Borderlands 4’s long awaited Pearlescent update has arrived, and unfortunately, the response to it has been a bit mixed. While most players are treating the Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned expansion as a potential turning point for the looter shooter, as it also brings the debut of the Vault Hunter C4SH, there was hope that the free Pearlescent update would inject some much-needed life into the game sooner. Unfortunately, with only three guns to chase and a questionable method of acquiring them, the update hasn’t done much to revive Borderlands 4.
Still, while the debut of Pearlescents isn’t quite as exciting as many had hoped, the weapons aren’t without merit. Sure, they lack variety — they all offer two elements, meaning that everything within this loot tier shares the same “unique” trait — but they’re still fairly powerful options befitting of their rarity. Borderlands 4 players can currently obtain the Eigenburst shotgun, Vestigial Conflux sniper, and the Handcannon pistol. It’s that final weapon that stands out, as though the Eigenburst hits mobs hard and the Conflux can be a good boss-killer with the right setup, getting these weapons reliably isn’t nearly as easy as acquiring the Handcannon.
More Borderlands 4 Pearlescents are expected with the first proper BL4 expansion, which is expected to arrive sometime in late March.
How to Get Pearlescent Weapons in Borderlands 4
Here’s a full list of all Pearlescent weapons that have been added to Borderlands 4, along with how you can add them to your arsenal.
Why The Handcannon is a Cut Above Borderlands Other Detonation Weapons
Borderlands’ Torgue detonation weapons are fairly divisive, as not everyone finds it satisfying to cover an enemy in projectiles that do nearly no damage before hitting the detonation button once the target is primed. Fortunately, the Handcannon removes this pain point by making it so that each projectile is constantly pulsing for damage, with the detonation simply being a big damage increase as opposed to the only way to get use out of the gun. This constant damage helps with DPS while making the gun feel more satisfying to use, and it’s especially useful for one Vault Hunter in particular: Harlowe.
Harlowe’s Critical Funding skill makes it so that she regains ammo for every critical hit, which essentially transforms the Handcannon into an OP, endlessly refilling weapon. Players can stack as many projectiles as they want onto their foe before detonating them with the reload button, doing immense damage with the Handcannon and making it a must-have gun for Borderlands 4 Harlowe builds. However, what’s even better is the fact that it’s so easy to acquire copies of the weapon. While getting god rolls with ideal elements and parts for the Vestigial Conflux and Eigenburst could be a brutal grind, as players will have to wait for Ordonite Up! events to appear (which also only show up when Vault Hunters are nearby) and hope their desired gun drops, mission replay makes Handcannon farming a breeze.
Getting Borderlands 4’s Handcannon Pearlescent is Extremely Easy
- Complete Bounty Pack 2.
- Replay the “Cursed Mine” quest.
- Clear the Ordonite event without dying.
- Check the final Ordonite enemy for a Handcannon.
- Replay the mission for another Handcannon roll.
Because players are guaranteed a Handcannon for completing the “Cursed Mine” quest from the Stone Demon bounty pack without dying (specifically the Ordonite event section), it’s fairly painless to get a copy of the Handcannon with one’s ideal parts and elemental override. Gamers can simply replay this mission over and over, with the third and final Ordonite enemy dropping the Handcannon for them every time (the first two have a chance to drop the other Pearlescents, making the farm even better, but the Handcannon is the only gun the final enemy can drop, making it the focus of the farm). Obviously, there’s a chance this will be patched sooner rather than later; while it was intended for players to get a Pearlescent on their first run, mission replays likely weren’t taken into account by Gearbox, as it makes Pearlescents extremely easy to get.
Still, if players act fast (and own Bounty Pack 2), they can get themselves a god roll of the Handcannon before this farm is removed. The Handcannon can be truly OP on Harlowe while being decent on other Vault Hunters, so while there is a sense of disappointment around the small Pearlescent lineup and the need to obtain the guns through an event instead of some challenging endgame content, this particular weapon shouldn’t be slept on. Hopefully, future Pearlescents are better than the existing ones and have other methods of acquisition, but for now, being able to quickly get a perfect version of the Handcannon automatically puts it above the other Pearlescents that are far more tedious to farm.
- Released
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September 12, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
