Borderlands is a first-person shooting video game made by Gearbox. The gaming market is absolutely stuffed with first-person shooters, but something that makes the Borderlands franchise special (besides its unabashed sense of humor and unique animation style) is that each corporate gun manufacturer is unique.
Of the 12 official manufacturers in the games, each company provides specific advantages but subsequent shortcomings in their weapons. Hyperion emphasizes recoil and accuracy. Torgue guns deal lots of damage and fire faster, but compromises that with low accuracy. These are 10 special details you can discover about the gun manufacturers, if you’re paying close attention.
10 Many Of Them Reference Greek Myths
Fans may have noticed for some and not noticed for others, but many of the gun manufacturers use names pulled straight from ancient Greek mythology. Hyperion is an obvious example, as the company’s name is pulled from the mythological Titan called Hyperion.
As further proof that this was no accidental name-drop, Hyperion had a son named Helios, and Helios is the name of Hyperion’s base on the moon. Another Titan, Atlas – largely known for holding the entire world on his back or shoulders – inspired the name of a gun manufacturer.
9 Gun Manufacturers Don’t Just Make Guns
As if making deadly weapons didn’t pay enough, many gun manufacturers are known to dabble in other industries. In the first Borderlands game, cans of skag (a large, vicious dog) meat are found during the ‘Earl Needs Food… Badly’ quest, with the Atlas label displayed clearly.
In Borderlands 2, it’s clear that Maliwan is bringing in extra cash with their alcohol brand, ‘Maliwan Black Label’ (good thing too – they may not be making enough money with the weapons, since they’re thought to be the worst manufacturer in Borderlands 3).
8 Hyperion Weapons Are The Most Accurate Because A Sniper Designed Them
Though it’s not always considered to be their official motto, many radio ads and in-game NPCs will comment on how Hyperion creates supposedly the most accurate weapons of any kind in the galaxy.
This is the case because the woman heading their weapons department, Alma Harren, had a long career as a master sniper. She was known as the “mercenary who couldn’t miss.” When she co-founded Hyperion with Maxim Turner, she prototyped the brand new stabilizing technology that makes the company’s guns so extraordinary.
7 Chinook Jargon Appears On Jakobs Weapons
In Borderlands 2, all of the Jakobs sniper rifles (and a few of the other guns) use words that come from Chinook Jargon. Chinook Jargon is a trade language used in the Americas across various tribes and territories so that people of different cultures could trade.
The gun in the photo above uses the word “Chikamin” which translates to “metal” or “money.” Other words that Jakobs used include Diaub (the devil), Muckamuck (food, to eat), and ti’kope (to cut).
6 Torque Invented Its Own Punctuation
Most people spell ‘Torque’ with normal English letters. However, Mr. Torque himself had other ideas. The “Expleroid” is a kind of punctuation he invented to go at the end of the name: Torque ҉ .
It’s not easy to use it on contemporary computers, though, as the Expleroid has not yet been accepted by the global community. Mr. Torque tried to do it when he hacked Gaige’s ECHOcasts Twitter but was annoyed that it looked more like a flower than an explosion.
5 Weapons Made By S&S Munitions Are Named After The Heavens
S&S Munitions is a manufacturer that only appears in the first Borderlands game. By the time of Borderlands 2, Bandits have run them out of business. They seem to have a fascination with naming their guns after constellations.
Some are more obvious, such as Orion (a figure in Greek mythology) and Draco (the Latin word for dragon), both names pulled from constellations. Others are slightly less clear; they pull associated words from known constellations, such as “Siren,” “Hunter,” or “Soldier.”
4 Tediore Seems To Inspire References
Tediore is arguably one of the best weapon manufacturers in Borderlands, even in the third game. The company seems to move even the in-game NPCs to say a few words – when the characters reload their Tediore weapon, the voice line is often a reference to something.
One example is the line “Here come dat boi!” that they may say, a nod to the internet joke ‘dat boi.’ The line “You will die. YOU. WILL. DIE.” actually references past Borderlands games – there was a quest in Borderlands called “You. Will. Die.” and a quest in Borderlands 2 called “You. Will. Die. (Seriously.)”
3 Typhon DeLeon Came Up With Jakobs’ Slogan
Typhon DeLeon was the first-ever Vault Hunter. While those who came after him were mostly in it for the fame, glory, and wealth, Typhon did it out of a love of discovery and his natural curiosity. He appeared as an NPC for the first time in Borderlands 3.
Fans may have missed the small detail that Typhon actually was the first person to say the famous catchphrase of Jakobs’ guns: “If it took more than one shot, you weren’t using a Jakobs.” He’d been watching Montgomery Jakobs shoot at the time, and Montgomery was so inspired that he asked Typhon for permission to use it.
2 Atlas Is Gone From Pandora…Mostly
Atlas suffered defeat at the hands of the Vault Hunters during the first Borderlands game, so the company doesn’t appear again until Borderlands 3 (where they’ve completely overhauled their style!).
However, during the course of Borderlands 2, there are a few things that indicate Atlas has a few remaining ties on Pandora. One is the octagonal Atlas logo that appears on roofing textures. The others are posters, spread across Sanctuary for the player to find. They ask the reader to turn in “any and all Atlas Assassins.”
1 Only One Manufacturer Makes Five Kinds Of Weapons In Borderlands 2
The Bandit weapons were introduced in Borderlands 2 (they were called “Scav” weapons in the Pre-Sequel, but functioned almost exactly the same). During Borderlands 2, the player may notice that gun producers only manufacture four kinds of weapons, with the Bandits being the only exception.
There are five kinds of Bandit weapons: pistols, shotguns, SMGs, assault rifles, and rocket launchers. Perhaps it’s an indication of the bandits’ creative nature; most of their weapons are covered in crude attachments.
NEXT: Borderlands: 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Sir Hammerlock
