Jump to content

 

Guide to Laser Weapons


Ashleyc
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'm a big fan of the laser weapons introduced in this game, but they can be a little more complicated than some of the other weapons due to the big difference between types based on how the weapon is made.

So, I thought i'd outline how they work so they're a little more predictable.

 

The first thing about lasers is that they will always be elemental except for one - the E-Gun which you can get as a quest reward for completing the Sub-Level 13 mission and not giving the item to Pickle. You will also never get an explosive laser, but they come in all the other elemental flavours.

 

Now, quite what a laser does when you pull the trigger can vary wildly based on two factors - the manufacturer of the laser body and also the manufacturer of the barrel. The body is the obvious part - it's what you'll see when on the item card when you highlight the weapon. Laser bodies will follow their usual manufacturer quirks:

 

  • Dahl-bodied lasers will burst fire when zoomed and have some recoil reduction. Dahl-bodied lasers will also have an ability to penetrate through enemies so can help with groups.
  • Hyperion-bodied lasers will have reverse recoil - the longer you fire the more accurate the weapon will be. They also have a critical hit bonus.
  • Maliwan-bodied lasers will have high elemental damage and chance. They also have a special ability to cause more damage the longer you fire.
  • Tediore-bodied lasers will have the ability to be thrown like grenades when reloaded, and like other Tediore weapons you'll do more damage the more ammo is left. However, thrown lasers will act like Tesla grenades and will do constant shock damage until they explode.

Again, a lot of the above is fairly obvious as you can see a lot of this information on the weapon card. However, the laser is also affected by the type of barrel it has:

 

  • A Dahl barrel will cause the laser to act a lot like an assault rifle and will fire laser "bullets" at a rapid but accurate rate.
  • A Hyperion barrel will make the laser act like a railgun, it'll fire one strong blast at the cost of around 4 laser ammo at a slow rate.
  • A Maliwan barrel will make the laser shoot a constant Ghostbusters-style beam. It does constant damage but has high recoil and has a shorter range than the other types.
  • A Tediore barrel will make the laser fire splitter shots - you'll fire a horizontal spread shot at the cost of around 3 laser ammo.

Sometimes you can tell the type of barrel from the name of the laser - a Dahl barrel will be called a Blaster, a Hyperion barrel a Railgun, a Maliwan a Beam and a Teriore a Splitter.

 

However, I know this doesn't apply to unique weapons so it can useful to recognise what the barrels look like - press the right stick when looking at a weapon's card to view the model:

 

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141023124720/borderlands/images/a/a7/Dahl_Blaster.jpg

Dahl blaster barrel

 

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141023130835/borderlands/images/1/1d/Hyperion_Railgun.jpg

Hyperion railgun barrel

 

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141023130939/borderlands/images/e/ea/Maliwan_Beam.jpg

Maliwan beam barrel

 

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141023131109/borderlands/images/8/8c/Tediore_Splitter.jpg

Tediore splitter barrel

 

Now, the most interesting thing about lasers is that you can have any weapon and barrel combination - the manufacturer shown on the item card only counts for the body type and the laser doesn't have to have a matching manufacturer body and barrel.

 

This means that among others, you can have a Hyperion base/Maliwan barrel laser - a beam laser which actually becomes more accurate as you fire it. A Maliwan base/Dahl barrel laser will act like a assault rile with a very high chance of elemental effects - cryo works especially well with these. Or maybe my personal favorite: a pure Maliwan laser - a beam that does constant damage which increases as you fire - great for large enemies.

 

Anyway, that's an overview on lasers - I hope it helps someone find the right laser for them!

http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/File:Dahl_Blaster.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like that weapon too - it's a pure Maliwan so the damage potential is very high. Plus, when doing damage it actually heals you slightly. The only things that let it down is the (deliberately) annoying vibration and the fact that you can get the E-gun pretty much straight after getting it, which is my favorite weapon. I just wish you could get a level 50 version.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
  • Create New...