Borderlands 4 Borstel Ballista Review — Legendary Sniper Rifle
| Rarity | Legendary |
|---|---|
| Type | Sniper Rifle |
| Manufacturer | Jakobs |
| Element | None (Kinetic) |
| Drop source | Timekeeper (Upper Dominion, Dominion City) |
Red Text
Go now and speed well!
This review was machine-translated from the Japanese original. Numbers are checked against the original; if the wording reads oddly, the Japanese version is authoritative.
Bullets fired split into a large number of pellets while spiraling after a certain distance, a super‑high‑damage sniper made by Jakobs. The damage per trigger pull is among the highest in the game. If a single shot lands a critical, the spiral pellets deal follow‑up damage over a wide area.
🧩 Origin of the red text “Go now and speed well!” is J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ where the master archer Bard (Bard the Bowman) speaks to the Black Arrow in a passage (”…If ever you came from the forges of the true King under the mountain, go now and speed well!” scene just before shooting down the dragon Smaug). The quote calling out to the archer’s arrow is overlaid onto a ballista‑type sniper that fires dart‑shaped projectiles that split.
What kind of sniper rifle? (Beginner’s perspective)
- Jakobs sniper. Fires dart‑shaped projectiles in a straight line, and when they exceed a certain distance they split into a spiral of many pellets (up to 30).
- Each pellet deals additional damage, so the total firepower per trigger pull is extremely high (top‑class in the game).
- On a critical, the dart ricochets to a nearby enemy and deploys another spiral barrage.
Unique effect (Mechanics)
**Propagation (Propagation) **: Bullets travel a certain distance then split in a spiral into many pellets (up to 30).
- In‑game: Propagation: Shots spiral and split into many bullets after a certain distance.
- Web (Lootlemon): Fires darts that travel straight, generating flares (pellets) along a counter‑clockwise spiral trail that follows them. While in flight, old flares disappear and new ones appear, maintaining up to 30 vortices. Each flare deals 35% kinetic‑type Gun Damage. On a critical, the dart ricochets to a nearby enemy and creates the same spiral trail.
- Note: Splitting occurs after traveling a certain distance — at close range it hits before splitting, so the benefit of the spiral barrage is reduced.
Drop farming
| Drop source | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Timekeeper (Upper Dominion, Dominion City) | ≈9% | Human‑form Timekeeper is the exclusive drop source |
Build compatibility
| Vault Hunter | Compatibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rafa | ⭐⭐⭐ | Good synergy with precision shooting / single‑shot firepower builds |
| Vex | ⭐⭐⭐ | |
| Amon | ⭐⭐⭐ | |
| C4SH | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Summary
- Bullets split into a spiral of up to 30 pellets, a super‑high‑damage Jakobs sniper (Propagation).
- The firepower per trigger pull is top‑tier. However, splitting occurs after a certain distance, so it favors medium to long range.
- The red text is the line spoken by Bard in Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ to the Black Arrow.
- Obtained from Timekeeper (Upper Dominion, Dominion City, ≈9%).
Related
- Same category (Sniper): Asher’s Rise / Boomslang / Complex Root
- Reference: Lootlemon - Borstel Ballista / MentalMars - Borstel Ballista
FAQ
What is the unique effect of the Borstel Ballista?
Propagation: after traveling a set distance, the projectile spirals and splits into many pellets (up to 30).
Where can you obtain the Borstel Ballista?
It drops from Timekeeper (Upper Dominion, Dominion City). Drop rate is about 9%.