How To Mod Guns In Borderlands

Yes, that’s right, I said the M-word. Borderlands and modding have thus far had a controversial relationship, but don’t worry- I’m not here to give my opinion. This article is to inform the everyday mercenary as to what it is and how it’s done. So, if you have any interest in the underground world of modding, read on.

Modding in Borderlands begins on the PC, using a program such as WillowTree, Gibbed’s Save Game Editor, or Val’s Borderlands Weapon Editor (there are other methods, but these are most common).  At its core, any one of these editors does the exact same thing- editing the strings of text that make up an item or gun:

gd_itemgrades.Weapons.ItemGrade_Weapon_RevolverPistol

gd_manufacturers.Manufacturers.Atlas

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.A_Weapon.WeaponType_revolver_pistol

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.Body.body3_tediore_Equalizer

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.Grip.grip3

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.mag.mag4

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.Barrel.barrel4_Dahl_Anaconda

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.Sight.sight_none

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.Stock.stock3

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.acc.acc2_Masher

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.acc.acc5_Atlas_Chimera

gd_weap_shared_materialparts.ManufacturerMaterials.Material_Torgue_3

gd_weap_shared_materialparts.Prefix.Prefix_Torque1_Iron

gd_weap_revolver_pistol.Title.TitleM_Atlas1_Chimera

6

5

0

When this list of gun parts and parameters is then loaded into the game, the item generator translates it into this:

Let’s break down that list of gun parts. The first line is the Grade, which determines if it’s a normal weapon or a unique weapon (like Madjack). The second line is the Manufacturer.The third line is the Subtype, which determines the gun’s type (shotgun, sniper, SMG, etc.). 

The next six lines are all the weapons parts; Body, Grip, Magazine, Barrel, Sight, and Stock. Then there are the Action and Accessory lines, which are used for things like blades, regenerating ammo, and the like. After that, Material- this determines the physical look of the gun, like colors and texture. The last two lines are for the weapon’s actual name- a Prefix and Title. Those numbers at the very bottom are Ammo, Quality, and Equip Slot, respectively.
 
Making a gun like this yourself is as simple as downloading one of the aforementioned editors and skimming through a guide- and, to reduce your time Googling around, I’ve provided a list of resources if you wish to experiment with modding:
 
WillowTree - http://xander.x-fusion.co.uk/X360/WillowTree.zip

Gibbed’s Save Game Editor - http://blog.gib.me/2009/10/31/borderlands-save-editor-revision-10/
Val’s Weapon Editor - http://synthpixel.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Val.Borderlands.We...

Compiled lists of gun parts and their respective strings (also note that this website has a plethora of information and some tutorials) - http://blmodding.wikidot.com/weapons
 
I personally use Val’s in conjunction with Gibbed’s Save Game Editor to do any gun creating- but it can be done any which way you want (even dreaded hex editing, which I didn’t mention).

If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. Happy modding!