The crit knife is dead… but its killer isn’t explosive—it’s electric. ⚡

Borderlands 4 players mourned the nerf, scrambling for that one-shot magic. Turns out, the ultimate replacement hides in your ordinance slot: a Heavy Weapon that chains 1.2 billion volts across bosses like a bad idea at a funeral. No cooldowns, no bleeds—just pure, arcing annihilation. Gearbox overlooked this one… for now.

Shock your build to life: Electrify your arsenal here

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After dominating the Borderlands 4 meta since launch, the game’s best build for Vex is no more after the recent nerf to the infamous crit knife, the Vivisecting Throwing Knife. This Borderlands 4 Vex build essentially allowed players to stack the bleed damage from her Bloodletter skill onto critical hits, meaning a weapon like this knife can melt enemies with an increased crit chance that also bleeds them dry. In the wake of this reworked damage interaction, many players are jumping ship and looking for alternative gear for their ordinance slot.

New to Borderlands 4 are other ordinance options beyond simple grenades. Aside from knives as a new throwable, players can also equip Borderlands 4‘s Heavy Weapons in their ordinance slot as an alternative to a throwable. With the crit knife Vex build now dead and buried, the Siren still has some impressive ordinance options to take Vex builds to the next level, but they require deviating from the throwable gameplay of the crit knife build.

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

There are a handful of powerful Legendary Heavy Weapon ordinances in Borderlands 4 that can make solid alternatives to the crit knife with the right build surrounding them. Vex players may need to tweak their skill tree investments at the Respect Machine located in Borderlands 4‘s major faction towns, but the payoff is more than worth the cost. Choosing a Heavy Weapon to build around is the next step, but luckily, there are three options that synergize very well with potential 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 great Heavy Weapon for clearing out large packs of mobs, such as those found in Borderlands 4‘s Ripper Drill Sites. With its projectile damage scaling by 20% per bounce as the energy discs ricochet around the arena, players can quickly clear enemy hordes as the damage scales up to +100 for the final bounce. In particular, players will want a version of the Disc Jockey with Corrosive Damage, since this elemental damage type synergizes with Vex’s Necrosis and Blight Attunement skills.

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.

Similar to the Javelin from the Call of Duty franchise, the Sprezzatura launches a rocket straight into the air before it crashes down, hitting enemies in the targeted location. What makes this Heavy Weapon so powerful is the elemental splash damage it deals on impact. To this end, Borderlands 4 Vex players will want to find one with Incendiary Damage to synergize with her Burning Attunement and Burnt Offering skills.

Since this Legendary is a world drop, players will want to check vending machines and even spend Golden Keys from SHiFT codes to farm for it.

Ravenfire Legendary Heavy Weapon with Radiation Damage

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621 – Explosions radiate outward from the point of impact.

Ravenfire is a Heavy Weapon that excels in both mobbing and bossing in Borderlands 4, with its Legendary ability to launch explosions in an outward radius around the initial impact. Hitting a Borderlands 4 boss with the Ravenfire’s projectile can quickly melt its health bar when paired with Radiation Damage to turn this ordinance weapon into a miniature nuke. Vex’s Radiant Attunement and Havoc skills buff this elemental damage type to the point where enemy shields are no longer a concern, and the combination of Radiation’s crowd-damaging capabilities and Ravenfire’s additional AoE explosions makes this a deadly combination for dealing with an onslaught of Rippers or Order forces.