In Borderlands 2, it is obtained randomly from any suitable loot source but has an increased chance to drop from BNK-3R located in The Bunker and Pyro Pete the Invincible in the Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage DLC.

In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, The Sham is obtained randomly from any suitable loot source.

Special Shield Effects

Wow, I CAN do this all day. – Extremely high bullet absorption chance. Greatly reduced shield capacity and recharge delay. Slightly reduced recharge rate. Cannot spawn with elemental resistance.

Usage & Description

The Sham is heavily geared towards being used against any enemies that use firearms, relying heavily on its absorption rate to prevent bodily harm to the user. All Vladof shields come with a chance to absorb bullets, but what makes The Sham special is its much higher chance of ammo absorption than other absorb shields.

The Sham's weaknesses are its low capacity and the presence of enemies who do not use bullet-based attacks (such as creatures), thus making The Sham's viability in combat dependent on enemy attacks. It is vital for the user to know which areas and/or bosses use what type of weapon, as fighting non-bullet-based enemies with The Sham is typically inferior to most other shields of equal level.

Absorb Chance

The lowest possible absorb chance on The Sham is 77% (if the body, battery, and capacitor are of Dahl manufacture, which reduces the special effect on shields) and the highest possible absorb chance is 94% (if the body and battery are Maliwan, and the capacitor is Hyperion), at the cost of shield capacity and recharge rate. Both the 77% Sham and the 94% Sham are equally as rare.

This is double the absorb chance on the other legendary Vladof shield from Borderlands 2, The Transformer, which has a maximum absorb chance of 42%, and any other purple rarity Vladof shield which have a maximum absorb chance of 49%.

Notes

• BNK3R has a 3.33% chance to drop The Sham.
• The Sham is an excellent choice to assist in the completion of the "Ammo Eater" challenge.
• The Sham is a poor choice for Krieg's Mania and Hellborn tree as it prevents him from getting any cooldown recharge if it absorbs the bullets. However, Krieg's range-focused tree, Bloodlust, benefits greatly from the ammo it absorbs, as it focuses primarily on firing as many bullets as possible and can be draining to Krieg's ammunition supply.
• Characters that have extensive use of rocket launchers, especially those with large blast radius, such as the Norfleet, benefit greatly from the massive absorption chance. Doing this can very effectively reduce the chances for accidental self-inflicted damage.
• The Sham is very useful for regaining rocket launcher ammo while equipped, with the process of firing at one's feet with a weapon such as the Grenadier, Logan's Gun, or KerBlaster, then continue fighting with the rocket launcher.
• The Sham cannot spawn with a Maliwan capacitor or any Anshin, bandit, Pangolin, or Torgue parts.

Trivia

• The flavour text is a reference to ShamWow pitchman Vince Offer's pitch catchphrase "...Because you know we can't do this all day...".