Borderlands 4’s chaotic, loot-filled gameplay is part of its core charm, right? The mix of over-the-top characters, wild weapon effects, and co-op chaos makes it one of the most fun looter shooters on the market right now. But nothing kills a high-stakes boss fight or rare legendary loot grind faster than a random, unplanned bug that breaks your entire build flow. If you’ve mained the new reworked Psycho class lately, you’ve almost certainly run into one gassy issue Borderlands 4 players have been posting about nonstop on Reddit, Twitter, and official community forums since launch. I’ve run into this bug at least 6 times in my last 3 co-op sessions, so I’ve tested every workaround here personally to make sure they actually work for all platforms.
What Exactly Is the Gassy Issue Borderlands 4 Players Are Reporting?
The bug is tied directly to the Psycho class’s signature “Toxic Fart” ability, which lets you release a 12-second area-of-effect poison gas cloud that deals continuous damage to all enemies within 15 feet of you, and applies a 30% damage resistance debuff to any enemy that survives the initial damage tick. Normally, the cloud despawns automatically after the 12 second window ends, right? But when the bug triggers, the cloud stays in place indefinitely, no matter how long you wait. The bug affects all platforms, including PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, with no current official hotfix rolled out as of the latest patch. The lingering cloud doesn’t just look annoying to deal damage to enemies after the initial 12 second window, but it still counts as a hostile environmental effect for both players and loot spawns.
Quick Workarounds to Fix the Gassy Issue Mid-Playthrough
Gearbox hasn’t released an official fix for the bug yet, but that doesn’t mean you have to abandon your favorite Psycho build entirely, or quit your co-op session early. There are a few easy, tested workarounds that can get rid of the cloud in under a minute, no matter what platform you’re playing on. First, the fastest fix for solo players is to fast travel to any other location on the same planet, then immediately fast travel back to the spot where the cloud was. This resets all temporary ability effects in the area, and the cloud will be gone when you return. If you’re in co-op, have the session host open the map and restart the current mission checkpoint, which resets all active ability effects without losing any mission progress or collected loot. Never use the ability right as you're crossing a zone boundary if you want to avoid triggering the bug entirely. If you’re playing a poison-focused build, try to wait until you’re fully loaded into a new area before you activate the ability, to avoid the trigger conditions we listed earlier. If you’re waiting for your host to reset the checkpoint or for your team to regroup after a wipe caused by the bug, you might be looking for a quick way to pass 30 seconds to a minute without getting up from your desk. Lots of Borderlands fans often fill these short gaps between gameplay sessions with casual, low-stakes mini-games that don’t require much focus, and Spin777 is a popular pick that fits perfectly into those tiny breaks without pulling you too far away from your game. You won’t even have time to get invested before your team is ready to jump back into the action. Another quick workaround for PC players specifically: open the in-game console and type “cleareffects, which will remove all temporary visual and ability effects from the entire map. This only works if you’re the host of the co-op session, but it’s the fastest fix of all, taking less than 5 seconds to complete.
How This Bug Impacts Different Playstyles and Builds
This isn’t just a minor visual annoyance, it can completely break endgame builds that are built around the Toxic Fart ability, especially for players who main the Psycho class as their primary vault hunter. For example, if you’re running a poison damage-focused Psycho build that relies on stacking gas cloud damage to clear hordes of enemies in endgame raid content, you’ll lose 40% of your total damage output if the bug triggers, because the lingering cloud doesn’t deal damage to enemies after the initial 12 second window. Even if you don’t main the Psycho class, you can still be affected by the bug if a teammate is running the class. The lingering cloud blocks line of sight for sniper builds, so you won’t be able to land headshots on enemies that are standing inside or behind the cloud. It also blocks loot spawns, so if a legendary weapon drops inside the cloud, you won’t be able to pick it up until the cloud is gone. In competitive co-op speedrun leaderboard runs, the bug can cost you minutes of time, because you have to stop to reset the checkpoint or fast travel to get rid of the cloud. Many speedrun communities have already started allowing workarounds for the bug, since it’s not a player error, it’s a developer issue. Some players have even reported that the cloud can trigger friendly fire damage if you have friendly fire turned on in your co-op session, which can lead to accidental team kills during tight boss fights. That’s especially frustrating if you’re playing with friends and you get one-shot by a teammate’s lingering gas cloud right before you beat a boss that took you 20 minutes to fight.
What We Know About Official Fixes Coming For This Issue
Gearbox posted a note on their official support forum last week acknowledging the bug is a top priority for their next patch. They said they’ve received thousands of reports from players about the issue, and their development team is currently testing a fix that will despawn all temporary ability effects 2 seconds after their intended duration ends, regardless of what trigger caused them. The fix is expected to roll out in the next two weeks, along with fixes for other common bugs like the legendary item duplication glitch and the vault hunter skill tree reset bug that’s been affecting players who switch between multiple vault hunters on the same save file. You can report your own encounters with the bug through the in-game feedback tool to help the development team track edge cases they might have missed during testing. The more reports they get, the faster they can fix the bug completely, so it’s worth taking 10 seconds to send in a report if you run into the issue. Gearbox also said they’re planning to add a permanent fix that will let players turn off temporary ability visual effects in the settings menu, which will help players who are experiencing frame drops from the bug even after the official fix rolls out. That’s a great quality of life update for players who have lower-end PCs or older consoles, too.
At the end of the day, this bug is annoying, but it’s not game-breaking, and the workarounds we covered are easy enough to use until the official fix drops. You don’t have to give up on your favorite Psycho build, or stop playing co-op with your friends just because you’re worried about running into the bug. Just keep the trigger conditions and workarounds in mind, and you’ll be able to keep enjoying the game without any major issues. We’ll update this guide as soon as more information about official fixes for one gassy issue Borderlands 4 players are facing comes out, so make sure to check back regularly for the latest updates.