Borderlands 4’s Best Crit Knife Alternative isn’t a Grenade at All

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The most powerful Vex build in Borderlands 4—which relied on the Vivisecting Throwing Knife—has been significantly weakened in a recent update. This build used to combine Vex’s Bloodletter skill with critical hits to deal massive bleed damage, effectively destroying enemies quickly. Now that the knife has been nerfed, many players are switching to different weapons and gear to find a new, effective strategy.

Borderlands 4 introduces more options for your ordinance slot beyond just grenades. Players can now equip heavy weapons or even knives as throwables. While the popular crit knife Vex build is no longer effective, the Siren class still has strong ordinance choices for Vex builds, though they move away from the traditional throwable-focused gameplay.

After the Crit Knife Nerf, Borderlands 4 Players Should Check Out These Heavy Weapon Ordinances

In Borderlands 4, a few strong Legendary Heavy Weapons can be great replacements for the crit knife, especially if you build your character around them. Players focusing on the Vex class might need to adjust their skills at the Respect Machine in the main faction towns, but it’s well worth the effort. Once you decide to use a Heavy Weapon, three options work particularly well with Vex builds.

Disc Jockey Legendary Heavy Weapon with Corrosive Damage

  • Drops from Sidney Pointylegs
  • Bouncing Biscuits – Energy disc Projectiles bounce up to 5 times, and gain +20% Damage per bounce. Scales up to +100 damage on final bounce.

The Disc Jockey is a powerful weapon for quickly defeating groups of enemies, especially in areas like the Ripper Drill Sites in Borderlands 4. Its energy discs bounce around, increasing damage with each hit – up to 100% more damage on the final bounce. A Disc Jockey with Corrosive damage is especially effective, as it works well with Vex’s skills that focus on dealing extra damage over time and weakening enemies.

Sprezzatura Legendary Heavy Weapon with Incendiary Damage

  • World Drop
  • Gungnir – Launches a Laser-Guided Rocket that homes in on the live laser location. On impact or after 5s, it explodes and deals 100% Elemental Splash Ordnance Gun Damage across a wide radius.

The Sprezzatura, like the Javelin in Call of Duty, fires a rocket that explodes on impact, damaging enemies in the area. This Heavy Weapon is especially effective because of the extra elemental damage it causes. For players using Vex in Borderlands 4, finding a Sprezzatura with Fire damage will work best with her abilities that focus on burning enemies.

Because this powerful item can appear anywhere in the game, players should thoroughly check all vending machines and use any Golden Keys they have – often earned from SHiFT codes – to try and get it.

Ravenfire Legendary Heavy Weapon with Radiation Damage

  • Drops from Inceptus
  • 621 – Explosions radiate outward from the point of impact.

The Ravenfire is a powerful heavy weapon in Borderlands 4 that’s effective against both groups of enemies and tough bosses. Its special ability creates explosions around where the projectile lands. When used against bosses in Borderlands 4 and combined with Radiation damage, it can deal massive damage, essentially acting like a small nuke. Certain character skills, like Vex’s Radiant Attunement and Havoc, further boost Radiation damage, making enemy shields irrelevant. This combination of Radiation’s ability to damage multiple enemies and the Ravenfire’s extra area-of-effect explosions is incredibly effective against large groups of enemies like Rippers or the Order.

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2025-10-27 02:34