Like its vast palette of weapons, the Borderlands series has become an explosive, unstoppable force that’s left an impact on the RPG genre. The epic third game in the mainline franchise has kept the momentum going, as have the steady stream of spinoffs and DLC packs like The Pre-Sequel and the story-driven Tales From the Borderlands.
Even the now-distant Borderlands 2 is still going strong, thanks to its memorable locales, characters, and weapons -along with the recent DLC, Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary.
While BL2 is known for its crazy lineup of unique weapons in general - the game’s assault rifles are truly in the spirit of its frantic run-and-gun gameplay.
Despite their clunky, finicky nature at times, these can be some of the most fun weapons to wield - as they allow players to go in guns-blazing and pelt their foes Rambo style. This list will highlight the game’s lineup of Legendary assault rifles and rank them all in terms of their overall power and efficiency.
Note that this won’t include the more potent rifles such as the Bekah or Peak Opener. While these are solid guns, their Pearlescent and Effervescent tags mean that they’re limited to Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode and certain DLC content.
7 Madhous!
As one might suspect from the brand name, this tends to be a cobbled-together scrap heap more than a potent assault rifle. Bandit-made weapons are assembled via salvaged materials and come with makeshift parts - and the questionable craftsmanship shows here. The weapon comes randomly from loot, but moreso from the mini-boss Mad Dog.
Aside from a fairly large magazine size and decent damage, there isn’t much that’s salvageable about the appropriately-named “Madhous!”
It fires off split projectiles that ricochet off surfaces; a pretty useful feature for close-range skirmishes. Still, it loses most of its effectiveness even when firing at a mid-range distance, as bullets fire in slow, sporadic trajectories that swerve.
Basically, this shouldn’t really be bothered with when not in close range, crowd-control scenarios.
6 Shredifier
This Vladof weapon - which also makes an appearance in The Pre-Sequel - can be found randomly via loot. However, it’s more often obtained from Huperius the Invincible in Washburne Refinery.
This thing has the hallmarks of most high-powered “Spiniguns,” with the added benefit of a rapid fire rate off the bat - rather than having to build up to it. Still, aside from this enhancement and its somewhat appealing look, it’s still laced with the flaws most Spiniguns have. This generally means a pervasive clunkiness and inaccurate spread.
Gaige players may want to give it a spin, however - as her “Close Enough” skill will mitigate some of the inaccuracy. Meanwhile, her “Jill of All Trades” and “The Better Half” skills will boost its damage and fire rate, respectively.
5 Hammer Buster
Being a Jakobs weapon, there are few bells and whistles that come with this Legendary gun, which keeps its ceiling somewhat low. Regardless, it’s solid in terms of raw power - and is pretty equally effective against most mobs across the board.
With a rather low reload speed and sharp accuracy, it’s best exploited when used more as a quicker-firing sniper than an all-out assault rifle. This unique rifle is actually named after Gears of War’s Hammerburst - which is interesting since that weapon isn’t all-too accurate…
The weapon drops randomly from loot sources, but is more often found from McNally in The Dust.
4 Veruc
This Dalh rifle can be most frequently found from Mobley in The Dust, as well as the Sorcerer’s Daughter in the Lair of Infinite Agony. The latter is located in Tiny Tina’s DLC romp.
Those more economical Vault Hunters should really get a kick out of this, as it fires 3 projectiles at the cost of just 2. It also fires a five-round burst when zoomed - and the spread narrows with every round fired. This makes it quite impactful and accurate for those who favor aiming down the sights.
Still, its unique traits - like its horizontal spread - may take some getting used to.
3 KerBlaster
When it comes to boss fights and close-range brawls, the explosive Torgues make for good weapons-of-choice, and this one is second to none.
The weapon’s sluggish fire rate is somewhat mitigated with its sharp accuracy - not to mention its beastly damage. Minus the slow velocity, it has the traits of a solid sniper rifle and the explosive nature of a potent grenade. Just be sure to take care while firing - as it inflicts self-damage and is a bullet glutton.
The weapon is most easily found when dropped from Midge-Mong in the Southern Shelf. Though it can also be bought from a Torgue vending machine in Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage.
2 M2828 Thumpson
You can really inflict a steady stream of pain with this assault rifle, thanks to its solid stats across the board. Not only is this weapon powerful, but it has a hefty magazine size for a Jakobs gun, and it’s quite accurate and quick-firing to boot.
Its steady stability makes it an appealing choice for those deterred by the more erratic traits of most assault rifles.
The weapon is found exclusively in the Commander Lilith DLC, by way of a random drop from a marked grave in Dahl Abandon.
1 Ogre
In typical Torgue fashion, the Ogre is an explosive beast of an assault rifle; one which can utterly destroy foes unlucky enough to be in its crosshairs. This can be further enhanced by use of grenade damage bonuses equipped to your character.
Being a top-tier weapon, the Ogre proves an impactful, versatile weapon for just about any build and compliments each character in one way or another. Outside of bullet velocity and reload speed, this is a super-efficient death machine against any and all enemy types.
You’ll need the Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC to get it. Granted, it’s tough to obtain - being a rare drop from the Warlord Slog mini-boss - but it’s well worth it.
NEXT: Borderlands 2: The 10 Strongest Gunzerker Builds, Ranked
