With Borderlands 4, Gearbox says "we've overhauled our drop rates and loot across the game" – and admits that "in Borderlands 3, [Legendaries] dropped too often"

Gearbox says it heard your feedback around Borderlands 3's loot system and has overhauled the whole thing, along with drop rates, to bring "the magic back to our loot chase."

The PlayStation State of Play Deep Dive on Borderlands 4 was livestreamed today, and the folks at Gearbox talked in some detail about the core pillars of the Borderlands experience, guns and loot.

We've got a writeup on the gun stuff already, which includes a new total of five weapon slots, three new manufacturers plus modded guns, and "Licensed Parts" combos that'll let you mix and match behaviors and abilities from different manufacturers into a single weapon.

As for loot, Gearbox gave a broader overview of what sounds like a marginally new philosophy that seems to amount to: lowered drop rates so that loot feels valuable again.

"We've overhauled or drop rates and loot across the game," said Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins. "We've worked hard to make sure all our gear feels better than ever, while also making rarity matter again. This makes for our most satisfying loot chase ever.

"And at the top of everything, our Legendaries," continued Timmins. "These have always had unique effects that you won't find on any other piece of gear, but in Borderlands 3 they dropped too often. This not only devalued Legendaries, it made everything feel less valuable. In our new system, not only do all guns feel great, but now Legendaries will truly be special events. We've added the magic back to our loot chase, and we know you'll love grinding all that great gear on Kairos."

If you haven't watched the brand new Borderlands 4 gameplay trailer, head here to get a glimpse at some of the new weapons and skills, new traversal mechanics, and what looks to our eyes like an open-world despite Gearbox previously saying it wasn't going to be open-world.

For a more comprehensive overview, here's everything announced at the Borderlands 4 State of Play.