A major new update for Borderlands 4 has today been released, and it’s one of the biggest the game has seen so far in 2026. While Borderlands 4 gets new updates of some sort on a weekly basis, substantial patches for the looter-shooter are much further and fewer between. The last patch of this nature that was pushed out was over a month ago, when the game’s first story DLC pack was finally released. Now, Gearbox is looking to improve Borderlands 4 in some pretty big ways in the wake of this expansion content dropping.
Downloadable now across PS5, Xbox, and PC platforms, update version 1.6 for Borderlands 4 is an incredibly extensive one. Gearbox has made countless balance changes with this update that apply to specific Vault Hunters, weapons, and challenges. Specific gameplay mechanics have also now been refined with this patch, as have some of the newer additions that were brought about with the release of the Story Pack 1 DLC.
Moving forward, there’s still a ton of new content that will be coming to Borderlands 4 before the end of the year. Gearbox has plans for three more bounty packs this year in addition to a second story expansion. This content is largely slated for the third quarter of 2026, which will fall between July and September. As such, we should be learning more about this upcoming DLC from Gearbox at some point in the months ahead.
In the interim, to get a look at everything new that has happened with Borderlands 4 with this latest update, you can find the full patch notes below.
We want Kairos to feel alive and dangerous every time you step outside. By shortening the downtime between major encounters, we’re making sure you can jump back into these activities quickly without having to wait for the party to start.
We want your adventures through The Whispering Glacier to be as welcoming as an eldritch wasteland can possibly be, so we’ve also added some helpful tips for new activities to ensure you aren’t left guessing how to reel in the big ones!
We’ve made it easier than ever for you to enjoy the story while playing the game the way you want to.
The Rifts are meant to be scary, but not confusing! We’ve made sure the bosses play fair and the portals behave.
Your adversaries have been practicing their moves! From better jumping to smarter attacks, combat should feel more fluid than ever before.
We’ve made some adjustments to Legend of the Stone Demon content to keep the combat snappy and every character interaction you have just right. We want your battles to be intense and focused. By speeding up enemy arrivals and keeping the bad guys where they belong, you’ll be able to stay in the flow of every fight.
We want fights to be both fair and fun, so we’ve updated a few tricky enemy traits so that you always feel the impact of your favorite powers and elemental guns.
Your achievements and Vault Cards are your bragging rights. We’ve made sure they track your victories accurately across every mission.
We’ve done some spring cleaning across the world to keep you inside the map and on the move
Getting the right balance for Action Skills and skill trees is a constant focus for us. The balance changes listed below are just the latest batch, and we plan to keep doing additional passes in the future as the game continues to evolve
We’ve spent some time under the hood of our favorite new robot, C4SH, to examine his skill trees and gear to make sure his often-unpredictable playstyle feels satisfying, clear, and powerful! We’re currently taking a look at some interactions that cause some additional stacking on damage and skills; those will be addressed in a future update to bring things back in balance to where we intended them to be.
We always want C4SH’s skills and gear to look as good as they play. We’ve also made sure his unique loot interactions are paying out exactly when they should.
Roll the Bones Skill Tree
This tree is all about those totems and debuffs. We’ve improved how these powers act when you’re moving fast or changing tactics.
Luck of the Draw Skill Tree
We’re making sure your hand is always full and your attacks hit with the right kind of force.
Chaos Walking Skill Tree
We’ve tidied up Vex’s skills to make sure only the right powers are getting boosted. We’ve also made some additional improvements to skills and Class Mods.
Rafa’s high-tech passives are now more reliable than ever, especially when using specific gear or heavy explosives.
Finding the perfect piece of loot is at the heart of the hunt in Borderlands 4! In this update we’ve polished up our rarest weapons to make sure your favorite manufacturers are performing at their peak. We’ve also modified item cards so you know exactly what your gear does at a glance.
Pearlescent Tier Updates
Finding the ultimate Pearlescent weapon is an exciting chase, and we want to make sure the gear you’re getting always feels powerful and special. To help you get the best versions of these rare items, we’ve tidied up the parts that can appear on them that didn’t meaningfully add to the gun’s gameplay, resulting in more consistent drops. These changes will apply to new drops:
Additionally, we’ve updated these same guns for a smoother gameplay experience:
Torgue
Ripper
Maliwan
Vladof
Tediore
Jakobs
Order
Connecting with friends and tracking your progress should be as simple as possible. We are continuing to look for ways we can improve your experience.
Combat can get messy, so we’ve tidied up the boss health bars to keep your eyes on the prize.
We’ve made the world map even easier to navigate and ensured your settings stay exactly how you like them.
We’ve continued to improve Photo Mode so you can snap the perfect shot of your Vault Hunter without any visual clutter or camera hiccups getting in the way.
Visual Effects & Precision
We’ve cleaned up how Action Skills and the environment look through the lens.
Cleaner Shots
We’ve made sure our “Show/Hide” tools follow your orders.
Camera & Perspective
Taking the shot should be easy, whether you’re on foot or behind the wheel.
Xbox Console Experience
We’ve been working to make sure the game jumps back into action as quickly as you do, and we’ve made several adjustments specific to Xbox.
Menus and Readability
We’re always looking for ways to make reading skill descriptions and picking your hero easier. We’ve boosted the visibility of several key areas.
We’ve polished up the cinematics, improved how characters speak and move, and made sure the sounds of the world are as loud and clear as they should be!
Cinematics and Performance
We want the key moments from the story that we’re telling through cinematics to look great without compromising performance. We’ve tuned up our videos throughout the game to make sure they’re high quality without negatively impacting your machine.
Character and World Visuals
From the way characters move to how the menus look, we’ve continued to improve your immersion in the world.
Audio and Language
