Borderlands 4s 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 Vault of the Damned expansion as a potential turning point for the looter shooter, as it also brings the debut of Vault Hunter C4SH, there was hope that the free Pearlescent update would inject some much-needed life into the game earlier. Unfortunately, with only three weapons to hunt down and a questionable method of acquiring them, the update hasn't done much to revive Borderlands 4.
Still, while the debut of the Pearlescents isn't quite as exciting as many had hoped, the weapons are not without merit. Sure, they lack variety – they all offer two elements, meaning everything within this loot tier shares the same “unique” trait – but they're still pretty powerful options befitting their rarity. Borderlands 4 players can currently obtain the Eigenburst shotgun, the Vestigial Conflux sniper, and the Handcannon pistol. It's the last weapon that stands out, as while Eigenburst hits hard against mobs and Conflux can be a good boss killer with the right setup, getting these weapons reliably isn't nearly as easy as getting the Handcannon.
More Borderlands 4 Mother of pearl is expected with the first real one 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 the Pearlescent weapons added to Borderlands 4, along with how to add them to your arsenal.
Why the Hand Cannon is a Cut Above Borderlands Other Detonation Weapons
Borderlands' Torgue detonation weapons are quite divisive, as not everyone finds it satisfying to cover an enemy with projectiles that do almost no damage before hitting the detonation button once the target is cleared. Fortunately, the hand cannon removes this pain point by making each projectile constantly pulsate for damage, with the detonation simply being a large damage boost as opposed to the only way to gain use 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 causes her to regain ammo for each critical hit, essentially turning the Hand Cannon into an OP, endlessly replenishing weapons. Players can stack as many projectiles as they want on their enemy before detonating them with the reload button, deal massive damage with the hand cannon, making it a must-have gun for Borderlands 4 Harlowe builds. But what's even better is the fact that it's so easy to get copies of the weapon. Although getting good rolls with ideal elements and parts for Vestigial Conflux and Eigenburst can be a brutal grind, as players have to wait for Ordonite Up! events that pop up (which also only pop up when Vault Hunters are around) and hope their desired gun drops, mission replay makes Handcannon farming a breeze.
Getting Borderlands 4's Handcannon Pearlescent is extremely easy
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Complete Bounty Pack 2.
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Replay the mission “Cursed Mine”.
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Clear the Ordonite event without dying.
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Check to see if the last Ordonite enemy has a hand cannon.
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Replay the mission for another hand cannon roll.
Since players are guaranteed a Hand Cannon for completing the “Cursed Mine” quest from the Stone Demon bounty pack without dying (especially the Ordonite event section), getting a copy of the Hand Cannon with one's ideal parts and elemental overrides is pretty painless. Players can simply replay this mission over and over, with the third and final Ordonite enemy dropping the Hand Cannon for them each time (the first two have a chance to drop the other Pearlescents, making the farm even better, but the Hand Cannon is the only gun the last enemy can drop, making it the focus of the farm). Obviously, there's a chance this will be fixed sooner rather than later; While it was intended for players to get a Pearlescent on their first run, mission replays were likely not taken into consideration by Gearbox, as it makes Pearlescents extremely easy to obtain.
Still, if players act quickly (and own Bounty Pack 2), they can get a good roll of Handcannon before this farm is removed. The Hand Cannon can really be OP on Harlowe while still being decent against other Vault Hunters, so while there's a sense of disappointment about the small Pearlescent lineup and the need to get the weapons through an event instead of some challenging endgame content, this weapon shouldn't be slept on. Hopefully future Pearlescents are better than the existing ones and have other acquisition methods, but for now, being able to quickly get a perfect version of the Handcannon automatically puts it above the other Pearlescents which are much 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, User Interaction
