Are you hoping to try out the best Firmware in Borderlands 4? Think of these as mods that are innate in various items. The good news is that you can transfer them over to create complete set bonuses. Our guide has all the details you need to help you with this mechanic.

The best Firmware in Borderlands 4 – Firmware mods and set bonuses guide

Firmware is somewhat different from regular mods/perks and licenses. Here’s a quick summary:

• Gear pieces can roll with mods/perks–i.e. Gain lifesteal on use, spawn MIRV grenades, trigger an overshield when you take damage, and so on. There are also license/manufacturer perks–i.e. Maliwan grenades either sticking to enemies or propelling themselves toward a target.
• Then, there’s Firmware, which is rarer than other types of rolls. Only non-main-weapon equipment can roll with Firmware. These include repkits/healing injectors, ordnance/throwables, shields/armor, class mods, and enhancements.
• If an item has Firmware, you’ll see a small symbol next to its box/icon.
• A Firmware mod has a specific effect. However, equipping two or three gear pieces with the same type of Firmware grants set bonuses.

How to transfer Firmware mods?

Naturally, when talking about the best Firmware in Borderlands 4, we must discuss how to transfer perks and come up with complete set bonuses. Here’s the gist:

• You can transfer Firmware via devices known as Transfer Machines. These are found in Faction Towns–i.e. Launchpad in Fadefields, Belton’s Bore in Terminus Range, and Carcadia in Carcadia Burn.
• Transfer Machines only get activated once you beat the campaign. A series of quests will walk you through these steps, eventually culminating in Ultimate Vault Hunter rank 1.
• The process lets you transfer the Firmware of an item to another that’s of the same type–i.e. the Firmware of a repkit being moved to another repkit.
• The item in the left slot gets destroyed. The item in the middle slot receives that Firmware or has its old one replaced.
• If you want to gain a 3-piece set bonus, then three gear pieces need to have the same Firmware. For instance, your repkit, ordnance, and class mod all have the Deadeye Firmware.
• Since five item slots can roll with Firmware, the remaining equipment can have different effects/set bonuses. Example: The Deadeye 3-piece bonus and the Lifeblood 2-piece bonus.

What makes this process exceptional is that even gear pieces that are of common or uncommon rarity still have their uses. If you like a particular Firmware, you can keep that item until you have something else that’s at a higher level or rarity. Just remember to increase your inventory space so you can store more loot.

What are the types of Firmware set bonuses?

Below, you can see a list of the Firmware set bonuses that we’ve seen in our playthrough. Hopefully, these help you decide on the best Borderlands 4 Firmware mods that you’d like to use.

High Caliber:

• 1-piece bonus: +25% projectile speed.
• 2-piece bonus: +10% gun damage.
• 3-piece bonus: Bullets pierce enemies.

Lifeblood

• 1-piece bonus: +10% repkit healing.
• 2-piece bonus: +5% lifesteal.
• 3-piece bonus: Regenerate 10% of your max health on a kill.

Reel Big Fist

• 1-piece bonus: +15% melee damage.
• 2-piece bonus: +25% additional melee damage.
• 3-piece bonus: Melee kills trigger a nova explosion that deals +200% melee damage.

Rubberband Man:

• 1-piece bonus: Damage taken is reduced by -5%.
• 2-piece bonus: +5% lifesteal.
• 3-piece bonus: Doubles the bonuses granted by this Firmware.

Daed-dy-O’:

• 1-piece bonus: +25% gun mode switch speed.
• 2-piece bonus: +15% gun magazine size.
• 3-piece bonus: +20% damage and +5% fire rate for five seconds after switching your gun’s mode.

Heating Up:

• 1-piece bonus: +20% gun reload speed.
• 2-piece bonus: The amount of overheated shots before breaking is increased by 50% for CoV-licensed gun parts.
• 3-piece bonus: +25% gun damage while overheating with CoV-licensed gun parts.

Baker:

• 1-piece bonus: +10% shield capacity.
• 2-piece bonus: Reduces repkit cooldown duration by -15%.
• 3-piece bonus: +25% maximum health.

Oscar Mike:

• 1-piece bonus: +10% gun reload speed.
• 2-piece bonus: +20% gun damage based on how close you are to emptying the magazine.
• 3-piece bonus: +30% fire rate for four seconds after reloading.

Gadget Ahoy:

• 1-piece bonus: Reduces ordnance cooldown duration by -15%.
• 2-piece bonus: +20% ordnance damage.
• 3-piece bonus: +20% damage for 15 seconds after killing with ordnance.

Bullets to Spare:

• 1-piece bonus: +5% fire rate.
• 2-piece bonus: +20% magazine size.
• 3-piece bonus: +50% fire rate based on magazine size.

Deadeye:

• 1-piece bonus: +30% accuracy.
• 2-piece bonus: +25% critical damage.
• 3-piece bonus: +15% critical damage per stack (maximum of five stacks) for 10 seconds after you land a critical hit.

Risky Boots:

• 1-piece bonus: Reduces damage taken by -30% if your health is below 35%.
• 2-piece bonus: +35% movement speed if your health is below 35%.
• 3-piece bonus: +100% damage and 5% lifesteal if your health is below 35%.

Atlas Infinum:

• 1-piece bonus: +5% fire rate while an Atlas target lock is active.
• 2-piece bonus: +10% damage for guns with an Atlas-licensed part.
• 3-piece bonus: Atlas target locks are infinite unless you swap guns.

Action Fist:

• 1-piece bonus: +15% melee damage.
• 2-piece bonus: +10% action skill damage.
• 3-piece bonus: +25% action skill damage for eight seconds after a melee kill.

Which Firmware set bonuses are ideal?

We recommend the following for those who want to max out their damage depending on their class or playstyle:

• Ranged combat – If playing as the Siren class, you’re most likely to stay farther away from enemies while your minions or teammates do the dirty work. The 3-piece Deadeye set bonus does wonders here, especially if you or your minion often land critical hits. This is complemented by the 2-piece High Caliber set bonus for additional gun damage and projectile speed.
• Melee combat – The Forgeknight class is one that excels in melee. That means relying on the set bonuses from Reel Big Fist and Action Fist. It’s up to you which Firmware ought to have the 3-piece bonus, whether you prefer the boosted action skill damage or the nova explosions.

That does it for our guide on the best Firmware in Borderlands 4. While you’re looking for these mods/perks, you might as well unlock facilities that help with navigation, such as Safehouses and Order Silos.