Digistruct

Scanning the Monster for digistruct

Digistruct is a futuristic technology featured in the Borderlands universe. Digistruct is the technique of having a digital blueprint of an item, person, or creature that allows for it to be built on demand. The exact nature of digistructing is uncertain, as while items are seemingly digitally constructed they behave more like real matter than holograms or even some imitation material. Items scanned by a digistructing device, person or device or even currency like dollars and eridium ingots are deconstructed and stored in a specialized storage systems ranging from planet spread terminals or personal backpack units.

According to the Borderlands 2 development team, the digistruct concept has been used throughout both Borderlands and Borderlands 2. They describe the concept as "basically the ability of having a sort of digital blueprint that can be built on demand." To elaborate, "Basically, this means that a lot of things, including vehicles and some other weapons, are actually holographic or digital constructions, made out of whatever they came out from. So a weapon may be digistructed from its holster once pulled out, and similarly, Zer0's blade is digistructed when he pulls out the 'handle', somewhat like a light-saber."

"Digistruct is our term in the Borderlands universe for this ability of having like a digital blueprint that can then be built, you know, on demand," says Hellquist. "That's how our cars appear in the world and a lot of things in the game are constructed in this way ... when you pull your guns out they digistructed out of their holster. Hopefully people will finally get to really realize all this kind of cool technology we invented. In fact even Claptrap has a digistruct module. If you've ever seen his little tray pop out of his chest, he's got a digistruct module in there."

Digistructed items

• Weapons pulled from the holster
• Vehicles
• Axton's Sabre Turret
• The blade of Zer0's sword
• Gaige's melee claws when her Melee Override Skill, With Claws, is active.
• Deathtrap
• Deathtrap's claws
• Tediore weapons in Borderlands 2, being so cheap, are tossed away like a grenade instead of reloading and a new copy of the weapon digistructs into the users hands (at no cost to the user).
• Characters respawning at New-U Stations
• Loaders and other Hyperion enemies spawned from Constructors and digistruct pedestals found in Hyperion-occupied areas.
• Explosive barrels on catapault Bandit Technicals.
• All enemies/loot chests on Digistruct Peak.

Notes

• The first mention of the term "digistruct" is made by Scooter in the mission Bone Head's Theft. The objective of the mission is to recapture a stolen digistruct module in order to restore a Catch-A-Ride station.
• Claptrap has a built-in digistruct module contained in the tray that pops out of his chest.
• Other items that may be presumed to be digistructed but not confirmed by Gearbox are:
  • Weapons and items from vending machines and Slot Machines.
  • Grenades, Health Kits, and Ammo pulled from the backpack.
  • Brick's melee weapon.
  • Krieg's thrown buzz axe.
  • Sawblades on Bandit Technicals.

Trivia

• Digistruct technology is similar to the concept of solid light, a theory that light can behave as a solid. However, most Digistructed objects, be they player or item, are obviously made of matter. Likely it has something to do with matter reconstruction over hard light.
• Digistructed items seem to behave exactly like the objects they copy, living or inanimate, and digistructed items such as vehicles leave behind parts after destruction. And people revived through the process eat and bleed real blood, and can apparently be eaten.
• According to Gearbox President Randy Pitchford, digistruct technology is "mostly unknown - derived from Eridian tech discovered by Atlas corp. It's like harnessing fire before understanding it."