well as signature features. Jakobs weapons have a signature wooden stock as well as higher quality resulting in higher damage. Vladof-made weapons shoot faster, but less accurately. Variations in the parts also change the appearance of the weapon. For example a longer barrel would be more accurate, a wider muzzle would mean larger caliber so more damage, and obviously a scope would replace the iron sights. Randy Pitchford stated that experienced players would eventually be able to guess the stats of a weapon simply from looking at its features.

Although, from appearance alone, a lot of the weapons would appear similar, but the variation of the quality of parts (barrel length, scope, magazine size, damage type, etc...) could make one weapon considerably deadlier than the other.

It has also been hinted that the color of the gun pertains to the type of damage or secondary effect that it has. For example green=corrosive, red/orange=fire, yellow=explosive, blue=electric, and so on. But the specifics are unknown for now.


 * See also: Manufacturers

Gameplay
Guns are an essential part of Borderlands as most of the wildlife is hostile as well as troupes of rampaging bandits that roam the lawless area. The controls of weapon fire in Borderlands will be similar to that of Call of Duty or any other aim-down-the-sights FPS. Various sighting and scope options allow guns to be better suited to certain aiming tasks than others; for example a sniper scope works better at long range and iron sights, in contrast, would be much more suited at close range.

Ammo acquisition in Borderlands is as simple as picking it off the floor or purchasing it from a vendor for a small fee. There are a variety of ammo types; like-weapon types use like-ammo. All assault rifles use the same ammo, all shotguns use the same shells, etc. When in a group, ammo is automatically distributed evenly between all players. But if there is still a shortage of ammunition, players can trade ammo and alternative weapon types to each other to compensate.

Various abilities can restore ammo, e.g. Roland can develop his ability to produce ammo for himself and others in the Support ability tree. Various character abilities can improve weapon damage, e.g. Liltih's Elementalist ability tree can add acid or fire effects to every bullet fired for additional damage.

Different weapon types will play differently than others. Heavy weapons and alien tech are best saved for tough enemies as they have extremely limited ammo supplies. Snipers and other rifles are best suited at taking out enemies from a long to mid range often taking foes by surprise. Sub-machine guns and shotguns have limited effective ranges and are best saved for when enemies are nearby and in close quarters. Different characters have different proficiencies with different weapons: Mordecai is proficient with sniper rifles, for example, and many of his abilities complement the long range play style; Brick can become proficient with explosive weapons if his Blaster skill tree is pursued; Roland is proficient with every weapon type.

Gear Builder

 * See also: Gear Builder

This is the AI that built all 16 million of Borderland's weapons from a variety of parts and processes.

Customization

 * See also: Customization

Its not clear how much customization players can do to their weapons. From what we have seen so far customization of weapons with additions of scopes or color schemes is still unconfirmed and quite likely non-existent in Borderlands as it would get rid of the integral benefit of gathering massive piles of loot and finally finding that perfect weapon.

Known Weapons
NOTE: Each column of the following table is sortable by clicking on the arrow next to the column's name.