Elemental damage is a generic term covering supplemental non-physical damage. A weapon with elemental damage has a chance to add extra damage of an elemental type to the target every time it fires. This effect does not change the base bullet damage of a weapon.
Borderlands
- Main article: Elemental damage/Borderlands
Borderlands 2 & The Pre-Sequel
Elemental Effectiveness
Some elements are more effective than others on certain targets. In Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, elemental damage is multiplied following percentiles based on the playthrough (Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode (UVHM) uses the same percentiles as True Vault Hunter Mode (TVHM)).
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Shield | On Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-elemental | 100% | 100% | 80% |
| Explosive | 100% | 80% | 100% |
| Incendiary | 150% | 75% | 75% |
| Shock | 100% | 200% | 100% |
| Corrosive | 90% | 75% | 150% |
| Slag (BL2) | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Cryo (TPS) | 100% | 75% | 100% |
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Shield | On Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-elemental | 100% | 100% | 80% |
| Explosive | 100% | 80% | 100% |
| Incendiary | 175% | 40% | 40% |
| Shock | 100% | 250% | 100% |
| Corrosive | 60% | 40% | 175% |
| Slag (BL2) | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Cryo (TPS) | 100% | 40% | 100% |
The elemental damage coefficient multiplies the adjusted weapon damage following the formula below:
Final Damage = (Base + Skills + BadRank + Class Mod + Relic) * [Gun Base] * [Elemental multiplier]
Badass rank bonus "Elemental Effect Damage" does not affect the damage of a bullet, or the elemental damage coefficients as it adjusts only the Elemental Damage over Time Status Effects.
Explosive Damage Exclusivity
In Borderlands 2, explosive damage is largely exclusive to Torgue-manufactured products. However, several other manufacturers feature weapons that deal explosive damage in some manner. They include:
- Assault rifles with Torgue barrel (Rokkets, Grenadier, Cannon, and Rocketeer) that spawning without an element in item card
- Explosive rocket launchers (Bandit, Tediore, and Vladof)
- Cobra sniper rifle (unlisted)
- Grenades mods from different manufacturers:
- Bouncing Bonny, Bouncing Betty
- Grenades and Gurnades
- MIRV, Murrv, Mrvur, and Muvr
- Singularity grenades
- Transfusion grenades
- Unique Kiss of Death
- Tediore non-elemental weapons when reload-thrown
- The Cradle shield (when depleted and discarded)
Elemental Damage Over Time Status Effects
All non-explosive elemental weapons have a chance to trigger a damage over time effect.
On every hit there is a fixed probability that a damage over time effect will trigger, i.e. the weapon "procs." Proc chance can be modified by skills and the Badass Rank bonus "elemental effect chance." Such bonuses multiply the base proc chance. E.g. Maya's skill Flicker grants +30% elemental effect chance at rank 5, so a weapon with a 12.5% proc chance increases to 16.25%.
All damage over time procs are independent, and several can be happening at once, or even be applied at once. If the applications are staggered, there will be more numbers flying off of the target. If the applications are simultaneous, the damage will combine into a single number on each tick.
Shotgun rounds check for damage over time with each pellet that hits the target.
Once the status effect has been triggered, it will damage the target three times per second (with the first tick being 1/3 of a second after the original weapon damage) equal to 1/3 of the elemental damage listed on the weapon card, modified by a small, effectively random amount (±5%). This damage is multiplied based on its target as all elemental damage is, and is also increased by certain skills and the Badass Rank bonus "Elemental Effect Damage." The damage done is visualized with damage popups that appear once in 0.33 seconds.
In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, incendiary damage comes with a downside that cannot trigger burning effect in vacuum environment.
The duration of elemental status effect depends on the element.
| Element Type | Damage Ticks | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Incendiary | 15 | 5 seconds |
| Shock | 6 | 2 seconds |
| Corrosive | 24 | 8 seconds |
| Slag (BL2) | — | 8 seconds[bl2dot 1] |
| Cryo (TPS) | 15 | 5 seconds |
- ↑ The duration is doubled on Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode.
Slagged Targets
Targets afflicted with slag take double damage from any non-slag attack. All other elemental target affinities still apply. For example, a slagged unshielded fleshy target will suffer a net 3.5 damage multiplier, i.e. double 1.75, from incendiary attacks in True Vault Hunter Mode. In Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, targets afflicted with Slag take triple damage from non-Slag attacks, and 150% damage from further slag attacks.
The damage bonus and duration of slag are both reduced the more players are in a game, stating at +100% damage for 8 seconds while playing alone, and going as low as +75% damage for 4 seconds with four players.
Frozen Targets
Targets afflicted with cryo take 200% (triple) more damage from explosive and critical attacks, and 250% more damage from melee attacks. Enemies that cannot be frozen in-place, and the player, will still move 55% slower while chilled.
Bonus Elemental Damage
Some Maliwan weapons list "Deals Bonus Elemental Damage" as an effect. These weapons deal an additional portion of elemental damage as splash damage around the bullet impact. The splash damage equals 50% of the weapon card damage for sniper rifles and Plasma Casters, and 80% for pistols; it is multiplied as normal for the element type, but is not further multiplied by critical hits or badass rank "elemental effect damage." Amp shield damage only applies on direct hits, and not this splash damage. However, the splash damage can trigger an elemental damage over time effect independently of the main bullet, resulting in double DoT triggers on some shots. This effect is especially useful on slag-snipers as the elemental explosion is guaranteed to slag the target even on a non-direct hit, as opposed to non-Maliwan sniper rifles that need to hit the target in addition to having only a reduced chance of applying the slag effect.
Rocket launchers with "Deals Bonus Elemental Damage" are a special case. Whereas normal rocket launchers simply deal their weapon card damage as splash damage in a certain radius, DBED rocket launchers have two separate splash ranges. The smaller splash range deals 50% of the weapon card damage, and the larger splash range deals 25% of the weapon card damage. These stack, however, so anything within the smaller range is also hit by the larger range, resulting in a total of 75% weapon card damage on close hits. As with pistols and sniper rifles, these two damage effects can trigger the damage over time effect independently.
See also
- Elemental Weapons in Borderlands 2 • Elemental Shields in Borderlands 2
- Elemental Weapons in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel • Elemental Gear in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
- Breakdown of Game Mechanics (Gearbox forum archive)
- Demonite's Splash Damage Guide (BL2 & TPS)
Borderlands 3
In Borderlands 3, elemental bonuses and penalties apply to all damage dealt, affecting gun damage, grenade damage, melee damage and status effect damage. For example, in normal mode an incendiary weapon's gun damage and status effect damage are all multiplied by ×1.5 against flesh targets and by ×0.7 against shielded targets.
Elemental Effectiveness
Elemental damage multipliers are different in normal and True Vault Hunter (TVHM) modes, the latter generally increasing bonuses and penalties. In Mayhem Mode, the TVHM modifiers apply, no matter if Mayhem Mode is launched in Normal or TVHM.
Firing an elemental weapon into standing water or liquid will create a brief damaging hazard. While this is intuitive for shock weapons, it also works with any other element (incendiary weapons boil pools, causing non-elemental damage, while radiation simply does its respective damage over time). This affects vault hunters and enemies alike.
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Shield | On Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-elemental | 100% | 100% | 80% |
| Incendiary | 150% | 70% | 70% |
| Shock | 80% | 200% | 80% |
| Corrosive | 80% | 70% | 150% |
| Radiation | 100% | 120% | 70% |
| Cryo | 100% | 70% | 120% |
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Shield | On Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-elemental | 100% | 100% | 80% |
| Incendiary | 175% | 50% | 50% |
| Shock | 65% | 250% | 65% |
| Corrosive | 65% | 50% | 175% |
| Radiation | 100% | 150% | 50% |
| Cryo | 100% | 50% | 150% |
Status Effects
All weapons in Borderlands 3 come with a hidden elemental damage (a set percent of weapon damage) and elemental chance for skill calculating, no matter they are elemental or not. Normally, Maliwan weapon has higher elemental damage and elemental chance, while Atlas and Jakobs weapon has hidden lower value of these. Weapons with fixed 0% elemental chance, such as Krakatoa, cannot trigger any form of elemental status effect by the gun itself.
Instead of affecting elemental damage over time status, cryo comes with a cryo efficiency that determines how fast an enemy will be frozen. Damage with 100% cryo efficiency will freeze an enemy under 20% health. This increases additively, so a damage with 200% efficiency can freeze enemies under 40% health. cryo damage doesn't border by elemental Chance.
| Element Type | Damage Ticks | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Incendiary | 15 | 5 seconds |
| Shock | 6 | 2 seconds |
| Corrosive | 24 | 8 seconds |
| Radiation | 24 | 8 seconds |
| Cryo | - | 6 seconds |
| Weapon Type | Elemental Damage/Cryo Efficiency | Elemental Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Pistol | 100%~ | 15%-25% |
| Maliwan Pistol | 150%~ | 30%-40% |
| Jakobs Pistol | 80%~ | 10% |
| Alien Barrel Pistol | 120%~ | 15%-25% |
| Devourer | 175%~ | 30%-40% |
| Submachine Gun (SMG) | 120%~ | 8%~ |
| Maliwan SMG | 250%~ | 15%-20% |
| Alien Barrel SMG | 175%~ | 15%-20% |
| Heliophage | 250%~ | 35%~ |
| Assault Rifle (AR) | 110%~ | 7%-15% |
| Jakobs AR | 85%~ | 7% |
| Alien Barrel AR | 125% 150% (Blister) |
12%-15% |
| Shotgun | 150%~ | 7% |
| Maliwan Shotgun | 250%~ | 12%-15% |
| Jakobs Shotgun | 120%~ | 4% |
| Host/Elderblast | 220%~ | 50%~ |
| Interloper | 300%~ | 60%~ |
| Protuberance | 85%-90% | 50%~ |
| Sniper Rifle (SR) | 80%~ | 10-20% (Dahl/Vladof) 20%-25% (Hyperion) |
| Jakobs SR | 60%~ | 14% |
| Alien Barrel SR | 120%~ | 30%-35% |
| Proton Rifle | 55%~ | 35%-40% |
| Particle Rifle/Multiplex | 80%~ | 30%-35% |
| Antimatter Rifle | 125%~ | 60%-75% |
| Heavy Weapon | 66%~ | 25%-35% |
See also
Elemental Weapons in Borderlands 3 • Elemental Shields in Borderlands 3
Borderlands 4
Elemental damage in Borderlands 4 works similarly to previous games in the series, but with slightly adjusted numbers.
Elemental Effectiveness
Elemental effect damage varies based on both enemy health type and the current difficulty setting. At higher difficulties, health types resistant to certain kinds of elemental damage are more resistant, but health types that are weak are even weaker.
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Shield | On Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinetic | 100% | ||
| Incendiary | 120% | 90% | 90% |
| Shock | 90% | 120% | 90% |
| Corrosive | 90% | 90% | 120% |
| Radiation | 100% | 110% | 90% |
| Cryo | 100% | 90% | 110% |
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Shield | On Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinetic | 100% | ||
| Incendiary | 150% | 75% | 75% |
| Shock | 75% | 150% | 75% |
| Corrosive | 75% | 75% | 150% |
| Radiation | 100% | 125% | 75% |
| Cryo | 100% | 75% | 125% |
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Shield | On Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinetic | 100% | ||
| Incendiary | 175% | 50% | 50% |
| Shock | 50% | 175% | 50% |
| Corrosive | 50% | 50% | 175% |
| Radiation | 100% | 150% | 50% |
| Cryo | 100% | 50% | 150% |
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
Elemental Damage Types
Elemental damage in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands works similarly to other games in the Borderlands series, but with different names:
- Fire (incendiary)
- Lightning (shock)
- Poison (corrosive)
- Frost (cryo)
- Dark Magic – similar to Transfusion, but now treated as its own unique element type.
Elemental Effectiveness
Elemental effect damage varies based on both enemy health type and the current difficulty setting.
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Ward | On Armor | On Bone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical | 100% | |||
| Fire | 125% | 95% | 95% | 90% |
| Lightning | 95% | 175% | 90% | 95% |
| Poison | 95% | 90% | 125% | 95% |
| Frost | 90% | 95% | 95% | 115% |
| Dark Magic | 90% | |||
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Ward | On Armor | On Bone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical | 100% | |||
| Fire | 125% | 95% | 95% | 80% |
| Lightning | 95% | 175% | 80% | 95% |
| Poison | 95% | 80% | 125% | 95% |
| Frost | 80% | 95% | 95% | 115% |
| Dark Magic | 90% | |||
| Element Type | On Flesh | On Ward | On Armor | On Bone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical | 100% | |||
| Fire | 125% | 95% | 95% | 70% |
| Lightning | 95% | 175% | 70% | 95% |
| Poison | 95% | 70% | 125% | 95% |
| Frost | 70% | 95% | 95% | 115% |
| Dark Magic | 90% | |||
See Also
Elemental Weapons in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands • Elemental Gear in Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
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