[Awesome Lucas]

Hey all, love the site.
Tried using the search feature but didn't find topic.

What do Elemental damage multipliers signify in Borderland weapons?

I understand multiple shots like in Shotguns 20 (x12) etc, but just confused as to the specifics of the X1, X2, X3 and X4 next to Fire, Electrical, Corrosive and Explosive?
Does it simply mean that their is a base damage for something on fire at X1, and X2 is double that rate?

Thanks for any help on understanding this matter
Also, are their any online formulas for working out the awesomeness of a gun yet?

Thanks again.

The Explosion X2 is what I'm asking about if theirs any doubt:

[azaezel2727]

From what I've experienced, it seems to effect the amount of time that an elemental effect (Incendiary, Shock, Corrosion, Blast) will take effect. So if you have a x1, you have a chance to proc the effect, x2 a higher chance, x3, and x4 are almost guaranteed. At least that seems to be the concensus on the forums I've visited, and is confirmed by the (admittedly, possibly wrong) Wiki.

I also think it effects the amount of damage that is applied for DoT effects such as Corrosion, and Incendiary. However, I've found no concrete numbers to support that, just speculation that it's the weapon's base damage time the effect number, dealt over time.

For example, an Incendiary x4 SMG shoots a bullet, lights the enemy on fire, and does 600 base damage. The enemy then takes 600 damage x4 over time, in effect taking a total of 3000 damage.

(600 + (600 x 4) = 3000

I don't know if that's correct or not, because it seems to me, that would make ANY DoT weapons far superior to their normal counterparts that just deal their base damage, almost no matter how high their base is... the other side of the coin is... there are a TREMENDOUS amount of Elemental weapons in the game. I seem to get more elemental weapons than regular weapons TBH, and also I play a Siren most of the time, so SMG's with elemental effects are superior to any weapon out there, the way I've built her up anyway. My Hunter, who is a bit lower level also uses them, but not as effectively as she seems to, which may indicate that the theory above on it actually effecting the amount of damage is completely false.

Also there are some elemental weapons with red text that guarantee an elemental effect, but also have multipliers. This points twoards the theory above being correct.

So... in closing... the only answer that anyone has given is pure speculation, unless you take the Wiki as gospel. So I just spent 10 minutes typing, and still didn't answer the question definitely, wasting your time, and mine... but hey, I was entertained for that 10 minutes looking for answers! It'd be really nice if someone who plays with a Gearbox employee to ask them that question, and get one of 'em to post what the true answer is.

http://borderlands.w...om/wiki/Weapons

War is In Your Blood, the red text on that gun seems like it could be pretty nifty...

[Awesome Lucas]

azaezel2727, on 01 November 2009 - 10:55 AM, said:

A decent reply!

Thanks for your reply, perhaps not a solid answer but very helpful and pointing me towards some testing if I can find 2 weapons that are similar apart from effects.
Take it steady and thanks again for your swift and thorough response.

[TurpentineRacer]

There's only one flaw with that response that I can think of, and that is that blast/explosion elemental damage doesn't do damage overtime, instead it seems to be more of just a power boost.

[Dracios]

Actually, it is the chance of the element hitting per shot. If I recall

1x=25%
2x=50
3x=75%
4x=100%

For instance, if you take a 1x incendiary sniper , and shoot a bandit with it, the enemy won't light on fire every time. With other elemental modifiers it is more likely. Its easier to activate with rapid fire weapons. But the effect stacks with each element. However, the explosive is an exception. Its one blow of massive damage in one shot.

[GreyRiot]

http://gbxforums.gea...highlight=spark

Read the first part of that initial post. It explains exactly what the multipliers do/mean.