Your guide to Potato Thrower in Borderlands 4

What to know

• Potato Thrower IV shoots explosive potato projectiles dealing splash damage.
• You obtain it as a rare drop from Voraxis in Timid Kyle's Neglected Opening, Fadefields.
• The weapon can drop with several elements (kinetic, cryo, fire, radiation, corrosive, shock).
• Farm Voraxis repeatedly using Moxxi's Encore Machine to increase your chances.

The Potato Thrower IV has become a fan-favorite in Borderlands 4 for both its quirky design and remarkable firepower. If you’re searching for this assault rifle, learning the farming process and understanding how its mechanics work will give you the edge for successful vault hunting.

How the Potato Thrower IV works

The Potato Thrower IV is a legendary Torgue-manufactured assault rifle known for launching explosive potato projectiles that detonate on impact, causing significant kinetic splash damage. Its elemental diversity lets it roll in several damage types, enhancing its utility against different enemy types. Elemental types available are kinetic, cryo, fire, radiation, corrosive, and shock. The weapon benefits from splash damage buffs and can sometimes drop with a smaller magazine, so pairing it with magazine-size enhancements is ideal.

Potato Thrower IV location: Find Voraxis

Voraxis, the exclusive source for the Potato Thrower IV, resides at the back of Timid Kyle's Neglected Opening, an Abandoned Auger Mine in the Fadefields region, specifically within the Coastal Bonescape area. The quickest path is northwest from the area’s Abandon Post. Once at the Auger Mine, progress to the end to open the boss encounter.

How to farm Potato Thrower IV

Step 1

First, complete any required story progression to unlock access to the Fadefields and Coastal Bonescape. Locate Timid Kyle's Neglected Opening in this region.

Step 2

Travel northwest from the Abandon Post until you find the entrance to the Abandoned Auger Mine, then move through the mine to reach Voraxis at the end.

Step 3

Defeat Voraxis. The Potato Thrower IV is in the boss’s loot pool, but the drop is not guaranteed, so you might need several attempts.

Step 4

After each defeat, use Moxxi’s Encore Machine (located near the encounter area) to reset the boss fight for another chance at the drop. Repeat as needed for the Potato Thrower IV.

Step 5

Check your loot, focusing on elemental rolls and magazine size. If needed, equip splash damage or magazine size gear to fully maximize the weapon’s potential.

When (and how) to use the Potato Thrower IV in your builds

Because its core strength is in splash/area damage, this weapon works best when:

• You already have buffs or skills that amplify splash, radius, or area of effect damage.
• You’re facing clustered enemies or crowds, where explosions can hit multiple targets.
• You have backup weapons for long-range or single-target fights, because the Potato Thrower IV isn’t optimized for pinpoint sniping.

Go for Potato Thrower IV? Or not?

The Potato Thrower IV is more of a niche/“fun legendary” than a workhorse weapon. Its Spud Gun effect gives it charm and satisfying explosive behavior, especially in crowd fights. But it has trade-offs: sometimes low magazine sizes, damage fall-off at range, and reliance on splash mechanics.

If you enjoy experimenting, want something different, or are building around splash/radius synergies, it’s absolutely worth trying to farm. But don’t expect it to universally replace top-tier ARs or snipers in every situation. Use it where it shines, and have backup weapons for when it doesn’t.