Borderlands 4 Swarm Review — Legendary Ordnance
| Rarity | Legendary |
|---|---|
| Type | Ordnance |
| Manufacturer | Order |
| Element | Kinetic |
| Drop source | Sidney Pointylegs (The Prospects) |
Red Text
Extragalactic jaws, clamping from above and below...
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.
When it hits, it splits into three, and those three split again—crush enemies with the homing child grenades “Swarm”. Made by Order, it automatically homes onto enemies when thrown, so even if you’re bad at aiming it’s easy to hit. Ultimately, nine homing projectiles swarm the enemy, making it a one-shot crowd-clearing tool.
🧩 Red text source “Extragalactic jaws, clamping from above and below…” is a flavor text that directly describes the behavior of homing child grenades swarming the enemy from above and below to “clamp”. The name Swarm (Swarm) plus the two-stage multiplication effect matches this. No verifiable primary source confirming it as a quote from a specific work or film (the Borderlands Wiki and MentalMars also do not specify an external source). The external source is (unverified).
What kind of grenade? (Beginner’s perspective)
- Fly in an arc and bounce off terrain while automatically homing onto enemies.
- When it hits an enemy, it explodes 100% and spawns three homing child grenades.
- Each of those child grenades spawns three more (i.e., two stages of splitting).
- Ultimately nine homing projectiles swarm the enemy = easy to hit, strong against swarms.
- Since it automatically homes without needing to aim, it’s beginner-friendly.
Unique effects (Mechanics)
Bounces while homing onto enemies. When it hits an enemy it triggers a 100% kinetic splash explosion and spawns three homing child grenades. Each child grenade deals 50% explosion + spawns three more. The final nine each deal 25%.
- In-game: Splits into three homing grenades upon explosion. Splits twice.
- Web (Lootlemon): On enemy impact deals 100% Kinetic Splash and spawns 3 homing child grenades; each deals 50% and spawns 3 more; the final 9 each deal 25% Kinetic Splash.
- Strength: Homing + two-stage splitting lets you spread total damage across multiple enemies without aiming.
- Caution: Because it is kinetic (non-elemental), it does not apply status effects. Adding elements requires prefixes/augments/builds.
Drop Farming
| Drop Source | Chance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sidney Pointylegs (The Prospects) | (unverified) | Boss drop |
Build Compatibility
| Vault Hunter | Compatibility | Memo |
|---|---|---|
| Rafa | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Good synergy with grenade builds due to homing + multi-stage. |
| Vex | ⭐⭐⭐ | For clearing swarms. |
| Amon | ⭐⭐⭐ | Boosts elemental builds (the base is non-elemental). |
| C4SH | ⭐⭐⭐ | General crowd clearing. |
Summary
- Two-stage splitting resulting in nine final homing projectiles makes this a crowd-clearing grenade.
- Homing means it hits without needing to aim, so it’s beginner-friendly.
- The base is kinetic (non-elemental) = status effects must be compensated by the build.
- Obtained from Sidney Pointylegs (The Prospects).
- The external source for the red text is (unverified).
Measured Stats (Aggregate of Owned Units)
Aggregated measured values taken from screenshots of owned units. The range is the observed minimum to maximum; no conversion, rounding, or interpolation has been applied.
| Level range | Damage | Range | Charge | Observed units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lv31 | 907 | 325cm | 2 | 1 |
| Lv50 | 3,867 | 459cm | 2 | 1 |
- Observed prefixes (most common): Collateral×1 / Blooming×1
Related
- Same category (Grenade): Jelly / Waterfall / UAV
- Reference: Lootlemon - Swarm / MentalMars - Swarm / Borderlands Wiki - Swarm
FAQ
What is Swarm's unique effect?
On impact it creates a 100% Kinetic splash explosion and spawns three homing child grenades. Each child grenade deals 50% damage and spawns three more, resulting in nine final grenades that each deal 25%.
Where can I obtain Swarm?
It drops from Sidney Pointylegs (The Prospects).