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Spoilers Off for games prior to Borderlands 3 as well as for spoiler characters that are marked as such. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned.


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Main Universe Weapon Brands

Brands with their own pages:

Other Brands

    General 
  • Acme Products: As each of them is a MegaCorp, nearly any branded product encountered in the games is also made by one of them or another, like Dahl brand dumpsters/treasure chests/squirt guns, Jakobs fuel tanks and prefab buildings, etc.
  • Applied Phlebotinum: Reverse engineered Eridian technology is the source of elemental weapons, while Eridium was used in the making of E-tech weaponry in 2. This is phased out in 3 for a new, non-explained but seemingly still Eridian system.
  • The Aesthetics of Technology: Each company has a very clear aesthetic, making it immediately clear who made what.
    • Dahl has a fairly contemporary look - everything looks fairly 20 Minutes into the Future.
    • Hyperion items are yellow and white (Or black and red) and have an angular, brutal look with lots of polygonal planes, while inspired by construction equipment and power tools. Their architectural stylings take some inspiration from brutalism.
    • Jakobs items look like they could be from the late 19th to mid-20th century, with lots of wood paneling.
    • Maliwan weapons embrace Everything Is an iPod in the Future, with lots of glowing neon bits to show off their Elemental specialties.
    • Tediore items are cheap plastic, with some influence from electronics.
    • Torgue weapons look like internal combustion engines with gun handles.
    • Vladof, besides its obvious Kalashnikov influence, seems to have a heavy dieselpunk theme.
  • Atomic Superpower: Radiation-element weapons will irradiate foes, causing them to deal damage over time across a small area around them, and if they are killed while irradiated, they will reach critical mass and violently explode into a radioactive cloud that can irradiate more things.
  • Bling-Bling-BANG!: From 2 and onwards, the higher rarity a weapon is, the more expensive and prestigious it'll look. Most named (unique, legendary etc.) items will also have a unique look to them distinct from their non-named counterparts.
    • Atlas: While not present for 2, Atlas guns in 1 are shiny and pearl-white by design to reflect their expensive and rare nature compared to other brands. In 3 they take on a sleek, geometric design reminiscent of spacecraft with white, red and black as their colour scheme.
    • Bandit: The scrap metal used to construct the weapons have a shiny crimson red/orange sheen, as opposed to the rusty and unpainted weapons before them.
    • COV: Uncommon and rare COV weapons will feature bright paint splatter patterns, while epic COV weapons employ iridescent black metal with fluorescent accents adorned with neon tubing, reminiscent of a gamer PC with RGB lights and brushes of synthwave aesthetic.
    • Dahl: Bright autumn camouflage covers the weapon, and before that Dahl weapons sport a blue and black urban camouflage.
    • Gearbox: Legendary guns are bare gunmetal with golden graphics and detailing.
    • Hyperion: High tier Hyperion weapons have a gold finished frame to compliment their black and red decorations. In The Pre-Sequel, you can find Old Hyperion weapons from before Jack's policy to change the company's signature color from red/black to yellow, and the high tier weapons from that era are built with polished chrome and black parts.
    • Jakobs: In what is possibly the straightest example of this trope, rare Jakobs guns are gold plated with polished birch wood. In 3 epic rarity Jakobs guns include ivory white parts on black metal frames with gold engraving, and black leather accents.
      • Taken to its logical extreme with the Love Drill, a legendary pistol with diamond sights.
    • Maliwan: Rare Maliwan guns bring out their signature orange/black/white colors with a faint hexagonal pattern put on the weapon, making them look out of this world when put besides other guns.
    • Tediore: Rare Tediore guns are built with dark purple carbon fiber parts and some polished chrome additions. While not as expensive looking compared to other brands, it's a notable step up from the cheap plastics and metals used in lower tier Tediore weapons.
    • Torgue: The well polished metals on high tier Torgue weapons are complimented by a large red stripe and a checkerboard race track pattern printed over the weapon.
    • Vladof: High tier Vladof guns are polished silver with a bright red imperial eagle on the side of the weapon.
  • Corporate Warfare: Every corporation seems to have its own private army of Elite Mooks. As of the third main game, we've seen:
    • The Crimson Lance representing Atlas, most of whom convert into the Crimson Raiders when Atlas abandons both the planet and their soldiers after their attempt to plunder the first Vault fell through. Atlas under Rhys managed to rebuild their military force, complete with swapping out red armor for white.
    • Hyperion's robotic army, who are supported by human construction workers and specialized elite soldiers.
    • The Lost Legion and New Pandora for Dahlnote 
    • Maliwan's army, which is comprised of elementally augmented mechs and soldiers, some of which come to battle in heavy Powered Armor.
    • Vladof has the Ursa Corps up their sleeves, a division of mech operators who are capable of singlehandedly wiping out a continent's worth of enemy forces with their small elite numbers and deadly mechanized suits and were considered more than a match for Hyperion's forces. Moze is an ex-Ursa Corps soldier who was left for dead after a suicide mission and her Action Skill is precisely one of such mechanized units.
    • Tediore's army is overall lower quality than others and is fielded with comparatively inferior armor and weaponry.
    • Torgue's armed forces do fit this trope, but they're a lot less organised than the other coporations' armies. Mr. Torgue just thinks all of his employees should lug around massive, high-calibre explosive weapons at all times and get into lots of fights because that's badass.
    • The Children of the Vault are a fanatical death cult that make up in enthusiasm what the lack in organization and competence.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Greed and amorality is common among most corporate executives. Violent psychopathy is optional but not uncommon.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Since Borderlands 1 used the same parts for all manufacturers, each of them has it's own colors:
    • Atlas in Borderlands 1: White with black accents
    • Atlas in Borderlands 3: Dark gray with red accents
    • Dahl: Desert or woodland camouflage
    • Hyperion in Borderlands 1 and Pre-Sequel: Dark red with metallic accents
    • Hyperion in Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2: Gold with element-dependent accents
    • Hyperion in 'Borderlands 3: Metallic gray
    • Maliwan: Light and neon blue, orange and white
    • S&S: Yellow and black
    • Tediore: Gray and beige
    • Torgue: Dark gray with black and yellow accents, sometimes with checkered flag patterns
    • Vladof: Orange with black accents
  • Evil, Inc.: Aside from the fact that they're primarily weapons manufacturers, the corporations in general are amoral to some extent, ranging from careless negligence (Dahl) to greedy and ruthless professionalism marred by comical incompetence (old Atlas) to comical feats of supervillainy (Hyperion, Maliwan). Even comparatively benevolent ones such as Torgue and Jakobs are still prone to poor treatment of personnel and some shady history in the past.
  • Freeze Ray: Cryogenic element weapons can slow down enemies before slowly freezing them solid, leaving them not only open to attack, but more vulnerable to melee and explosive attacks as well. Frozen targets will also shatter when killed.
  • High-Voltage Death: Weapons that come with the Shock element can violently shock enemies while sapping their shields. In the first game, this translated to the current being so powerful the victims head bursts, leaving their skull exposed. From the second game and onwards the target is rendered stiffened from the electrocution as they're vaporized.
  • Hollywood Acid: Any weapons they make with the Corrosive element will drench the target in green acid that chemically burns them over time. Against unarmored targets this isn't as deadly as burning them with fire, but it's especially effective at damaging targets through their armor, melting them alive while bypassing their protection.
  • Hufflepuff House: There are a few more manufacturers that only specialize in shields, class mods, or artifacts. These are the likes of Anshin, Pangolin, and Eridian, and, with the possible exception of Eridian, don't play much a role in the story or even get mentioned by name.
  • Incompetence, Inc.: It varies between corporations but more than a few suffer from either having lunatics in charge, toxic corporate culture, a tendency to waste resources on questionable things, and an ability to fail spectacularly.
  • MegaCorp: Most of them are powerful corporations who have claims on planets and entire systems across the galaxies.
  • Kill It with Fire: Most of the weapons made by the corporations can come with elemental effects, including fire, which immolates their targets with flames so intense nothing but ashes are left behind. Fire is typically the go-to element when dealing with flesh-based enemies.
  • Non-Elemental: Weapons with no element (a.k.a "Kinetic") will deal 20% more damage on average than their elemental counterparts while dealing average damage to all health types bar armour. Jakobs also specialises in dealing non-elemental damage, with the highest per shot damage out of all the manufacturers.
    • In 3, Explosive damage was merged into Kinetic damage.
  • One Nation Under Copyright: After the "Last Corporate War" destroyed the central government of the galaxy, the corporations rose to become political powers in their own right.
  • Punch-Packing Pistol: Thanks to how the games are balanced, many of the brand pistols often have a higher damage-per-shot than their assault rifles and SMGs. Special mention goes to firearms such as the Unkempt Harold, Hornet, and Maggie, which can become so powerful in the right hands they can trounce most of the bigger guns in damage.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: Somewhat downplayed in that a fair number of corporate higher ups are capable of defending themselves and getting their hands dirty when the situation calls for it. Jack and Katagawa Jr. are both capable of putting up a decent fight against Vault Hunters and Wainwright is competent enough with a shotgun to give Troy Calypso (who had Siren powers) a run for his money.
  • Theme Naming: While Borderlands 1 had a "naming convention" of sorts refering to the weapons' levels, starting with Borderlands 2, all gun manufacturers have begun following specific naming conventions in line with their values and backgrounds.
    • Atlas guns in Borderlands 3 have names that sound like highly advanced defense industry prototypes in reference to their advanced high tech gimmicks, such as "V-System", "AX-35" or "Pattern Red".
    • Bandit gun names look like something a barely literate and not very mentally stable person would conceive, such as "Ratatatater!!!", "bandity smig" or "Huntinig rom cleener". Scav guns, which are their Pre-Sequel counterparts, have Australian-like slang names such as "Arse Kicker".
    • Higher-tier Children of the Vault gun names are basically Bandit names with a religious twist, such as "Holy Rapchurer". Epic-tier guns start featuring actually proper spelling, which reflects the Bandits having finally coalesced into a minimally functional organized society under the Calypso Twins.
    • Dahl gun names in Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel are strictly descriptive and utilitarian, aimed at professional soldiers looking for something as practical as possible; the starter gun in 2, for example, is called "Basic Repeater". Starting with Borderlands 3 they have moved on to <adjective> <wild Earth animal>, such as "Silent Diamondback" or "Untamed Caracal".
    • Hyperion gun names are corporate buzzwords, such as "Transactional Policy" (a sniper rifle), "Longitudinal Apparatus" (a handgun) or "Double Face Time" (a double-barrel shotgun). While it comes across as representing Hyperion as a stark, faceless corporation, ECHO logs mention that it was Handsome Jack's idea, with the intention of making Hyperion's guns sound like "smart guns for smart sonsabitches". In The Pre-Sequel, high-tier Hyperion guns are "Old Hyperion" models with names and looks reminiscent of Borderlands 1, in reference to being made since way before Handsome Jack had any power over the company.
    • Jakobs gun names are descriptive of old-fashioned guns usually with an adjective reminiscent of 19th century product naming, such as "Doc's Coachgun" or "Deadshot Cannon". Their sniper rifles, meanwhile, have Chinook names such as "Tl'kope Calipeen".
    • Maliwan guns have elaborate, pretentious names for hipsters who think ordinary guns are too primitive and basic, such as "Pyroclastic Submalevolent Grace" or "Expeditious Aegis".
    • Tediore guns in Borderlands 2 have names that reflect their focus on making everyday guns for average civilians and use adjectives basically meant to catch your attention on a Wal-Mart's sporting department, such as "Guaranteed Special" or "New and Improved Home Security". In Borderlands 3 their names are basically what you'd imagine to see on a huge billboard with in-your-face advertising, such as "Kill-O-Matic 2000" or "Smart Gun XXL". In the Fight for Sanctuary DLC, which has a deadly mutating infection theme, RGB-tier Tediore guns have names such as "Disinfecter" or "Infection Cleaner".
    • Torgue guns have immature names that play on Mr. Torgue's character as a bumbling macho man who only thinks of sex and explosions, such as "Stiff Rod" or "Juicy Bangstick"; their rocket launchers degenerate into full-blown mindless babble (presumably Torgue's mental state when seeing explosions, often lapsing into explosion onomatopoeias), with names like "ga dunk ga derrrrp!".
    • Vladof guns have names that evoke glorious, heroic freedom fighters, such as "Rabid Renegade" or "Righeous Anarchist"; their sniper rifles, and all their guns in Borderlands 3, have nadsat names, such as "Zammechat Horrorshow".
  • Toxic Phlebotinum: Slag elemental weapons harness the eponymous by-product of Hyperion's eridium refining processes to coat enemies in the stuff, making them more vulnerable to non-slag based damage. Additinally, exposure can cause mutations and disfigurement to an unfortunate victim, hence the look of "Slagged" enemies, who have tentacles sprouting out of them or anemic looking bodies.
  • Weapon-Based Characterization: As of the second game, the manufacturers that are still in business have a heavy preference towards making only certain weapon types that fit both their trademarked technology and the demographic they're trying to appeal to, and as such have shed some of their weapon types they had from the first game.
    • Bandit: Every weapon type except sniper rifles and lasers — Bandits do not like aiming and reloading, so all their weapons are meant to focus around giant magazines saddled with very low accuracy for mindlessly spraying the whole place with bullets.
      • COV: Near-identical to the above, but they only produce Pistols, Assault Rifles and Rocket Launchers.
    • Dahl: Assault rifles, SMGs, pistols, sniper rifles, lasers (TPS only) — Dahl prefers to make weapons marketed towards the professional mercenaries and bounty hunters of the galaxy, meaning their arsenal is well balanced, practical, reliable in most situations, and features a burst fire mode as often used by professional soldiers.
    • Hyperion: SMGs, pistols (BL2/TPS), shotguns, sniper rifles, lasers (TPS only) — Hyperion markets to business people who want portable, accurate weapons that excel at taking out a specific single target, handy for a corporate work environment. Starting with Borderlands 2, Hyperion moved on to competing with Atlas in the modern, cutting-edge gun department, and their gimmick is having recoil-powered stabilizers that make the gun more accurate the longer you hold the trigger; and starting with Borderlands 3 their shotguns start featuring shields that protect you from frontal attacks.
    • Jakobs: Assault riflesnote , pistolsnote , shotguns, sniper rifles — Jakobs embraces the classic Wild West aesthetic (save for its repeaters in Borderlands 3, which start featuring World War II mechanisms), and thus limit themselves only to weapons that could have existed during that time period. They prioritize accuracy, power and pure statistics over elemental damage and magazine size, marketing towards bounty hunters and practicality-minded traditionalists.
    • Maliwan: SMGs, pistols, sniper rifles, rocket launchers (BL2/TPS), lasers (TPS only), shotguns (BL1 and BL3 only) — Maliwan's elegant, colorful, sleek aesthetic, along with their marketing making heavy use of Apple-esque narration, make it clear who their main demographic is: hipsters who think non-elemental damage is dull, basic and un-cool. Their weapons are portable (with the exception of their rocket launchers) and aesthetically pleasing while also making the best use of their elemental technology.
    • Tediore: SMGs, pistols, shotguns, rocket launchers (BL2/TPS), lasers (TPS only) — Tediore prides itself on being the go-to gun manufacturer for The Everyman, people who typically want nothing more than to have an affordable form of home defense. As such, their weapons are relatively easy to pick up and use without too much formal training. Even their rocket launchers get in on this, maximizing ammo mileage by turning the launcher itself into a rocket once it runs dry.
    • Torgue: Assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, rocket launchers — Torgue likes their weapons big, bulky and explosive, with even their sidearms being Hand Cannons in their own right. Because of this, they dropped their old SMG and sniper rifle products from the first game, the former because the word "sub" in "sub-machine gun" is unacceptable, and the latter because you can't enjoy a good explosion from a distancenote .
    • Vladof: Assault rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, rocket launchers — Vladof advertises to the freedom fighters of the galaxy, who may not have the patience or training for other brands of weapons and would rather not sacrifice that much firepower by picking a more accessible brand like Tediore or Maliwan. Thus, the full auto firing rate and decent power of Vladof weapons works best for them, with all of their weapons being capable of letting loose a flurry of bullets in a short amount of time with the proven reliability and simplicity of Soviet-era technology.

    Anshin 
One of the two brands that specialize in non-weapon items (such as Shields, Grenade mods and Class mods). Anshin produces grenade mods, shields and instant health kits. After 2 they also produce the Quick Change stations located across Pandora. In The Pre-Sequel they also produce Oz kits.
  • Armor-Piercing Attack: Their "Peace Keeper" class mod for Mordecai gives a boost to his "Trespass" skill.
  • Character Customization: They created the Quick Change stations that allow players to personalize their character's look as well as reset skill points from 2 onwards.
  • Gradual Regeneration:
    • In 1, one of the effects of the "Peace Keeper" class mod for Mordecai and "Tactician" class mod for Roland is gradual health regeneration. In addition, they have the "Rose" Pearlescent-tier shield, which grants health regeneration once drained completely.
    • In 2, the Legendary-tier Neogenerator and Seraph-tier Evolution adaptive shields add health regeneration on top of the adaptive ability. In addition, their "Nurse" and "Legendary Nurse" class mods for Maya grants her team health regeneration and empower her "Restoration", "Elated" and "Sweet Release" skills, all of which are related with health regeneration, while the "Legendary" version also empowers "Sustenance".
    • In The Pre-Sequel!, their "Reogenerator" adaptive shield adds health regeneration on top of the adaptive ability (the effectiveness being tied to how full the shield bar is, with full shield granting no regeneration and no shield granting max), while their "Invigoration" Oz kit restores health alongside oxygen.
  • Life Drain: In 1, they produced the Transfusion grenade mods, which, upon exploding, heal the user upon a certain amount.
  • Money Multiplier: In 1, their "Catalyst" class mod for Lilith allows her team to have up to 2% better chance to find rare loot.
  • Necessary Drawback: In 1, the "Rose" Pearlescent-tier shield's ability, "Beauty and Life", will only be triggered if the shield has been fully recharged.
  • Non-Elemental: In 1, their "Transfusion" grenade mods always come with no element associated with them.
  • Shock and Awe:
    • In 1, their "Shock Trooper" mod for Roland grants him a boost to shock damage dealing.
    • In The Pre-Sequel!, their "Defender" class mod boosts Athena's "Superconductor" and "Conduit" shock-related skills.
  • Situational Sword:
    • In 1, their "Defender" class mod for Lilith adds resistance to corrosive and/or incendiary damage, while their "Shock Trooper" mod for Roland grants him resistance to shock damage.
    • In 2, they produce Adaptive shields, whose resistance type depends on the type of the last received damage.
  • Stone Wall: Most of their items gear towards this.
    • In 1 their "Peace Keeper" loyalty class mod for Mordecai gives a significant boost to shield capacity (especially with Anshin shields) as well as significantly reduced shield recharge time, while their "Tactician" class mod for Roland grants his team health regeneration, a higher shield capacity and faster shield recharge. Downplayed with their unique shield, "Cracked Sash", dropped from Rakkinshu, which features a fast recharge and almost no delay, but at the expense lf low capacity.
    • Several examples in 2:
      • Their "Sweetheart" class mod for Gaige significantly boosts her team's max health and boosts her Gradual Regeneration-related skill "Cooking Up Trouble".
      • Their "Tactician" mod for Axton, much like Roland in 1, grants boosted shield recharge and capacity and boosts his "Preparation" skill. The mod's Legendary-tier counterpart, "Legendary Ranger", boosts the shield's recharge and capacity, but instead improves on the "Ranger" and "Quick Charge" skills, which improve max health and grant a shield recharge after killing an enemy.
      • Their "Titan" and "Legendary Titan" mods for Salvador are downplayed examples, as they give Salvador Gradual Regeneration and boost "Hard to Kill" and "I'm the Juggernaut" (with the Legendary version also boosting "Asbestos") at the cost of shield capacity.
      • Their "Warder" mod for Maya boosts her shield capacity and her "Ward" and "Recompense" skills.
    • In The Pre-Sequel!, their "Defender" class mod for Athena boosts her shield capacity as well as that of her allies if she invested in the "United Front" skill; and their "Protector" class mod boosts her "Vanguard" skill. In addition, they produce the "Slammer" Booster shield that drops Shield boosts when its user is damaged. Downplayed with the "M0RQ" and "Reogenerator" adaptive shields, which increase max health and elemental resistance (plus Gradual Regeneration in the latter) at the expense of shield capacity.

    Gearbox 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gearbox3.png
"Gearbox Gunpack - A package of unique Gearbox Golden Guns to help you start your journey on Pandora."

Yes, Gearbox Software's Creator Cameo of choice. These guns are not typically found through normal loot drops, but are special weapons found periodically through the first game. In the second game, a few only appear to players who got the Premiere Club.


  • Ace Custom: Invoked, but Inverted. As of 2, they seem to specialize in making cheaper versions of other companies' products, despite being referred to "Gearbox Golden Guns."
  • Bland-Name Product: In 2, they don't have any unique products, only variants of other manufacturers' weapons.
  • The Bus Came Back: They're back for 3, even if only as weapon skins.
  • Creator Cameo: Is one to the company that made the game. Fittingly, they are absent from The Pre-Sequel! and Tales from the Borderlands, since those games were made by other developers.
  • Hufflepuff House: To a greater degree than S&S, to the point where it's not entirely clear if they're even canon.
  • Starter Equipment: If you applied for the Premiere Club in 2, you get a Vladof assault rifle, a Hyperion SMG, and a Jakobs sniper rifle - all rebranded as Gearbox guns - added in your inventory at the start of the game. These guns are a leg-up on the Dahl pistol and Jakobs revolver and shotgun you normally get initially, but they'll get outclassed quickly once you do a side quest or two in Southern Shelf (Hammerlock's quests will give you a Vladof rifle and, should you give the Bullymong fur to him, a Jakobs sniper, both of which trounce the Gearbox weaponry in terms of stats), or make a beeline for the weapons vending machine near Hammerlock's cabin.
    • Downplayed a little with the SMG, however, as SMG's don't start spawning until Three Horns - Divide so it's the only one you're going to get for a while. But even then, it's stats are so pitifully weak (easily outdone by a Vladof pistol of the same level range), it's not worth holding onto anyway.

    S&S Munitions 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_3.png
"The brothers who first founded S&S Munitions did so with the goal to not just make a weapon, but to change an industry. As avid outdoorsmen with time in the military, they knew the power of your weapon only mattered when it was loaded. Tired of seeing their clips run dry at the most inopportune times, they set out to develop the highest capacity guns on the market. S&S Munitions is now the standard-bearer for large capacity, easy-to-change magazines. Today, our commitment to functional technological advancements doesn't end there. S&S Munitions also makes some of the most powerful tech weapons on the market. If power and capacity are your concerns, then say yes to S&S."

A manufacturer that only appeared in the first Borderlands, which produced high-capacity weaponry often augmented with elemental tech. Unfortunately, they went out of business (at least on Pandora and Elpis) due to the proliferation of cheaper, locally-produced Bandit and Scav guns.


  • The Cameo: Borderlands 3 mentions that they manufacture the loot identification lights on various weapons. That's the most we see of them after the first game.
  • The Generic Guy: Among the weapons of all three games, there just wasn't much distinguishing them from everyone else aside from very large magazines, moderate to fast fire rates and decent elemental multipliers that were still outclassed by Maliwan. As a result, they got replaced by Bandit weapons, which were much more flavorful.
  • Hufflepuff House: Originally, S&S was one of several manufacturers that only had characterization through ad copy, but it remains the only one to not be expanded upon at all. For example, Jakobs was given a prominent appearance in The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned, and both it and Torgue were then given radical redesigns for Borderlands 2 based on their respective motifs (The Wild West and manliness, respectively), before being made a central part of 3. S&S was dropped entirely and had its characteristics given to Bandit/Scav/COV and Vladof; it is implied that the development and proliferation of cheap, homemade Bandit/Scav/COV guns that also focused on large magazines ended up driving S&S into bankruptcy.
  • More Dakka: Their main schtick was having generously large magazines for their guns. To quote one of their advertisement posters:
    Reload: Verb.
    1. Something you do after your target is dead.
  • My Friends... and Zoidberg: Again, don't plan on hearing about these guys past the first game.

    Vladof 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vladof_1.png
"We see the pain in your eyes. We sense your anger, your feelings of betrayal, and your disgust. And we at Vladof are with you. The time is coming, comrades! The time to stand up and be heard is nearly upon us and you must be prepared. You must be armed! Vladof firearms were designed for this moment in time. Seize it! When you shoulder a Vladof, you will know at once that you are not alone and that you can be heard. You will be heard! All Vladof weapons are constructed in the factories of your brethren and designed to pack the highest firing rate possible. The oppressors will be fast — we know this — Vladof helps you to be even quicker. Rise with Vladof. Together we will forge a better tomorrow!"

A very clearly Russian-based corporation headed by Ivan Vladof, Vladof are mostly notable for two things: the revolutionary fervour of their radio ads, and the enthusiasm with which their guns spray ammunition. Vladof's unique manufacturer trait in 2 is their exceptional rate of fire, with a deeper magazine to make better use of that fire rate. Vladof make pistols, assault rifles, rocket launchers and sniper rifles, and most are given names implying revolution (the "Anarchist" pistol, for example). Vladof shields can absorb incoming fire and add the ammunition to the wearer's reserves, allowing them to keep shooting for even longer, while their grenades create large elemental areas of effect.

In Borderlands 3, their guns can be kitted out with underbarrel attachments: tasers, rocket tubes, even extra barrels.


  • The Aesthetics of Technology: Vladof weapons, like most aspects of the company, hearken back to old Soviet-era tech, with parallelogram silhouettes and the occasional hammer-and-sickle logo painted on.
    • In Borderlands 3, their assault rifles keep the AK aesthetic (with some parts being derived from the AKS-74U), but the other guns deviate from the Soviet-influenced design they're known for. Certain variations of their pistols even resemble the Ruger Standard of all things, while their heavy weapons appear to have been inspired by the Mambi-1, a shoulder-mounted anti-materiel rifle of Cuban origin (yes, the Cubans made guns of their own).
  • A.K.A.-47: While none of their guns are exactly identical to Soviet-made firearms, there's very clear design influence. Uncommon Vladof weapons in 2 and Pre-Sequel even have the same finish as a real AK-47.
  • Badass Army: Out of all of the corporations, Vladof's is apparently the most powerful and dangerous. The Ursa Corps was theoretically able to take on the entire Hyperion military under Handsome Jack in a straight fight. If Moze's Iron Bear is any indication, the Ursa Corps is basically an entire army of One Man Armies.
  • Boring, but Practical:
    • In Borderlands 2 and Pre-Sequel, while they specialize in fire rate, none of their other stats are all that bad, making them pretty solid choices for general use. The only real downside is ammo consumption.
    • Vladof rocket launchers in 2 and Pre-Sequel don't really excel in any stat compared to rocket launchers from other manufacturers, but they get a feature that more than makes up for it: reduced ammo per shot, which means you'll occasionally fire a rocket that costs no ammo. Considering how small the ammo pool for rocket launchers is and how rare and expensive the ammo is to obtain, this makes them far more sustainable in combat. As an added bonus, the reduced ammo effect overrides the increased ammo consumption that E-tech weapons normally get, making the Topneaa viable for more than just emergencies.
    • In Borderlands 3, one accessory that may be found on a Vladof weapon is a bipodnote . This lacks the extra firepower that a rocket/grenade launcher attachment or an extra gun barrel may bring and it slows its users down quite a bit when used, but it allows for near pin-point accuracy and virtually no recoil on a brand whose advertising slogan is "You don't need to be a better shot, you just need to shoot more bullets!"
  • Bottomless Magazines: One Vladof legendary is the Infinity, a pistol with literally unlimited ammunition.
  • Chummy Commies: Subverted. Vladof talks a good game about overthrowing the corporations, but ultimately there's not much difference between them and any other MegaCorp.
  • Elites Are More Glamorous: Their Ursa Corp armored infantry division are capable of wiping out an entire continent of Tediore forces in a matter of days and are so intimidating that a Hyperion employee during the time of Jack's reign believes that they're better off not going to war with Vladof.
  • Foil:
    • To Bandit/Scav/COV guns. While both manufacturers boast high fire rates to overwhelm their enemies Vladof guns tend to have better accuracy and handling and values some trigger discipline instead of merely jamming your finger on it and firing wildly to cause serious damage. In 3 Vladof values versatility, having several alternate fire modes, instead of the single-minded track of "shoot until your gun breaks" COV firearms.
    • To Jakobs guns as well. Compare their slogans with Vladof's being "You don't need to be a better shot, you just need to shoot more bullets!" to Jakobs' "If it took more than one shot you weren't using a Jakobs!". While Jakobs guns can shoot a lot of bullets with few trigger pulls, and even has a few automatic guns, it favors precision over the sheer amount of bullets Vladof guns can spew.
  • Gatling Good: Vladof barrels on most guns give it two (pistol, sniper rifle) or three (assault rifle, rocket launcher) barrels, which rotate as the weapon is fired. The Jakobs assault rifle with the Vladof barrel is actually called a Gatling Gun, though it doesn't actually function like one due to how Jakobs rifles are semi-automatic (instead firing three shots at once).
    • The legendary Shredifier rifle in particular is Vladof's design philosophy incarnate. It sports a rotary minigun that spools up far more quickly than standard Vladof guns, letting the user fire over a hundred bullets in just a few seconds of holding the trigger down. In 3, it may even spawn with a second gun barrel attachment, fittingly renaming it the Super Shredifier, which ups its already ridiculous fire rate twofold.
    • Lucians Call is another Vladof rifle that sports two minigun barrels that spin and fire an intense volume of bullets, with the added effect of returning bullets back into the users magazine when they score a critical hit. Provided you're good at aiming for the head, you'll likely never have to reload it in battle.
  • Hufflepuff House: They don't get much focus, apart from some ambiguous and implied connections to Nurse Nina in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! and Moze in 3, who was a member of their Ursa Corps.
  • Hypocrite: That speech you read as their quote? Yeah, that's basically just advertising copy.
  • More Dakka: Vladof lives and breathes this. Overall their stats are okay but cyclic ROF is through the roof. Even their snipers get in on the action.
    • Taken to its logical conclusion in Borderlands 3, where Vladof brand guns can now sport additional gun barrels on top of the main barrel for additional firepower, resulting in the utter absurdity of a Legendary pistol with 3 magazines, a Lyuda sniper rifle with 3 rotating barrels, and assault rifles with two minigun barrels.
  • Moving the Goalposts: Vladof is not above randomly altering the contracts of their soldiers in order to keep them on service for far longer than they're willing to. Fortunately, the soldiers are apparently able to do the same thing; when Moze's commander tried altering her contract to force her to take five more missions, she refused and agreed to only one more... which was Darzaron Bay.
  • The Man Is Sticking It to the Man: What happens if the people who sell Che Guevara shirts make Kalashnikovs? You get Vladof.
  • Recursive Ammo: These are the people who make the Mongol, a rocket launcher that fires rockets that shoot out more rockets as it flies across the battlefield.
  • Secondary Fire: Borderlands 3 gives Vladof brand weapons under-barrel attachments to compliment their guns, up to and including grenade/rocket launchers, tasers and another gun barrel.
  • Shout-Out: All their sniper rifles are named in Nadsat.
  • Starter Equipment:
    • Claptrap starts every new game of Pre-Sequel with a part-fixed Angry TMP.
    • In 3, the first weapon you get from Claptrap is a Moloko with a Zip Rocket underbarrel, which does decent damage against level one enemies and quickly introduces the alt. fire mechanic.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Weapon Brands

    General 
  • Automatic Crossbows: One of the many possible guns made by these manufacturers.
  • Bland-Name Product: In-universe example. Most of the brands are clearly based on brands from the Borderlands universe with their names changed slightly.
    • Dahl becomes Dahlia, retaining the alternate-fire modes from Borderlands 3.
    • Tediore becomes Feriore, once again producing cheap, disposable weapons that do crazy stuff when thrown.
    • Hyperion becomes Hyperius, specializing in shielded weapons that become more stable when fired.
    • Torgue is an exception, likely due to Tina's friendship with Mr. Torgue.
    • Vladof becomes Stoker, likely in reference to Vladof's tendency to stoke the flames of revolution for its own gain.
    • Jakobs becomes Blackpowder, subtly shifting Jakobs' Cowboy theming to a more Pike-and-Shot one.
    • Anshin and Pangolin become Ashen and Pangoblin, respectively.

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