Borderlands 4 technical debacle: Players lose patience and start fixing the game themselves

Frustration over the dire technical state of Borderlands 4 runs deep. PC players are taking matters into their own hands and fixing the very issues that have been ruining the game since its release.

Even a week after the launch of Borderlands 4, the situation on the technical front remains tense: the loot shooter suffers from massive performance drops, constant stuttering, and poor overall optimization, especially on PC, which brings even high-end systems to their knees.

But with official solutions still pending, the community is once again proving its ingenuity. The first player-developed mods have now appeared, giving the game the much-needed technical boost it needs to get started.

Community patches as a lifeline

The discontent of many players is directed not only at the technical problems themselves, but also at Gearbox’s response so far. Controversial statements by CEO Randy Pitchford, who described the game as “damn optimized,” did little to calm the mood.

This gap is now being filled by dedicated modders: Platforms such as Nexus Mods already feature the first projects that specifically address the main points of criticism.

Ultimate Engine Tweaks

This project is a single, but extremely carefully optimized configuration file. The author has tested extensively to find a balance between more performance, less input lag, and even better image sharpness.

→ Download from Nexus Mods

• What it does exactly:
  • Comprehensive optimizations: The .ini file contains dozens of commands designed to reduce the load on the CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD.
  • Improved image clarity: The mod not only optimizes performance, but also removes annoying effects such as chromatic aberration. It also improves sharpness when using DLSS/FSR and reduces ghosting.
  • Two versions (IMPORTANT): There is one version for users with VRR (G-Sync/Freesync) and one for users without VRR. You need to know whether your monitor and graphics cards use this technology and select the appropriate version.
• Installation:
  1. Open the folder: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands 4\Saved\Config\Windows\ (you can simply copy this into the address bar of Windows Explorer).
  2. Paste the downloaded Engine.ini file there and overwrite the old one.
  3. Right-click on the new Engine.ini, go to “Properties” and check the “Read-only” box.

Borderlands Optimizer

This mod does not change your graphics settings, but improves how the game handles data in the background. The goal is to eliminate the main causes of the notorious stuttering in Unreal Engine games.

→ Download from Nexus Mods

• What it does exactly:
  • Shader optimization: The mod adjusts how shaders are processed. It ensures more efficient loading and caching, which massively reduces stuttering when entering new areas or when new effects are applied.
  • Asset streaming: Textures and models are loaded more smoothly and asynchronously in the background. This means your system will no longer be slowed down as often by objects suddenly reloading.
  • Better CPU & GPU utilization: Tasks such as physics and shadow calculations are better distributed across multiple CPU cores. This reduces the load on the main thread and improves overall performance.
  • Process deactivation: Unnecessary debug logs in the background are disabled to free up resources.
• Installation:
  1. Create a new folder named ~mods in the Borderlands 4 installation directory under OakGame\Content\Paks\.
  2. Copy the downloaded .pak file to this new ~mods folder.

Please remember that these are unofficial modifications. Use them at your own risk. The mods are not supported by Gearbox or 2K and could theoretically cause problems with future official patches. However, the modding community is usually quick to adapt their projects to new game versions.