E-tech Gun, homing spike pistol

Borderlands 2 Loot and Weapons
#1

Since I’m looking for this type of gun and not really wanting to trade I’m just going to leave this here

This is for Borderlands 2

I’m looking for a Homing Spike pistol (HSP for short) [E-TECH] and just asking if anyone has
A) Seen/heard a gun like this.
B) Got a gun like this (not trading thank you)
C) know any other information on this type of gun.

The best way to compare this gun is to the Halo covenant “Needler”

As I said I’m not looking to trade for this gun, I want to find/get it my self via chests or quests.

#2

You’re thinking of the Lost Treasure mission. The mission reward is the Dahlminator.

Sawtooth Cauldron
ECHO recorder
28
$1074, 6983 XP, Dahlminator
Borderlands 2
Optional mission
The Lost Treasure is a side-mission in Borderlands 2. It can be obtained in Sawtooth Cauldron by finding an ECHO recording.

A Bandit has hidden a cache of weapons from Old Haven somewhere. He split the map into four pieces and distributed it to his bandit colleagues.

#3

Thanks I just did this mission today and got it. And it is homing, but Doesn’t have a spikes

Is there a spike type?

Btw this gun I’m looking is (key words) Spike, and homing type pistol

#4

That’s the only one I know of.

#5

the trade forums would still be the best place to look for a specific piece of gear, mainly as you could have put it in the platform you play on, (Xbox 1, PS 4 etc) so for when/if a mod moves this post I will ask what platform you are playing the game on? , so they may move it to the correct place

also on topic, I believe I know of the gun your thinking of, just don’t know if I have one as I consider several other Guns better.

Also, What level of gun are you Looking for?

#6

Thanks bro for the tips.

And I’m on Xbox one

I’m looking for an OP level 3, one ATM.
And it’s not so much as for the weapon being really good it’s more just so I can say I have a gun that’s like the Needler. So a slag (or a non element) homing spike E-TECH pistol.

#7

I think i get what you mean. Not wanting to trade/be given it. Just want info on it.

In that case, the BL2 loot and weapons chat would be the best place for this. So moved you there.

#8

Etech pistols are called Darts or Spikers. They pop up through the game, though you’re guaranteed to get one from Dr Zed’s ‘medical mystery’ mission, ‘The Lost Treasure’ mission gives you the Dahlminator which is a Dart, and the Wanderlust is a Dart that can be farmed from tubbies above 61. You might be more likely to get them from the golden chest in Sancturary?

Both types have low fire rate and high damage, but can’t score critical hit bonuses. If you hit an enemy the projectile will stick to them and then explode after a bit.

Dart projectiles home in on any enemy in your sights when you fire, so you can use them to get moving targets like surveyors. Spikers have a higher fire rate, but don’t home.

If you miss an enemy with them, Spiker projectiles stick to a surface and then explode, while Dart projectiles ricochet off the world a few times and then explode.

@Adabiviak is the man for these guns so he may be able to correct me / say more

3 Likes
#9

Aww, you flatter me, but you pretty much nailed it.

I have hinted in the various “cool ideas for BL3” threads that a Legendary version of an E-Tech Dart that has the subsequent detonations like a Needler as a reward for getting X amount of darts embedded before the first one pops would be incredibly fun to use in combat (but we’ll see if these weapon types make the cut into this next installment).

1 Like
#10

The wiki article for Spikers is incredibly negative about them… I may have a go at editing it to make it more neutral as they’re really not useless guns

#11

Yeah, but is any of it inaccurate (I haven’t read it)? I get why they’re generally loathed, given how many players are looking for optimum gear/builds that would one- to two-shot anything. For example, what do we get in exchange for twice the bullet cost and no ability to crit (splash-only damage)? They (like a few other game mechanics) don’t scale well into UVHM, so the enhanced damage the wiki mentions is much more noticeable at lower levels. For these guns to be accepted for regular use in UVHM, they’d have to scale their damage up accordingly (which can be done with the OP system, but I don’t think many people are doing this). Railers suffer from the same phenomenon. If they were actually hitting for, what, a little over twice the damage of a pistol of the same make with some other barrel, they’d probably be used more. I enjoy them for the following qualities:

  • Dart speed: it’s a snap to hit fast-moving enemies on the go (Bandit Technicals, Buzzards, Surveyors, Rakk, whatever).
  • Their non-reflective properties: Oncoming PWR and BUL Loaders whose shields are up eat the darts. I just thought of this, but I bet they’d work against Incinerator when he’s in turtle mode (but you won’t hear me advocate using a Spiker against a raid boss in a public forum :wink:) Also, they damage through Nomad door shields.
  • Detonation delay: it’s handy for slagging with a character who’s got slow swap speed. I also have this Vladof thing with an insane fire rate that I’ll enhance with a Sheriff’s Badge and Stalker COM. I’ll then try to unload an entire magazine (or enough to kill) into an unsuspecting enemy and escape into Decepti0n before the first dart pops, so the enemy never sees me.
#12

Agree with all. I would say those advantages make both Darts and Spikers situational guns, rather than bad ones.

The wiki says
"Compared to same-brand purple-rarity counterparts, Spikers do roughly 50% more damage per shot but suffer from a very low fire rate, roughly half of standard speed if not lower. This dramatically lowers their available damage per second and makes them especially bad on the basis of damage per ammo used when factoring in the double ammo usage. Further compounding this is their complete inability to score critical hits, and these issues combined with the weapon’s reduced projectile speed and delayed damage make Spikers some of the hardest to use and overall weakest pistols available in the game."

There are some problems with this… though I dislike the low fire rate, Vladof isn’t actually that bad (and I actually find the low damage, high fire rate of normal Vladof pistols problematic). In general they are bad for spray and pray strategies, but that’s not necessarily what they’re used for. They’re less helpful for hitting as many enemies as possible as focusing on BULs or Nomad Torturers, or slagging.

I agree that they’re tricky to use but weakest? I think that’s seeing them in the wrong terms.

#13

Yeah, the fire rate piece seems weird - I think their fire rates are the same (assuming the weapons have similar parts, barrel notwithstanding). Reduced projectile speed though? That’s crazy talk. Still - it’s a relatively easy test to confirm (maybe I’m wallowing in some confirmation bias here).

#14

Heh, possibly. How best to test projectile speed?

#15

I’d do it visibly by shooting the two pistols under comparison and watching. If it’s not obvious that one’s faster than another, that’s enough for me. You could get scientific about it by recording video with some time stamps, and reviewing it in slow motion, but I wouldn’t go that far (we’re probably the only two still using these) :laughing:

I don’t think any weapon parts affect projectile speed, but to err on the side of caution, I’d use pistols from the same manufacturer at least.

#16

I have no doubt once the Borderlands community reads this discussion they will drop all other pistols and race towards the nearest red chest in hopes of a Spiker :stuck_out_tongue: Will have a go at testing in any case!

#17

Lol thanks for random as talk about E-tech pistols guys, sorry I didn’t reply earlier, been busy, so have you guys ever seen a Homing Spike one before or nah?

#18

Lol I only have 2 Spike pistols atm :joy:

#19

Yes, the Darts @hattieinduni describes here are weapons that definitely exist in the game, which are the Homing Spike pistols you’re talking about. If you want one without waiting for a world drop:[quote=“MadDog2027, post:2, topic:1546609”]
You’re thinking of the Lost Treasure mission. The mission reward is the Dahlminator.
[/quote]In Sawtooth Cauldron, if you turn right immediately after the spawn point and head to the cliff edge that overlooks Sawtooth Stilts, you should see the yellow exclamation point of this mission in a nook off the northeast corner of that area (which is a great side mission in my opinion: it’s a great reason to pursue Bandits, provides some interesting back story, and it unlocks an otherwise unavailable section of Caustic Caverns which has a pretty good enemy density and a red chest).