Thus far, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has hit every note right regarding its marketing content. Players embark on an “epic adventure full of whimsy, wonder, and high-powered weaponry,” get to create their own character, and become part of a tabletop world brought to life much like the Dungeons and Dragons-inspired Assault on Dragon Keep in BL2. How well it sets itself apart from the rest of the series and brings in these fantasy elements will be one of its most defining features.

However, it’s obviously going to take some cues from the rest of the franchise. There’s a lot of good from each and every Borderlands game that’ll likely appear in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, but there are two features last seen in Borderlands 2 that particularly deserve a rightful place in Tina’s game: Pearlescent and Effervescent weapons.

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Borderlands Pearlescent Weapons

Pearlescent weapons, sometimes referred to as cyan weapons, are the rarest category found in Borderlands 1 and Borderlands 2. They began originally as a bug when “white” weapons would overly “dark orange” weapons in the inventory before being legitimized in the Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC. They operate as a cross between Unique and legendary weapons in Borderlands, requiring certain farming and low, low spawn rates. In fact, the chances were so small in Borderlands 1 that no ratio can actually compare their rate to that of legendary weapons.

The first Borderlands game only included them in the aforementioned DLC, where they could be dropped by Crawmerax the Invincible, Badass Bruisers, Lancer Pyros, and a few other enemies. Come Borderlands 2, they were included in the Ultimate Vault Hunter upgrade packs, only appearing while in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. They could drop from anywhere, though a few enemies did have a higher drop chance.

Come Borderlands 3, Pearlescent weapons were nowhere to be seen. Gearbox eventually explained this as a desire to “create more permutations, completely new weapons, and unique modifiers for post-launch events,” leading the developer down other roads than adding this weapon category.

Borderlands Rainbow (Effervescent) Weapons

Effervescent weapons, more commonly known as rainbow weapons for their unique appearance, were first added to Borderlands 2 many, many years later in the Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC. Because this DLC was supposed to be the bridge between BL2 and BL3, many fans were certain they would appear in Borderlands 3; after all, why would Gearbox design an entirely new weapon type, an awesome one at that, and then not use it? For one reason or another, though, that ended up the case. Awesome rainbow weapons like the Unicornsplosion are only available in Borderlands 2.

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Pearlescent AND Effervescent Weapons Fit Perfectly in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands

Now, it’s unknown how Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands loot system will work exactly. Chances are it’s not that different from past Borderlands games, given that Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ solution to worrying about guns in a fantasy setting is to just not worry about guns being in a fantasy setting. Yet, a lot has already been expanded: Borderlands’ manufacturers have been renamed, bows and crossbows appear in the game, weapons seem like they may be customizable (not confirmed), melee weapons seem to exist, and magic spells are used.

In a fantasy setting run by Tiny Tina (and featuring the appearance of Butt Stallion), it would just about make no sense to exclude new rainbow weapons. Her entirely personality is basically summarized in these chaotic, random, and out-there weapons (the aforementioned Unicornsplosion fired a miniature, exploding, and duplicating Butt Stallion), and it would add yet another level of fantasy to the standard Borderlands line-up

Borderlands games are all about loot, and while loot is truly dependent on how someone plays Dungeons and Dragons, good loot is good loot. Making a super rare weapon type appear at key points in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is representative of this, and nothing makes more sense than Pearlescent weapons.

Will Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Feature Pearlescent or Rainbow Weapons?

Now, Gearbox has not yet confirmed the return of these weapons. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands features a Season Pass complete with four DLC, and so—as they were DLC weapons before—they may not come until DLC. The concerning thing there is the same was thought for Borderlands 3 with Pearlescent and rainbow weapons. As such, there’s certainly a case to introduce them as launch as part of the game’s main line-up, to once again drive home that emphasis on “chaotic great” loot.

It remains to be seen, but Gearbox certainly noticed how the greater Borderlands community missed these weapon types in the threequel. Hopefully, this spin-off adds these in and keeps innovating with loot on top of them. The loot pool of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands already looks promising, but these would really drive home the franchise identity in this spin-off.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands releases March 25, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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