Gearbox Software released its latest major patch for Borderlands 4 (version 1.5) on March 26. The update is around 20GB and comes with a host of content, including C4SH the Rogue, a brand-new DLC Vault Hunter first teased back in September. For PC gamers, the update also ships with “improvements to stability and optimization”.

Players report improvements between v1.45 and v1.5, though there is no official benchmark for this. Instead, Gearbox recently put out a status update detailing an average FPS increase of “approximately 20%” since launch day. The devs say “we know we have work left to do,” and want gamers to know that Borderlands 4 optimization is an ongoing effort.

Borderlands 4 PC performance improvements since launch

As we said, gamers can expect around 20% average FPS boost when compared to launch (version 1.0.2), but this value actually stretches as high as 42.7% in native performance (1440p, very high settings, RTX 4080) and 26.6% with upscaling (1080p, low settings, DLSS Quality, mininum system reqs). The official benchmark graphics below detail the improvements.

Source: Gearbox Software

Source: Gearbox Software

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Gearbox Software also detail in the March 26 patch notes that Nvidia GPU users running driver version 590.xx or newer will no longer clear GPU driver shader cache on first launch after an update. This should result it no more (or less) time wasted by installing shaders – something Nvidia has been putting a lot of time into speeding up recently. The effort is also aimed towards reducing game stutters that come as a happen of shader compilation.

Player Experience:

• We improved the way cloud saves are handled to prevent errors when saving over an old file
• Players will now only be matched with others who own the same content. This keeps everyone together and prevents players from being sent back to the Main Menu because they don’t have access to paid DLC content
• Fixed a hitch that prevented players from selecting new skins while the game was loading
• Additional optimization to various HUD bars
• Improvements to stability and optimization

Dev Note: We are continuing to investigate and will make further improvements to stability and performance.

Source: Steam Community

Overall, it seems Borderlands 4 is moving in the right direction after a launch marred by stability issues, no matter if CEO Randy Pitchford claimed performance was “pretty damn optimal”. Well, if we’re strictly talking about performance.

At the time of writing, it still holds mixed user reviews on Steam, including an uptick of negativity on March 27 – many negative reviews are directed at the price and quality of the game’s first major story DLC. Story Pack 1: Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned is available for $30, though it comes included with the Deluxe and Super Deluxe editions.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.