Borderlands 4 has 24 firmware sets as of November 2026: the 21 that shipped at launch plus Skillcraft, Active Fire and Bruiser, which only drop from specific endgame sources. Firmware is a set bonus that appears on shields, repkits, ordnance, enhancements and class mods from level 25, and each set grants up to three stacking effects as you equip more pieces with the same firmware. Below is the full firmware list with current effects, where each one drops, which sets suit which builds and how the Firmware Transfer Machine works.
We checked this against the Borderlands Fandom wiki's firmware and Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode pages, GamingBolt's launch-era firmware list, and Gearbox's official update notes from December 2025 through October 2026, in November 2026.
How Firmware Works
Firmware is a named bonus that rolls on a piece of gear, much like a set tag. According to the Fandom wiki, every equipped item with the same firmware enables one additional effect, up to a maximum of three. Equip one item with Deadeye and you get its first bonus; equip a second and the second bonus switches on; a third piece unlocks the strongest effect. A fourth or fifth Deadeye item adds nothing.
That limit shapes every loadout. Firmware can roll on five kinds of gear: class mods, enhancements, ordnance, repkits and shields. GamingBolt's guide points out that with five pieces available, the natural maximum is a three-plus-two split, running a full three-piece set alongside the first two bonuses of a second set. Mixing five different sets gives you five first-tier bonuses instead, which is usually weaker because the third-tier effects are where most sets earn their place.
Guns are not on that list (heavy weapons count as ordnance). Your guns benefit from it through gear: a Deadeye set on a shield, repkit and class mod still buffs every gun you fire.
Where Firmware Drops
The wiki says loot with firmware begins to drop once you reach level 25, and the Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode page adds that higher UVHM levels raise the chance for gear to roll firmware at all. Three sets are also restricted to particular sources:
- Bruiser only appears on items dropped in the Hadron Abyss, the free Takedown area added on June 25, 2026.
- Skillcraft only appears on items dropped at Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode level 6 and above.
- Active Fire only appears on items dropped at UVHM level 7.
UVHM 6 and 7 themselves are gated by the raid bosses: the wiki lists Bloomreaper the Invincible as the requirement for level 6 and Subjugator and Thol the Invincible for level 7. If you want Active Fire for a charge-weapon build, those two raids are the road there.
The Full Borderlands 4 Firmware List
Here is every set with its one-, two- and three-piece effects as listed on the Fandom wiki in November 2026. Several numbers have been buffed since launch, so older lists may show lower values.
| Firmware | 1 piece | 2 pieces | 3 pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goojfc | Action skill cooldown rate +10% | Action skill damage +15% | Action skill cooldown rate +20% more |
| Skillcraft (UVHM 6+) | Action skill damage +10% | Action skill critical chance +10% | Action skill damage grants +2% skill damage for 10s, up to 25 stacks |
| God Killer | Damage to Badass enemies +10% | Damage taken from Badass enemies reduced 10% | Killing a Badass grants +20% damage for 60s |
| Active Fire (UVHM 7) | Weapon damage +10% | Weapon charge rate +20% | Firing within 0.5s of full charge doubles damage dealt |
| Atlas E.X. | Mode switch speed +33% | Gun damage +25% while an Atlas Target Lock is active | Killing a locked enemy locks another nearby enemy |
| Atlas Infinium | Fire rate +12% while Target Lock is active | Atlas-licensed guns +15% damage | Target Locks are infinite unless you swap guns |
| Bullets To Spare | Fire rate +5% | Magazine size +20% | Fire rate increased by 50% of magazine size |
| Daed-dy O' | Mode switch speed +25% | Magazine size +20% | On mode switch, +35% damage and +20% fire rate for 5s |
| Deadeye | Accuracy +30% | Critical damage +25% | Each crit grants 15% crit damage per stack, up to 5 stacks, for 10s |
| Heating Up | Reload speed +20% | +50% overheated shots before breaking with CoV parts | +25% damage while overheating with CoV parts |
| High Caliber | Projectile speed +25% | Gun damage +10% | Bullets pierce enemies |
| Jacked | Zoom-in speed +35% | Hyperion gun shield capacity +50% | 40% chance for Hyperion gun shields to ricochet projectiles |
| Oscar Mike | Reload speed +10% | Up to +20% damage based on magazine emptiness | After reloading, fire rate +30% for 4s |
| Trickshot | Reload speed +5% | Critical damage +10% | Crits have 50% chance to refill 1 ammo |
| Action Fist | Melee damage +25% | Action skill damage +30% | Melee kill grants +30% action skill damage for 8s |
| Reel Big Fist | Melee damage +25% | Melee damage +25% more | Melee kills trigger a Nova for 200% melee damage |
| Gadget Ahoy | Ordnance cooldown reduced 15% | Ordnance damage +20% | Ordnance kills grant +20% damage for 15s |
| Get Throwin' | Grenade damage +35% | Splash radius +20% | Grenades and Tediore thrown guns: 50% chance to spawn homing missiles |
| Airstrike | Splash radius +20% | Splash damage +35% | On kill, missile strike on nearby enemies (5s cooldown) |
| Baker | Shield capacity +10% | Repkit cooldown reduced 15% | Maximum health +25% |
| Bruiser (Hadron Abyss) | Damage taken reduced 10% | Lifesteal +3% | Kills grant +10% damage for 30s, up to 5 stacks |
| Lifeblood | Repkit healing +10% | Lifesteal +5% | On kill, regenerate 10% of maximum health |
| Risky Boots | Below 35% health, damage taken reduced 30% | Below 35% health, movement speed +35% | Below 35% health, damage dealt doubled and lifesteal +5% |
| Rubberband Man | Damage reduction +10% | Lifesteal +10% | Bonuses from this firmware are doubled |
Picking Firmware by Playstyle
The wiki groups the sets by what they boost, and that is the most useful way to shop for them.
Action skill builds want Goojfc first. Its third tier stacks a further 20% cooldown rate on top of the first 10%, which means more casts per fight, and the middle tier adds 15% action skill damage. Skillcraft is the late-game upgrade for skill-damage builds, since its third tier stacks 2% skill damage per hit up to 25 times. Action Fist bridges melee and skills, and works well for characters who weave melee into their rotation.
Gun builds have the most choice. Deadeye is the general-purpose crit set, ramping critical damage with stacks. Atlas E.X. and Atlas Infinium only shine with Atlas Target Lock parts, Heating Up only with CoV-licensed parts, and Jacked only with Hyperion gun shields, so check your weapons' licensed parts before chasing them. Our Borderlands 4 enhancements guide explains how those manufacturer parts work, because an enhancement and a firmware set built around the same manufacturer stack together.
Melee builds pair naturally with Reel Big Fist, whose third tier turns every melee kill into a Nova. Ordnance and splash builds choose between Gadget Ahoy, Get Throwin' and Airstrike depending on whether grenades, thrown Tediore guns or general splash damage carry the build.
Survivability sets are the usual two-piece filler in a three-plus-two setup. Baker's third tier adds 25% maximum health, Lifeblood heals on kill, and Rubberband Man doubles its own damage reduction and lifesteal at three pieces. Risky Boots is a deliberate low-health playstyle rather than a safety net, since all three bonuses only apply below 35% health.
Sample Three-Plus-Two Loadouts
Seeing the sets combined makes the system click. These examples use only the effects in the table above, and each fills the five firmware-capable slots: shield, repkit, ordnance, class mod and enhancement.
- Action skill caster: three pieces of Goojfc for the stacked cooldown rate and skill damage, plus two pieces of Baker for shield capacity and a shorter repkit cooldown. Once you reach UVHM 6, Skillcraft can replace Goojfc if your skill hits often enough to keep its stacks up.
- Critical-hit gunner: three pieces of Deadeye for accuracy, crit damage and the stacking crit buff, plus two of Trickshot for reload speed and extra crit damage. The two crit sets reinforce each other rather than competing.
- Brawler: three pieces of Reel Big Fist so melee kills trigger a Nova, plus two of Lifeblood for repkit healing and lifesteal to stay alive at close range.
- Boss hunter: three pieces of God Killer for damage against Badass enemies and the 60-second buff after each Badass kill, plus two of Rubberband Man for damage reduction and lifesteal.
Treat these as starting points rather than finished builds. The right split depends on which slots your best items already occupy: a perfect shield with the wrong firmware might be worth keeping and transferring onto, while a mediocre repkit with the right firmware can hold a set together until something better drops. Remember too that a set only counts pieces you have equipped, so a firmware item sitting in your backpack does nothing for the bonus count.
One more rule of thumb: chase the third tier only when it changes how you play. Goojfc's extra cooldown, Reel Big Fist's Nova and Atlas Infinium's infinite Target Locks all alter your rotation. Sets whose third tier is a modest stat bump are often better as two-piece filler.
How Firmware Has Changed Since Launch
If you are comparing against an older list, expect different numbers. GamingBolt's September 2025 guide, written at launch, listed 21 sets with lower values in several places. A few examples of the difference against the wiki's current figures:
- Atlas E.X.'s second tier was +10% gun damage during Target Lock; it now reads +25%.
- Daed-dy O''s third tier granted +20% damage on mode switch; it now grants +35%.
- Jacked's Hyperion gun shield capacity bonus was +25%; it now reads +50%.
- Action Fist's action skill damage tier was +10%; it now reads +30%.
- Rubberband Man's first two tiers were 5% damage reduction and 5% lifesteal; they now read 10% each.
Fixes matter too. Gearbox's December 11, 2025 update made level 3 Bullets to Spare work correctly with CoV magazines. When a patch lands, check the wiki or the update notes before rebuilding around a firmware number.
Using the Firmware Transfer Machine
Rolling the perfect item with the wrong firmware is common, and the transfer system exists to fix it. The Fandom wiki explains the rules:
- Firmware Transfer Machines become available once you complete the main missions.
- A transfer copies firmware from one item to another item of the same type, for a combined cost of cash and Eridium. Heavy weapons and grenades count as the same type.
- The item you copy from is destroyed, and any firmware already on the target item is lost.
- Firmware that has been transferred once is locked (shown with a lock icon) and cannot be copied again, though new firmware can be copied over it.
Because the donor item is destroyed and a transfer can only happen once per firmware, decide on your final item before transferring. It is the gear equivalent of a respec, and our respec guide covers the skill-point side of rebuilding.
The weekly Black Market is a good source of firmware-bearing Legendaries to transfer onto or from, since its stock is personal to you and refreshes every Thursday; see our guide to the Black Market location. And before you settle on a set, make sure your gun's element suits the enemies you farm, using our elemental damage chart.
If You Would Rather Not Farm It
Collecting three matching firmware pieces on the right gear types can take many runs. If you would rather start with a large pool of loot to sort through, the store's Borderlands 4 Legendary Weapons listing offers 200 random Legendary weapons and items at any level, among other packages listed on the page. Since the 200 items are random, the listing does not promise specific firmware, so treat it as raw material for transfers rather than a finished set.
The listing says it works on PSN, Xbox and PC and needs only your SHiFT nickname from the Account Details tab under Social. More options are in the store's Borderlands 4 section.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many firmware sets are in Borderlands 4?
24 as of November 2026: 21 from launch plus Skillcraft, Active Fire and Bruiser, which drop only from UVHM 6+, UVHM 7 and the Hadron Abyss respectively.
At what level does firmware start dropping?
Level 25. Higher Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode levels then raise the chance for gear to roll firmware.
What gear can have firmware?
Class mods, enhancements, ordnance, repkits and shields. Guns do not carry firmware themselves.
Can you stack more than three pieces of the same firmware?
You can equip them, but a fourth or fifth piece gives no extra benefit. Three pieces unlock all three effects.
How do you transfer firmware in Borderlands 4?
Use a Firmware Transfer Machine, available after the main missions. It costs cash and Eridium, needs two items of the same type and destroys the source item.
What is the best firmware in Borderlands 4?
It depends on the build: Goojfc or Skillcraft for action skills, Deadeye for crit guns, Reel Big Fist for melee and Baker or Rubberband Man as survivability filler.