Grenades are an indispensable part of every Vault Hunter‘s arsenal in Borderlands 3. With the right grenade mod equipped, you can turn the tide of battle by delivering massive area-of-effect and elemental damage against hordes of enemies. But with so many options to choose from, how do you determine which grenades stand above the rest?
In this comprehensive 2000+ word guide, we‘ll be breaking down the top grenade picks in Borderlands 3 and other standout options. You‘ll learn inside information on each grenade‘s abilities, manufacturer details, ideal character pairings, advanced tactics, and where to farm them. Follow these pro tips and you‘ll be exploding enemies in style in no time!
Top 3 Borderlands 3 Grenade Picks
While many exotic and legendary grenade mods can viably wreck enemies, three, in particular, have abilities that make them universally powerful for every Vault Hunter.
It‘s Piss
Despite the unusual name, the It‘s Piss legendary grenade mod is incredibly useful thanks to its unique ability. Enemies damaged by it take 20% more damage from all sources for 6 seconds. This applies a hidden debuff that dramatically amplifies your damage potential in that window.
While the initial grenade explosion doesn‘t deal high damage itself, applying this debuff before unloading your most powerful attacks allows you to swiftly nuke groups of badass and even boss enemies. The bonus even stacks multiplicatively with other damage buffs!
Additionally, It‘s Piss clears any harmful status effects from yourself and nearby allies, making it great insurance against elemental DOTs during intense fights. With top-tier utility, every Vault Hunter is wise to keep one equipped for clutch plays.
Manufacturer: Vladof
Type: Grenade Mod
Rarity: Legendary
Fuse Time: 1.0s
Damage: 5040
Radius: 2872
Element: None
Where to Obtain:
Target the named enemy Captain Thunk in Konrad‘s Hold on Pandora. He has an increased chance to drop it compared to world drops at a rate of 5.30%.
I‘d rank It‘s Piss as the number one grenade option for team utility. Apply that damage vulnerability debuff before unloading your ults and watch bosses melt!
– Amara main FlakThat, /r/Borderlands moderator
Surge
The Surge legendary grenade mod is a more straightforward damage option, but the visual light show of explosions it unleashes is a sight to behold. After bouncing three times, it detonates and spawns 6 child grenades that each bounce and split further for a cascading chain reaction.
With so many bounces and sub-munitions, the Surge spreads incendiary damage across a huge area. It‘s perfectly suited for demolishing mobs of weaker enemies. Against badass and boss enemies, aim the initial throws precisely to concentrate more sub-grenade split explosions.
According to testing, each sub-grenade deals 57% of the base grenade damage on a direct hit. With 6 splits potentially occuring twice, that tallies to 684% total damage potential minus splash reduction falloff!
Occasionally found with different elements like cryo or radiation, Surge remains versatile for exploiting various enemy weaknesses. And luckily as a Torgue product, its explosive damage gets bonuses from splash damage boosts. For devastating crowd control potency, Surge is a Vault Hunter favorite.
Manufacturer: Torgue
Type: Grenade Mod
Rarity: Legendary
Fuse Time: 1.0s
Damage: 5040
Radius: 2419
Element: Incendiary, Shock, Corrosive, Cryo, Radiation
Where to Obtain:
Hunt down the named enemy "HOT CALL" in The Splinterlands on Pandora. He has an increased spawn chance in the Devil‘s Razor area and higher drop rates for the Surge at 4.29%.
For mob clearing grenades with contagious explosions, Surge brings the pyro! Jumping before throws lets me hit crowds around corners too.
– Fl4k main DeathRaves, Twitch partner
Rain Firestorm
When you need raw damage and area denial beyond all else, nothing brings the pain quite like the Rain Firestorm. After throwing this incendiary grenade mod, it calls down a barrage of 25 meteors over 3 seconds that pummel enemies in a wide radius.
Against densely packed enemy mobs, the relentless rain of explosions disintegrates everything caught in the heavy bombardment zone. Even shielded badass enemies melt under the sustained assault as each meteor deals roughly 1964 damage.
The variant Diluvian Firestorm launches fewer but harder-hitting meteors for more focused destruction, though Rain Firestorm‘s wider coverage generally works better. Pair with a fire-specializing character like Moze or Amara to maximize the burnination!
Manufacturer: Vladof
Type: Grenade Mod
Rarity: Legendary
Fuse Time: 1.0s
Damage Per Meteor:1964
Radius: 3528
Element: Incendiary
Where to Obtain:
As a world drop, Rain Firestorm can come from any suitable loot source but has a slightly higher chance to drop from the Slaughter Shaft trial on Pandora at 2.88%.
The Slaughter Shaft mayhem grenade rains are gorgeous! With the right build, I can usually get multiple grenade anoints triggering simultaneously too for multiplicative stacking. This thing demolishes bosses!
– Moze player GrizzlyOne, Twitch highlights editor
Other Great Grenade Options
While the prior three grenade mods overshadow much of the competition, several alternatives provide unique battlefield effects that deserve a mention:
Hex – Legendary grenade resembling a floating skull that spawns homing projectiles, seeks out targets, and applies terror debuff. High utility and damage. Up to +4548 bonus radiation damage
Storm Front – Shoots out Tesla coils that shock groups of enemies in proximity for extended periods. Great for area denial. 4032 shock damage per second to continual targets
Hunter-Seeker – Aggressive homing grenade that spawns child drones pursuing enemies to bombard them with tiny missiles. Easy reliable damage. Can spawn 16 drones for Runners variant.
Quasar – Sucks in enemies toward the singularity event horizon before exploding. Clumps foes for area attacks. Groups mobs for easy crits!
Widowmaker – Launches clusters of bouncing Spiderant chargebots that explode on death, dealing substantial incendiary damage. Quickly overruns enemy mobs with creepy crawlies.
Nagata – MIRV grenade splitting into a horizontal line of 7 submunitions which explode on impact. Wide area coverage to cripple crowds at range.
EPICENTER – After initial explosion, creates a delayed secondary blast with vertical columns of fire projecting outwards cross-shaped. Wrecks terrain and enemies alike with lava floors. Highest blast radius in game.
While their niche effects give them a slight edge in specific scenarios, It‘s Piss, Surge, and Rain Firestorm remain well-rounded powerhouses to equip in your grenade slot. But don‘t sleep on these other gems either!
Character Skill Interactions
You‘ll need to build your Vault Hunter properly to maximize grenade damage output. Certain character abilities can dramatically amplify grenade effectiveness if optimized correctly.
Moze‘s Demolition Woman skill tree has lots of splash damage and grenade buffs like Pull the Holy Pin and Means of Destruction. Investing here significantly pumps up damage. Equipping splash boosting artifacts like Otto Idol or Last Stand Icon further stacks multiplicatively.
Zane‘s Duct Tape Mod and Pocket Full of Grenades skills add extra projectile and damage bonuses. His calm, cool, collected skill also charges shield which boosts the Vampyr healing grenade skill by a whopping 60%!
FL4K can use gamma burst to provide major damage resistance buffs alongside grenade throws. Megavore also gives a chance for bonus crit damage on hits too for nuking tough enemies.
For Amara, skills like Indiscriminate and Splash Damage amplify area of effect attacks. Equip an elemental projector relic to triple elemental damage against status afflicted enemies!
No matter the character, be sure to have a high level grenade equipped near your own level. Higher item score means higher item power and damage scaling. And take advantage of Mayhem levels by going up to Mayhem 10 or 11 for insane grenade damage!
Advanced Grenade Tactics
Skilled Vault Hunter mercenaries have developed some devious tricks for maximizing your explosives arsenal. Use these pro tips to unleash sheer annihilation!
Grenade Jumping – Throwing certain grenades at your feet and timing the explosion‘s knockback effect lets you launch much higher and access otherwise unreachable areas. Just be careful not to kill yourself! Highly useful for out of bounds exploration.
Grenade Tagging – By arcing your grenade tosses around corners or cover, you can damage enemies without exposing yourself to return fire. Great for flanking or sniper tactics. Quasar works well sucking hidden enemies into the open.
Double Grenade Stack – Through proper timing of spell activations pre-throw, characters like Moze and Zane can launch two grenades simultaneously for massive combined explosions! Difficult technique but ultimately satisfying.
Healing Grenade Chains – When using grenades like It‘s Piss that remove harmful statuses, follow up immediately with Transfusion or Cloning Hunter Seeker throws to heal nearby allies too. Keep your squad healthy through back to back support throws amidst heavy combat.
With skill, you can truly push the innovative applications of Borderlands 3‘s grenade mechanics past their normal limits. Now get out there and detonate some baddies with style!
Optimizing Grenade Damage
To get the most bang for your buck out of your explosive ordnance, you‘ll need to build your Vault Hunter properly to maximize grenade damage output.
The Demolition Woman skill tree for Moze has lots of splash damage and grenade buffs like Pull the Holy Pin and Means of Destruction. Investing here, along with equipping splash damage boost artifacts like Otto Idol or Last Stand Icon, significantly pumps up damage.
For other characters, look for gear with the Auxiliary grenade anointment – consecutive hits increase damage. This ramps up grenade damage the longer you fire your guns. Alternatively, the OGT anoint gives bonus incendiary damage on grenade throws.
Finally, have a high level grenade equipped near your own level. Higher item score means higher item power and damage scaling. And take advantage of Mayhem levels by going up to Mayhem 10 or 11 for insane grenade damage! The difference is astronomical.
Ideal Grenade Anointments
Besides equipping the right grenades themselves, you‘ll want to look out for these powerful anointments that can roll randomly on them:
On Action Skill Start – 100% damage bonus after using action skill, stacking multiplicatively for insane damage
On Grenade Thrown – 50% bonus Elemental Damage: Excellent paired with Rain Firestorm for 100% incendiary damage
On Action Skill End – 30% Damage Reduction: Handy survivability buff for riskier MIRV throw scenarios
With the right anointments that play into your build strategy, you can dramatically amplify your grenades‘ devastating effects. It‘s worth farming additional grenade mods to get these perfect anoint combos!
How Grenade Parts Affect Damage
But it‘s not just about the grenade‘s base effect. The procedurally generated part combinations that roll on grenade drops significantly impact performance as well. Let‘s break it down:
Material – Components like Blast Master, Lobbed Bowling, and Contact increase explosive radius size and damage. Other materials like Bounce, Cloning, and MIRV instead influence delivery method.
Delivery – From longbow trajectory to bouncy rubberized, delivery parts alter arc throw height, grenade speed, and how the grenade behaves before detonating. Important for aim.
Prefix – Prefixes add damage elemental multipliers like Molten for +incendiary or Storm Front for +shock that stack with the base grenade damage.
So while anointments and abilities add the big damage spikes, fine tuning your grenades‘ passive parts grants that extra degree of personalization and power!
Farming Targets for Top Grenades
While world drops grant a small chance at the exceptional grenades listed earlier, you‘ll have better targeted luck defeating these enemies:
- It‘s Piss – Captain Thunk in Konrad‘s Hold (5.3% drop rate)
- Surge – HOT CALL in The Splinterlands (4.29% drop rate)
- Rain Firestorm – Slaughter Shaft Trial (2.88% drop rate)
I suggest re-rolling Mayhem 6 at a minimum before farming for ideal anointment odds and max gear score caps. Save and reload near these bosses and named enemies until you get the desired drops and gloat about your god-rolled grenade to fellow Vault Hunters!
Also, sign up for VIP Insider Program shift codes for free epic and legendary loot packs. I actually landed an epic radiation Surge grenade from one of the gold chest rewards!
Key Grenade Takeaways and Concluding Thoughts
Hopefully this guide has broken down exactly why It‘s Piss, Surge, and Rain Firestorm currently dominate as the best grenade picks for formidable explosive options. No matter what Vault Hunter you play, keep one of these equipped to savagely decimate packs of foes!
A few key tips to recap:
- It‘s Piss applies a hidden 20% damage vulnerability debuff, tremendously amplifying follow-up attacks
- Surge splits into child grenades repeatedly for screen-filling elemental bombardment
- Rain Firestorm calls down a punishing rain of explosive meteors across a huge area
- Optimize splash damage and maximize Mayhem levels for peak grenade damage
- Obtain key anointments like bonus elemental damage on action skill activation/throw
- Manage grenade parts for further fine tuned customization
While early on, grenades seem lackluster, the legendary ones rapidly escalate in power when you master ancillary damage buff stacking and splash boosting skills. So lock and load your explosives ordnance Vault Hunter! It‘s time to watch the pretty lights…BOOM.
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