If you’ve spent any time looting and shooting your way through Pandora’s latest chaotic regions in Borderlands 4, you’ve probably heard players rave about overpowered legendary shotguns. The Borderlands 4 Hellwalker is at the top of that list for good reason, but most players don’t know how to unlock its full potential. I spent three straight evenings farming for my first copy last month, and it’s completely changed how I play my main Amara build. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to get the most out of this beast of a weapon.
What Makes the Borderlands 4 Hellwalker Stand Out From Other Shotguns
The Hellwalker’s signature perk, Hell’s Fury, gives it a 200% damage boost against all status-affected enemies – that stacks with all other damage buffs you have active. Unlike most high-damage shotguns in the game, it has a tight 12-pellet spread that doesn’t expand much until you’re over 20 meters away, so you don’t waste half your pellets on thin air when fighting mid-range enemies. It also has no damage falloff at close to medium range, which is almost unheard of for a shotgun with this much base power.
That said, it’s not a perfect weapon. If you can’t apply a status effect to an enemy before firing, its base damage is actually lower than most other legendary shotguns in its class, so it only works if you build your loadout around status synergy. It also has a slightly slower reload speed than comparable shotguns, so you’ll need to invest in reload speed perks to avoid getting caught out mid-fight.
Best Character Builds to Pair With the Hellwalker
The Hellwalker only shines if you’re playing a character that can consistently apply elemental status effects to large groups of enemies quickly. You don’t need a perfect endgame build to make it work, but there are a few playstyles that get way more value out of it than others. Elemental Amara builds are the most popular pairing, since her Phasegrasp ability can apply up to three different status effects to every enemy caught in its radius with the right perks invested. Status-focused Zane builds are a close second, since his SNTNL drone can apply incendiary, shock, and corrosive effects to entire mobs while you focus on firing the Hellwalker. Even Fl4k players can make it work, since their trap and pet abilities can apply poison effects to groups without you having to fire a single prep shot.
No matter which character you play, make sure you invest in these mandatory perk slots to get the most damage out of your Hellwalker:
I tried running my Hellwalker without these perks first, and my damage output dropped by almost 60%, so they’re non-negotiable if you want to use it as your primary weapon. You can swap out other perk slots for personal preference, but these four should stay locked in as long as you’re using the Hellwalker.
Where to Farm the Borderlands 4 Hellwalker
The Hellwalker is technically a world drop, meaning you can get it from any enemy or loot chest in the game, but the drop rate for world legendary shotguns is only 0.3% on Mayhem 10, so farming random mobs is a waste of time. The best farm by far is the Scorched Rex boss fight in the Ashfall Peaks region, which has a 12% drop chance for the Hellwalker on Mayhem 10. The fight takes around 2 minutes to run if you have a decent build, so you can farm 30 runs an hour if you’re quick. You can also get it from the legendary loot chests in the Proving Grounds: Trial of Supremacy, but the drop rate is only 3% per chest, so it’s not worth the longer run time.
Make sure you equip the Luck Bringer relic before you start farming, as it boosts all legendary drop rates by 30% and cuts down on grind time significantly. The god roll Hellwalker has the Double Penetrating prefix, which makes it fire two full sets of pellets per shot, doubling your damage if all pellets hit. I got lucky on my 17th Scorched Rex run and got a Double Penetrating incendiary variant, and it’s been my go-to primary ever since. If you get a variant with a different elemental type, pick one that matches the region you’re exploring most often to get extra damage against local enemy types.
Combat Tips to Maximize Hellwalker Damage Output
Even with the perfect build and god roll, you won’t get the most out of the Hellwalker if you use it like a regular shotgun. First, always make sure you apply a status effect to enemies before you fire, even if it means a quick tap from a cheap elemental sidearm. The 200% damage boost is so big that the half second you spend applying the effect is worth double the damage on your Hellwalker shot. Don’t bother using it at ranges over 20 meters, either. While it has less falloff than most shotguns, the spread still expands enough that you’ll only hit a few pellets per shot, wasting the weapon’s potential.
If you’re playing aggressively, pair it with the Rage Shield, which gives you +50% shotgun damage when your health is below 50%. Just make sure you have a good health regen perk active, or you’ll get one-shot by heavy enemies before you can fire. For co-op play, have one teammate run a full status effect build to apply DoTs to entire rooms, while you focus on firing the Hellwalker. I played co-op with my friend last week running that setup, and we cleared the entire Trial of Supremacy in under 10 minutes, which is half my normal solo run time. The only time you should swap the Hellwalker out is when you’re fighting bosses that are immune to status effects, as it will do almost no damage compared to other legendary weapons.
If you’re a fan of close to mid-range aggressive playstyles, the Borderlands 4 Hellwalker is easily one of the best weapon picks you can make for your build. It takes a little bit of grinding to get, and you have to build your loadout around its status synergy, but the payoff of clearing entire mob packs in one shot is more than worth the effort. I’ve tried dozens of other legendary shotguns since launch, and none of them come close to the consistent damage output and fun factor of a well-built Hellwalker setup. Give it a try on your next playthrough, and you’ll see why it’s become such a fan favorite already.