I’m Already Mourning the Borderlands 4 Patch Notes for October 16

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Gearbox Software is regularly sharing updates about the upcoming Borderlands 4 patch to get players excited. However, I’m personally feeling anxious about the changes. The latest announcement details that the October 16th patch will improve class mods, repkits, shields, and firmware to better support melee combat styles, as well as fix issues with other character builds. They’ll also be resolving unintended skill combinations and adjusting gear that’s currently too powerful.

So, everyone’s talking about the Vex Infinite Bleed build in *Borderlands 4*, and Gearbox is planning some changes on October 16th to address what they’re calling “unintended interactions.” I’m a big fan of this build myself, and honestly, I think it probably *does* need some tweaking. But I’m a little worried about how much they’ll change it! I really enjoy playing with the Bleed build, and I’d hate to see it become completely useless after the update. I know they want to make other Vex builds more attractive, which is fair, but the way the Bleed build plays just *clicks* with me. Plus, my friends and I put a ton of effort into getting it working the way we like it. It might be a bit overpowered, but we definitely earned it, and I hope Gearbox considers that when they make these changes.

Finding My Infinite Bleed Build

So, here’s the situation: my friends and I have been playing a four-player co-op game since the release of *Borderlands 4*. I play as Vex, and we’ve all created characters. We’re planning a playthrough once the C4SH DLC comes out, as we’re all excited to try the new Vault Hunter. We’ve been getting together to play every weekend since launch – it’s pretty much the only time we can all manage. We originally aimed for a long session, from 2 pm to midnight, on the first Saturday, but we ended up calling it quits around 10 pm. Since then, we’ve finished the main story, spent hours collecting gear, and unlocked Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode 2. We’re likely ready for UVHM5 and just need to unlock it, but we’re still finishing side quests and generally having a lot of fun.

Around the middle of the *Borderlands 4* story, our group started focusing on perfecting our character builds. This meant a lot of repetitive boss fights – so much so that one boss, Driller Hole, probably dreaded seeing us appear! That’s when the Infinite Bleed Build became popular, and I was immediately interested because it used Throwing Knives. I really enjoy using Throwing Knives – I’d even been using ones that created black holes already. I figured Driller Hole was more likely to drop the specific knife I needed, so I talked my friends into helping me farm him repeatedly. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. We also tried farming Splashzone, but still no luck. I’ve seen others say they reached the highest difficulty level without ever finding that knife. I eventually got lucky and found it while grinding for something else, but between my friends and me, we probably spent over 10 hours specifically trying to find it. Once I had it, I needed to completely change my build and earn specialization points to unlock the Contamination ability.

Okay, so my whole character build really revolves around this one Knife – it’s super important. But getting it wasn’t easy! I spent ages hunting for it, and we all put in a ton of time leveling up to 50 and unlocking those specialization perks. I even had to *reset* my level just to get Contamination. I’ve heard people say it needs a tweak, and honestly, I feel like I earned it just as much as anyone else did with their builds. I can definitely take down bosses, even though my class mod only gives a +2 bonus to Bloodletter (I know there’s a +4 version out there!), but I don’t think I’m significantly more powerful than my friends. It just… works.

How to Make the Infinite Bleed Build

  • Find Throwing Knives with the Penetration Augment
  • Find a strong weapon that deals a lot of damage at once (I rock a Hot Slugger).
  • Amp Repkits and Shields make it even stronger
  • Max out the Bloodletter Skill + Increase it through Class Mods
  • The Contamination Specialization is highly recommended
  • The Result: amp up, throw knife, shoot, watch the light go out of their eyes.
  • Any other choices are optional.

This character build is incredibly strong, but it’s best used for taking down bosses. It’s too much effort for regular enemies, and faster-moving bosses like Shadowpelt can be difficult to consistently damage.

Our team is a bit overpowered! Harlowe’s build is so strong it actually caused lag in Borderlands 4 – using a specific ability with his character setup created massive slowdown. He had to change his build once we realized what was happening. Rafa is throwing fish grenades that do close-range damage and is constantly getting knocked down with them. As for Amon, I’m not entirely sure what his build does, but I found him a powerful legendary weapon, Bottled Lightning, that doubles his damage output. We’re definitely broken, but that’s what makes playing together so much fun.

Mourning My Infinite Bleed Build

I knew I wouldn’t have time to play Vex with the ‘Infinite Bleed’ build after this weekend, due to other commitments. Thankfully, I managed to squeeze in some playtime, and it actually started with a session featuring Harlowe the previous weekend.

Rafa usually hosts our game nights, but *Borderlands 4* sometimes has technical problems. It’s usually not a big deal when it crashes, but last weekend something unusual happened. Due to a bug in *Borderlands 4*, Harlowe’s character loaded into Rafa’s game without any of their progress – all their skill points, specialization points, and upgrades were missing. While he could earn new skill points, the others were just gone, which was really frustrating. So, we switched to playing Labyrinthine instead – I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a good horror game!

At one point, we had him host so we could do some SDU activities in his world.

So, this weekend was all about helping my friend start fresh in *Borderlands 4*. He basically had to ditch all his awesome level 50 stuff and begin a new character. He came back as Harlowe, level 30, and we immediately jumped into trying to get him leveled up quickly! We spent a lot of time hitting up Drill Sites and grinding side quests, with a few boss fights thrown in for good measure. Right now, we’ve got about five side quests left in Dominion City, and then he’ll be good to go. Let me tell you, having a level 30 character in a level 50 game on UVHM2 is… an experience! He couldn’t really do any damage, spent most of the time yelling and running, and honestly, he ended up being our dedicated medic. I did play some *Battlefield 6* too, but I didn’t need to ask where my Harlowe medic was! It was really all he *could* do in that tough world. We managed to get him from level 30 to 40 during our Saturday session, which was great.

Our game world is really challenging! The enemies are incredibly strong, and a big part of the fun comes from overcoming those challenges and defeating large groups of enemies and bosses. We’re all a bit rough around the edges, and everything is so powerful, which leads to some hilarious and unexpected moments during combat. We still get a kick out of seeing the brief “Oof! Painful!” message when we damage a boss. This past Sunday, we actually spent more time playing the Halloween event in *Phasmophobia* than we did with *Borderlands 4*, but we did manage to get one character to level 43 or 44.

I’ve been easily clearing bosses and side activities with my current setup, constantly wondering if each one would be the last. Honestly, I don’t even *want* to switch to a different build. I could probably create another one, farm any necessary items (though I already have plenty), and have fun with it. But something about using my specific abilities for everything – summons for regular enemies and my special weapon for bosses – is really satisfying. I could easily spend hundreds more hours with this character and build. I know it makes the game too easy, and maybe it needs balancing, but I still feel like I shouldn’t be *that* much stronger than my friends. I can defeat bosses in just a few seconds, while it takes them a little longer – maybe 5 or 6 seconds.

I should be able to play however I want, even if my approach isn’t considered standard. If I find something amusing and want to simplify it, I think that should be my choice. I’m worried about the game changing so much that my favorite playstyle becomes useless. I know the popularity of the Infinite Bleed Build is a factor, but I’ve had fun with it for a long time and just want to keep enjoying the game my way.

I’m really hoping the adjustment/nerf isn’t too bad, but we’ll see on October 16, I reckon.

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2025-10-13 17:36